Fraser International College's Peer Educator's Networking Event

Student Participants

The Peer Educators at Fraser International College organized their first networking event which involved all of this semester's peer educators. Also, among the invited participants were selected international students at FIC, alumnus, peer educators and past program leaders. I was invited to representative the faculty. The main purpose of this networking event was to promote and to create interest among the international students community to the activities organized through the peer educators' program.

Round table networking sessions

In the networking event that night, I met with some familiar faces among the peer educators and some of the present batch of international students. I also met with many of the alumnus in attendance that have graduated from SFU and settling into their professional careers.

The networking event was well planned and organized. Praise should be given to the present peer educator program leaders. From my conversations with the organizers, apparently this will be the first of a series of networking events planned for the year. I am already looking forward to next semester's networking event.

Appreciated the volunteers that have supported the FIC Universal Case Competition

Appreciation for job well done

Fraser International College through the case competition project team, celebrated with the teaching staff, organizing committee and volunteers of the summer 2016 FIC Universal Case Competition at the Smokehouse Sandwich Co. in Vancouver. Of the thirty invited guest which included the organizing committee and volunteers; twenty people, including instructors and students turned up at the sandwich shop for the special function. This appreciation lunch function was also an appropriate event where we dedicated our thanks to the continuous support the teaching staff have given to make the case competition another successful conclusion. The group of instructors that were present had a really good time and took the opportunity to interact with the students.

FIC Instructors and Students

The function was a nice way of showing appreciation to the people that had made the FIC Universal Case Competition possible. And the Smokehouse Sandwich Co. was a really appropriate venue to hold such private function. And, the owner of the establishment was really accommodating to allow us the use of the diner for this special function. The smoked meat sandwiches and beverages that were served in the special event was just gastronomical. The sandwiches included the smoked beef sandwich, smoked pulled pork sandwich, smoked pulled chicken sandwich and the popular smoked pork belly sandwich. We were also served with their special signature drinks, notably the ginger lemon honey and the strawberry mint. In fact there were more food than we could consume. Therefore, at the end of the function, we had the students take home the leftover sandwiches.

Second of the Ultimate Leadership Workshop Series

Establishing Leadership

Initially this workshop was scheduled for next Friday, July 1, 2016 which is a Canadian holiday. So, in order to avoid conducting the workshop on a holiday, I had to reschedule this second workshop to today. And in spite of the last minute notice to all the participants, the turn out was really encouraging. This shows the commitment and determination of the students who have strong desires to learn. We started the workshop on time and had approximately forty five participants with several late comers.

Entanglement

After a short introduction to the day's activities, we began with the "Bingo Game". In the Bingo Game, the participants were supposed to gather as much information as possible from as many friends within five minutes. And they get to learn the two key elements that makes a successful leader which are effectiveness and efficiency during the debrief segment of the activity. The next activity starts with a challenge. They were introduced to a situation, where the participants were paired up and then tangled together with a pair of twine at the wrist. They tried all kinds of ways for about ten minutes but no pair was able to free themselves from the entanglement until I showed them an easy solution to free themselves. The learning from this activity was experience.

Top Executives in Action

The final experiential learning activity of the day was an opportunity for the participants to learn about challenges in communication across organizational hierarchy. This activity simulates real communication challenges in organizations. I split the class into four groups. Each receiving different sets of instructions but there is one common goal which was not actually revealed. Every group represents a level of the organizational hierarchy. There were so much chaos in communication, the goal wasn't achieved and the organization failed to function and succeed in its endeavour. But the essence of the activity is to learn from the mistakes and know the existence of such challenges in communication in every organization.

FIC Universal Case Competition Final Rounds

Team Stradition

The Summer 2016 FIC Universal Case Competition held the semi-final and final rounds today in SFU's Discovery Park. Registration started on time at approximately eight thirty in the morning. By which time, most of the competing teams were all ready and waiting in the waiting room. But due to some minor unforeseen circumstances the case competition only got going at about twenty minutes after nine in the morning. So, by the time we completed the semifinal rounds, we were about thirty minutes behind schedule.

Team Power Ninjas

In fact, except for being behind on the time, the organizers were very much in control and managing the event really well. While the presentations were going on, the project manager and the logistic director have been busy preparing for the awards ceremony at the end of the event. They were busy preparing the competitors certificates, gift cards, thank you cards, medals, ribbons and so on. The food for today's event was catered with Manis Malaysian Restaurant which was delivered on time at about noon.

Team FIC Action

From the initial twelve teams that made it through to the semifinals, only six teams were to progress to the final rounds. The presentation topic remained the same throughout the day and teams that proceeded were allowed to make minor changes prior to their final presentation. The case competition judges were responsible to pick the teams that were going through to the finals. And in the finals they were to determine the top three presenting teams based on different criteria which have been predetermined prior to the start of the actual case competition.

Top Speakers

This semester's FIC Universal Case Competition top three presentation teams were the FIC Action, Power Ninjas and Stradition. And like in every semester, the judges also got to pick three best speakers among all the presenters. The awards for the summer 2016 FIC Universal Case Competition best speakers went to Takunda, Vince and Linda. The top presenting team was team Stradition followed by team Power Ninjas and then team FIC Action in a close third. As far as I am concern, everyone was a winner in the Case Competition, similar certificates were given to each presenter and the team coaches of the FIC Universal Case Competition.

