End of Year 2016

Last Few Days of The Year

2016 has been another good year for Simon Fraser University in general and Fraser International College in particular in terms of growth in international student population and relationship between the two tertiary organizations. In the same year we celebrated our ten years of successful partnership. Among the most notable achievements in the ten years were success stories of international students transitioning to Simon Fraser University, then graduating and moving on to reputable careers of their choices.

Students Enjoying The Snow

Personally, 2016 has been the busiest year at FIC for me. Besides teaching assignments, I have been involved in three consecutive sessions of the Universal Case Competition, a FIC Alumnus Recognition Event, the Tenth Anniversary of SFU-FIC Partnership celebration, and presented in numerous workshops and seminars on study methods and effectiveness of professional social networking sites to improve career prospects. And also the hours of mentoring and supporting students with their expectations and challenges. The year started off gradually with moderate among of work but definitely ended on much busier note.

Everywhere covered with snow

Outside the university, I have been actively involved with the Royal Canadian Air Cadet League in their Effective Speaking Program and Competition. And, in particularly with the league's 808 Squadron which is based out of Coquitlum. My spouse and I have also volunteered to support the RCAC Annual Ceremonial Review, the squadron's year end potluck function for parents, and recently, we were also volunteers in the Remembrance Day parade in Coquitlum, helping with serving food to other volunteers who participated in the parade. And often we have been called upon to drive cadets to fundraisers and off base events.

Last Day of The Year

In 2016, Fraser International College also launched the PreMasters Engineering program which I was involved in developing the course curriculum and delivering lectures for two of the four courses. This year, I have also taught a newly developed undergraduate business course. The BUS200 course was developed, tested and introduced in Fraser International College, and to be taught in both Beedie School of Business as well as FIC. This year itself, I have taught fifteen sections of both undergraduate and graduate level courses. Although, busy working and volunteering, it was manageable and most gratifying for me. I have enjoyed every minute of 2016.

This year ended with some campus closure days due to snow storms and bad road conditions but in general, everything ended well. I would like to take this opportunity to wish everyone a Happy New Year and best of luck in the new year.

First Real Snow Storm of the Year on SFU Mountain

Discovery 1 Fraser International College

We received news that all classes in SFU including FIC were cancelled today because of the pending snow storm. I do not remember of any time within the last five years that all classes were cancelled on the same day in SFU. This is the first time that all classes were cancelled simultaneously because of the weather condition. The other reason for cancellation of classes must be because of the closure of the bus services going up to the Burnaby campus from Production station and else where. The road conditions were really bad and would be hazardous to unfamiliar and inexperience drivers.

Nelson Way

I woke up early like usual in the morning and saw white covers everywhere. But did not know of the SFU main campus class cancellations until I read my emails. I guess it is a safety precautionary measure that the administration is exercising and to avoid any untoward incidents. Anyway, luckily the cancellations happened today. Today is the last day for the Fall 2016 semester. And, final exams starts tomorrow. The cancellation allows some students an additional day for revision. And, for me it makes no difference because I do not have lectures on Mondays anyway.

Snowman in FIC

International students should come out and enjoy the snow. Canadians embrace weather conditions like this one. Take a little time off from final exam preparations, relax and have some fun. Especially, for the first semester international students, they should take some time off and go enjoy their first winter snow. Go make a snowman or enjoy playing with the snow. Have fun!!! This is a rear occasion and an opportunity to embrace the Canadian spirit.

Corner Stone SFU Burnaby

In Vancouver the snow comes and disappear very quickly. In a matter of fact, the weatherman has already announced that tomorrow is going to be sunny. Therefore, all the snow on the ground may just melt away. I was on campus later in the morning and the bus services to SFU main campus has already resumed services. And, as I am constructing this article, I heard that the snow storm warning has been called off. Some classes after 2:00pm will resume at SFU but all FIC classes remained cancelled for the entire day.

Fire alarm on campus

Fire Truck on Campus

I was in the middle of a meeting with the project manager of the Universal Case Competition Organizing Committee when the fire alarm went off. Immediately, I stopped the meeting and lead everyone out of the building. As for the meeting, we continued with the discussion in the designated safe zone outside the Discovery 1 building. The meeting was the first for the next semester's UCC Case Competition, where we plan and schedule the dates for all of Spring 2017 activities.

Waiting to return to class

Apparently, someone has left a plastic container in the microwave oven in the student lounge on the first floor. The student has not only forgotten about the container left in the microwave oven, but has wrongly keyed in the instructions. Instead of three minutes, the microwave oven was timed for three hours. Thick smoke was seen coming out from the microwave oven and the student lounge which triggered the fire alarm.

