Student Interview-Justine Jude Pura from Philippines

Dear Friends,

Mr. Justine Jude Pura from The Philippines is our current GHRM English MBA Program student is sharing his story.

Justine studied Computer Science – Software Engineering in the Philippines and then joined NSYSU in 2018. Before joining master’s program, Justine was a college instructor in the Philippines, in the school where he graduated and taught Operating Systems, Discrete Mathematics, Data Structures and Algorithms and other Computer Science courses. He also had an industry experience at the largest telecommunications company in the Philippines as an intern.

Justine remembers that during his time as an exchange student in Taiwan he told himself: “I want an international exposure.” So he grabbed the opportunity to study abroad at NSYSU since it was the only partner school of his home university three years ago. He adds: “I feel like I was destined to be here. I was enrolled on International Marketing Management class and I was in the same class with many GHRM MBA alumni and students, Ryan, Graham, Matthew, Peiyu, Olga and Krystian, who inspired me to be in the program. I was amazed by their knowledge and competitiveness in class. Then I came to realize that combining technology with management is the trend. I chose GHRM MBA because it focuses on the organizational behavior and people. I realized that humans are more complicated than machines.”

Now, being part of GHRM MBA Program Justine thinks that the faculty members are much internationalized – “I am not just learning management, but also cross-cultural communication. I feel like I am more than qualified to work on a multi-national company, since I am being exposed on different nationalities. And my favorite subject is work psychology. I am really fascinated to learn human behavior, personalities, and culture. These were all discussed in one course, and the professor, Dr. David McConville is really an amazing professor. He was also one of my professors when I was an exchange student.”

Last semester, Justine was the Vice President of the Students Association and now he works as a Teaching Assistant for several courses and does private tutoring in Mathematics.

When asking whether Justine would recommend GHRM English MBA Program to potential students and why, he answered definitely yes and justified his answer: “It is very rare for a university to be able to pull off both excellence in academics and fun in student activities. And our program is one of those few who can do it. So my advice, if you are the type of person who wants to enjoy life while pursuing graduate studies, my advice is, “Enroll on our GHRM MBA program!”

Welcome Aboard IBMBA & GHRM MBA Newbies!!

The annual International Program (IBMBA and GHRM MBA) orientation kicked off this September 7th at the newly renovated classroom 4112 of the College of Management. With over 60 students attending this event, orientation was bustling with excited conversations from the beginning. As students conversed over their snacks and sandwiches, the professors also mingled  with students a bit to shorten the distance between student and staff.

The highlight of the event was the formation of bonds achieved with the team building event. This year, the departments invited its very own alumnus, Ryan Fernandez and Graham Dart, to introduce the workshop. Ryan and Graham started off by sharing some of their personal experiences with GHRM MBA and mentioned how their personal career path merged with academic studies. It gave the incoming and graduating students from IBMBA and GHRM MBA an idea of how they can make the two relevant.

They then dove into a series of group activities designed to mimic the challenges of extensive group work in the GHRM and IBMBA programs. Fernandez first got the groups comfortable by playing the name game. It allowed students to break the ice in intimate circles and find commonalities that they previously did not know they had. The task of remembering 10 or so names fell on a newly elected group leader, who all showed they were up to the task by reciting all the names of their group members by memory

One of the activities required groups to build towers out of 8 of their own pairs of shoes. This event not only tests teamwork but also each team’s adaptivity. Fernandez went around to discuss each group’s methods and approach. It gave other groups insight on how other people handled the same task. One resourceful group even used shoe laces to bind their tower together and the winning team won one of the prizes offered by local businesses by less than a centimeter.

The last activity highlighted the importance of communication online. Students guessed the number of lollipops in a giant jar filled about half way while using only LINE groups to communicate. Some took the mathematical approach while others stayed with logical inferences. A couple students even looked up potential answers online and worked around the online answers. Fernandez.

