《111-2 GHRM608》Human Resources Competency Development- Field trip to ASML Tainan

On May 5th, 2023, students from the class of Human Resources Competency Development class (GHRM MBA), with the lead of Professor Heidi Chang, had the opportunity to visit the ASML office in Tainan. ASML is a Dutch multinational corporation founded in 1984. It is one of the world's leading manufacturers of EUV and DUV boards known for their 2-3 nanometer chip, with clients including TSMC and Unimicron.

The class was welcomed by the current Talent Acquisition Team Leader Mr. Kevin Wu, who is one of notable alumni from the Institute of Human Resource Management at National Sun Yat-sen University, and his team, Dean, Julie, Victoria and Hugo and Tiffany from People Development team. Before joining ASML Taiwan, Mr. Wu served several HR roles, such as

Recruitment Consultant and HRBP in Display Technology and Financial function, with TSMC, Corning Incorporated and IBM.

The session began with an introduction to the semiconductor industry and the various products and services that it provides to clients. According to the explanation, the majority of customers were in-demand business executives. The team then described their position and employment responsibilities. Despite the fact that everyone has a separate role, their bonding in HR may be viewed and related as one huge team. Following that, students were separated into four groups and assigned three job duties, customer service, supply chain and manufacturer, to complete the tasks and challenges. Customer service (CS) communicates with customers, learning about their requirements and resuming both roles. The supply chain (SC) is responsible for gathering materials and delivering them to the manufacturer so that they can solve the challenges. Manufacturing inquires with SC to search for new resources while listening to CS and supporting another manufacturing function in finishing their tasks.

This activity shows a real-life scenario of how ASML operates. They are primarily concerned with the 3C culture, which stands for collaboration, caring, and challenging. Collaboration across all departments in the firm, whether internal or external, to constantly be mindful of the surroundings and to push employees to evolve and progress. Following that, students should think up another game or activity linked to ASML 3C and prepare a presentation on it. This session required students conduct the activities for a newcomer to get familiarized with and adapt to the 3Cs of ASML. The idea might be presented as follows: when moving beyond self-transcendence, one should collaborate with internal and external parties to contribute diverse abilities in addition to broadening personal perspectives. Nonetheless, in today's highly competitive marketplace, it would be ideal if everyone could show some concern or maintenance for what transpires on around them. As a result, everyone is not only surrounded by enthusiasm, but they also drive a well-collaborated team.

In conclusion, the visit of the Human Resources Competency Development class to ASML's Tainan office provided students with an unique opportunity to learn about the semiconductor industry and the various products and services that ASML provides to its clients. Overall, participants gave positive feedback after the visit. They considered this visit beneficial. It provides students an opportunity to observe a well-known company, its environment and working space to see what to consider in the future in considering joining an organization.

《111-2 SA》 Thesis Workshop

Writing a thesis is never an easy task, especially for those who have no experience at all. Since writing a thesis is considered a must in order for a master’s degree student to obtain their diploma, the Student Association of the International Program organized a workshop, tailor-made for those who need some guidance on how to write a quality thesis. We were honored to have Kang Nguyen and Michal Polacek as our guest speakers, who have both written a thesis with a score of A+ during their Master’s Degrees in IBMBA and GHRM MBA. 

After a warm welcome and introduction to both speakers, Michal Polacek started with two important parts about writing a thesis, deciding your topic, and deciding who might be your most suitable thesis advisor. Some participants had no idea what their topic should be, and some had a rough idea about it but were still confused about who they should invite as their thesis advisor.  Michal Polacek answered all of the questions with interesting ideas, such as identifying ourselves as either being underachieving or overachieving. This is an interesting and important mindset for students to consider before starting a thesis as choosing the wrong topic and advisor with the wrong mindset might result in a miserable thesis life.

For the second session, Kang Nguyen went with a more practical approach. He provided lots of helpful information for our participants by going deeper into the details of writing a thesis. The library of NSYSU has collected a considerable amount of resources for students over the years. Whenever students need ideas or references, the school library is a good place to go. A well-organized schedule is also an essential part when it comes to writing a thesis. Kang Nguyen ended the session by providing some criteria for a good thesis which are extremely important for scoring well.

The most interesting part of the event was when two guest speakers collaborated with each other while explaining the oral defense. Michal Polacek and Kang Nguyen presented it by asking each other questions like in a real defense session. Since both speakers knew each other already, the session was informal with lots of valuable tips about oral defense. The students’ queries were answered by the speakers and they left the session with much more confidence in writing their thesis.

《111-2 GHRM608》What is Human Resource Operation? How do you as an employee get evaluated? The performance appraisals introduction

On Friday, March 3rd, 2023, students of Human Resources Competency Development class (GHRM MBA), instructed by Professor Chen, Shyh-Jer and Professor Chang, Heidi, welcomed Anco Tsao from HTC, a Taiwanese consumer electronics manufacturer. Anco's talk focused on how performance appraisal is used in the current HR function. Mr. Tsao is an Assistant Manager of Human Resources Operations at HTC Taiwan. He holds a Bachelor'sBachelor's degree from National Taiwan University and a Master'sMaster's degree in Human Resource Management from National Sun Yat-sen University. 

Mr. Tsao hails from a diplomatic family. He had spent his childhood in many countries in North, Central, and South America. He returned to his roots after graduating from high school, believing there would be more opportunities to study in Taiwan and make good use of his diverse background rather than staying aboard with the narrative market. His expertise includes planning and deploying global HR policies, global talent acquisition, bettering the onboarding experience, and overseeing end-to-end HR processes. Mr. Tsao has gained extensive HR knowledge in various organizations throughout his career.

Mr. Tsao began his session with a brief introduction to his professional experience before diving right into the main topic. He mentioned that the key objectives of HR operation are encouraging effective and efficient HR service delivery and ensuring that HR initiatives are cost-effective and run smoothly. Some questions were raised during the session: (1) Is PM operationalized under HR Ops in HTC? (2) Do the HR Operation team (HRIS) work closely with IT to roll out the system?  (3) How does the HR Ops team get the buy-in from employees when rolling out the system? During the sharing, the students also commented that they were a bit surprised to hear a standalone HR operations function as HR operations are often fused under each subset of HR, such as the operation of the Recruiting team, Compensation & Benefits team, Payroll team, etc.

