The First Six Years 1963-69

and aware o f the need for qualified personnel to meet this challenge, the Lingnan University Board o f Trustees financed the establish ment o f the Institute as a means o f providing graduate business education to future managers o f Hong Kong. The formal inaugu ration o f L IB A took place on September 23, 1966. The establishment o f L IB A is considered timely from all angles. A t The Chinese University ， student enrolment in the de partments o f business management, economics, and accounting and finance constitutes about one quarter o f the total under graduate student body. I t is to be expected that outstanding gradu ates in these fields w ill pursue their studies further. To be most effective ， these studies should contain the proper degree o f local application. The community is intensely aware o f the fact that the future growth and prosperity o f Hong Kong depend in large measure on the commercial skills o f its people. On the other hand, the people must be made fu lly conscious o f the fact that victory in the race for business is no longer being won by those who work the longest and hardest ， but rather by those who utilize most skilfully the latest techniques available in the production, marketing and financing o f commerical and capital goods. I t is fortunate ， there fore, that L IBA , w ith its international affiliations, is in a position to bring academicians from other progressive areas to Hong Kong and thereby further the future interests o f the community. In addition to graduates whose first degrees are in the fields o f economics and business administration, L IB A tries to attract ap plicants in other fields ， such as engineering or the natural and social sciences. By bringing together students w ith varied under graduate backgrounds, a broader base o f knowledge is available which, through the normal cross-fertilization and synthesis that occur during the graduate programme ， w ill produce potentially better business managers. For those students who did not major in business, a special curriculum is provided to remedy any deficiencies that may exist because o f their different undergraduate prepar ation. During the 2-year course, case studies are utilized to develop the skills o f decision-making through a blending o f business dis ciplines w ith the behavioural sciences in the context o f both actual and simulated business situations. In addition to lectures and seminars, the academic activities o f L IB A also include plant visitations. In the second year ， students are afforded the opportu n ity to concentrate on areas o f their own special interest and to write a master's thesis on a topic which requires them to make a personal field investigation and ， in the process, gain a better under standing o f the inner working o f the Hong Kong economy. The first week-long Advanced Management Programme was held in June 1969, when twenty-two executives from various commercial 52