All the activities reflected a lot of the soft skills students will encounter in their IBMBA and GHRM MBA classes. Ranging from leadership to fellowship, flexibility and proactivity, the activities allowed incoming students to understand how to work with each other as well as pitching their own ideas. The sharing time at the end of each activity gave students insight into their own work methods, and other people’s. This two-hour long team building activity was both a fun and educational experience and reflects the motto of IBMBA and GHRM MBA. 

After the team building event, the program director, Professor Sharon Wang, and international program faculty gave a welcome speech to the new students and encourage them to learn and take challenge at NSYSU. Besides the director and faculty, the President of International Program Associate, and the Dragon Boat Team Leader also gave a big welcome to newbies.

At the end of the event, a campus tour was provided to every new student. Although it was raining then, everyone went home with a better idea about working with new GHRM and IBMBA teammates!

A Night to Remember: The NSYSU International Programs Graduation Party

June 1, 2019 - After two years of hard work and fun, the students of the international programs have finally reaped the fruits of their labor. From Chateau de Chine Hotel, the event’s venue, the participants have travelled back to the Old Shanghai Times. The graduates of the International Business MBA (IBMBA) and Global Human Resource Management MBA (GHRM MBA) together with their family members celebrated their success while being reunited with their ‘long-time-no-see’ friends and classmates.  Also present in the event were the directors, professors, program alumni, and staff from the International Programs and College of Management. The participants were not just able to enjoy a delicious feast, they were also able to enjoy the activities prepared for them.

The program was hosted by 1styear GHRM students, Remco Peters and Barbara Yang. They welcomed everyone who was present in the party and briefly told them what to expect for that exciting night. Dr. Sharon Wang, the new Director for both of the international programs gave an opening speech for the graduates’ special day. Director Wang provided some tips on what to do next after getting their MBA degrees. She encouraged everyone to always come back, share stories, and visit the university whenever they have free time.

Lovely performances and exciting activities followed after the director’s speech. Zhanna Samodurova, a first year GHRM student, serenaded the guests with a beautiful Russian song.

Participants got hyped up with the first activity: “Who’s Faster”. The graduates were grouped into six teams. Each team must hand over the items they were asked to bring on a short amount of time. After the teams accomplished the main goal, they must shout “我畢業了”(wǒ bì yè le), to inform everyone that they were finished. It is not an easy challenge, as the teams must be able to persuade non-participants to help them achieve their goal. Towards the end of activity, only one team emerged victorious. Team 6 was able to bring home the bacon.

After that fun-filled event, another performance was delivered by Natasha Ghosh, an exchange student from The Netherlands. With her soothing voice and ukulele, she was able to croon the audience.

It was also a big moment for the graduates as they were able to proudly wear again their graduation gowns for the tassel turning. This activity symbolized the end of their MBA journey in the university. To enlighten this activity, IBMBA graduate Maerki Valentin Moritz and GHRM graduate Maya Achyldurdyyeva delivered their speeches to their respective batchmates, both recalling their journeys in achieving their degrees, and encouraging everyone to give their very best after they all part ways. It is not the end for them, but rather the beginning of a new chapter of their lives.

To make the night more memorable, the tassel turning ceremony was spearheaded by Director Sharon Wang and Deputy Director Thijs Velema, giving their personal congratulations to all who graduated. As soon as the tassel turning was concluded, the graduates were given the chance to win exciting prizes such as Family Mart vouchers, NSYSU shirt and backpack, and a XiaoMi Bluetooth speaker! Lucky winners were called randomly, and for the three major prizes, the chosen oneshad to participate on a special activity before claiming their goods. Ryznar Michal, a GHRM graduate, got a Bluetooth speaker after his face got smudged in cake icing!

To conclude, a video from their classmates and professors were showed to give a good luck message to every graduate on one of their most memorable days. Thanks to the organizing team and the College of Management, the evening was filled with joy. It was a night full of smiles and laughter, therefore, it’s a night that will be truly be remembered. If in case the graduates would forget this night, there can always look back to the memorable pictures they had in the photo booths.