Fire truck on the background

Everyone in the building were scrambled out onto the narrow open space between the two discovery buildings for about twenty minutes before allowed back in. When we reentered the building, there were a strong smell of burned plastic which confirms the microwave oven fire. Coincidentally, this incident happened during the noon lunch break and there were no classes or exams at that time. I went straight back to my classroom and once the students were all settled in their places, started the lecture.

Study Methods Workshop

Study Methods Workshop

Like the LinkedIn workshop, I also facilitate the Study Methods workshop in Fraser International College once a semester. I will usually conduct the workshop after the midterm exams and about a month before the final exams. Although, the workshop was opened to the FIC community, only a handful of students turned up for the workshop. But still, it was a good turn out, just slightly more than thirty five students at the workshop, which was a decent number of participants for any workshop in FIC. I used power point slides as the main tool to deliver my presentation. And hand out printed notes that summarizes the material I have shared at the end of the presentation.

Emphasizing a key point

Other than sharing my own past experiences when I was a university student, I also provided crucial study tips as to how to prepare for exams. One of the most important key to succeeding in exam was discipline. I used to follow a regimented schedule, not allowing distractions from among some of the activities like. For instance, I have a specific time for daily gym workouts and even time spared for other forms of recreation. I don't allow distractions in my study schedule unless it was really an emergency. I was that focused to do well.

Fullhouse

Another important trait that I have when revising for exams was that I was really thorough and detailed on my notes. I would usually read the lecture material first. And then, write notes based on the material from the textbook before each lecture. After the lecture, I would compare my notes against the material shared by the professor, I will rewrite the notes adding in the material that I have just missed out or just mentioned by the professor. I always want my notes to be concise and complete. It makes my revision for exams so much easier and within my control. I may put in a lot of hours into my studies but I was a student. And students were expected to study. The one thing I learned about being a good student is that there are no short cuts. Just like building a career, focus, dedication and hard work are the only solutions for success.

Halloween Event in FIC

Colorful costumes

I went back to FIC on Friday although it was an off day for me to catch up with some work and at the same time join in the festivities of the Halloween Event. The student area on the top floor was turned into the stage for a costume party. I saw many familiar characters, in costumes of cause, and a lot of happy faces enjoying the short break from class. There were staff members, students and a few faculties involved in the activity. But, we were so caught up in the fun than bothered about distinguishing who is who.

Who are these two?

The event was really positive towards student teacher engagement, student advisor engagement and also not forgetting staff faculty engagement. Overall, I would say, the event was a great success in terms of fostering communal relationships. But student involvement was still at the minimal in spite of the large population growth in FIC in recent semesters. Maybe this event wasn't attracting enough interest among the students. Anyway, attendance to events like this is nothing new, I have been meeting the same group of students in these events.

All in characters

Only a handful of students that feel the need of building bonds and friendships through participation in events like this one. Many don't see the long term benefits from participating in extra curricular activities. Or they may be shy or not comfortable with large crowd. Whatever the reasons, their focuses in life are very much different. That is why, at FIC we are very diverse, we have events catering to different interest and needs of the student populations.

BUS200 Introduction to Canadian Business Fundamentals Individual Presentations

Individual Presentation

The individual presentations in the BUS200 Introduction to Canadian Business Fundamentals course in Fraser International College and SFU's Beedie School of Business have just started on week eighth of this semester. The individual presentation is a course component of the overall course. And each student currently enrolled in the course are to select a topic from a list of topics provided to them at the beginning of the semester.

Stressing an interesting point

They are to conduct research and collect appropriate information using the tools provided in the course. They will also have to write a report of their findings and analysis, which they will present in class. Each student is grouped in a specific group coinciding with the weeks in which they will deliver an oral presentation to their fellow classmates. So, on each week, starting from week eight until week twelve, between five to seven students will take turns in their own classes to deliver their individual presentation.

Answering Question

On Tuesday this week, the class that I was assigned to, started with the first group of students doing the individual presentations. Today, I have students from the other two classes doing their individual presentations. And tomorrow, another two different batches of students will be presenting. So, looks like I will be listening to and getting to enjoy a lot of individual presentations from now until the end of the semester. Amazingly, through these individual presentations, majority of these students raise to the occasion and put up really better than expected performances.