The current PMP class were surprised with the visit of last summer's PMP class.

Two Cohorts of SFU MBA Class

After our study tour of SFU's Venture Labs, we went to Smokehouse Sandwich Co. in The Cathedral Place on Granville for lunch and while they were enjoying their lunch and their usual exciting conversations, I surprised them with a visit with some of the grad students from the present batch of MBA class (nearly all from last summer's preMBA cohort had turned up). I was surprised too because all the previous grad students from last year's class turned up which I did not expect at all.

The PMP Club

They also tacked along a few new friends. It was a sight to enjoy, seeing the two cohorts of SFU MBA class together. It really brought back memories of the time when I was an MBA student. One group is just getting started and the other group is about to graduate and start internship. The PreMasters Program has truly been a successful program thus far providing the transitioning for international students coming to the SFU MBA program. And also the SFU M.App.Sc. program.

Live Case Study

It was really gratifying to see last summer's PreMBA students finally graduating and moving on with their respective careers. I have been staying in touched with many of these students and happy to say that they have made it.

So, at the end of it all, there were still some unfinished business to attend to. I got the class (current PMP class) together and introduced them to the instructions for their live case study. I regrouped the class to two teams and have them build interview questions. And then, conduct an interview with the owner of Smokehouse Sandwich Co., who happened to be in the sandwich shop.

COLW510 Class visited SFU's Venture Labs to learn top level work collaboration

TeamFit

I led the COLW510 grad students to SFU's Venture Labs to experience collaborative work environments in action. The entrepreneurship incubator in Venture Labs has great examples of successful collaboration between product specialists, venture capitalists, serial entrepreneurs, professional advisors and expert mentors. The Venture Labs is a world class business accelerator, set up a couple of years ago to provide the space and opportunity to promote the growth of clean tech industry in Canada in general and British Columbia in particular. Some of the partners in the program are the National Research Council of Canada, BC Innovation Council, Ryerson University, University of Ontario Institute of Technology, University of Victoria, Emily Carr University and BC Institute of Technology.

VentureLabs

The were about twenty start up companies within the space and facilities provided by Venture Labs when we visited. And the grad students were given introduction to two of the incubator companies that were involved in the business accelerator program, in particularly TeamFit and Instant. This was a suitable learning experience for them to experience top level collaborative working environments. Thus, providing them with two different samples for in-class discussion. TeamFit is a solution provider for skills and programs within organizations through their innovative platform. Whereas, Instant is a provider of a smarter payroll system with clients between both sides of the border.

Day Out with Newly Arrived Grad Students

At Sapperton Days

Yesterday, I played tourist guide to two of my grad students. I have made prior arrangement to meet with them at the Sapperton Days 2016, street fair at about eleven in the morning on Sunday. It was an introduction to the culture and diversity of Canada. On that day, there were lots of displays and exhibits, representing businesses in the Sapperton area, food trucks with different ethnic and local cuisines, first responders like police and the fire and rescue department, community services and health clubs, and children's learning centres. The main attraction was of cause the New Westminster's vintage police car and the New Westminster's vintage fire truck other than the street dancing and music shows.

In a Chinese Herbal Shop

After an hour at the Sapperton Days street fair, we proceeded to Vancouver's heritage Chinatown. It was much calmer and quieter there. We walked around Keefer, Pender and Hasting. First, before we started, we actually had lunch in HON's Wuntun House on Keefer which has been serving Cantonese style cuisines for a very long time. In Chinatown, there were more than a few Chinese herbal shops and I took the opportunity to show them some of the unique items sold at the herbal shops, like snake skin, lizard skin, sea horses, star fish, shark fins, deer antlers and so on. We also walked through the Sun Yet-Son Park before heading back to Burnaby campus. I was with the students for approximately five hours on Sunday, enjoying the good weather.

Model United Nations in FIC

Participants and Organizers

Fraser International College organized and hosted the Model United Nations or also known as Model UN, over the past weekend in Discovery 1 at Simon Fraser University's Burnaby campus. The final day debate saw eleven enthusiastic students presenting their recommendations and views at the mocked conference at the assembly of nations. The was the second in the series of Model United Nations forum which will be a semesterly event at Fraser International College. This educational simulation or academic competition is a rare opportunity for international students to learn about diplomacy, international relationships and the functions of The United Nations.

FIC's Model United Nation

The international students participating in the Model UN conference, known as delegates, are placed in committees or assigned to a certain country, where they represent an individual country, committee or a particular cause.  The delegates will conduct research and formulate a report or paper before the conference that they will use to debate with their fellow delegates. At the end of this semester's Model UN conference, the top performing team was representing Greece.

