學院和企業之間需要發拙新的共同作用

New Synergy Needed Between the Academy and the Industry

集信一向與學界及中立機構有著緊密的合作，除了與大學與中學生進行工作實習的『影子計劃』 (Job Shadowing) 外，亦曾與香港城市大學商學部對企業資源規劃系統 (ERP) 的應用展開調查。 集信更不遺餘力地免費提供旗艦的 ERP 系統予浸大作教材之用，希望藉此回饋教學界，務求讓學生在投身社會前，有機會認識到市場需要及對現時非常普及的企業資源管理系統有一定的認知，而不致落後於別人，保持個人競爭力。

ISL has been co-operating with the academy and non-profit organizations. Not only launched the "Job Shadowing Program" with the university and secondary school, but ISL has also done a research on the rating of ERP usage in the market. Moreover, ISL has donated our flagship ERP System to the Hong Kong Baptist University (HKBU) as their teaching material. We aim to contribute to the academy by letting the students understand the market trend and the operation of an ERP System in an organization so that they will not lag behind the others under the competitive society in the future.

於本年初，我們為加強對學界的了解及聆聽學生對 I.T 前景的心聲，集信再度與香港浸會大學合作，有機會與計算機科學系副教授張國威博士進行了一次訪問。是次訪問主要針對學界與商界應如何攜手合作，好讓快將投身社會的準畢業生尋找到他們的方向。

In early 2009, we have had a valuable interview with Dr. William Cheung – Associate Professor, Department of Computer Science, HKBU. The aim of this interview is to discuss what the academy and the industry should do for the undergraduates to find their ways out.

訪問過後，張國威博士帶出了以下結論：

After the interview, Dr. William Cheung came up with the following conclusion:

1. 資訊科技的發展一日千里，最近流行一種說法，現時大學生所學習得到的知識到他們投身社會時可能已不合時宜。因此，學界有責任在課程設計上確保學生們能夠接觸得到最新的科技資訊及追趕得上現今日新月異的科技。

"The IT world spins just too fast. There has been such a saying that nowadays university students are learning things which will obsolete by the time they graduate. While this is a bit exaggerated, it does ring the bell that IT programs need to match with the current industry’s needs.　In short, we have to make sure that our students can run fast enough to fully realize the development of the industry and to follow the pace at its frontier." – by Dr. William Cheung

2. IT 生態系統正在惡性循環 – 資訊科技界專業人士未被社會的認同且其地位好像不及其他業界的專業人士，如醫學界及會計界; 從而給優異生一種錯誤訊息，驅使他們視 IT 科目為次選。近年學生對 IT 的熱誠有減退現象，間接導致近年投身 IT 行業的畢業生也有所減少。

"The IT ecosystem in Hong Kong is undergoing a vicious cycle. First, the real value and impact of information and computing technologies has not been truly manifested and realized at work or in our daily life. The social status of IT professionals is lagging behind that of other professionals, like medical and accounting. The underlying social pressure hinders top students to take IT as their Majors for their university studies. In recent years, we have observed some decline in students’ appreciation on IT related innovations and impact, and in turn some retract in their enthusiasm in joining the IT workforce after graduation." – by Dr. William Cheung

學界與商界之間的配合：

The synergy between the academic and the industry:

1. 商界應繼續為學界提供一些業界講座､實習機會､導師指導計劃及職前實習培訓等活動，讓準畢業生在大學生涯期間可以接及早觸到 IT 行業，協助他們認清楚自己的方向。

"Industry talks, company visits, alumni mentoring schemes, and internship/placement programmes are only some examples of the activities happening at our Department to help our students to have an early outlook of the industry during their three years of study. To achieve that, I believe all the existing efforts are to be continued, deepened and better coordinated until a strong synergy can be established between the academy and the industry." – by Dr. William Cheung

2. 學界與商界需共同合作培養及裝備我們未來的 IT 人才。

"We need a strong synergy between the academy and the industry to better nurture and equip our tomorrow IT professionals and leaders." – by Dr. William Cheung

3. 學界與商界需共同合作來建立一個有利於 IT 創新發展及為 IT 業界打造出專業的社會地位。

"We need a strong synergy between the academy and the industry to establish more favorable factors for IT related innovations and eventually a real professional status in the society." – by Dr. William Cheung

張國威博士在訪問期間亦不忘感謝集信對香港浸會大學 – 計算機科學系的 ERP 系統贊助：

During the interview, Dr. William Cheung also thanked ISL for sponsoring its flagship ERP System to Department of Computer Science, HKBU:

張博士說：『　我認為學界與商界應多以不同的方式合作。以上的只屬於個人對 IT 行業的看法及意見。在此，需感謝集信的邀請，讓我可透過是次訪問在其季刊內表達對 IT 業界的意見。最近，我們的學系更得到集信免費在電腦室安裝其 ERP 系統作教材之用，使我們可以更有效地為學生們展示企業如何利用 ERP 系統來管理業務。除此之外，我們亦應讓學生們知道香港也有其自行研發的企業系統，不但得到大眾認同且已被海外企業廣泛應用。這樣的實習機會，對學生們實在是寶貴的經驗。最後，本人亦藉此機會答謝集信的慷慨贊助及其行政總裁羅耀宗先生對本地大學長遠的支持。』

"I think there should exist other innovative forms of collaboration between the academy and the industry. What being shared are just some of my personal views on local IT industry. Here I would like to thank ISL for inviting me to write this article. Recently, our Department received a donation from ISL for installing their flagship ERP software product in all the computers in our computing laboratories so that we can better illustrate to our students how ERP systems could be used to manage different business processes in a company. This also helps our students to further understand and appreciate that there are made-in-HK systems which have been well-recognized and widely used even outside Hong Kong. Such hands-on experience and exposure as part of the training (as I mentioned before) is indeed valuable to students. I personally appreciate very much the generosity of ISL for the software donation and the vision of their CEO Mr. Hilton Law for his persistent support to different forms of collaboration with the local universities." - by Dr. William Cheung