Vision
The goal of ECEB is to become a world-renown centre
of excellence for research and education in e-business. This will be accomplished by involving world-class faculty and visiting
scholars in research projects performed in association with member company
participants. We will work with industry and government to establish both
sponsored research programs as well as educational programs to generate and
share e-business knowledge regionally, nationally and internationally.
Northern Virginia is the Internet capital of the world and
George Mason University is at the heart of Internet Country. The Northern Virginia area now rivals Silicon Valley as the new focal
point for e-business and Internet-related start-up ventures. The DC metro area received $1.66 billion in venture capital in 1999, of
which 37% came to Northern Virginia [Business2.0, May 2000]. The proposed
E-center for E-Business allows George Mason University to focus research on the
various facets and issues facing companies that wish to establish successful
e-business ventures.
Mission
The vision statement can be translated into well-defined goals that constitue our mission. The following items enumerate the major goals of the Center:
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Carry out leading-edge research in e-business,
and to publish in leading scholarly journals as well as conferences and
trade magazines.
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Establish a regional community of interest – an
E-Business Consortium - that shares common goals, concerns and problems
related to e-business. This would be accomplished by acting as a facilitator as well as broker among the various players constituting the
e-business arena.
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Provide a shared research, advanced development and
prototyping environment to regional e-business companies. This would be accomplished by establishing joint research projects of
immediate as well as long-term applicability to Center members.
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Effect technology transition from the Center to member
companies through joint projects, student internships, short courses, and
workshops.
Objectives
In order to accomplish the Center’s mission and goals, we
intend to perform the following tasks:
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Establish an e-business test-bed at GMU that mimics
the multi-layer architecture of complex e-business sites.
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Develop a methodology to map e-business requirements
to e-business reusable architectural templates.
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Establish a membership structure consisting of varying
degrees of member contributions and corresponding products and services
provided by the Center.
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Participate in the creation of curricula, courses and
certificate programs in e-business.
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Establish internships for GMU students with member
companies. During the academic year students would receive scholarships from
members, and would work at member companies during the summer.
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Organize yearly research workshops highlighting
research results from both the Center faculty and member company researchers
and practitioners. The workshop
would also identify emerging research concerns through discussion groups.
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Create a technical report series on e-business
research and development, available to members of the Center.
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