Mr. Tsao then highlighted a few rating methods and introduced the challenges of using either. Mr. Taso emphasized that employees should be evaluated critically based on their overall performance, but tenure may also be a factor. This is because new hires sometimes require more time to assimilate into their new roles, making evaluating their performance more challenging. Giving them a good rating might also affect the team's morale, especially among the more senior workers who have done just as well, if not better. Some students were also curious about if there are occasions where employees refused to complete the performance appraisal form and how you deal with them. 

The class enjoyed Mr. Tsao's lively and enthusiastic lecture and learned much from his practical knowledge. Participants gave positive feedback and highly recommended this course. They considered this sharing beneficial in understanding how performance appraisals are utilized in the workplace. Some were inspired by Mr. Taso's advice at the end of the lecture. He firstly encouraged students to build and cherish connections during their academic pursuits. Second suggestion is to fail quickly but learn quicker. He highlighted that it is a critical notion in today's fast paced and dynamic business environment. It encourages students to take chances, learn from their errors, and swiftly adjust their strategies. Lastly, he mentioned to always stay curious. By visiting curiosity, students can expand their minds and gain new perspectives. It is essential to remain curious and continue to learn and grow in knowledge.

《111-2 GHRM608》What Kind of Employees You Are? Does only one personality trait lead to a successful career path?

On Friday, February 24th, 2023, students of Human Resources Competency Development class (GHRM MBA), instructed by Professor Chen, Shyh-Jer and Professor Chang, Heidi, welcomed Pei Chun Liao from Fox Factory with a guest lecture on the topic of how DISC model, (D) dominance, (I) influence, (S) steadiness and (C) conscientiousness, helps in discovering work personalities. Ms. Liao is currently a Human Resource Business Partner at Fox Factory with her Bachelor's degree from National Taiwan University and Master's degree in Human Resource Management from National Sun Yat-sen University. Her expertise includes talent development and senior training development, and she has abundant HR experience in many companies throughout her career path.

Ms. Laio began her lecture with a warm-up activity in which participants told stories based on a piece of painting. The personalities of the individuals began to emerge during the warm-up game, which led to a question at the end of the game raised by Ms. Liao "Were you the one that asked others actively, or are you the one waiting to be asked? ". The question started the lecture off right. Ms. Liao grouped students based on the worksheet results and asked each group two questions, 1. What motivates you? 2. What puts you under pressure? Ms. Liao then gave feedback on answers from each group and explained why given the same questions, there were multiple answers in a group, whereas there was only one answer within a group.

The DISC model is categorized based on the level of cognition, perception, action, and observation. Ms. Liao highlighted that people with Steadiness thinking who prioritize supporting and collaborating in a team are more receptive to differing perspectives out of care for the workplace's well-being and often serve as an integrator. Individuals that have Dominance thinking, on the other hand, aim to be goal-oriented and serve a producer in a team. They are motivated by competitiveness, authority, and power, and they value challenging themselves and others as well as acting quickly. People with Conscientiousness thinking operate as administrators in the workplace. Their focus is to ensure correctness, driven by possibilities to grow skill and knowledge. Finally, the Influence thinking kind of person prefers expressing passion, taking action, and receiving encouragement through social recognition. They are often an Entrepreneur in the business role.

Ms. Liao pointed out from her experience that a person's DISC category can shift over time. There is no right or wrong to each kind of thinking and behavioral habits. She mentioned, as you advance in your career, you develop your area of expertise, which shapes or influences your behavior. Some questions were raised by participants during the session, such as, how did Fox Factory employ the psychometric assessment? When and how was the psychometric testing used throughout the hiring process? Was the DISC category mapped to the job function by Fox Factory, and if so, how? What is the format of the psychometric assessment report and how should it be interpreted? To answer the questions, Ms. Liao emphasised that DISC is not used in the hiring process in Fox Factory. It is more of a development tool. No certain forms of habits will be unfavored to today's business. Each sort of habit has its own set of strengths and weaknesses. Knowing your own strengths and weaknesses can allow you to create a better career development strategy for yourself.

The class enjoyed Ms. Liao's lively and enthusiastic lecture and learned a lot from her practical knowledge. Overall, participants gave positive feedback and highly recommended this course after Ms. Liao’s lecture. They considered this sharing to be beneficial in understanding more about their own talents and flaws, which may be used for their personal improvement. Some love how interactive the lecture was, and the way Ms. Liao delivered her lecture was inspiring.

ALUMNI SHARING: Lukasz Piotr Lanski from Poland shares his experience

GHRM MBA is a truly global program with students from countries around the world coming together to create a diverse learning experience for all students. Lukasz Piotr Lanski our exceptional GHRM alumnus from Poland has been living in Taiwan for a decade now and has some useful insights for our current students. He shares his experience of studying at NSYSU and advises students to follow their passion and take risks to move forward in their careers.

With a background in Mandarin language studies, Lukasz chose to study in Taiwan to further enhance his linguistic abilities as well as cultural knowledge. GHRM MBA provided him with professional skills to work in the field of management and offered new opportunities to learn. While talking about his experience at GHRM MBA he says, “the whole experience was great and the program was very well integrated. I got the opportunity to work as a Teaching Assistant and Research Assistant during my study, which further helped me develop key skills”.  He further shares that he enjoyed his student life at the beautiful campus of NSYSU with the scenic ocean and mountains.

During his study, Lukasz took up an internship to gain professional experience, wherein he promoted products from Hongkong and even got the opportunity to visit Hongkong. He advises current students to take up new opportunities and internships to gain experience and identify their interests. He shares that sticking to what one feels like the right path is important even if there’s no clear goal in sight at the moment, as the experience will still teach you important skills needed for your future career. Lukasz is currently working in the field of economic diplomacy at the Polish Investment and Trade Agency and is the head of the Taipei office. He provides support for polish exports to Taiwan and investments to Taiwan and Poland.

With over a decade in Taiwan, Lukasz shares Taiwan feels like home and he is still fascinated by the culture, people, music, and food of Taiwan, which is very different from his home country. He expresses his gratitude to NSYSU for giving him such a memorable experience and to the office of GHRM for always being supportive of its alumni.

« Christmas Masquerade | SA 111-1 | 17 Dec 2022 »

Every fall semester, an event connected with Christmas is the highlight and the most important event of the whole period. Each year, different groups of students organize it and the variety of options and ideas is very wide. Team AGH decided to add a classy element to the traditional party and introduced “masquerade” as a new approach to the NSYSU event.

Since the time schedule was very tight this semester, the event took place on Saturday before the final week before the winter break. Since we wanted to choose an appropriate venue for such an important event, we decided to go for Hansin Arena Shopping Plaza (Kaohsiung Arena). Around 80 students from the College of Management could register for the last event of SA 111-1. Since we organized a masquerade, participants were asked to bring an eye mask covering some part of their face, adding a fancier feeling to the atmosphere.

