Interview_Sacha Deloras

Dear Friends,

Mr. Sasha from Grenoble, in the French Alps is our current GHRM English MBA Program student is sharing his story.

Sasha has graduated from Applied Foreign Languages (English and Spanish) & Economics bachelor at Grenoble Alpes University, and had an exchange program at University of Nottingham, where he has met his girlfriend. Together they decided to stay in Nottingham and to attend NTU’s Business School for master’s in International Business and chose Taiwan’s NSYSU for dual degree in Global Human Resources Management English Program. Despite learning about study at NSYSU quite late, they grabbed a chance to study HRM and visit Asia, a part of the world Sasha always wanted to go but never had the chance.

“I was part of the Dual Degree, coming from NTU. My colleagues, Grazia Spiga, Karen Mkhithika, Yi-Ting Liu, and Chloé Tiozzo, were part of the first cohort to choose NSYSU. It was quite a bumpy ride initially, especially administratively (visas, driving license for example, and simply the fact that we were going to the other side of the world so it has to be done seriously and be well prepared) , but we got amazing support back at NTU, especially from our course leader Dr. Ofelia Palermo, and our subject administrator, Ms. Charlotte Wix. But it was 1000 times worth the hassle! Then, at NSYSU, it couldn’t have been done without the amazing support from Cindy and Natasha at the GHRM office. They were always present for us, and even helped when we had to change house in the middle of the semester. I could never thank them enough and they made our time in Taiwan as special and unforgettable as they could! Academically, it was challenging to meet both universities deadlines sometimes, but in the end, it was very enriching as well and set us up for success!”

Sasha’s favorite subject was Cross-Cultural Management with Dr. David McConville. “I have always been into travelling and discovering new cultures, so it was great to learn the science behind it. It was also very pertinent regarding our current situation as we were actually discovering a new culture in Taiwan.“

Since graduating Sasha has found a job as a Business Development Representative at Finastra in London. Finastra is a banking software provider. Formed in 2017 by the combination of Misys and D+H, Finastra helps Financial Institutions grow their business, increase revenues, and capture new opportunities, by supporting them in their digital transformation initiatives, automating their processes, and achieving compliance and risk efficiency. “As a Business Development Executive, I am accountable for building pipeline on all Lines of Business across France & Benelux, Eastern Europe, and Baltic countries. Thanks to dual degree with NTU/NSYSU I have considerably increased my chances to find a good job. I found my first one, Credit-Controller for an Apparel & Fashion Multinational company in Nottingham even before graduating. Then I moved to London to work in accounting for a ski company, and then landed my dream job at Finastra in an industry that I am passionate about.”

During his days in Kaohsiung Sasha liked the fact that he could wear shorts and flip-flops and ride his scooter as it was summer every day. “It was summer from February, when all my friends were under the snow back home! The set-up of the university is amazing, very open, on the beach, and there are monkeys! Kaohsiung is an amazing city I had no clue about, it was a discovery every day, from the Sky Tower, to Fo Guang Shan Buddhist Temple, the Love River and the Dragon and Tiger pagodas. Kenting is also a “short” scooter ride away. The food was an amazing discovery of course! The night markets (take Yi-Ting with you for the best experiences ahah), the best sushi restaurant ever (上漁屋壽司-慶豐新店) and of course, not to forget about Din-Tai Fung! I came back to Europe slightly heavier ahah. My main hobbies are alpine skiing, travelling and food 😊 (many amazing culinary discoveries in Taiwan!)”

Sasha highly recommends other students to come to study at NSYSU, as it is one of the best and most enriching experiences of his life, both academically and personally. “You will make memories and friendships for a lifetime! Just be a minimum prepared, know what you have to do and how administratively and go. I would be glad to do it all over again from the start if I could.”