(SCOPE) and the Faculty of Business participated in the Education and Careers Expo, held at the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre from 19 to 22 February. The Expo showcased a wide range of CityU's continuing education and business Master's degree programmes to meet the market's growing demands.

As the Heads of Universities Committee (HUCOM) decided that the eight UGC-funded universities should not participate in the Expo, this year the education exhibits mainly derive from the universities' continuing education divisions. In view of the growing number of continuing education providers in the market, SCOPE distinguishes itself from others by offering high quality programmes, as well as committing itself to providing good services. "We offer beneficial programmes from the users' angle," said Ms Eliza Yau , SCOPE's Programme Manager. "When organizing its programmes, SCOPE takes into account market needs, the programmes' professional accreditation and quality assurance mechanism, and choosing renowned overseas partner institutions." This approach is reflected in the programme brochure Navigating Lifelong Learning which offers value-added information for prospective applicants such as the preparation needed to commit to studying after years of work, tips for choosing the right programmes, and financial assistance.

Targeting the right audience

SCOPE offers a full range of programmes, from Project Yi Jin for secondary school leavers to PhD programmes, serving the various education needs of the community. It now has a student population of 5,835. Its third year joining the Expo, SCOPE views the opportunity to promote their programmes as serving dual purposes—to expand their outreach (last year the Expo attracted 184,359 visitors), and to know more about the real needs of their prospective applicants. "Many visitors come to shop around, with no specific study plans in mind," Ms Yau pointed out. To attract them to stop at the booth, SCOPE launched a lucky draw with prizes like Pocket PC and Palm Pilots. Each participant who gives his/her personal information and study interests can enter the draw. For those participants with a specific programme or discipline in mind, well-trained SCOPE programme advisers are at hand for consultation. "This is a great opportunity for us to gauge feedback and generate input for further improvement," Ms Yau said.

This year, SCOPE's highlights include the American Hotel & Lodging Association (AH&LA) hotel management programmes, overseas award degree programmes, and a series of Continuing Education Fund Reimbursable courses in China business, financial services and logistics. SCOPE presents a talk, "Be a Part of the Hotel Industry", at the Exhibition Centre on 21 February.

Since many visitors may not be aware that the eight local universities are not participating in the Expo, they may still expect to collect information about UGC-funded programmes. Anticipating that, SCOPE is also helping to distribute CityU prospectuses and promotional materials with information on UGC-funded programmes.

Taking care of business

This year, the Faculty of Business joined the Expo to feature a wide array of its BBA, MBA and postgraduate programmes, with the key focus on its new initiative "Knowledge Nexus Business Consortium". To promote lifelong learning and continuous development for executives, the Faculty has recently restructured most of its 15 Master's degree programmes. The Knowledge Nexus Business Consortium shares a common structure and allows a wider choice of electives and greater flexibility in credit transfers among the programmes. Six self-financing Master's degree programmes, namely Banking, Finance, Financial Engineering, Electronic Business, Information Systems Development, and Information Systems Management, joined the Consortium.

The common structure shared by the Consortium programmes accounts for 18 to 21 credits specific to the programme, and 9 to 12 credits from the elective pool contributed by participating departments of the Consortium. The minimum required for graduation is 30 credits. With this programme structure, students can obtain two Master's degrees in three years.

Providing cutting-edge business education, exploiting CityU's links with the Chinese mainland and further developing its strengths in the region, the Consortium will enhance students' abilities to meet the challenges of the business world.

Also on 21 February, FB will host a talk, "MBA Education and BBA Business Management", by Dr Y C Chan , Programme Director of the Master of Business Administration and Associate Professor in the Department of Management Sciences.