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Traditionally, Hong Kong has been a regional multimodal logistics hub in Asia, benefitting from its strategic location and well-developed transportation infrastructure, including a world-class international airport and container terminals, and efficient cross-border road and railway networks. In terms of the amount of value added and the number of employees, the trading and logistics industry is the largest among the four main economic pillars of Hong Kong, accounting for 19.8% of Hong Kong’s GDP and 17.5% of its employment in 2019. Logistics alone was responsible for 2.9% of Hong Kong’s GDP and 176,200 jobs, and transport services comprised 30.9% of Hong Kong’s service exports in the same year. BBA (Hons) in Supply Chain Management and Analytics (SCMA), formerly BBA (Hons) in Global Supply Chain Management (GSCM), is one of the three programmes under the BBA (Hons) Scheme in Aviation, Maritime and Supply Chain Management. Over the years, it has been one of the city’s major degrees aimed at nurturing young professionals in logistics and supply chain management. Notably, prior to the COVID-19 pandemic, in 2019, over 80% of graduates were employed within three months of graduation, and amid the pandemic, in 2020, over 75% of graduates were employed within three months. |
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Dr Anthony Pang Associate Professor and Associate Head Department of Logistics and Maritime Studies Programme Leader BBA (Hons) in Supply Chain Management and Analytics |
Graduates who do not enter the workforce upon graduation pursue further studies in Hong Kong or overseas. They go to graduate schools at the University of Cambridge or the University of Oxford (UK), or at the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT, US), and other prestigious institutions worldwide. Ms Vicky Chan, who earned her Master’s degree from MIT, is currently working at Google.
The implementation of the National 14th Five-year Plan will further strengthen the status of Hong Kong as an international transportation and trade centre. Some strategic initiatives will be the development of a smart port and other high value-added logistics, the “GBA on the Rail” framework, and other infrastructural projects integrating Hong Kong into the “one-hour living circle” of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area (GBA), in addition to joining the Regional Comprehensive Economic Partnership(RCEP). The enhancement of technology and connectivity will open up new opportunities for BBA-SCMA graduates to apply what they have acquired and contribute to the development of Hong Kong and the nation, especially in the areas of logistics and supply chain management and analytics.
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The Faculty will offer a Minor in Innovation and Entrepreneurship in the coming academic year. As the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area (GBA) and the world economy evolve, new demands and opportunities will arise, and the Faculty is responding to these changes by launching a new curriculum. It will focus on developing students with an entrepreneurial mindset and equipping them with knowledge and skills that are crucial for effective problem-solving. The development of the GBA region into a global innovation and technology hub will require a vibrant ecosystem with complementary activities in investments and financial services, logistics, and R&D activities, among others. Despite the difficult economic conditions recently, private investment in innovation and entrepreneurship (IE) has remained at a healthy level, as has employment growth. This environment favours individuals with both technological expertise and business acumen. Current global challenges, such as climate change and ageing populations, call for future leaders with a worldwide outlook and good problem-solving skills. In particular, there is a strong demand for individuals who have the principles and pragmatism to adapt to constantly shifting business environments, and who combine deep specialist knowledge with an ability to communicate across professional boundaries. IE education can train such individuals for careers in social entrepreneurship, intrapreneurship, business advice or consulting, business analysis, business development, commercial/project management, innovation leadership, product development, and technology transfer. Innovative and entrepreneurial skills are valued by organizations searching for potential employees. In particular, the public sector and the banking and finance, real estate, marketing, engineering, and food and consumer products industries are increasingly looking for individuals with IE skills to help them navigate and avoid treacherous business environments. |
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Dr Vincent Leung Professor of Practice (Marketing) Department of Management and Marketing Programme Leader Minor in Innovation and Entrepreneurship |
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Dr Pamsy Hui Senior Teaching Fellow and Associate Head Department of Management and Marketing |
Interdisciplinary Design
The IE Minor will take an interdisciplinary approach to allow for the cross-pollination of ideas. This is in line with a problem-based approach that is the key trend in higher education today. Many areas in which humankind is facing challenges require ideas and contributions from multiple disciplines, and thus this Minor, while coordinated by the Department of Management and Marketing, will include subjects from other faculties, including Accounting and Finance, Human Services, Engineering, Innovation and Technology Management, and Design. Its organization will also facilitate the integration of students from different disciplines, especially those from outside the Faculty of Business.
Combination of Conceptual Knowledge and Practice
Another feature of the IE Minor will be its mixture of various types and levels of subjects. The foundation course will include two mindset- and skillset-type subjects. The electives will consist of more advanced subjects in students’ chosen focus areas. In addition, some subjects will have a more practical emphasis, such as Company Attachment, Business Innovation Project, and Greater Bay Area Summer Immersion.
The approach of the IE Minor will be interdisciplinary with prominent practitioner involvement, especially in the experiential learning components. This will distinguish it from the more department- or faculty-based approaches taken by many other universities. The IE Minor will thus build on PolyU’s strength in technology/knowledge transfer and our long history of collaborating with industries.
