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| January 2000 Interdisciplinary curriculum New directions in tertiary education By Natalie Siu Article from the
same section: A Jack of all trades often implies a master of none. But some local universities have started to offer interdisciplinary programs for university students to study in two different fields. Chemistry with Management Studies is an example of an interdisciplinary programme. It is being offered by the Chinese University this year. According to Prof. Kevin Wing-por Leung, a member of the curriculum committee of the Department of Chemistry at the Chinese University, the course can help their graduates enter business fields. Prof. Leung said, “Hong Kong is a commercial centre. Training in the chemical field together with the things related to the business field provide students with an easier access to the business field.” He said that about 30 percent of their graduates engage in business fields such as marketing, trading and sales. The University of Hong Kong has similar programs. One example is the Physics with Business Administration programme. According to Prof. David Shuk-yin Tong, head of the Department of Physics at the University of Hong Kong, the course is tailor-made for students who are good at science and mathematics. Said Prof. Tong: “In secondary schools, there are many students who are good at science and mathematics. Due to different factors, they tend to be engaged and interested in the business field.” Prof. Tong said that without knowledge of business administration, science students are at a disadvantage when they look for jobs in business fields such as banking. Dr. Chau Hoi Fung of the Department of Physics at the University of Hong Kong said that the interdisciplinary programme provides essential understanding in two main fields. Said he: “There are many professionals with high technological skills. But they lack skills in management.” Dr. Chau said that the course helped train experts who had both skills. The Faculty of Law of the University of Hong Kong is considering launching new interdisciplinary programs with other departments in the coming years. According to Prof. Albert Chen, Dean of Faculty of Law of the University of Hong Kong, the University is considering launching Computer Science with Law, Civil Engineering with Law, and Surveying with Law. Moreover, the Science Faculty of the University of Hong Kong is also planning to launch interdisciplinary programs such as Science with Engineering and Science with Education in the near future. Mr. Fergus Lau, who is studying Physics with Business Administration at the University of Hong Kong, seems to have benefited from these courses. He thinks that the programme is very flexible because everyone can choose the courses according to their interest. Mr. Frankie Ng, a Year 2 Physics with Business Administration major at University of Hong Kong, however, said that the interdisciplinary programme was not deep enough. He finds that having to taking the compulsory business courses deprives him from taking more physics courses because some of the credits are assigned to the business courses. “Studying the interdisciplinary programme is like extracting part of the things from the field of physics and part from that of the business,” said he. “It is not professional at all.” Dr. Chau admitted that the interdisciplinary programs are not as professional as the single disciplinary ones. Dr. Chau said that knowledge of science and mathematics is different from the knowledge of management. He said that students would forget what they had learnt if they did not keep on learning science and mathematics. However, managerial skills, according to him, are easy to learn. When asked how many students could benefit from these courses, he said that it all depended on which field the students would work in after they graduate. |
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