As global systems mesh with local, we live in an increasingly benchmarked age. Business schools are very much part of this process. It is mostly productive work, and especially if benchmarking moves us in the direction of sustainable practice.
Projects such as the Smart City are vital. We need to make more intelligent use of existing infrastructure, and make our cities more liveable. New technologies have been rising to the challenge of sustainability for millennia. In our opening article, Eric Collins charts the development of the Smart City. Some one hundred years ago, electrically driven trains and trams rapidly replaced the horse. In our own era, are electric cars about to replace petrol and diesel powered cars? And will this reduce ‐ or simply shift the source of pollution?
New technology brings hope, and Professor Emeritus at Arizona State University Joseph Hui, also known as Solar Man, recently presented Hong Kong as a Smart City, a distinguished lecture for the Institute for Advanced Study at CityU. Here, he proposes a paradigm shift away from the electrical grid to the locus of personal energy. A new hybrid solar and gas turbine is key to his vision.
CB alumni Dr Toa Charm and Karen Wu take up the innovation theme in Cyberport search for the next GoGoVan. Here you can read about Cyberport's mission to nurture digital industry startups, and the many incentives on offer to our local innovators.
In Interact, Incentivise, Innovate – Building towards a Smart City Culture, CityU President Way Kuo reflects on Hong Kong's choices for sustainable energy, his experience as a researcher in the private and public sectors, and the pitfalls of an over-regulated society. Innovation can be stifled by regulation, he cautions; we have to go beyond the mere following of rules.
In What does "success" mean at HSBC? former CB exchange student Alison Hanrahan, now Global Head of Marketing Strategy for Commercial Banking at HSBC, has some interesting interview advice for our students. Interviews are in danger of becoming overformulaic. Share what you are passionate about, she urges.
I hope our magazine piques your interest. We are passionate about writing stories, sharing interviews and publishing photos. Congratulations to Vivien Mak Wai-yee, for her competition-winning photo, Smart City, which you can find on our centre pages. As ever we are on the lookout for further contributions. Enjoy the magazine and we look forward to hearing from you.
Houmin Yan
