Hong Kong delegation explores latest Stevens initiatives

HOBOKEN, N.J. — Members of a Hong Kong delegation on a nine-day study mission to the United States were impressed by what they saw at Stevens Institute of Technology recently. They believe the information they gathered at Stevens and elsewhere will help sharpen Hong Kong’s competitive edge in business, particularly in the area of e-commerce.

"I wish we had come here first," remarked Lam Suen-Fu, a member of the Hong Kong Productivity Council — Hong Kong’s premier organization for trade enhancement — and senior information technology officer for Ocean Office Automation Ltd. He and the other council members were particularly impressed with the kind of education Stevens offers to students.

The study mission’s coordinator and council’s senior consultant, Au Yeung Sui-Ki explained, "We organized this mission with a will to learn more about e-commerce, to exchange information with our counterparts in the United States, and to identify new opportunities."

Hong Kong is estimated to be one to two years behind the United States in e-commerce, while it is also considered a major port of entry for trade into China.

The four members of the Hong Kong Productivity Council who spent the morning at Stevens March 3 saw a presentation on Stevens’ latest research in new product development practices. They also heard about recent developments in Stevens’ growing Technology Transfer Program, its new World Wide Web-based distance learning initiatives, and its new undergraduate degree program in business and technology (e-business), which will begin classes in fall 2000.

The council’s visit was coordinated by Dr. Silvio Laccetti, professor of urban studies and history, in cooperation with the U.S. Dept. of Commerce, Newark Export Assistance Center.

"Stevens has a mission to increase its national presence, become a national resource and operate on a global scale, so hosting members of this study mission fit in directly," said Laccetti, who is Stevens’ liaison with the U.S. Dept. of Commerce.

Making presentations to the council for Stevens were: Laccetti, Dr. Gary Lynn, associate professor of management and engineering management; Michael Epstein, director of technology transfer; Robert Ubell, director of Web-based distance learning; and Louis Laucirica, associate dean of Stevens’ Wesley J. Howe School of Technology Management.

The Hong Kong Productivity Council’s web site is at www.hkpc.org.

About Stevens Institute of Technology

Founded in 1870, Stevens Institute of Technology is one of the leading technological universities in the world dedicated to learning and research. Through its broad-based curricula, nurturing of creative inventiveness, and cross disciplinary research, the Institute is at the forefront of global challenges in engineering, science, and technology management. Partnerships and collaboration between, and among, business, industry, government and other universities contribute to the enriched environment of the Institute. A new model for technology commercialization in academe, known as Technogenesis®, involves external partners in launching business enterprises to create broad opportunities and shared value.

Stevens offers baccalaureates, master’s and doctoral degrees in engineering, science, computer science and management, in addition to a baccalaureate degree in the humanities and liberal arts, and in business and technology. The university has a total enrollment of 2,150 undergraduate and 3,500 graduate students, with about 250 full-time faculty. Stevens’ graduate programs have attracted international participation from China, India, Southeast Asia, Europe and Latin America. Additional information may be obtained from its web page at www.stevens.edu.  

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