The International Lounge: Nothing beats a sumptuous meal while making memories!

May 30th, 2019 from 12:00-14:00, the International Programs Student Association held the ‘’International Lounge’’ activity. The main objective of the event is to introduce the election candidates for the next students association. It is an important event every semester, since Students Association (S.A.) is an indispensable organization which helps the College of Management of NSYSU to promote the International Programs, GHRM MBA and IBMBA. Only the right and aggressive teams can be competent for the positions. Holding this activity make the students in the international programs know more about the candidates and realize which team is the most appropriated for the position. 

At the beginning of the event, the current president of the S.A., Remco Peters, summarized to the participants the whole events the association have conducted for the spring semester. It included 5 SA-organized, 5 events assisted for the College of Management and 2 events in collaboration with other organizations, in total of 12 events.

After Remco Peters’s speech, the new S.A. candidates, Zhanna Samodurova from Russia, Lo Chiang from Taiwan and Trang Vu introduced themselves to the students, and also mentioned about what kinds of events they will hold in the following semester to make the program better.

This event has been an avenue to gather the current students of International Programs, dual degree students and exchange students (about 40 participants) to know each other more before the semester ends. Since there are many Taiwanese students who will be going to different countries for the exchange program, as part of their graduation requirements. Also through this event, different students were able to have connection with the exchange students from other countries to know more about the different culture and environment, and get some tips or information of staying abroad. Some exchange students even said that they will recommend their friends to come and study in the International Programs of NSYSU in the future!

Hey, old friends! Annual College of Management Alumni Party

March 9, 2019 – The College of Management hosted its annual Alumni Party at Grad Hi-Lai Banquet. 

A number of alumni have graced the event including our very own alumni from the International Programs. Apart from our former students, the current professors of the college were also present in this lovely night. The professors who represented our programs were Dr. Young Jin Ko and Dr. Jewon Kim from Korea, Dr. Francois Bouchetoux from France, and Dr. Ryan Brading from England. Also present were Cindy Lin, International Programs Manager and Dr. Jack Hsu, former director of the International Programs, who is now the acting director of EMBA.

Spotted with their smiles, the alumni had their reunion, enjoying a sumptuous meal and entertaining programs. Speaking of entertainment, IBMBA student Jason Angle serenaded the crowd with his incredible voice accompanied by his guitar and harmonica at the same time. GHRM student Olga Sakhatskaya amazed the crowd by performing a Sahara Desert-inspired dance with her exotic Egyptian look. Towards the end of the program, Francis Bloom, who is also an alumnus of IBMBA was able to wow the crowd with his voice and guitar.

It was truly a night of fun, entertainment, and stories. Who wouldn’t enjoy good food and good company? This is primarily the reason why the alumni party is one of the most anticipated events by many. It brings back so many memories and fills joy in the hearts of people. 

Call for 2019/2020 GHRM MBA Applicants !

Application Information

Application Website

Application submission period: January 15th ~ March 31st 2019

Admission Quota: 18 international students

*For details, please refer to Application Information or Admission webpage

Contacts

Global Human Resource Management

National Sun Yat-sen University

Phone: 07-5252000 ext. 4945

Email: ghrmaa@cm.nsysu.edu.tw

FB: Nsysu Ghrm

The International Lounge of IBMBA/GHRM MBA Student Association,November 28th, 2018

On wednesday November 28th, students from IBMBA, GHRM MBA and ACT were invited to join the International Lounge held by Student Association of International  program. Around 30 students came together to enjoy the pizzas and shared their life in NSYSU. It was a great opportunity to meet up with friends and classmates beside the time spent together during the class. Furthermore, this International Lounge was the first one in history when we had the chance to welcome our new friends from ACT program and to finally meet them face-to-face. Hopefully, they enjoyed as much as we did and we will be more than happy to meet them in our upcoming events.

