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.

Preparing Grad Students for SFU's MBA program

In the computer lab for SAS Practice

A group of new grad students started this summer's Pre Masters Program which is a direct pathway to the highly recognized SFU's MBA just about a week ago at Fraser International College in the Burnaby campus. This group of students were one of the most diversely represented yet, coming from Ukraine, India, Indonesia, South Korea and China. After the first week of familiarization and course introduction, the second week was more of transitioning to some serious learning. Their course load included Quantitative Analytics, Collaborative Work Environments, Writing Literacy, Intercultural Communications and Case Competition Capstone.

Practicing the online tool used for Statistical Analysis

Most of them have been here less than two weeks and already adjusted back to being a full time student again. This pre masters program will help them transition and gain the necessary experience to a successful MBA experience. In fact this is my third year with this program and I have had the opportunity to transition and work with at least two previous batches of pre masters program students that have gone on to successfully graduated from the SFU's MBA program. I have been involved with the development of the pre masters program since initiation.

After the First Week of Class in Summer 2016

Students in the BUS237 Comp Lab.

The first day of class for the summer 2016 semester started on the week beginning on May 9 for students in Fraser International College at Simon Fraser University. There are about two hundred and fifty new students in FIC this semester. I am also glad to start the new semester with many familiar faces. Like previous semesters, I will be teaching the BUS237 Introduction to Computer Information Systems for Business from the first week onwards. And the other Pre-Masters Program classes will only start on week three. So, summer is going to be a pretty busy semester for me in terms of instructions and support from week three.

Getting ready for first day lecture

Personally, the first week was more about getting familiar with the students, discussing about the course workload, responsibilities and components of the course as a whole. I would like to set the path for students right from the start. We also talk about course requirements, responsibilities, procedures and policies. My aim is to make sure every student understand the opportunities and benefits of the course and are able to achieve the best results possible within these similar circumstances. The students too are pretty eager to get the semester started and have shown great enthusiasm. I am pleased and satisfied with the first week of classes.

Start of the Summer 2016 semester

I am actually glad to be back in school after the two weeks break. Last Friday was orientation day for the newly arrived students and today classes started as early as 8.30am. My BUS237 Introduction to Computer Information Systems section 3 class was one of the early classes this semester. And, just like every class that I teach, first thing I do is get to know the students. I call out the students' names one at a time from the attendance record and they reply with their preferred names and course concentration. After that, I will discuss about my role and the students' responsibilities for this course. Included in the discussion will be course components, grading system, assignments, exams and policies. Lecture on Chapter 1 starts immediately after a short break.

I am assigned to three sections of this course this semester on top of the PreMasters Program courses. This is going to be my busiest semester for the year. Other than teaching, I will also be conducting two to three workshops within the semester, depending on the availability of time on my schedule. Also, not forgetting the Universal Case Competition and Instructor Advising.

Fraser International College's Tenth Year in Simon Fraser Unversity

Three Ideas One Goal

I am proud and privilege to be amongst the people involved in this partnership. Although I have been with FIC for less than five years but I feel as if I have been here right from the start. Fraser International College has allowed me to explore my capabilities as an educator. My diverse background, experience and teaching skills are appreciated here.

Getting Ready for Presentation

Every time, I step into my classroom, I am being appreciated by my students, peers and administrators. This is a great community to belong to. I have seen students arriving at the steps of the college, lost, nervous and afraid but within a semester here at FIC these same individuals flourished with great dreams and pride. This is a place where we build characters, dreams and possibilities.

As far as I am concern and for most of the faculty and staff of this college, one of the main reason, this FIC-SFU partnership is still strong, friendly and gaining strength is through the collaboration of each and every stakeholder that is directly or indirectly involved in the community.