The event lasted the whole evening, starting at 6 pm. After the introduction speech, we played 2 games, where all seven tables competed against each other for a nice reward. During the first part, we showed five Christmas songs on the screen using only emojis. Participants then had to guess which song we were showing, the point got to whoever was the fastest. The second part also regarded songs (not only Christmas-themed this time), which we played backward. This is quite hard and sometimes it took a moment for people to realize which song we were playing. For every correct guess, the table as a group could get a point, if they sang a part of that song, they could get two points.

Since the SA term is coming to the end by the end of the year, the current SA team (111-1) prepared a short report with all the events we organized throughout the semester and their contribution to students. Naturally, there was also room for 111-2 (2023 Spring) SA candidates and their presentations. This time, we have 2 teams who introduced themselves and their program so the students and potential voters can get a better picture of who is running and who they want to vote for.

Within the event, we also included the final part of another, environment-oriented event, the “Upcycle Competition”. Six teams presented their projects made of recycled materials on Facebook over a few days before the masquerade. The final presentations and voting happened on the spot. The winner of this competition was Edward with his “ChristMask Tree” made of wasted disposable masks still heavily used as a main COVID prevention tool in Taiwan. Edward used them as a symbol of the short-term usage problem they carry and the fact that after a single use, they end up in the general trash can. Three winning teams won a cash prize, congratulations!

After the dinner, some minor games, and free time for participants to dance, take pictures, and have fun, we concluded the event with a ball king and queen announcement. We let all participants nominate five boys and five girls who could become king and queen. Then we paired them up, they introduced themselves, did a catwalk around the venue, and were hoping for being elected. The winners became Jia-Jun as king and Kimberly as queen.

For the evening’s finale, we prepared a surprise in form of a lucky draw, where we (with the help of the computer) randomly selected three participants who got a reward.

We would like to thank everyone who came to our event, it was a very nice way to spend a night, not only for those who came from abroad and could not spend the Christmas holidays with their families. We also thank our hosts who led us through the night, Ishali Dawoodani and Kylie Nguyen, both 111-2 SA team candidates who volunteered during the event (Howie, Kylie, Minh, Edward, Geoffrey, and Kimberly), current SA (Alejandra, Honza, and Geoffrey), our photographer, and other volunteers who helped us with whatever was needed (Angela, Daisy, and Mirage). Also big thank you to NSYSU and the College of Management who made this event possible.

《111-1_SA》Unwinding at the scenic NSYSU beach

Have you been to the gorgeous beach 🏖️ on our National Sun Yat-sen University campus yet? If yes, then I bet you for sure wouldn't have experienced doing water sports 🏊‍♂️ in this wonderland. Student Association of International Programs arranged a water sports activity, bringing students fun and excitement to take part in activities like SUP (standup paddleboarding) and Kayaking. It was a perfect way to relieve students’ academic stress and promote the importance of exercise, which also complies with SDGs #3 Good Health and Well-being. Students from IBMBA, GHRM MBA, IBBA, and other departments attended the event with more than 20 participants. There were both international, local, and exchange students, which gave students a chance to interact with culturally diverse people and facilitate cross-culture communication. To take advantage of the splendid school environment and resources, the event was held at the NSYSU Sizihwan Marine Sports Center, lasting 2 hours from 2:30 PM to 4:30 PM. To kickstart the event, the SA members gathered students at the College of Management and traveled to the venue together. Later on, participants put on their life vests 🦺 and took a group photo before listening to the rules and instructions.

A coach and two lifeguards were always on constant standby to offer assistance if students needed help. The coach gave instructions on how to use all facilities correctly, explained what the rules are, and, most importantly, emphasized the importance of safety. After the instructions, students were divided into two groups, one was for SUP, and the other was for Kayaking (individual and twin Kayak). Participants could choose whichever based on their preferences and could start enjoying the activities and burn their calories 🔥 at this moment. During the entire event, lifeguards patiently accompanied and kept eyes on all participants carefully to make sure everyone was being safe. The lifeguards also introduced marine ecology to make them more aware of the sea creatures that appeared, which corresponds with SDGs #14 Life Below Water 🐟. 

After a long time of working out, snacks 🥪 were then prepared for every attending student at the end of the event, including a set of sandwiches and a drink. The event ended perfectly with memorable experiences, and students were satisfied with the arrangement of the event. All participants felt delighted and had fun exploring the beautiful school marine environment and networking with friends at the event. This was indeed a valuable opportunity for students to experience water sports. Thanks to help from the school and the office of international programs, the SA team organized such a wonderful event for students. We are looking forward to holding more exciting and fun events in the future. See you all soon!

《111-1 Course Speech》: International Business Negotiation Strategies: Guest lecture by Professor Thiombiano Dramane Germain

On Wednesday, December 14th, 2022, Professor David Andersson, the instructor of the GHRM course entitled Cross Cultural Management, hosted Professor Thiombiano Dramane Germain from International Master Program in Asia-Pacific Affairs (IMAPA) to talk about International Business Negotiation Strategies. Professor Germain from Burkina Faso in West Africa received his master’s degree in International Business MBA Program (IBMBA) in 2010 and his Ph.D. degree in the Institute of China and Asia-Pacific Studies in 2019 from the National Sun Yat-sen University.

The lecture started with the topic “Intercultural communication”, Professor Germain mentioned that based on different cultures, people happen to have different languages, gestures, habits, and negotiation styles. When it comes to communication between different cultures, being sensitive to the local “culture” is a critical factor for any organization to succeed, particularly international businesses. What works in your country might not work well in another, and could even be interpreted as an insult. For example, The OK sign is not OK, in Brazil, it is equivalent to the middle finger.

Professor Germain then continued to mention that when communicating across cultures, there are some criteria:

1. The difficulties of language: When speaking, try to ensure that you use plain, straightforward language that communicates your point directly.

2. Physical cues: In the US, UK, and much of Europe, eye contact is a sign of strength and confidence. In places like South America, it’s a sign of trustworthiness. In Japan, however, prolonged eye contact can be deemed impolite.

3. Punctuality: Westerners tend to hold time in high regard. “Time is money” is a famous phrase that sums up the level of priority time received in US or German culture. As a result, punctuality is important. However, time in Latin countries, such as Portugal, is viewed as more relaxed.

