Furthering collaboration with Alibaba.com GET Team

Delegates from Alibaba.com Global eCommerce Talent (GET) Team and China Campus Network (CCN), China visited Sungai Long Campus on 22 October 2018.

The delegates of Alibaba.com GET Team were its ICBU-Global Supplier Development—GET Programme Manager Matthew Gong, B2B Global-GET Programme GET Operation Winters Hu, GET Project Manager Cathy Hu and GET Global Supplier Development Senior Trainer Jojo Li. Also present were CCN CEO-cum- GET Network Secretariat Zhou Yong.

Welcoming the delegates on behalf of UTAR were Vice President for Internationalisation and Academic Development Prof Ir Dr Ewe Hong Tat,Division of Community and International Networking Director Assoc Prof Dr Lai Soon Onn, Lee Kong Chian Faculty of Engineering and Science (LKC FES) Dean Prof Ir Dr Goi Bok Min, Faculty of Accountancy and Management (FAM) Dean Dr Sia Bee Chuan, Faculty of Information and Communication Technology Dean Ts Assoc Prof Dr Liew Soung Yue, Faculty of Business and Finance Dean Dr Au Yong Hui Nee, Faculty of Creative Industries Deputy Dean of R&D and Postgraduate Programme Dr Loo Hong Chuang, Curriculum Development for Non-Science and Technology Programmes Programme Coordinator Dr Ngeow Yeok Meng, Curriculum Development for Science and Technology Programmes Programme Coordinator Ts Dr Chen Kah Pin, LKC FES Head of Programme for Master of Information Systems Dr Wong Whee Yen, Faculty of Creative Industries lecturer Lau Kah Foo, FAM lecturer Tang Kin Leong and Centre for Extension Education Head of Business Development and Administration and Operation Unit Joleena Chong.

The visit aimed to develop mutual understanding and build rapport between both parties. It also aimed to seek future collaborations and support needed from the e-commerce perspective.

Prof Ewe (middle) with delegates from GET Team and CCN (right)

Prof Ewe welcomed the delegates and said, “It is our pleasure to have all of you here with us today. I have visited Alibaba.com twice at Hangzhou. All this while, we have been working on GET programme and we are currently in the presence of fitting e-commerce at the university level to look at the progress. I also remember visiting all the e-commerce delivery centres of Alibaba.com. Hence, early this year, an e-commerce delivery centre was set up at both Campuses. The centre is housed by our students to facilitate our staff and students’online purchases.”

Dr Liew giving brief introduction on UTAR—GET activities

The meeting then proceeded with Dr Liew giving a brief introduction on UTAR, UTAR— GET activities for the past two years and also the proposal for the establishment of GET Learning Centre in UTAR. “Alibaba.com and UTAR officially signed a memorandum of understanding (MoU) in September 2016 to kick-start the GET programme. Right after the signing of the MoU, we have sent 30 staff to attend the first — five days train trainers’ workshop. To merge into e-commerce, we have included more practical sessions into our curriculum. We have also started to look into B2B and B2C platforms and have incorporated all these platforms into our schedule. Our 100% coursework-based subjects on e-commerce have received a good response from our students. Besides, we have also organised some talks and training to create public awareness on e-commerce. On top of that, we have set up the Unovate Centre to promote entrepreneurship culture in the university and also E-Commerce Delivery Centre to facilitate online purchase. In addition, we also work with Alibaba.com on the GET practice project and GET Preliminary Certification; as of today, we have about 851 students who have passed the test,” said Dr Liew.

He then continued, “Another great milestone we achieved was the launching of UTAR new village e-commerce project. This is to train our students to help the new villages to promote and sell their own unique products through e-commerce platform with the help of the faculty and with the guidance of our staff from the Department of Soft Skills Competency (DSSC).”

Matthew Gong explaining the GET 2.0 Programme

Meanwhile, Matthew Gong briefly explained the importance of GET 2.0 programme, the importance of e-commerce education towards the development of e-commerce and how GET can support UTAR. “E-commerce education is the resource of e-commerce development. It is important to have e-commerce industry and its education system globally, so that we can contribute to Jack Ma’s eWTP (Electronic World Trade Platform). That is why we set up this GET programme two years ago. We appreciate UTAR for being the first University to join the GET programme. We also appreciate the many efforts projected by UTAR. We will carry on with this programme and make it more professional by providing more facilities to our partners to boost global e-commerce talent,” said Matthew Gong.

Zhou Yong sharing the new era of business economy

“Many people say that e-commerce business programme is merely about operating in the e-commerce platform. However, in my opinion, it is much more than just operating in the platform of buyers and sellers. It is about hopping into the structure of the digital economy. It is about the data, logistics, payment and finance of the ecosystem mindset; now, we are talking about the digital economy. So, in the future, the digital economy programme will not only focus on teaching how to open a shop online but more. Welcome to the new era of business economy,” said Zhou Yong.

Winters Hu briefly share about how e-commerce platform works

“It is very important for a student to understand the entire logic of doing e-commerce business. Instead of doing e-commerce business without a proper guidance, students are encouraged to have a hands-on experience by attending an entrepreneurial class. When a student is involved in a business, he or she might worry that they have invested too much money on a certain product and that it may lead to bankruptcy or business failure. Thus, this is the platform where you can gain logic and insight into e-commerce business,” said Winters Hu. He also introduced the simulation of e-commerce platform and the entire logic behind e-commerce platform during his presentation.

The meeting ended with Prof Ewe presenting a token of appreciation to Matthew Gong.

Prof Ewe (left) presenting a token of appreciation to Matthew Gong