Background

The emergence of the knowledge-based economy has highlighted the need for effective exploitation of knowledge, making knowledge management an essential area of activity in organisations. Knowledge management (KM) is a systematic process of taking advantage of intellectual capital and knowledge assets for organisational success. It helps build the capacity of the organisation by developing, organising, retaining and utilising human and knowledge resources which contribute directly to its survivability and profitability.

With the increased realisation of the value of knowledge and the need to exploit it in day-to-day operations, both public and private sector organisations have embarked on KM initiatives. Many have created formal positions and formed new divisions or departments to look into ways and means to apply KM in their operations. This has created a need for the training of KM professionals capable of taking the lead in the development and implementation of KM initiatives within their organisations.

Programme Overview

• KM, being inter-disciplinary in nature, draws upon the theories and practices of many disciplines such as business management, library and information science, information systems, computer science, philosophy, psychology, sociology, epistemology, and many others.
• KM is a systematic process of leveraging intellectual capital and knowledge assets for organizational success
• KM helps build the capacity to develop, organize, retain and utilize human and knowledge resources

Features/Aim of the Programme

Programme Mission: To educate and transform professionals from various disciplines into the next generation of knowledge management leaders to create, enhance and exploit knowledge assets of organisations of all types, by drawing upon the fields of management, technology, and information.

Upon completion of the MSc (KM) programme, graduates are expected to:

• Appreciate the importance of knowledge management in organisations of all types and sizes;
• Be familiar with strategies and technologies needed for managing knowledge and instituting changes within organisations;
• Develop an in-depth understanding of key concepts, functions, and issues related to KM systems;
• Understand and apply the principles and techniques of content management in organising knowledge and implementing controlled vocabularies, taxonomies, and information retrieval systems.

Career Opportunities

Employment is available with the private sector and government institutions, both in Singapore and around the globe. While the strategies and approaches to implementing KM vary between organisations, it is impossible to identify some generic roles that have been created to implement KM initiatives. While the following list concentrates on full time positions with a formal title, it is important to note that particularly in small organisations, where the size does not warrant full time positions, KM responsibilities are added to existing roles. Similarly, as KM is a multi-disciplinary subject, many jobs do not necessarily use the word Knowledge in their titles.

Knowledge-related Job Titles:

• Chief Knowledge Officer (CKO)
• Knowledge Engineer
• Knowledge Asset Manager
• Knowledge Editor
• Knowledge Officer
• Knowledge Analyst
• Knowledge Architect.

Information-related Job Titles:

• Chief Information Officer (CIO)
• Content Analyst
• Information Analyst
• Content Manager
• Document Manager
• Information Architect
• Content Management Director
• Information Archivist
• Information Developer
• Web Content Specialist.

Information Technology-related Job Titles:

• Chief Technology Officer (CTO)
• Systems Developer
• Senior IT Architect
• Network Analyst
• Systems Architect
• Web Designer
• Enterprise Portal Developer
• Technology Manager

Testimonials

“The knowledge management programme includes modules that focus on knowledge-related organisational issues as well as those that focus on self-awareness and self-improvement. This mix of modules has provided me with different lenses to view the organisation in a new way. The key performance indicators that I learned allow me both to measure and to manage my own performance to align with organisational vision and mission.”

“The MSc (KM) programme at NTU provides a good spread of courses, offering me a thorough understanding of managing business, people and technology from a KM perspective. The programme is an eye opener for many of us, allowing us to acquire management skills useful not only to KM practice, but even in our day-to-day lives. The diversity of the people we meet with - professors, practitioners and fellow students from different industries exposes us to a wide range of ideas and experiences, leading to more holistic learning.”

Enquiries about the programme may be sent to:

MSc in Knowledge Management (KM)
Wee Kim Wee School of Communication and Information
Email: wkwsci_coursework@ntu.edu.sg