TARS

Amid tectonic shifts in m

anufacturing, healthcare and finance, H

ong Kong needs to upgrade its workforces know

-how

in robotics, big data analysis, and digital and social media

marketing via innovative m

asters degrees or flexible courses.

STOR

Y AND

REA ZAVAD

SZKY

MA

STERS

OF

THE FU

TUR

E

A quick look at the latest emerging

generation those practically born with an iPhone in their hands will rem

ind anyone who has used a Betam

ax or a Walkm

an that catching up and keeping pace with young peoples knowledge and ease of using technology m

ay be hard, but necessary.

On a personal level, this may

mean choosing a career geared

for the future such as artificial intelligence, nanotechnology,

biotechnology or information

technology. At the very least, todays m

anagers and business-owners should get the know-how to initiate or direct projects in such trendy areas as big data or digital m

arketing. For Hong

Kong, nurturing a highly educated and innovative workforce able to create industries intertwined with exponential technologies will spell the difference between shining or fading on the global econom

ic stage.

Technology is changing so fast and increasingly disrupts industries that felt safe and protected a few years ago, says Paul N

iel, a social entrepreneur and co-founder of Peared, alifestyle com

pany for the elderly, and Luxarity, anenterprise that resells luxury fashion to raise m

oney for charity. We see

massive changes in m

anufacturing, healthcare, and now also in the financial industry one of the cornerstones of H

ong Kongs

economy. Its im

portant not just for the entrepreneur com

munity

but also for business to be aware of these changes and how we can prepare ourselves.

NEW CIRCUITRY

Trends and opportunities brought on by technological breakthroughs are popping up every m

illisecond, along with new ethos and ways of working. M

any experts believe that stem

-cell-based regenerative

sciences, robotic engineering and yet-unknown m

aterials will address m

ajor problems such

as climate change and a rapidly

ageing population. However, these

innovations can only be created through new ways of thinking, working and even funding.

Create new industries in Hong

Kong, look for those based on new m

egatrends cloud computing,

medical robotics, green technology

and material science, says Allen

Ma, chief executive of H

ong Kong Science and Technology Parks, which prom

otes research and innovation through its hi-tech industrial estates. H

ave a view of the future, and do som

ething about it now. Build social contribution and econom

ic value.Indeed, the future is now,

and in spite of the accompanying

urgent need to help equip people with 21st century skills, H

ong Kong lags in em

bracing tomorrow today,

according to some educators.

ILLUSTRATION PERRY TSE

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FEATURE

RIGHTW

oo Kam

-tim,

an associate professor in the departm

ent of electronic and com

puter engineering at H

KU

ST

BELOWPhilip Yu, an associate professor at H

KU

s departm

ent of statistics and actuarial science

FROM TOP

Paul Niel,

a social entrepreneur and co-founder of Peared;N

iel working

on one of his projects.

JUNIOR ROBOTICSTake robotics. W

hile it has been taught at universities for a long tim

e, Hong Kong still lacks an

integrated multidisciplinary

teaching platform that incorporates

computer science, m

echanics, logistics, electronics and other related disciplines, as seen at top robotics program

mes such as ETH

Zurich and Carnegie M

ellon. Many

believe that the concept of robotics should also be introduced at a young age.

In the US, [robotics] is integrated into teaching at [the] m

iddle-school level. If they learn about it when they m

ove into tertiary education, its too late, says W

oo Kam-tim

, an associate professor in the departm

ent of electronic and

just know it is a hot topic. The developm

ent [in Hong Kong]

is not as fast as in China, notes Philip Yu, an associate professor at the departm

ent of statistics and actuarial science of the University of H

ong Kong, which offers a m

asters of statistics for full-time

employees wanting an upgrade.

The programm

e, which has been running for 18 years, includes a course on big data analytics introduced last year.

Big data is hot now. Every field is talking about it, says Ben Chan Ping-shing, a professor and program

me director of the Chinese

University of Hong Kongs m

asters of data science and business statistics. The program

me, which

offers a course in high-dimensional

data analytics, is aimed at

executives with no background in statistics but who need to m

ake decisions based on data. Last years intake included candidates from

governm

ent, finance, education and IT, am

ong other sectors.At the H

KUST Business School, a two-day course will be offered in June to introduce key concepts of big data from

a non-technical perspective to executives who want to understand what they can achieve with big data analysis and how to initiate and m

onitor related projects.

Tam Kar-yan, the schools

chair professor of information

systems, business statistics and

operations managem

ent, says Hong

Kong companies are aware of the

importance of big data, so they are

offering many one-day workshops

and seminars on the topic. H

e agrees that com

pared with the US and som

e European countries, H

ong Kong is a rather late starter. Tam

adds it is not easy to hire in this field. A m

asters [degree] would be enough to open the door. But it needs an IT background, plus statistics and som

e sense of business. It is diffi

cult to recruit even for a big com

pany, he says.

