Research Links - January 2006 - E-Business Makes Headlines

Professor Dominique Ferrand breathed a sigh of relief when he learned, early last December, that he had got the green light on new master’s degree programs developed over the past three years. “The long validation process produced some twenty approvals for our proposal, especially because of our number of partners,” he said delightedly.

Proposed by the Faculty of Graduate and Postdoctoral Studies, the two new interdisciplinary programs are based on close collaboration among the School of Management, the School of Information Technology and Engineering (SITE) and the Faculty of Law. They are master’s degrees in e-business technologies (Master and Master of Science), which can be completed in 12 and 18 months of full-time study respectively. Each program offers two specializations: E‑Business and E‑Commerce.

These master’s programs developed out of the certificate programs begun in 2000 as a result of the rapid evolution of e-commerce. Student response to this step encouraged the University of Ottawa to develop a graduate course of study that would address such areas as innovative management models, advanced information technologies, new market structures, legal environments and development of institutional and legal strategies. Its proposed major focuses include the importance of attracting top students, remaining at the cutting-edge of innovation, keeping in touch with markets, continuing the effort to offer a choice between vertical and horizontal approaches to specialization, and maintaining its interdisciplinary character with a view to joint and varied research projects.
Professor Ferrand is convinced that adding these programs will enable the University of Ottawa to prepare students to fill pressing needs in the business community: “Through these programs, which are unique in Ontario, the University of Ottawa is creating an innovation-friendly environment that draws on its network of partners, business and IT specialists in the Ottawa area. We can also expect to see the development of creative and promising projects in this rapidly expanding sector.”

The new master’s programs are available immediately. “I’m very pleased that the University now has these programs,” Professor Ferrand said. “The momentum created should produce some exciting spin-offs for both the business and academic sectors.”