Engaging the SSME challenge: An agenda for research at the Faculty of Information Science and Technology

Services science management and engineering (SSME) is a new field that recognizes the importance of the services sector. It has created a worldwide movement in terms of curriculum development both at the undergraduate and postgraduate levels. In Malaysia several universities have offered masters programmes in SSME. In UKM itself efforts are still under way to develop a Masters programme in SSME. Realizing the fact that research and teaching are two sides of the same coin, a research initiative in the area of SSME has been undertaken by the formation of a service science group currently hosted by members of the Faculty of Information Science and Technology. This paper reports the research agenda formulated by the group and the challenges faced in realizing the agenda.