MARKETING THE FUTURE

It is equally challenging to find a m

asters degree related to digital and social m

edia marketing,

although these days they are more

computer engineering of the H

ong Kong University of Science and Technology (H

KUST).As for big data, the conditions

are all there. Cloud storage has becom

e cheap, computer-

processing speeds have been doubling every few years, and touch points which track custom

er behaviour have becom

e ubiquitous. As a result, old techniques m

ay no longer work am

id the emergence of big

data and highly complex analysis

of streaming data requiring

spontaneous assessment or

unstructured data, such as those from

social networks.

COPING WITH BIG DATA

Not a high proportion of people

know about [big data], they

COURTESY HKUST (TOP) / HKU (BOTTOM)

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FEATURE

CREATE NEW INDUSTRIES IN HONG

KONG, LOOK FOR THOSE BASED ON NEW

MEGATRENDS CLOUD COM

PUTING, MEDICAL

ROBOTICS, GREEN TECHNOLOGY AND M

ATERIAL SCIENCE HAVE A VIEW

OF THE FUTURE, AND DO SOM

ETHING ABOUT IT NOW

Allen M

a, Hong Kong Science and Technology Parks

COURTESY PEARED

CLOCKWISE

FROM LEFT

OPPOSITE PAGEB

en Chan

Ping-shing, a

professor and program

me

director at C

UH

Ks

masters of

data science and business statistics; C

rystal Chen,

GAs education

programm

es m

anager; N

oel Siu of the School of B

usiness, H

ong Kong

Baptist

University;

Tam K

ar-yan of the H

KU

ST B

usiness School

of a must than a nice-to-have in any

marketing plan. Diplom

a courses, short courses and sem

inars take up the gap, such as the postgraduate diplom

a in digital and social media

marketing offered by H

KUSPACE. After a solid foundation in brand m

arketing, two special core m

odules cover social media and

digital marketing.

The Hong Kong Polytechnic

University has also created a short course on digital m

arketing, covering m

obile, social media and

viral marketing as well as search-

engine marketing, web analytics

and content managem

ent, with a focus on understanding the latest trends and technologies.

Digital marketing is the

name of the gam

e in the business world, says N

oel Siu, associate professor and associate head of the departm

ent of marketing,

and programm

e director of the m

asters of science in global m

arketing managem

ent program

at Hong Kong Baptist Universitys

combination [when hiring] a good

theoretical foundation is great, but in the end, its personal curiosity and experience that counts. H

ow can I predict what the world will look like in five, 10 or 20 years? Only an open and curious m

ind can cope with that, says N

iel.And this is where the

unaccredited General Assembly

(GA) comes in, training its students

in 15 major cities worldwide in

skills crucially needed in the 21st century, such as front- and back-end web developm

ent and interface design, data science and digital and social m

edia marketing, according

to Crystal Chen, GAs education program

mes m

anager.She says that unlike a

traditional university, GA constantly gets feedback from

different parts of the world and the teaching m

aterial is updated regularly. W

e are ahead of the curve, Chen says. W

e change our content quickly we can iterate every week! W

e have practical, hands-on content.

Luckily, recruitment is also

being disrupted, with more and

more com

panies prioritising knowledge rather than degrees and certificates. Justin Leung, director of sales and m

arketing at hiring firm

Ambition, says that beyond a

certificate, practical experience, sound judgem

ent and comm

ercial acum

en are often ingredients of a good m

arketer that are more

coveted by employers.

Nick Jones, sales and m

arketing division m

anager at recruitment

giant Robert Walters, echoes this

view. It is more im

portant for [m

arketers] to have the relevant skill sets, capabilities, experience and know-how to apply these to the job rather than having certificates, he says.

School of Business. It is a must

for businesses, especially for small

and medium

-sized companies. The

trend is there, we cannot avoid it. Siu says all m

asters program

mes in m

arketing should address this issue even if they m

ay not have an entire course on it, but adds that for finding a job, a m

asters degree is more of an added

bonus than a necessity.

KNOWLEDGE IS POW

ERThe real problem

is that, like other industries, education is also being disrupted, and it is very hard to catch up, both for professionals and for educational institutions. Technology is changing so fast that quite often, curriculum

s cannot keep up with it. I would look at a

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FEATURE

DIGITAL MARKETING IS

THE NAME OF THE GAM

E IN THE BUSINESS W

ORLD

IT IS A MUST FOR

BUSINESSES, ESPECIALLY FOR SM

ALL AND MEDIUM

-SIZED COM

PANIES. THE TREND IS THERE, W

E CANNOT AVOID IT

N

oel Siu, School of Business,

Hong Kong B

aptist University

A MASTERS [DEGREE]

WOULD BE ENOUGH

TO OPEN THE DOOR. BUT IT NEEDS AN I.T. BACKGROUND, PLUS

STATISTICS AND SOME

SENSE OF BUSINESS. IT IS DIFFICULT TO RECRUIT

EVEN FOR A BIG COM

PANY

Tam K

ar-yan, HK

UST B

usiness School

PHOTOGRAPHY GARETH GAY (TOP LEFT AND RIGHT, AND BOTTOM RIGHT) COURTESY HKUST (BOTTOM LEFT)