Workshop on Creating Awesome LinkedIn Profile

A section of the workshop participants

Fraser International College through the Instructor Advising Program organized a LinkedIn Profile Workshop entitled, "How To Build An Awesome LinkedIn Profile" in Discovery 1 at the main Simon Fraser University campus. I was the workshop facilitator and had the opportunity to speak with a full classroom of eager to learn students. In the workshop, I shared the twenty one key points about building the best resume with the available multimedia tools and sections provided on the online social career profile building platform.

Facilitating the workshop

The LinkedIn Platform is practically used by ninety five percent of today's prospecting employers in their job search process. Some potential employers used the online social platform to find suitable candidates to fill vacant positions and some uses the platform to advertise vacancies. While others may use the platform to verify or evaluate shortlisted candidates. Which brings us to the point of the importance of this social media platform. Especially, for students to learn the finer points of building an awesome career focused profile on LinkedIn.

Another section of the participants

Although, the workshop was only an hour, I fully utilized the time to answer as many queries. And on top of that, provided the opportunity for the participants to have their professional photos taken. I have earlier made prior arrangements with the photography club to extend this service to the students. This LinkedIn workshop is only available once per semester and the next of such workshop will probably be available again in the Spring 2017 semester.

Fall 2016 @FIC Connect

Speakers @FIC Connect

Fraser International College celebrated the success of a their alumnus at a gala event in Hilton Metrotown. The FIC Connect Event which was initiated through the collaboration between the Student Support Department and Instructor Advising of Fraser International College was also an opportunity for the present cohorts of international students to engage with FIC alumnus. The alumnus that was invited to the event were mainly students that are presently pursuing their programs in Simon Fraser University.

Speaking @FIC Connect

Invited to the event was also a panel of speakers. They were selected from among the more senior alumnus and faculty members of Fraser International College. The alumnus were among the first international students that went through the FIC transfer program when Fraser International College were newly setup in Simon Fraser University about ten years ago. These four alumnus speakers has already established themselves in their individual professional careers. They were invited to speak about their journeys towards achieving their personal goals.

Networking @FIC Connect

Other than the alumnus, the other three speakers were faculty members of Fraser International College. The Connect Event created an opportunity for the present batch of students to learn and be inspired through the motivating stories that was shared. Many of the international students were actually moved by these stories and through the stories found solutions to their own challenges. At the end of the speeches, the students were invited to engage with the panel of speakers in a networking session. The event was a success and concluded at approximately ten o'clock at night.

The Final Round of the Fall 2016 Universal Case Competition

Case Competition Judges

We started early in the morning with registration opened before eight in the morning. Surprisingly, when I arrived at about five minutes before the hour, there were already participants, coaches and officials signing in. And to my expectations the organizing committee and volunteers were already on hand to welcome the early arrivals. This semester's organizing committee was really self driven and unbelievably task oriented. So literally, all I needed to do was a walk about. One of the first thing I did was to make sure that the rooms were set for presentations. Also, to make sure that the staff lounge were ready for breakfast. Earlier, I have bought a dozen of donuts and another dozen of muffins from Tim Hortons for that purpose.

Getting Pointers from Team Coach

It was amazingly easy to work with this semester's organizing committee. They had every aspect of the case competition well planned out and managed the event with excellent team work. Their time management was also immaculate. I have to give them full credit for that. In fact, the event was so well planned that we actually completed all the two rounds of the nine team presentations without a problem. One team did not show up and was disqualified. But we did everything else right on time. Managing thirty exciting students all dressed in their finest business attire was a task in itself. And able to complete the record participation case competition final rounds within four hours is commendable.

Two Members of Triple Threat

This semester's case competition organizing committee has set a tough precedent for future committees to follow. The Fall 2016 Universal Case Competition ended today with a tremendous success. We had a total of twenty one teams participating which was a record. And all the twenty one teams went through the first round on three different days. Their presentations were officiated by the eight faculty members of Fraser International College and they helped selected the final ten teams for today's final round competing teams. In the final rounds, we invited two faculty members of Fraser International College to pair with two alumnus as case competition judges.

One of the three Top Speaker

The winning team for this semester's Universal Case Competition is Triple Threat, made up of three first semester international students from Bangladesh and India that was coached by a Simon Fraser University Communications student from Vietnam. Whereas the top three top speakers were two Bangladeshi students and one from China. After the certificate presentation and award ceremony, the attendees were feted to a specially catered Malaysian buffet, sponsored by the college. During the lunch buffet, the participants get to mingle and network with the officials, the organizers, volunteers, and with other participants.

