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Following is the speech by the Secretary for Education and Manpower, Mrs Fanny Law, at the 4th Kellogg - HKUST EMBA Graduation Ceremony today (April 14):
Professor Chu, Dean Jacobs, Professor Chan, graduates of the Executive MBA class 2002, ladies and gentlemen,
Sam Walton, the "entrepreneur of the 20th century", who started Wal-mart, the biggest retailor in the world, had a humble beginning and did not go to a business school. His Ten Rules for Building a Business seem like commonsense old favourites. But, if Sam's secret to success is open to all, why aren't other businesses as successful?
Learning the theory is the easy part; the real challenge is in the practice. No wonder, universities only hand out dummy diplomas at the graduation; the graduates only get the real thing later on. There may well be an administrative reason for doing so, and I would add a symbolic interpretation: completion of a programme of study only deserves a blank diploma. It is for the graduates to fill in the blank through what they do after graduation.
The 1992 Presidential Citation in honour of Sam Walton highlights "concern for his employees, a commitment to his community, and a desire to make a difference" as the hallmarks of Sam's illustrious career. Concern, commitment and desire all come from the heart. To be successful, leaders today have to lead with the heart; a good brain is not enough.
Lifelong Learning
It is also not enough to rely on conventional wisdom, for we are living in an information age in which change is the norm. To keep up to date with change requires constant alertness to what is happening around us, and the intellectual curiosity to probe new knowledge. Lifelong learning is no longer a fad but an essential survival skill.
People of Hong Kong have an established tradition of continuing education. A survey last year showed that there were about 700,000 enrolments in continuing education programmes at an estimated total expenditure of HK$14 billion (or US$1.8 billion). Assuming one enrolment per person, about one-fifth of our workforce were engaged in some form of learning. The survey also showed that the more educated workers are more inclined to take up learning. But, faced with economic re-structuring, the less educated and low-skilled workers are most at risk.
To ensure that Hong Kong will not lose out in a knowledge-based, globalized economy, the Hong Kong Special Administrative Region has made education and skill training the number one priority of our social policy:
* We have launched a massive education reform programme which aims, among other things, to help our young people learn how to learn and to inculcate in them a commitment to lifelong learning;
* We have established a Continuing Education Fund with a capital injection of five billion Hong Kong dollars (or 640 million US) to encourage lifelong learning, and we also promote skills upgrading among the less well-educated.
* We aim to increase the participation rate of post-secondary education to 60% in ten years, and to develop a more flexible tertiary education system that provides diversity and choice for learners. Our aspiration is to develop Hong Kong into a regional centre for higher education.
Three weeks ago, Lord Sutherland, Vice Chancellor of the University of Edinburgh and a distinguished member of our University Grants Committee, published a report on the Higher Education in Hong Kong. The report made a number of far-sighted recommendations to upgrade the quality of higher education in Hong Kong. It triggered much welcomed and lively debate in the community.
Why Rock The Boat?
Some people have asked why we commissioned the Review in the first place. The higher education sector has made great strides over the past ten years. We have seen vast expansion in the number of degree places, far more active research activities among academic staff and significant improvement in the quality of research, with some projects measuring up to international standards. To put it bluntly - if it's not broken, why fix it?
The landscape of higher education in Hong Kong has changed significantly since the last major review in 1996 and is poised for more substantial changes in the years ahead. Earlier on, I have referred to the Chief Executive's vision to provide access to post-secondary education for 60% of our secondary school leavers by the year 2010. This has led to the development of Associate Degrees in Hong Kong and the emergence of the equivalent of "community colleges" in United States. Already there are demands for more degree places to accommodate graduates from community colleges.
We are also examining the feasibility of changing the academic structure of senior secondary education from four to three years, and correspondingly extending the degree programme from three to four years. This is consistent with international practices and will have major implications for our universities, in terms of admission requirements, curriculum, accommodation and finance.
There are significant changes afoot; changes needed to maintain Hong Kong's competitiveness in a knowledge-based economy. The challenge is to build on the solid foundation that has been established to further enhance quality, taking into account resource constraints. At present, over 80% of our universities' budget come from taxpayers' money. Taking examples from overseas, our universities will have to diversify their funding sources through fund-raising, consultancy work and commercializing research results in order to meet their full range of aspirations.