4. Different negotiating methods: Every culture has a different way of viewing the world and therefore a different way of negotiating. There are some cultures that like to have a team of negotiators rather than just a single negotiator. Other cultures want to create friendly relationships. That is to say, they may want to know the person with whom they’re doing business. Others care little about the people and just want the contract signed or the price agreed upon. There are cultures that like to stay silent and others that have a penchant for storming out of negotiations. Some cultures see the negotiation as a battle that must be won; others want a win-win outcome.

In the end, professor Germain demonstrated the role of culture in doing business in Africa. He mentioned that social and business cultures are influenced by past colonial history, with the African identity playing in the background. As a result, doing business among the same ethnic African groups is prevalent with the propensity to ‘network,’ much before the word came to be used as a verb.

In the social culture part, professor Germain mentioned that there are three distinct components of the people inhabiting present-day Africa: (1) traditional Africans who are yet little affected by modernization (thereby socializing among the same ethnic people), (2) transitional Africans, (3) modern Africans (foreign-educated, well-traveled and socializing using modern tools). Hence, the social and cultural set up in Africa is quite diverse and varied and not static and has been impacted by both internal and external forces.

Talking about the business culture, professor Germain mentioned that conducting business in Africa requires social and cultural awareness and effective cross-cultural communication skills. While in some cultures people focus on producing quick and tangible results in their work; the experience in Africa, on the other hand, differs. The pace of doing things is slower and the outlook is often long-term.

Last but not least, building relationships in Africa most of the time is difficult to see the dividing line that determines where socializing ends and where business begins. Sometimes it takes a backyard barbeque or a couple of visits to the village for a meal or getting acquainted before you are offered any water or tea or even start discussing business.

The guest lecture demonstrated that quality trumps quantity. A smaller class size allows for more discussion time for each student. It also allows for the Q&A section to be integrated into the lecture. The students seemed eager to discuss their ideas with Professor Germain. Afterward, we all took a group picture so as to remember this unique occasion. We hope that there will be many similar occasions in the future.

《111-1 GHRM508 Course Speech》 Inside the mind of a Project manager: Guest lecture by Johnny Chen, Marketing Project Manager, HP

Knowledge and experience delivered by someone with similar background, skills, and goals are always beneficial and inspiring for us because they come from someone who was once in the same situation as we are now. One of these people is Johnny Chen, marketing product manager at HP (Hewlett-Packard), who visited Dr. Ryan Brading’s “Business Ethics and Social Responsibility” class at NSYSU to share his journey with the students.

When it comes to the amount and quality of the information provided, it is very hard to beat Johnny, since he has worked for very big and strong companies (such as ASUS and now HP) in 3 countries (Taiwan, China, and Thailand). Johnny provided an in-depth honest summary of what life in each country and working for each company looks like, he compared the working environment and conditions in HP and ASUS, and he was not afraid of any questions coming towards him from the students.

Everyone was genuinely interested in the presentation and asked Johnny additional questions regarding culture shocks, working culture, but also free time, food, and so on. Johnny answered every question very passionately and positively, so the benefit of this sharing was above all standards. He also mentioned some useful tips about customizing the CV and the job interview.

Toward the end, Johnny added more value to the lecture by designing an activity, which focused on hiring new people in the company, which is the ultimate goal for the Global Human Resources Management MBA program at NSYSU. The activity was based on a real-life situation in HP where Johnny works, which made it even more professional and helpful. When HP was hiring a marketing intern, they had three candidates to decide between. Johnny provided all three resumés to the students so they could decide whom they would have hired if they were in the hiring manager’s shoes. After a brief group discussion, we had a vote, and the majority of the students would select the same candidate as who was hired in reality.

Everyone enjoyed the guest lecture, namely because of its big connection to other students’ situations since Johnny is an NSYSU graduate, setting a great role model for others who now know that they can achieve similarly amazing things as he has, and the interactivity during the last part which was the resume study practice.

Last week Johnny spent some time sharing his personal internship and working experiences in different countries. It was fruitful. Aside from that information, we had a small exercise at the end of the speech: pick one resume from three candidates as if we are recruiting someone to Johnny's company. It was a lot of fun, and we stimulated the decisions we may make in the future. So that was quite useful, too.

– Stephanie Liu, 1st-year GHRM MBA student

The lecture is very important and exciting, Johnny taught us many things about real-life work in various countries. Johnny also mentioned some important things about recruitment, creating a solid CV, and talent from a business perspective. Overall it is a good lecture and he brought the materials in an exciting way.

– Daryl Andrian, 1st-year GHRM student

It was a very great honor to join in a lecture provided by a full-of-experience guest. Johny has distributed practical experiences working overseas, not only in the professional aspect but also in the cultural aspect, the actual states of living in that certain countries as an ex-pat. In addition, the resume evaluation practice encourages HR skills in assessment.

– Pyo Lin, 1st-year GHRM student

《111-1_SA》 Career Networking: Building careers one step at a time

To assist local students in creating their long-term career goals and encourage international students to learn more about Taiwanese working culture, the Student Association organized the Career Networking event on Friday evening, November 18th, 2022, at the 73 Step Cafe on the NSYSU campus. At least 20 participants participated in this event, including local and international students, three IBMBA and GHRM MBA graduates who joined as guest speakers, and Kang Nguyen served as the event host. 

The event started at 17:30 with Kang's welcoming speech and the organizers' introduction. He also welcomed the three alumni who would lead the round tables for the rest of the event. Additionally, during the introductory session, all speakers were granted a Certificate of Appreciation delivered by our Canadian professor, Wil Martens. The alumni then introduced themselves, their background, and their present employers so that the students were well aware of their current careers. Right after, everyone was welcomed to the buffet table to partake in a delicious vegetarian spread. After the meal, the attendees split up into three tables. There were three rounds of 20 minutes, where the students talked to each speaker one by one in a group of 5 people, and thus, the conversation was more private and entirely based on student inquiries. 

The first table was led by IBMBA alumni Trent Prestegar from Australia, who is currently a Product Marketing Manager at Supermicro. He mainly discussed the Taiwan Employment Gold Card, a way for foreign talents to get a work permit and ARC in Taiwan based on their field of interest. He also described the Taiwanese working environment and provided career tips, such as getting started in Taiwan, growing your career, and overcoming challenges in the workplace.