Watching the Sun Setting over The Vancouver City Horizon

Sun Setting At Kushiro Park

I was at Kushiro Park on top of Burnaby Mountain watching the sun slowly setting over the Vancouver city horizon. It was an amazing scene to follow the sun as it was setting over the horizon. That was my first experience watching the evening sun set from a top Burnaby Mountain. I was there with my kids playing with the new camera set I have just purchased. We were shooting different shots using combination of different features on the camera and the new lens. At the same time, as we were learning about the capabilities of the camera, we took the opportunity to shoot some of the great moments before the sun set.

The Transformation

And to my amazement, there were quite a lot of people taking pictures of the sun setting. It was one of those days when the sky was cloudless. We could clearly see Vancouver city. We saw the skyline changing colors, it got reddish from a pure bright yellowish color as the sun started to set behind the mountains on the horizon. It took less than five seconds from seeing the brim of the sun on the edges on the mountain tops to totally losing sight of it. Once the sun was totally blocked by the mountains, the skyline turned reddish and quickly night sky sets in. The transformation was just wonderful to watch.

Autumn has Arrived at SFU

Colorful Tree Leaves

It's Autumn again on campus and the leaves on the trees are changing colors again before they fall from the tree branches. Thus, creates a beautiful galore of colorful scene on campus. On the drive up to campus, I can see the trees along Gaglardi Way providing an amazing scene. And it is even more spectacular on the way down with Mount Baker on the background. That is when the skies are clear. The spectrum of colors from the tree leaves reminds us of the changing in season. This is the only time in the year where we can actually see the arrival of a new season.

Beautiful Colors

The sky too is looking more gloomy and we are expecting the nights to be longer and the days shorter. As we approaches the end of the year, the weather is not the only thing that is changing but we also change to the more appropriate type of outdoor activities. The weather will get colder by the day and our clothing gets thinker and more layers. We are being reminded by mother nature that winter season is just around the corner. So, get ready to embrace whatever the weather brings. For many of the new students that just joined us this semester, winter can be a lot of fun. This is time we bring out our gears for winter activities.

First Round Competition of The Fall 2016 Universal Case Competition

First Round Participants

The first round competition of the Fall 2016 Universal Case Competition got on the way this afternoon at the Fraser International College SFU campus with six teams competing today for the ten final spots in the final rounds to be held later in the month. Another four teams will present tomorrow and another nine teams to present on Wednesday. This semester's participation is a record breaking feat for the organizing committee.

The Universal Case Competition has seen a overwhelming responds from among the international students. There were thirteen teams competing last semester and this semester, the Universal Case Competition received a record breaking twenty three teams applying to participate. And just right before the first round competition, after the confirmation dateline, nineteen teams will be viewing the ten final spots to compete in the finals.

Case Competition

With the increased number of teams competing this semester, the organizing committee with the recommendations of the Case Competition Director changed the team elimination format. The responsibility to select the ten final teams for the final rounds will rest on the team coaches with recommendations from the case competition officials. Each of the eight appointed coaches will select one team from their charges to proceed to the final rounds and the last two to qualify will be picked by the organizing committee.

With this changed in elimination format, the coaches will play a more important role and tasked with making sure they picked the right team to progress. This change will also improved on the level of collaboration between the participants and their coaches. The first round case instruction coincidentally focusses on this week's theme on the SFU campus on the Terry Fox Run Campaign for Cancer Research.

Q&A Session

The teams are to propose activities that will improve on awareness and at the same time to raise funds for the Terry Fox Run Campaign for Cancer Research. Each of the team will proposed activities leading to or after the actual event which uses the Terry Fox Foundation as a platform to raise funds for Cancer Research. Ultimately, their presentation skills and critical thinking skills will be judged upon.

Fall 2016 Model United Nations in FIC

Fall 2016 Model United Nations

I attended the Fraser International College Model United Nations Conference and witnessed some really good debuts. I was watching the debuts and noticed an improvement in the number of participants and also the standard of the debut itself. The participating students were more prepared and equipped themselves with relevant information to present during their arguments.

Participants of the Fall 2016 Model UN

Overall, I am impressed with the improvement. For this semester, each team comprises of three students and each team represents a country with nuclear weapon capabilities. Their theme was encouraging nuclear disarmament among the nuclear able countries and improve peace for the world. The mocked United Nations Conference took about two and a half hours to complete but without any clear agreement among the nations.

The Universal Case Competition for Fall 2016

UCC Fall 2016 Organizing Committee

The Universal Case Competition for the Fall 2016 semester has attracted a larger crowd than the previous few semesters. Today, I was in attendance at the semester's first workshop to promote the case competition. From my observations there were a large crowd of students doing registration in the presentation room. At the workshop, the UCC committee shared some of their experiences, competition features, and benefits of the Case Competition to the participants.  At the end of the presentations, they also confirmed the students' participations. We could actually make up at least fifteen participating teams from the number of students we had in the classroom, which is a record if the organizing committee successfully confirmed them all for the competition.

