Introduction

The curriculum offered by the Faculty allows students to choose a range of studies that provide in-depth coverage of many disciplines. With access to the University's nine other faculties, our undergraduates can benefit from a wide selection of courses that are rich in content and adaptable to meet the requirements and objectives of individual students. Our close interaction with stakeholders in the business community keep our professional programs closely aligned to important ideas and developments at the cutting edge of business practice.

For Our Undergraduates

Our students now can choose from an unusually rich set of cross-disciplinary studies offered by both institutions. The School of Business equips students with the vision and practical tools necessary to become successful business leaders in Hong Kong, Greater China and in the region. The School of Economics and Finance provides strong grounding in both theoretical and applied aspects of economics, allowing students to analyse how business and policy decisions are made in a dynamic world.

The combined innovative curriculum offerings include the first officially recognised MBA (International) programme delivered in Shanghai from Hong Kong. Other specialised degrees in economics and finance, accounting and finance, and double-degree programmes for business and law, and business and software engineering provide requisite skills as well as a broad disciplinary reach to students pursuing regional and international careers. Our English-language curriculum familiarises students with the inner workings and corporate culture of global companies, while our teaching faculty's regional expertise provides specialised know-how on doing business in Hong Kong, China and East Asia.

The continual transformation of the local economy into a knowledge-based economy creates an enormous demand for highly trained executives and entrepreneurs whose knowledge and abilities must reach beyond the confines of traditional business and economic education. As a leading repository of scholastic excellence and original research, the Faculty of Business and Economics continues to place our commitment in helping our students to be responsible practitioners, innovative researchers, and visionary leaders of tomorrow; and our teachers and researchers continue to challenge the boundaries of knowledge and learning to help foster a better future for the community.

The Faculty's pioneering research outputs continue to be a leading source of innovative thinking for government and business in Hong Kong and the region. The research centres shared between the two schools facilitate the cross-fertilisation of ideas, and foster inter-disciplinary work. In 1999, the University Grants Committee - Hong Kong's higher education funding body - recognised the Faculty's research work in economics and business strategy as one of three Areas of Excellence in Hong Kong.

Remaining true to the spirit of entrepreneurship, the Faculty of Business and Economics aims to become the leading international centre for the study of economics and business in Asia and to serve the development needs of Hong Kong as an international financial centre and the future needs of Greater China.

For Our Taught Postgraduates

HKU's MBA degree is rated as one of the finest in the Asia region. It is a highly integrated programme that emphasises the challenges facing business in a globalising Asia. It offers an interactive learning environment and provides quality teaching by experts skilled at integrating cutting-edge theoretical knowledge with practical applications. The programme features four critical themes - strategy for doing business in China and the region; accounting, financial control and corporate governance; information technology and e-business transformation; and managing people and change. Offered in cooperation with Fudan University in Shanghai the MBA programme has received critical acclaim and is rated as the best cooperative education programme in China. This programme is offered in full-time, part-time and executive modes, with custom-designed modes delivered to major corporate clients.

The Master of Finance degree prepares financial executives for senior management positions and provides rigorous training leading to specialisations in risk management, financial engineering, financial markets and corporate strategy. The program is offered in Hong Kong and also in Beijing in cooperation with Peking University.

The Master of Economics degree is aimed at providing advanced economics training with emphasis on real world applications. Courses that deal with economics issues in the region as well as the practice of policy-making using case studies from Hong Kong, China and the region help students gain a better understanding of their economic environment.

For Our Research Postgraduates

The programme offers the degrees of M. Phil. and Ph. D. in full-time and part-time modes. Students may choose to specialise in accounting, economics, finance, information systems, management, marketing, and strategy. It is designed for individuals who wish to pursue careers in teaching, research, consulting, and senior management. The programme combines coursework, individualised research guidance, a series of student seminars, and funding to attend international academic conferences. Students in the Faculty play an integral part in faculty research in the many research centres and gain experience in designing, implementing, and evaluating major research projects.

Through a generous donation from Citicorp in 1987, the Citicorp Research Postgraduate Programme bring internationally renowned faculty to HKU to conduct specialised research seminars for postgraduate research students to familiarise them with cutting-edge research at the frontier.

Executive Education

The Faculty offers a range of short executive education programmes tailored for today's business executives through the Poon Kam Kai Institute of Management. Some of these programmes lead to the award of certificates and diplomas and may be conducted with local and international partners. Based at our campus in Hong Kong's downtown Admiralty Centre, these programmes provide executives with a high impact learning experience that combines the latest management research with the best practice techniques. Its programmes attract executives looking for up-to-the-minute knowledge in areas such as e-business, risk management, logistics and supply chain management, management of change, and service marketing.

The Poon Kam Kai Institute of Management was established in 1990 through a generous donation to the University from Mr. Dickson Poon to advance management education.

Use of Indigenous Asian Teaching Materials

The Asia Case Research Centre has assumed an important role in developing Asian business cases that are distributed worldwide.

Exchange Programmes and International Links

Students are exposed to a global perspective when they participate in our exchange programmes with major international universities or attend summer workshops taught by visiting faculty members from leading institutions abroad. Students from our partner institutions in, for example, Mainland China, Europe, North America, and Japan also come to Hong Kong to take courses at the School of Business, further contributing to a rich and stimulating environment.

All-round Development

Most of our classes are conducted in workshops and seminars of twenty to forty students. Undergraduates also benefit from other non-academic enhancement programmes such as:

• Our schools' student mentorship scheme that encourages quality interaction between students and staff in an informal nonclassroom setting
• A university mentorship programme aimed at building supportive mentoring relationships between our students, alumni, and friends of the University
• The Intensified Learning Opportunity Programme (ILOP), which engages outstanding students in experiential learning activities designed to contribute to their personal, interpersonal, and social development.

Business Leaders Speaker Series

Inaugurated to bring business people to the classroom as visiting lecturers, this series exposes students to professionals who provide first-hand, cutting-edge information about their own business operations. All these elements come together to form a comprehensive and challenging programme that allows students to refine their analytical powers, develop interpersonal and communication skills, and acquire the necessary regional and global knowledge and the network of contacts to become leaders in their field. Most importantly, our programme teaches students to become life-long learners so that they can hone new skills and remain flexible and receptive as the landscape of the Asian business world continues to evolve.