The second table was led by GHRM MBA alumni Mayya Achyldurdyyeva from Turkmenistan, who is currently pursuing Ph.D. studies in Human Resources at NSYSU. She addressed questions regarding graduation requirements, ranging from the years to pursue Ph.D. studies to the number of publications required to graduate. She also spoke about the advantages and benefits of being a Ph.D. graduate and described the reach of this degree in terms of working in academia. However, she also discussed the drawbacks and negative connotations, like how employers see Ph.D. holders deemed overqualified for many jobs due to their high level of education.

Last but not least, the third table was led by GHRM MBA alumni, Hkawn San from Myanmar, who is an International Marketing Specialist at Synbio Tech Inc. She outlined the importance of studying Chinese for employment in Taiwan and how it helped her set professional objectives. In addition, besides describing her workplace's environment and relationship with coworkers, she also provided advice on how to start one's career as a new graduate as well as how to smoothly address the Taiwanese culture while being a foreigner.

In conclusion, on all three tables, the speakers performed admirably. The students genuinely enjoyed the exercise, and they made good use of the guest speakers' time. Finally, this session was effective since all of the students were able to assess their present situation and rethink and develop their long-term career goals.

《111-1_SA》Learning beyond borders: Fu-Cheng High School Culture Sharing

In this modern world, intercultural knowledge and sharing are more important than ever. As international students, we are always happy to share what we know and what we can give to younger generations. In October 2022, three NSYSU international students from GHRM MBA and IBMBA accepted the invitation from Fu-Cheng High School to come over for two sessions, meet with some of the students, introduce their cultures, and talk to them about sustainable development goals. 

At the first session, international students, Alejandra from Honduras, Honza from the Czech Republic, and Rebeka from Slovakia, met with the students of Fu-Cheng High School and introduced their customs, food, and places to visit in their home countries. Ice-breaking games were also part of the introduction – it not only helped them to get to know the students better but also students got to know more about each other since they all came from different classes.

After the introduction session, students were divided into three groups and each international student was in charge of one group. The international students chose different topics to talk about – teaching the students songs from their country, saying some common phrases in their mother language, and the most important part and the crucial subject of these two sessions, sustainable development goals introduced by the United Nations. In 20 minutes, they briefly introduced their topics, encouraged students to speak and actively participate in the conversation, and asked them to fill out the worksheet at the end of the session. As merit points for participation and appreciation for communicating, the students were given stamps to collect, and in the end, the team who won the most stamps won a prize.

Even though the first session was an introduction to sustainable development goals, the second session was purely about water consumption, water pollution, and talking about our potential to preserve and improve water quality across the world. This session had a practical part this time as well – after the introductory presentation about the environment and water consumption (SDG number 6), the international students, with the help of the teachers who were overseeing the smooth flow of the event, prepared the materials for the students so they could try to build their own water filter.

Thanks to its simple construction process and availability of the materials, it was very easy and educational at the same time to show the students the effect of water filters and the fact that they can actively contribute to environmental preservation. The students were very keen to learn how to make the filter, everyone tried their best to achieve a good result, and everyone (more or less) achieved the goal to filter out the dirt of the water.

The event was very successful – students were very handy and tried hard to achieve good results as well as to cooperate with the international students. The students left the classroom with new knowledge that they would use very responsibly and very effectively in the future. The NSYSU International students would like to thank Fu-Cheng High School who organized this event and asked NSYSU to help, as well as the members who guided them through the event and lent a helping hand whenever needed – 林玟伶、林育妃、張瓊云、吳碧華、周梅如. Thank you for making this great event happen and NSYSU hopes to collaborate on more meaningful events like this in the future.

《111-1 GHRM MBA Student Sharing》Making your way to success: HR Internship at MediaTek Taiwan

Internships can be valuable for students to gain first-hand experience and develop practical skills for their future careers. During the summer break, GHRM MBA 2nd year student, Gordon Lum, got the opportunity to work as an HR intern at MediaTek, a giant in the semiconductor industry in Taiwan. Gordon shares his experience to encourage students to gain work experience and talks about the challenges and opportunities of working as a student.

When asked about why he decided to pursue an internship during the summer break when most students would go back home, he answers, “I am a person who loves challenges and likes to try new things. The reason why I wanted to pursue an internship was not only to see the reality outside the school but also to have a stepping stone that can pave the way for the future. My current goal for the future is to continue in the field of human resources. Still, I cannot efficiently deal with difficult situations at the workplace in the future, just by using theoretical knowledge. No matter how rich the knowledge is, it might not be as concrete as acquiring it on the ground. Therefore, I wanted to do an internship during my studies, first to discover my shortcomings, and then have time to work on myself before entering the workplace.”

Gordon worked as part of the Training & Development team at the Global Human Resources Headquarters which takes care of integrating employees into the company environment while encouraging them to develop knowledge of world-class IC design teams, and effectively utilize the interests, expertise, and abilities of colleagues to implement the value of continuous learning. MediaTek uses functional development plans, to stimulate learning, and further develops a personal development plan for employees as the basis for training, assessment and development. In addition to his daily work and projects, Gordon assisted other colleagues in the department to carry out various projects.

Talking about the work culture, Gordon shares, “The company's working atmosphere is also very good, and everyone in the entire HR department is willing to help each other across departments. Although everyone is generally very busy with work, they were always willing to take the time to teach me, a newcomer to get familiar with everything. At the same time, MediaTek is also a company that encourages its employees to learn and challenge independently, so this allowed me to jump out of my work scope and get in touch with many new things, such as assisting in organizing the three-day, two-night external training program for supervisor-level colleagues; and work with the recruiting department for organizing the orientation for interns in the Everyday Genius program.”

As MediaTek is one of the most cutting-edge technology companies in the world and one of the top companies in Taiwan, Gordon was excited to be selected for the internship. He shares, “I was really happy when I received the acceptance call. I couldn’t imagine that I gained an opportunity to work with elites in this industry from all over the world. I would therefore like to thank the international program of the School of Management of Sun Yat-Sen University for giving me the knowledge and skills I needed to set foot on this starting line, and I am very grateful to the seniors in the company for their care during the internship.”

《111-1_SA》Celebrating the spooky season with SA’s Halloween Party 2022

As the end of October comes close, are you ready to be spooky and mysterious during our Halloween Party? The Student Association of International Programs annually holds a Halloween event for the students of IBMBA, GHRM MBA, and this year's newcomers IBBA. This time the event took place in Madker Live House and Restaurant (美德客音樂餐酒館) with a variety of delicious and exotic cuisines of students’ choice. There were more than 50 participants in the event including Professor Ryan and two alumni. Furthermore, attending students were encouraged to dress up in costumes using recycled and green materials by incentivizing them with prizes, which corresponds with SDGs 12 Responsible Consumption and Production. In addition, cookies boxes from 歡喜購物專區 were offered to students for the purpose of supporting local businesses and helping the disadvantaged community in Kaohsiung, which complies with SDGs 11 Sustainable Cities and Communities. By implementing SDGs in our event, we hope to raise awareness of these important social issues among students, together we all can contribute to society. The aim of this event is to familiarize students with their fellow classmates, connect both IBMBA and GHRM MBA, as well as integrate juniors from the IBBA program.