The Ultimate Leadership Workshop Series

Team Building

About forty five international students from Fraser International College got to participate in the Ultimate Leadership Workshop Series which started yesterday in Discovery 1, SFU. In the first of the three workshops, students get to learn team building, effective communication, critical thinking and leadership skills. The participants were introduced to several simulated working environments where the opportunity is to learn to collaborate with their fellow teammates to accomplish a particular goal. The first workshop sets the stage for the participants to experience the process of team building starting with the forming phase.

Accomplishing Common Goals

Within these activities, challenges were intentionally introduced to simulate a real working environment, such as a mole to sabotage or slowdown the team's progress. This activity allows the participants to experience the storming phase of team building, where team members start to doubt their fellow teammates. In order to encourage participation, each of the six teams were lead by a graduate student that also participated in all the three simulated activities.

Collaborative Work Environments

The three experiential learning activities were develop for the COLW510 Collaborative Work Environments course with a learning purpose, and were run concurrently with the leadership workshop to benefit some of the international students that were keen to learn leadership skills. The workshop is part of the learning component in the course for the graduate students. And with the leadership workshop, opportunities are given to the undergraduate students to learn alongside the graduate students in activities simulating live working environments.

First Round FIC Universal Case Competition

Case Competition Presenters

The first round of FIC Universal Case Competition started on Tuesday in the fifth week of the summer 2016 semester. It took two days during the afternoon break period for thirteen teams to complete their presentations. It was obvious that the FIC Universal Case Competition is gaining popularity among the students at Fraser International College @ Simon Fraser University with the largest number of participants so far. The organizers were surprised with the overwhelming responds. Of the thirteen participating teams, there were also more than twenty nationalities represented in the case competition.

Team Triump

The topic for the first round were based on the social issues surrounding hate crimes which included racism, violence, gender, forms of discrimination and so on. In that two days of presentation, the participating teams have shown great confidence, effective speaking skills, used of presentation aids and team cooperations. The selected topic was chosen because social issues are better suited for the international student population of FIC. And the topic was common among the students from different program pathways.

The Gentlemen

Although it is a competition, the atmosphere and momentum around the competition were focused on learning new skills, collaboration and support. With the opportunity, students learned to appreciate and understand the social issues surrounding us, and how important it is to work together to initiate change in our society.

In the two days of competition, twelve teams have been selected to advance to the semifinal rounds. And each team in the next round will start with a fresh case topic and instructions.

PMP Capstone Class visited Burnaby Village Museum

Original First House in Burnaby

The PreMaster Program CAPS510 Capstone class visited Burnaby Village Museum as part of their field assignment for the information collection phase of the course. It was an experiential learning trip to see and learn first hand of the different exhibits on display and presentations available on the museum grounds. Besides the learning opportunity, it was a great day to be outdoor with the excellent weather condition. The group were pretty organized and stayed together for the most part of the visit. And as expected of the graduate students, moving together from one exhibit site to another exhibiting the basic characteristics of building trust in the team formation process. This is a typical characteristic in the forming stage of a healthy collaborative work environment too.

In the Convinient Store

Other than that, the students actually took the opportunity to practice their interviewing skills with different individuals (professionally trained presenters) that spoke English as the first language. Overall, the students are showing greater confidence in handling conversations in English. From observations, they were making good eye contacts and comfortable with their body language when conversing in English. This activity also gave the students the opportunity to learn to be attentive listeners. As these international students are afforded with more opportunities to speak with local speakers within an informal setting, they will learn to adapt much easier and faster. Something they will have to earn before stepping into the SFU MBA program proper.

All Aboard for A Train Ride

Other than learning through their interactions with the locals, the students were also introduced to the rich and diverse Canadian culture at its best in Burnaby Village Museum. The volunteers were so supportive and enthusiastic to meet with these international students that they went out of their ways to show great hospitality. There were several occasions when some of the presenters just went on and on explaining the exhibits until I had to hurry everyone to move on to the next exhibit. I am really appreciative of the work these volunteers are doing. I believe they have left a positive impact on students on how friendly and welcoming Canadians are.

FIC Universal Case Competition Summer 2016 Workshop

Presentation Skills by Prof. Daryl Fuller

Into our third official FIC Universal Case Competition and we were overwhelmed with the participation of thirteen teams. This is the most participation we have ever recorded in the series. I am just happy with the overall marketing campaign done by the organizing committee. A job well done, in spite of being in the summer semester where the student population is usually at the lowest of the three semesters, I am proud of the volunteers, organizing committee and the project manager because against all odds especially at the beginning, they managed to recruit thirteen teams to participate.

A section of the participants

The organizing committee held the workshop on Presentation Skills just yesterday with Professor Daryl Fuller. He was an inspiring speaker, sharing his wisdom and experience with the participants on effective presentation skills. The participants were glued to his every word and narration of good presentation. This session with Prof. Daryl Fuller was also an eye opener to many of the participating students as to the tremendous benefits that awaits an established speaker.

Effective Presentation

The organizing committee also used the opportunity to reaffirm the participation of the teams that signed up to compete. In the classroom next door, a separate session was also held for the coaches of the case competition. And later the coaches were introduced to the participating teams. The schedule for the participants were also revealed yesterday and each team has approximately seven days to prepare for the presentation. So, the coaches and their teams went straight into preparation mode. Competition will start next week.