Int. J. Innovation and Learning, Vol. 4, No. 4, 2007 357 Closing off the knowledge gaps in IS education Jen-Her Wu Faculty of Information Management National Sun Yat-Sen University 70 Lien-Hai Road, Kaohsiung, 804, Taiwan E-mail: jhwu@mis.nsysu.edu.tw Yi-Cheng Chen Faculty of Business Administration Meiho Institute of Technology 23 PingKwang Road, Neipu Pingtung, 912, Taiwan E-mail: x3148@mail.meiho.edu.tw Jack Chang MIS Department Walton Advanced Engineering Inc. KEPZ, Kaohsiung, 804, Taiwan E-mail: jackchang@walton.com.tw Binshan Lin* College of Business Administration Louisiana State University in Shreveport BE321, Shreveport, LA 71115, USA E-mail: Binshan.Lin@LSUS.edu *Corresponding author Abstract: Knowledge resource has become one of the most important assets for an organisation to cope with the highly competitive and changing environment. This study investigated which knowledge topics are critical to an Information System (IS) professional from an industrial perspective. More than 200 IS professionals participated in this study to provide what they thought about 43 IS-related professional courses. The participants were asked to rate the knowledge level that they had learned in each course in their formal education, how familiar they are with it now and how practical the topic will be in their career. These findings might be instrumental for IS training institutes, licensing bodies, departments and curriculum designers in universities or colleges. The results of this study can provide useful suggestions to help IS professionals choose suitable learning courses and act as practicable guidelines for IS professional curriculum planning and development. Keywords: innovation; learning; IS knowledge; educational knowledge gap; IS professional; curriculum design; IS course. Copyright © 2007 Inderscience Enterprises Ltd.