Role Differentiation
One of the key recommendations of Lord Sutherland's Review is mission focus or role differentiation among the eight publicly funded universities. With limited resources, the pressure is on to spend money more wisely so as to maximise the outcome. We must encourage our universities to focus their efforts and resources strategically, building on strengths, so as to develop centres of excellence that can compete at the highest international level for recognition, the best students and academic staff.
In future, we expect a larger proportion of government funds to be allocated on the basis of merit and performance to reward excellence in both teaching and research. The University Grants Committee will devise a mechanism to assess performance based largely on peer review. There will not be a priori categorization or branding of institutions. Each institution will have to review its mission, strengths and priorities, and decide on its positioning and development strategy. The keywords are competition and level playing field, that is, the typical "Hong Kong Way" and we look for "Excellence"!
A Flexible and Diversified Higher Education System
The corollary to role differentiation is the need for a more flexible enrolment system that would enable students to take courses at another institution that are not offered at the home institution, or have distinctive features which complement the programmes of the home institution. The Higher Education Review recommended that in future funding allocation should move away from the first-year-first-degree student number to a credit unit system. The proposed "credit accumulation and transfer system" (the CATS) would also provide a route of articulation for community college and associate degree graduates, thereby facilitating lifelong learning.
Some people have expressed concern about possible disruption to the home institution arising from the transfer of funds as students take credits in another institution. Others are concerned that the quality of education might decline as some faculties tried to lure students by offering easy-to-pass courses. These are all valid concerns that will need to be addressed when designing the details of the CATS so as to avoid destructive competition. However, they do not over-ride the merits of a more flexible credit-based funding system that facilitates articulation between qualifications, encourages cooperation between institutions, and provides more diversity and choice for students.
Implementing these changes requires vision, courage and strategy. Globalisation and economic imperatives have put pressure on everyone to do things in a different way. Change means risk, uncertainty and anxiety. But the status quo is no longer an option.
The HKUST - Kellogg Partnership
The Kellogg -- HKUST alliance is a glaring example of excellence that we are proud of and which we wish to emulate in other fields. This Executive MBA programme represents a true partnership of two great institutions that are committed to the pursuit of excellence, bonded by a shared vision to nurture executives with a global perspective and to create an international network of business leaders.
Hong Kong has clear competitive advantage to be a centre of excellence in business and executive education. We are located at the heart of the Asia Pacific region and within five hours of flying distance from the capital of the world's most populous country. We are the freest economy of the world, with unimpeded flow of ideas and information. We have a strong culture of academic freedom and that provides the best environment for intellectual exchanges and stimulation. Our cosmopolitan character makes Hong Kong an ideal home to a diverse group of companies of varied backgrounds, scale and nationalities.
China's accession to the World Trade Organization, development of the Western provinces and the growing market economy in the Mainland provide immense business opportunities. Hong Kong, with its Chinese heritage and 150 years of British influence provides an ideal venue for executive business studies that bridge the western and eastern management cultures. So much is going on between Hong Kong and the Mainland that there are enough business cases to break the record of the Harvard Business School!
To the Graduates
Let me congratulate you, the Kellogg - HKUST Executive MBA graduates, for having received the best education from two parts of the world in one programme. I speak from personal experience that it is not easy to go back to the classroom after many years of work. It requires discipline, determination and perseverance, the same qualities that underpin generations of successful leaders. You have made it and proven your qualities; they augur well for your future.
The class of 2002 is truly an international community, with participants from 12 countries, and with backgrounds in banking, consulting, construction, IT, manufacturing accounting, logistics, tourism, energy and non-profit sectors. I hope your professors are not listening but I dare say that you learn more from each other. The friendship developed during this 16 months will endure a lifetime, and the alumni network will serve you well for many years to come.
Today is a great moment for you to celebrate with and to thank your families for their tolerance and support without which it would be hard to survive the demanding programme. It is also a time for your sponsoring organisations to celebrate as they may find their future CEOs, COOs and CFOs from this class.
Graduation, or commencement as it is called in the United States, signals the beginning of a new chapter in life. I wish all the graduates present today success as you move on in your career, guided both by your head and your heart in turning the blank Executive MBA diploma into a scroll of achievements in life.
End/Sunday, April 14, 2002
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