In addition to have a great time with others, the International Lounge had one more purpose this time - to remind everyone that as the end of semester is approaching and so the Student Association will need new leaders. Consequently,  during the gathering, our newest candidates for the Presidency and Vice-presidency positions of Student Association next semester, shared their manifesto towards the program students. They provided brief info about themself, their previous experiences and their motivation to lead Student Association in next semester. Last but not least, they provided us introduction of the activities and events they would like to organize next semester. As they mentioned during the presentation, their main intention as a future Student Association leaders is to make the relationship between IBMBA & GHRM MBA students stronger. Furthermore, they want to attract more potential students to our international program by involving the exchange students more. That´s is great idea as it is very common that students that once used to be on exchange program here at NSYSU often tend to come back to Taiwan to pursue their Master degree. It is in fact also the case of the current president and vice-president candidates: Remco Peters and Justine Jude Pura. They were both exchange students in 2016 and now they decided to come back and join GHRM program. We believe that together with Hsu Ya Ting, first year student from IBMBA, will be successful team for new Student Association.

Halloween Party at the Next Level

October 26, 2018 – Halloween could be fun on land, but nothing beats a ghoulish affair over waters. This was made possible by the International Programs Student Association, with the support of National Sun Yat-sen University – College of Management. Over 70 people have attended the Halloween Yacht Party held at Banana Pier, Kaohsiung City.

Participants have been spotted dressed as supernatural beings, creepy creatures, cool fictional characters, and some have dressed spine-tinglingly good just for the event. Sumptuous food, unlimited alcoholic and non-alcoholic drinks, games, and KTV all in one night were enjoyed by the participants. What made the party extraordinary was the live set of DJ Gigolo Kev from Brickyard who dropped awesome beats throughout the trip. Also, raffle prizes were given away. Some brought home NSYSU shirts, hoodies and bags, movie tickets and classy drinks.

The Halloween Yacht Party was filled with smiles, laughter, music, and stories. It was truly a huge success. All thanks to those who have attended, who have supported the event, and to the Students Association spearheaded by President, Justin Tang from IBMBA, and Vice President, Izabella Dobrowolska from IBMBA, and Vice President, Michal Ryznar from GHRM MBA. This is just one of the many activities they have installed for the students for the academic year 107.

Text provided by Justine Jude Pura

Independent Studies in Human Resource Management course Project Final Presentations

The Independence Studies in Human Resources Management Course provided by GHRM MBA program (Global Human Resource Management English MBA program) had reached an end on June 21st. At the beginning of this semester, all students from the program were divided into five groups randomly and were asked to cooperate with each group member, including students from Taiwan, America, Vietnam, Canada and so on. Five companies (including Sheh Fung Screws Company, GOOD DAY Environmental Engineering Co., Ltd., KAWASKI TRADING CO., LTD., Orient Semiconductor Electronics, Ltd., SanTzuoo Co., Ltd.) from different industries were assigned to each group respectively.

Throughout the semester, students had meetings with the course instructor (Dr. David McConville) as every group needed to work together to come up with solutions depending on the projects the companies wanted them to work on.

On June 21st, the day of the final presentations, a guest judge, David Lin, was also invited to the class to evaluate the performance of the groups. Three groups were awarded as “The Best Presentation (A Two-Tiered Analysis of Reducing Turnover and Improving the Workplace Environment)” “The Most Innovative Team (Assessing Company ́s Core Values in Job Applicants)” and “The Most Outstanding Report (Low Skilled Labor and the Costs of Commitment).”

Projects were all within the HR department of each companies, such as identifying successors or retaining talents. This course provided students with opportunities to actually apply theories from textbooks to real cases. Despite the fact that there were some inevitable arguments among group members, students had learned not only skills of dealing with a project but also skills of conflict resolution. One of the company representatives pointed out the students did a great job on the project and it would be likely that the company would take on the suggestions based on the results of their teamwork.