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The Master of Science in Accounting and Finance Analytics (MSc AFA) was launched in 2019, in the context of a growing demand for digital transformation and the positioning of Hong Kong as a global financial technology (fintech) hub. It produces digital-savvy accounting and finance professionals capable of exploiting opportunities offered by big data-driven industries and contributing to the development of the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area (GBA) into an innovation and financial hub. MSc AFA combines instruction in advanced data analytics skills and technology with the imparting of core knowledge on accounting and finance, and thus enables its graduates to tackle complex issues in the digital age. In more than half of the AFA courses, students are exposed to data analytics and advanced technology applications. They also take part in enrichment activities, including workshops and visits. For example, in technology workshops, students obtain insights from professionals and gain an understanding of the latest developments and applications of technologies. Analogously, in company visits, students interact with corporate management and executives, which familiarizes them with the demands and opportunities of the modern business environment. MSc AFA graduates are employed in data analytics-related roles in a range of businesses, including fintech firms, investment banks, private equity investment funds, audit firms, and high-tech companies. Approximately 45% of them are currently employed in businesses within the GBA and 5% are pursuing a PhD. The distribution of the first cohort of graduates is as follows: investment banks 29%, the Big Four audit firms 24%, big technology firms / technology regulators 14%, investment groups 14%, commercial banks 10%, and real estate developers 5%. |
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Dr Feng Tian Associate Professor School of Accounting and Finance Programme Director Master of Science in Accounting and Finance Analytics |
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Dr Justin Law Teaching Fellow School of Accounting and Finance Programme Manager Master of Science in Accounting and Finance Analytics |
This year I got an offer for management trainee at CITIC Securities. (Li Ping Fan 2019/20 intake graduate)
This programme covers fintech, machine learning, and visualization tools for working out analytical dashboards. These are essential for meeting the latest demand in accounting and finance. (Simo Zhuang Yashuang 2019/20 intake graduate)
This programme provided me with a valuable platform to take advantage of the world's technological transformation and opportunities in the growing field of big data. (Dora Liu Tianmeiduo 2020/21 intake graduate)
I gained invaluable knowledge of computer science in relation to accounting and finance, such as in the areas of contemporary accounting information systems, programming languages, machine learning, and business intelligence tools. I also received systematic training in valuation, investment, analysis, etc. The knowledge I harvested in just one year would take two or three years to acquire in other programmes. (Ryan Chen Chunyu 2020/21 intake graduate)
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Digital transformation, which involves integrating digital technology with data analytics, is crucial for capturing opportunities in the Guangdong-Hong Kong-Macao Greater Bay Area (GBA). Master of Science in Business Analytics (MSc BA) is a mixed-mode programme with most of its full-time students coming from the Chinese mainland. They live in the GBA or other provinces and take this programme at PolyU to equip themselves with the knowledge and skills to build a career in Hong Kong or the GBA. MSc BA was first offered in 2019 and teaches managers with approximately seven years of work experience on acquiring knowledge of the emerging area of business analytics. It emphasizes the utilization and application of big data for supporting management and marketing decisions in the business world. The curriculum covers areas such as sophisticated methods of data analysis, a wide range of data sources within and outside business organizations, generation of useful information, and solidification of corporate strategies. It also covers specific application domains such as market intelligence and decision modelling. Compared with the programmes hosted by engineering and statistics departments, MSc BA is less technically based and places greater emphasis on the generation of information, using data mining software and statistical tools, to facilitate better business decision-making. It thus assists managers, HR consultants, government officials, logistics analysts, and market intelligence analysts to meet international standards in business analytics, and enables them to manage related projects in their organizations. There are 12 fellowships sponsored by the UGC, to the value of HK$120,000, which are available to local students admitted in the 2022–2023 academic year. MSc BA graduates apply business analytics and develop their careers in various industries. Jerry Yin Zeyu completed his dissertation on the property market in China. He highly recommends that BA students do a dissertation as business today depends heavily on the analysis of various kinds of data. Business analytics is the practice and art of using quantitative data for decision making, and thus enables the effective use of big data to solve a wide range of problems. |
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Dr Xin Xu Associate Dean (External Relations and Development) Faculty of Business Associate Professor Department of Management and Marketing Programme Director Master of Science in Business Analytics |
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Dr Vincent Cho Associate Professor Department of Management and Marketing Deputy Programme Director Master of Science in Business Analytics |
Writing his dissertation helped Jerry to learn how to think critically and to master business analytics techniques. He has received offers of employment from Huawei, Baidu, SF Express, and CITIC Securities, and his prospective employers are very interested in the contents of his dissertation and the techniques that he mastered. He acknowledges that while writing a high-quality dissertation is not easy, it contributes so much to one’s career development that the hard work is worth it.
Dickson Ma gained a MSc BA with flying colours. During the process of dissertation preparation and writing, his academic supervisor gave him much assistance to solve various puzzling aspects of his research. Completing his dissertation helped to develop his analytical skills and a problem-solving mindset, which have proven vitally important to him as an analyst at The Hong Kong Jockey Club and for his ability to predict football match results.