To kick start the event, SA welcomed and thanked everyone for their participation, and Professor Ryan gave an opening remark to welcome all students. After that, meals were distributed and allocated to students by IBMBA volunteers and SA members. While students enjoyed the food, cookies made by people with Down Syndrome were then distributed to students to show support for the disadvantaged and advocate its importance. Later on, a series of team-building games were also played to strengthen the relationship among international program students. In the beginning, a pair of paper sheets were randomly sent to students which included the name and lyrics of a song, so students had to find a matching partner with the corresponding song. After being more acquainted with the newly-met friends, they were required to form a group of five people for a team competition. Each team was asked to brainstorm and write down as many Halloween-related words as possible. Each member of the winning team was then rewarded with a movie ticket voucher as a prize. After the game, it was voting time for the Best Costumer Winner. Surprisingly, the winner this year was Edward, the IBMBA 2nd-year student who was also the winner of Halloween last year in 2021. Following the activities, SA promoted the election of the Student Association of International Programs, recruiting more potential candidates. Finally, the Halloween party ended up with a Choo-choo train game where students had to do the dancing moves based on the themes randomly given on the screen. The event went well, and students were quite immersed in the festive atmosphere with joy.

The entire Halloween event was a great success, and all participating students were pleased to take part in this cultural activity where students were given opportunities to network and interact with students from international programs. SA regularly organizes cultural events for students to join and experience diverse cultures. Students can benefit greatly from the events since social connections can be built and interpersonal skills can also be improved. Lastly, we look forward to holding more such events to enrich students’ lives and allow them to make more friends.

《111-1_GHRM502》Making HRM sustainable: Prioritizing employee well-being over profit

On the 17th of October 2022, the Organizational Behavior Class conducted by Professor Jason Huang, under the Global Human Resource Management MBA program, invited Dr. Alex Vanderstraeten from Ghent University, Belgium, as a guest speaker to talk about “Sustainable HRM”. 

Warming up the class, Professor Alex raised a question, “What is the role of Human Resource Management in organizations?” He offered us the idea that the primary role of human resources is to “obtain good results for the organization”, and raising profits is secondary. Regarding how to bring positive results to the organization, the most obvious thing is "job performance", which reflects the productivity of employees and is the most crucial element to bring positive results to the company. Some key factors could affect employee job performance. It includes leadership ability, management style, highly skilled employees, highly professional employees, etc. In addition, employee wellness is one of the goals of Sustainable Human resources. Whether it's employees' physical health or mental state, it affects the organization at every level.

Professor Alex also emphasized that promoting employee health is also the responsibility of human resources managers. From a traditional perspective, safety management and health insurance can be the basis for supporting employee health, but from a sustainability perspective, additional new policies or activities can be designed to promote employee health, such as: providing healthy snacks to employees during break times, setting up a sports center, purchasing ergonomic equipment to create a comfortable work environment, and holding fat loss competition to encourage employees to control their body image.

After the lecture, the students also actively seized the opportunity to ask questions to the professor. One of the students, Bertille, a French student studying for a master's degree in GHRM, mentioned that in the professor's lecture, he talked about Google's work ecology as an example. Sustainable Human Resource Management must be based on "creating connections" so that employees can see the organization as a "Big family". As a result, Google has set up leisure facilities such as table tennis for employees to use so that they can achieve self-management and balance between work and leisure.  

However, this is not the case in France. In France, companies that usually set up such favorable welfare conditions are usually startup companies, to attract more employees to apply for the job, which also implies that the company may give employees an excessive workload and infers that the company would be more pedantic and have an unhealthy ecology. The French people must avoid such companies as much as possible. The professor explained that it is usually difficult for companies operating in such a management style to survive today because, in the era of the information explosion, employees can use some new technology tools or platforms to share their actual work experience and give a warning to those who are interested in applying for the job to prevent window dressing by the organization.

Another question was asked by Stephanie Liu, a master's degree student at GHRM. In Sustainable HRM, it emphasizes the need to pay more attention to the physical and mental health of employees and to provide more sports and recreational facilities in the office. It fits into the organization which has employees of Theory Y (have a high sense of self-management, employee engagement, and achieve work-life balance.) However, as the professor said, the young people of Generation Z nowadays are more likely to have a passive work mentality and do not want to do more than the work requires, which tends to be like the employees of Theory X. Wouldn't this action of Sustainable HRM lead to a decrease in productivity?

To answer this question, Professor Alex first mentioned that no matter what kind of employee you are, when you work more than 10 hours, your productivity will be lower than when you work seven hours. Because there is a limitation on employees’ concentration. You could imagine the concentration line as a parabola, when the concentration reaches its peak, the subsequent concentration and productivity will only continue to fall off. Therefore, when implementing Sustainable HRM, companies should be more result-oriented and evaluate their employees by their results rather than by the length of their work. As long as the employee can produce the results the company needs, then there is no need to judge how and where the employees are doing their jobs, which is a more efficient management method.

After this presentation, the students had a better understanding of Sustainable Human Resource Management and a deeper insight into the current management trends. It is a great honor to have Professor Alex come all the way from Belgium to the Business Administration to give such a lively and exciting presentation and Q&A to the students. We believe these processes will be a great help to the students in their future careers in Human Resource Management.

《111-1_SA》Monkey Tour: An Adventure at the Shoushan Mountain

This past Tuesday, October 25th, 2022, the Student Association members recruited a qualified monkey tour guide, Ms. Lin Mei Yin（林美吟), famously known as the Queen of Monkeys, to educate students about the monkeys' lifestyle and their environment. This unique experience occurred at Shoushan Mountain, a beautiful hiking trail in the lively nature near campus. The total number of participants was 25 people, including nineteen degree and exchange students, two Belgian professors, three student association members, and a skilful photographer.

