A forum aimed at encouraging local companies to become learning organizations was held at CityU on 13 December. Organized by the Department of Manufacturing Engineering and Engineering Management (MEEM), the Forum for Industrial Learning Organizations attracted representatives from 11 local companies. The forum was also an opportunity for CityU researchers and collaborating companies to share their findings and experiences.

Speaking at the opening ceremony, Professor Roderick Wong, Dean of the Faculty of Science and Engineering, said, "Change is now measured in terms of months, not years as it was in the past. The ability of an organization to adapt and respond to change is becoming increasingly significant if it has to sustain growth."

Forum convener Dr Richard Fung, MEEM Associate Professor and Director of CityU's E-KIT Laboratory, told participants that enterprises today have to proactively adapt and equip themselves to become learning organizations in order to survive the increasingly complex, uncertain and competitive business environment. The E-KIT Laboratory has developed the Total Enterprise Knowledge Integration Platform to help keep collaborating companies up to date with advancements in knowledge and to improve their competitive edge. "We are your partner to competitiveness," he said.

Participants Mr Victor Lo, Vice-President and General Manager (Asia Operations) of KAZ (Far East) Ltd, and Mr Raoul Van Engelshoven, Director of Product Lifestyle Management Solution at IBM (Asia Pacific) Ltd, shared their experiences in building a learning organization and sustaining profitability with the audience.

The forum was the first in a series of forthcoming MEEM outreach initiatives, which will include open seminars to update industry on the progress of projects in various MEEM laboratories, training and consultation services to assist companies to become effective learning organizations.