Career Day!Foreigners working in Taiwan Sharing event!

The NSYSU College of Management Career Day on June 2nd was a perfect event for both local and international students.  It was an opportunity to discover the best strategies for finding a job and working in Taiwan.

The workshop covered the following topics:

-        the Taiwanese working environment;

-        working in or with a multicultural team;

-        working in a high power distance culture;

-        peer-peer and supervisor-subordinate communication;

-        building a network – highly pertinent issue in the Taiwanese working environment;

-        writing a literate and presentable resume;

-        interview skills.

At the morning session, the guest speakers were foreigners currently working in different local and international companies including MiTAC, Asus, BenQ, and the Boltun Corporation, who kindly and openly shared their experience.  The speakers gave helpful advice and clarified some issues in regard to starting a career in Taiwan and adjusting to a new working culture. The guest speakers were very diverse in their cultural, academic and working background, which allowed students to understand the job-seeking experience from different perspectives:

Mr. Daniel Herrera graduated from a Taiwanese university and currently works at MiTAC International Corporation as Product Manager. Mr. Herrera had the most extensive working experience among the guest speakers. He elucidated some industry trends and challenges for job-seekers and also discussed some of the most relevant marketing strategies and techniques.

Ms. Ana Belen Martinez Soto is a young NTU graduate and is currently working as a Global Account Manager at ASUS headquarters in Taipei. She told the students about her accomplishments, difficulties, and opportunities to learn she has encountered in her career.  She discussed dealing with generational and cultural differences in the workplace and offered some strategies to overcome potential conflict. She stressed the importance of knowing the local culture and language and knowing the key person in your working environment.   

Ms. Sarah Grasdijk, who is currently Senior Marketing Specialist at BenQ, is originally from the Netherlands. She has extensive experience studying Sinology and Mandarin, ans has also studied media management. She shared her experience of adapting to a very different working culture and dealing with the communication issues between supervisors and subordinates.  In addition, she discussed the importance of knowing how to communicate with coworkers from different departments. Ms. Grasdijk also emphasized the important of making Taiwanese friends, and expanding one's social life beyond socializing with other foreigners. 

Mr. Fernando Sanchez is a former student at NSYSU's Chinese Language Center. He is a young and energetic sales representative and International Team Leader at the Boltun Corporation. Mr. Sanchez shared his motivations for finding a job in Taiwan: the friendly atmosphere, good attitude toward foreigners, and a great opportunity of learning new things.

In the afternoon session, local human resource professionals and NSYSU alumni were welcomed to share their suggestions for successful CV writing and interviewiong, as well as some key points to remember when looking for a job in Taiwan.

The “CAKE” technique (Chronicle, Action verbs, Key phrases, Edible length) for resume writing was introduced and explained by Mr. Aaron Kuo, Business Intelligence Manager at 3M. Mr. Kuo explained in detail the importance of the first impression a resume makes on the employer. Making a resume attractive and eye-catching is of the utmost importance. The average resume will be viewed for only six seconds, so brevity and precision are the key factors. 

''Work hard, play harder'' is the motto of global Corporation employees, and Ms. Mei Shih follows it unconditionally. She is a human resource Business Partner at global company and shared the “blind date” concept of resume submission. To get the job,  the job-seeker has to “sell” oneself. In order to do so one needs to be confident, precise, and prepared.  Ms. Shih also encouraged students to consider a different approach to interviewing.  An employee is not just an interviewee, but also an interviewer - try to lead the conversation, ask questions, collect information, and steer the conversation in an advantageous direction.

Ms. Stella Su and Mr. Michal Yang, NSYSU alumnis, also shared their experiences of finding a job, managing the challenges of being a newcomer in the company, and finding a perfect fit for one’s education as well as the job demands.

The students at Career Day were engaged and enthusiastic, and had many questions for the guests.  The most important pieces of advice shared during the event were:

- Bake the “CAKE”.