Participants of UCC Fall 2016

Previously, the largest participation number was thirteen teams. Looks like the Case Competition is really gaining popularity in FIC and particularly students from across the different program pathways. Some of the participants were actually participants from the previous semester returning to compete again. So, we do have experienced teams competing against newly formed teams this time round. The energy and excitement among the participating teams are really positive. No matter what level of experience the competing teams have, every team will start with equal chances.

A Section of Participants

The first workshop went really well. The Case Competition Organizing Committee members did a great job in introducing the basic features, rules and benefits of the competition. They were well prepared with their own presentations and managed the questions and answers section really well. Overall, their presentation was well planned. In the workshop, their presentations motivated potential participants and created the awareness to the potential learning opportunities available to the participants. In closing, the students were asked to confirmed their participation by registering their team names and members' names. Then, they were all invited to next weeks second workshop to learn more on presentation skills.

Fraser International College Talent Night

The Fraser International College Mic Night event at the Atrium of Discovery 1 in SFU tonight was an entertaining as well as a fun event that has witnessed some really great talents.

The Atrium Filling Up Quick

In that two hours, I watched and listened to some really good dancing, singing, and cultural performance from among the international students. Other than encouraging the students to participate and mingle, the event that was hosted by the FIC ACT team was a platform primarily to allow the students to socialize and build friendship at the same time. This event was previously organized at the end of the first week of the new semester but this semester with the changed in the college's activity calendar, it is moved to the end of the second week instead.

The Crowd on Mic Night

The opportunity to mingle and destress was still the main objective and tonight's event did just that after the first two weeks of really hectic start to the Fall semester. I also spotted several FIC staff members that were there enjoying the performance put together by the students. Now that the second week of classes draws to an end, more serious work and focus is required of the students moving into the third week and so on. In fact the three student Master of Ceremonies at the Mic Night reminded their fellow students to have fun but also remember their responsibilities in the weeks ahead.

The IT Squad Performing

But tonight was all about having fun and taking a break from studying. The students definitely deserved the break and they came out in full force. Knowing the students, they will jump right back into study mode once the festivity mood is over. In fact, some of the courses already have midterm coming up or assignments due on the third week. Students in my business classes are already attempting their second quiz moving into the third week. And an assignment due tonight.

All for A Good Cause

Everyone A Winner

I was among the several brave faculties who had volunteered for the, "Pie Your Professor" event to raise funds for the FIC Faculty Award Scholarship. And as it turns out there were more fun than tension in the event. I had a wonderful time although being thrown pie at. There were about thirty to forty students, staff and faculties that came to join in the festivities. Between the four targets, I guess we were receiving pies thrown at our bodies more than our faces. Not that the throwers were not aiming at the faces but few throws actually reached their intended targets. Anyway, we were kind of lucky because sometimes the tree branches and sometimes the wind was on our side.

All Ready For Action

Anything for a good cause. I did not count the exact number of throws but figured that it was around twenty. By the way, it was a beautiful sunny day to hold such an outdoor activity. Should have gotten more participation have we gathered everyone inside the building to come out. After the event we were celebrated with ice creams and we all stayed for awhile to chat and laugh about the whole experience. Likewise, whether faculty, staff or students, we all had a good time making friends and fellowship.

Fall 2016 Semester Starts in FIC/SFU

UCC Case Competition

The Fall semester started this morning with all kinds of events and festivities. The morning started with people everywhere. Although, I have my first class only at 1.30pm today but I was already involved with the student services fair from eleven o'clock. Actually, I came in rather early today to make copies of course outlines and attendance record. The first week of the semester can be really chaotic if preparations are not done early.

SFU App Suite

Other than the Case Competition, I will be handling a few of the BUS200 classes this semester. And I am already excited and looking forward to the start of the new semester. And as usual in my semester calendar, I will be conducting workshops and seminars outside my class schedule. I have most of the responsibilities listed down and prepared way before these events take place. Most definitely, I can't wait to meet with my students in this new semester.

Student Services Fair

I was also involved with the new student orientation last Friday and there are so many fresh students arriving for the Fall semester, more than previous semesters. I assumed that this is going to be a real busy semester for everyone in Fraser International College. The student services fair starts today too. And the UCC Case Competition Committee is also involved in promoting the Case Competition. I have a great committee this semester. They should be able to do well.