BALTIMORE--Joined by White House Advisor Ira Magaziner, officials at the University of Maryland, Baltimore County (UMBC) today announced the formation of the Institute for Global Electronic Commerce (IGEC) to meet the multidisciplinary research and personnel needs of this rapidly growing field.

The institute is establishing an international curriculum in electronic commerce with the endorsement of the G-7 electronic policy group, and has also entered into a research partnership with IBM Toronto.

"The paperless world of electronic commerce involves multidisciplinary uses of information and communications technology to facilitate business interactions and transactions," says Magaziner, who is principal author of the Clinton Administrations July 1 report, A Framework for Global Electronic Commerce. "Issues from security to possible impacts on the labor market all demand a new orientation and organization of expertise from business, law, policy science, global economics, language and linguistics, and information systems, security, and technology."

Specific objectives of the IGEC include: providing leading edge research and practical solutions to issues related to electronic commerce; establishing innovative multidisciplinary and international curriculum and degree programs to train students, industrial and government leaders; and serving as an incubator for virtual companies.

UMBC will also collaborate with the Center for Information Management, Integration, and Connectivity (CIMIC) at Rutgers University to provide joint curricula and course offerings.