- Build your network – the sooner, the better.

- Establish meaningful relationships with your peers.

- Learn Chinese - it is an indispensible asset.

- Attend NSYSU events and workshops, the best way to build your network.

【Speech】How does media get made?

John Murn joined GHRM as guest speaker in International Marketing class on April 20th, and provided students with an insider’s view on the world of media.  Murn examined where, how, why, and by whom media is created.

Mr. Murn came to Taiwan more than 7 years ago and has been through numerous jobs. He began teaching English before eventually finding his current place in media world.

At the end of the Murn's visit, students gained a better understanding of:
- the differences and similarities between creative agencies, production houses and media agencies;
- the process of design production;
- the importance of investing in evaluation of media and its effectiveness;
- negotiation skills, anticipation of potential difficulties, and challenges in media world

Murn's visit was informative and useful for those interested in the advertising industry, but he also shared some valuable advice for all international students with hopes of working in Taiwan.
- If you have a goal to find a job - be persistent.  Send out your CV to as many companies as possible and don’t be upset if your first salary is less than you expected.
- Networking is everything.  Make connections.  Talk to as many people as you can.  Go to events, seminars,  and workshops. Apply for internships even if they are not related to your area of interest. Why? Because you MEET PEOPLE! Everyone you meet has the potential to be an important part of your network and help in building your future.

【Speech】Foreigners In Taiwan

On 19th of April Mr. Johannes Steinicke (alumnus of the NSYSU CLC, guest speaker from last semester, currently working as Project Manager at “Interplan” company in Kaohsiung) was giving a speech at “Work and Culture” class.

Mr. Steinicke honestly and in all the details told students about his experience of being expat in Taiwan and gave a few pieces of advice to students:
1. the very first option for a foreigner might be a commercial (not diplomatic) representative office of home county in Taiwan (a good opportunity to work in a cross-cultural environment, see examples of people getting along with each other and learn about the relationships between countries).

2. do not only apply for a job that you can fit in, but also create a job position for yourself: find a company / industry you will fit in and try to draw attention to yourself, let company know about your advantages - what are your super powers and skills :)

It is not easy when you face new cultural environment and Mr. Steinicke told us about his personal tool to cope with difficulties: if you don’t feel comfortable somewhere - think of a lobster (how he needs to exuviate in order to grow - we all need to go through some changes in order to grow and change for the better).

Don’t be shy or scared - go out and try new jobs!

In any outcome you will learn something new!

And join to listen to other guest speakers in future!

Leap! To the Future! GHRM MBA畢業生躍向未來！

六月正是高雄的炎夏季節，伴著西子灣熱情的陽光，GHRM MBA也即將替104級畢業生送上畢業祝福。

畢業，歡樂總是不在話下，但面對充滿挑戰的未來，管理學院陳世哲院長勉勵畢業生帶著研究所面對各種挑戰、大無畏的精神迎向職場、進修生涯，「要記得擦亮管理學院與GHRM MBA的招牌！」院長笑著表示。

「大家一定覺得我開的研究方法一是魔王吧。」GHRM MBA紀乃文主任開起玩笑，這麼多必修課、論文生不出來、中/英文檢定的壓力，統統都破關了，要開始進到下一關打新的魔王了。人管所陳以亨教授、Dr. David McConville、李澄賢老師、張紳震老師與李佳蓉老師也到場與全場共襄盛舉。

典禮活動中除了撥穗儀式外，GHRM MBA學生也為畢業生帶來精彩的歌唱與舞蹈表演，讓離別變成一場輕鬆的party，畢業生們在欣賞表演之餘也能話家常、與老師們說笑。

最後，GHRM MBA可愛的畢業生們也不改瘋狂、有活力的本色，在畢業典禮盡情大笑、自拍留念。未來，我們一定有機會再看到他們，恣意發光、盡情發熱！