Sun Works with University to Bring Java to Hong Kong

For several months, a center at the University of Hong Kong has been operating in partnership with Sun Microsystems Inc. with the sole purpose of disseminating Java object oriented technology in Hong Kong.

The Authorized Academic Java Campus (AAJC), the first of its kind anywhere, has a twofold mission of training students and professionals and transferring the technology to Hong Kong’s public and private sectors.

It has a steering committee that includes prominent academics, government officials, and high level executives from Citibank N. A., Intel China, and the Hongkong and Shanghai Banking Corporation.

Sun and the AAJC have a relationship that is mutually beneficial in the sense that the center’s teachers are Sun certified Java instructors and Sun provides marketing services and teaching materials for its educational offerings.

According to the AAJC’s director, associate professor Chris Yeung, the campus is self-sufficient and operates in a quasi-commercial style.

Its self-sufficiency resides in its research projects that are contracted by government agencies like the Hong Kong Police or corporate entities like Hong Kong Telecom and Hongkong Bank.

“We are here to offer a link to state-of-the-art resources that no company or government department in Hong Kong can provide,” said Professor Yeung.

The AAJC’s current research projects utilize network interfaces in gene identification tools, financial planning engines, and hand-held devices for police suspect identification and crime location.

“The advantage of the Java Campus is that it is a neutral party that proposes Java to the open public,” said Wesley Mok, sales manager for Sun Educational Services in Hong Kong.

Sun will shortly authorize the launching of another Java Campus in Germany and, eventually, five more in other parts of the world.