This event aimed to find a harmonious ground between the monkeys and the students. Throughout the entire trail, the tour guide conducted the tour in Chinese. In this matter, an interpreter assisted her in translating everything into English so that international students understood better what was being shared. Ms. Lin led participants closer to the monkey habitat and explained how these monkeys coexist. Her knowledge about these communities is immense and fruitful since she has studied monkeys for over 20 years. Monkeys are so familiarized with her to the point that they can recognize her voice and arrive at her calling. Therefore, she had a lot of knowledge about monkeys' lifestyles, feeding conditions and sexual life, detailing how their bottoms get redder as they become ready to mate. 

Curiously, monkeys are an essential part of the environment at National Sun Yat-Sen University. However, in many cases, monkeys are known for threatening people because they tend to interfere with students' daily activities by constantly harassing them around the dormitories, as well as stealing food on campus. Due to the lack of understanding of monkeys, students have negative stereotypes of them. Nevertheless, hosting this monkey tour exploration made students realize that these animals are just as valuable to the planet and belong here. We should all be able to coexist with them in peace since this planet has no sole owner.

In addition, during the monkey tour exploration, students followed the principles of two crucial Sustainable Development Goals from the United Nations. The first one includes goal #3, Good Health and Well-being, where students exercised through hiking and kept hydrated. The second was goal #5, Life on Land, where students enjoyed nature and coexisted harmoniously with monkeys and their environment. Students were reminded of the importance of following these goals and were encouraged to continue applying them in their daily lives. 

The event was a total success. Students took plenty of pictures and selfies with monkeys. They felt joyful watching how they interacted, gathering into family groups where the females cared for their babies, and the males were more intimidating and ferocious. The monkey tour exploration concluded with a fresh beverage and happy students with new friends. The student association felt warm-hearted as people felt satisfied with the tour and showed greater respect for the monkeys. 

《111-1_GHRM503》Impact of the Implementation of a New Cleaning Procedure and the Effect of HRM on Infection Prevention in a Burn Unit of a Hospital

On the 21st of October 2022, the Human Resource Management (HRM) class conducted by Professor François, under the Global Human Resource Management English MBA program, invited Dr. Alex Vanderstraeten from the Ghent University (Belgium), Faculty of Economics and Business Administration, as a guest speaker to talk about his research on “Impact of the Implementation of a New Cleaning Procedure and the Effect of HRM on Infection Prevention in a Burn Unit of a Hospital – Dead or Alive, The crucial Role of HRM in Saving Lives in a Hospital”.

Warming up the class with a quick introduction of his background, Professor Alex currently holds a Ph.D. in Sociology and two master’s degrees in Philosophy and Sociology. As someone who has been in the education industry for decades, He has taught several courses in both bachelor’s programs and master’s programs, such as Sociology, Introduction to HRM, Strategic HRM, International HRM, and HRM Metrics.

Professor Alex conducted his research in a hospital that focused on cleaning procedures performed by the doctor specialists, nurses, and cleaning staff. He adopted a similar concept to scientific management, with the process broken into four different stages of interventions, consisting of individual feedback, team-level feedback, etc., using UV marker and checking bacterial cultures as a means of measurement.

For students who aim to become HR professionals in the future, Professor Alex strongly encouraged them to have at least a basic understanding of statistics. As an HR professional, there will come a time when you have to look into a huge amount of data and perform a certain degree of data analytics to draw insights for management reporting. Through the use of analytics, you will be able to support your findings with something concrete, for example, the analysis of the effectiveness of training results on performance to your management, especially in a highly profit-driven work environment.

Raising an interesting question for the students, which is more important, money or health? Professor Alex shared that most of the current management research focused heavily on money. Through their research, it was found that money, or tangible rewards, has a diminishing return on employees. Money may be an important factor, but it starts to lose its effect on employees once they reach a certain level. This is when health, or issues like work-life balance, comes into the picture, especially in developing employee retention strategies.

Concluding his sharing, Professor Alex mentioned that he hopes the students’ takeaway from his sharing is that HRM is more than profit-making. Throughout his years of research, many of his findings point towards communication between the management and the employees, being the key to developing a successful and sustainable HRM. Instead of focusing on just performance and returns from investments like employee training results, HR needs to go beyond KPIs and dig deeper to see if there are any underlying issues, such as communication breakdown that may lead to poor employee performance.

《111-1_GHRM531》Is Standard Employment Good for All?: Gendered Institutional Logic of Employment Patterns in South Korea

On the 14th of October 2022, the Thesis Writing Class conducted by Professor François, under the Global Human Resource Management English MBA program, invited Dr. Francis Yoon from the University of Duisburg-Essen (UDE), Germany, as a guest speaker to talk about his journey of conducting his thesis research that was awarded the 2022 David Marsden Best Paper Prize on “Is Standard Employment Good for All?: Gendered Institutional Logic of Employment Patterns in South Korea”.

Warming up the class with a quick introduction of his background, Professor Francis currently holds a Ph.D. in Management and a Philosophy Master’s degree in Modern Society and Global Transformations. He previously worked in the finance and accounting industry for several years prior to his pursuit of his master’s degree and Ph.D. Currently, at UDE, he has been teaching master’s classes related to economics and management.

Directing the class to the theme of the sharing, he painted a clear picture of some of the keywords that would be essential in understanding the basis of his research, such as explaining what standard employment contract means, the background of the labor situation in South Korea, the female education landscape in South Korea, etc. Interestingly, although South Korea has the highest college enrolment rate among the OECD countries, even for the female, however, based on his findings, this did not translate to a higher salary for the female, which contradicts the Human Capital Theory where the higher the education level, the higher the chance of getting a better paying job.

Discovering this issue during one of his field research projects in a shampoo factory in South Korea for another study, he decided to investigate further and look into the causality of this phenomenon. In the shampoo factory, 99% of the factory employees were female employees who were performing low-skilled jobs and were paid a minimum wage. Just like many other factories in South Korea, many of the low-skilled jobs were taken up by females. When cross-referencing to the Feminist theory, this phenomenon can seem to be explained on an institutional level where historically, South Korea has a culture of a male-breadwinner system which was deeply rooted back in the industrial era. Furthermore, when the South Korean economy was receiving heavy capital investment from Japanese companies back in 1965 for the textile industry, the workforce was mainly made up of women who did not receive high education. Even after the company grew in size, the institution within the companies did not change, contributing to the phenomenon. Professor Francis’s research eventually discovered that Human Capital Theory may not apply to all genders, especially to women, due to the country’s history/culture or institutional discrimination that was unintentionally set in place.

Concluding his sharing with some tips on his own on how to prepare for their thesis, students may first consider looking up some phenomena that they came upon and are interested in before having a deeper look into the issue. Once you have identified your topic, you should then proceed to look into the related theories that may help to address or explain the phenomenon. When deciding on your topic, it is always good to be more specific than to have a general theme as it would help to narrow down areas that you should look into.

《111-1_SA》Spirit Week: Keeping up the school spirit in a unique colorful way!

NSYSU was taken over by a more relaxed but longer-lasting event in September, organized by the Student Association of International Programs. For seven days from 26th to 30th all routines were habits continued as usual with an added twist: the students were given a theme for how they should dress up on any given day! We have a lot of fun with our clothing styles and activities each week. On Monday, we wore crazy socks because it's about being creative for yourself rather than what others expect from you or think your job requires - on Tuesday there were only black-and-white clothes that honor Yin-Yang philosophy. Wednesday had strong beach vibes – since the beach is a stone's throw from the classroom; Thursday represented school pride by wearing items associated with NSYSU such as t-shirts, hoodies, etc., while Friday challenged teamwork where friends had to find matching outfits before heading off to classes!

This event aimed to offer chances for students to experience cultural events, hype up school spirit, as well as foster a sense of solidarity between students. While wearing the previously mentioned outfit to school, we would then gather at the entrance to the College of Management at noon for taking a group picture, and after that, the participants were encouraged to take individual pictures and upload them to Google Drive. All participants who did so won a sweet reward. We were also very grateful to all students who shared their photos on Instagram with the unique hashtag #NSYSUSPIRITWEEK that we proposed before the event started.

When we designed the event, our goal was to make it a great experience for students. We wanted them to explore their creativity and social skills by experiencing different cultures while promoting school spirit at every turn! And you know what? It worked out incredibly well – everyone had such fun figuring out how they would dress up to match whatever culture or theme we put together for that day. 

《111-1_SA》Scavenger Hunt: Finding Treasure and Building Connections

Scavenger Hunt event organized by Student Association of International Programs (SA) took place at the College of Management, NSYSU on September 21st, 2022. The event was designed to strengthen the bond and create relationships among new students. This Scavenger Hunt consists of a game in which the organizers prepare a list of specific items, and the participants then need to collect all items on the list by taking selfies with the items including all team members. Participants will work in small teams, and the team who completes the list first will get rewarded. 

On the day of Scavenger Hunt, there were more than 40 students from IBMBA, GHRM MBA, IBBA and other departments registered in the event and everyone was actively engaged in the game. At the start of the event, participating students were gathered near the entrance by CM1023 to form groups. Before the event officially commenced, attendees from different programs were randomly chosen and formed into groups, which facilitated the interaction between students. Later on, students were asked to find out the items given on the list and SA also promoted the event for next week Spirit Week and finally ended up with taking group photos.  After the rule explanation and next-week-event promotion, the Scavenger Hunt event started right away, which lasted for approximately one hour from 17:40-18:40. During the game, participants were all engaged and worked hard to compete with other teams and there were also some challenging items to be found to test students’ creativity. At the end of the activity, the majority of the groups came back on time and uploaded their pictures on Drive for evaluation. Those who already finished the tasks could enjoy the snacks and drinks prepared by SA. Lastly, the result was announced via Line message after the calculation of points gained was done. 7-Eleven vouchers in the value of 100 NTD each were given to the winning team as appreciation for attending the SA event.

Through taking part in the Scavenger Hunt event, students can not only be acquainted with the environment of the College of Management by taking selfies with specific items required on campus but also improve their social skills by being randomly grouped with new people.

The event was going smoothly and students from IBMBA, GHRM MBA and IBBA were satisfied and enjoyed the event so much. By joining the event together with SA, students got the chance to improve their interpersonal skills and meet more new friends, which is beneficial to build more connections as a business student. We hope more events will be hosted and offer the students an enriching life here at NSYSU in the future. 

《111-1_GHRM531》Journey from the Railways to Sustainable Transportation Research

On the 23rd of September 2022, the Thesis Writing Class conducted by Professor François, under the Global Human Resource Management English MBA program, invited Professor Timo Eccarius from the Tunghai University, International College, as a guest speaker to talk about his journey of conducting his thesis research in the field of Railways and Sustainable Transportation. 

Starting his sharing with a quick introduction of his background. Having a Ph.D. in Transportation & Logistic Management and a bachelor’s degree in Mathematics/Economics, Professor Timo has previously worked in the railway industry in Germany for 13 years before coming to Taiwan. During his stint in Germany, he worked on a couple of projects such as the China-EU rail link which aims at reducing Carbon footprint and low-carbon rail products. Moving on, he painted a picture of the railway industry and the carbon emission from the various mode of transportation for the students. Through the Deutsche Bahn 2018 Integrated Report, it was shown that railway transportation produces the lowest carbon footprint in comparison to other transport like airplanes, cargo, etc. With the increase in awareness of global warming, the railway industry faces strong pressure from the public to push toward creating sustainable transportation with the ultimate goal of being carbon-free.

Professor Timo continued his sharing by giving some tips to the students on how to look out for possible topics for their study/research. Quoting him, “Follow your passion, fight for your idea, and trust your advisor”. One of the most important tips he mentioned was to choose a topic that aligns with your passion. Using his journey of how he did his Ph.D. thesis as an example, he recalled the numerous discussions he had with his thesis advisor. “You should expect that during the discussions, there are bound to be conflicting ideas from both parties. There may even be times when you have to stand your ground and defend your thesis research”. As such, having a thesis topic that you are passionate about would help in such challenging times. 

Another tip that he mentioned was the formulation of research questions is often an iterative process. As you go along with your thesis research, you should start to narrow down the area that you would like to focus on. One reason for this is the limitation of access to data. Having a broad or general research topic can be challenging as you may not have access to the resources needed to help build the core of your research. Even if you pool data from different sources it can be problematic as the results may not be compatible or comparable with each other. With that in mind, having keywords to help specify the key areas of your research would help to ease the load when you conduct your study.

Addressing some of the questions raised by the students, one particular question hit close to the heart of Professor Timo, and perhaps, many other international students at NSYSU. “As a foreigner conducting research in Taiwan, what were some of the challenges he faced?”. When he was conducting his research in Taiwan, language proves to be one of the biggest hurdles. Having to deal with software and creating questionnaires/surveys in the Chinese language can be quite difficult for foreigners who are not proficient in the language itself. Thankfully, with the advancement of technology, the use of programs such as “Google Translate” can help to ease the pain. It is also good to seek help from your peers or advisor if you encounter any issues.