Another year and another class of graduating students will say goodbye to their alma mater and start a new journey. The four years spent at UIC is some of the best years of their life. How many stories and sceneries have been treasured along the way? How much hard work has paid off? The following is the story of Year 4 e-Business Management and Information Systems (EBIS) student Chen Xiaofeng.
At UIC, Chen Xiaofeng met a lot of students with ideas where she explains that they can think independently, broaden their horizons, and not limit themselves to inherent thinking. She also met great teachers that encouraged students to express their ideas.
Chen Xiaofeng
University means different things to everyone. For Chen Xiaofeng, university means growth and that is what she did as a student of e-Business Management and Information Systems, which is part of the Division of Business and Management (DBM) at UIC. She saw her value and realised her shortcomings and understood the responsibilities and learned to cooperate as well as what it’s like being alone. During the graduation season, she received a letter of admission for the graduate programme in Knowledge Management at Nanyang Technological University in Singapore.
Learning to express herself
Fujian native Chen Xiaofeng was attracted by the diversified educational environment of UIC. However, the start of her university life was not as smooth as she intended. Chen Xiaofeng was originally a person who was not good at expressing herself. She still remembers her first oral presentation after entering university; she lacked expressions, which resulted in a lacklustre result. She soon realised the importance of expressing herself in today's society and UIC just allowed her to hone in on that skill.
To stop being timid, Chen Xiaofeng would memorise every word of her presentation. She became more confident and no longer suffers from ‘stage fright’. During the freshman summer vacation, Chen Xiaofeng participated in a Hong Kong business case competition with peer students and won the championship.
Chen Xiaofeng shares her experience with fellow students in her sophomore year
Chen Xiaofeng explained that UIC provided a lot of opportunities for students and motivated them to seize the moment and progress themselves. She feels her language skills have improved, which has resulted in her being more confident to use them. This is a change that even her parents have seen according to Chen Xiaofeng.
In Chen Xiaofeng's view, UIC is a place where students are encouraged to express their opinions. She is touched by the encouragement of the teachers and the courage of classmates when they are expressing themselves and stepping out from their comfort zones.
Listening to her voice when making choices
The Electronic Commerce course impressed Chen Xiaofeng the most. She explained that DBM Assistant Professor, Dr Chai Junyi, often led students to explore the domestic and international enterprises and e-commerce platforms. The stories and development histories of these enterprises and platforms have a profound impact on Chen Xiaofeng as she is now seeing businesses from multiple angles, looking for the reasons for success or failure.
Chen Xiaofeng and UIC President Professor Tang Tao at the scholarship presentation ceremony
Except for expressing herself, Chen Xiaofeng also learned to listen to her voice. She has been keeping a diary since Year 3 of college, which helps her to make choices, and to overcome the loneliness of being alone.
Due to the pandemic, Chen Xiaofeng did not return to UIC during the semester. She misses her daily life on the campus as well as missing her classmates. She describes that those times were the most precious to her.Chen Xiaofeng explains that university life is the most suitable stage for understanding oneself and discovering potential. She says that during the four years at university, students can think more, try more, and understand the direction that they want to move, and then bravely move forward to their goals.
Postscript
Programme Director of EBIS Dr Darren Weng explained that the 23 graduates of the first e-Business Management and Information Systems major each demonstrated a rigorous and diligent style of study, excellent and strong collaborative capabilities, in addition to confidence and passion.
Dr Weng Zhiquan and students who returned to the campus
As of now, all students of this major have determined their next steps. Students who plan to study abroad have been admitted to postgraduate majors in world-renowned universities such as Nanyang Technological University in Singapore, City University of Hong Kong, and Warwick University in the UK etc. Students who choose to work will join companies such as Ubisoft, Baoneng, and Tesla etc while other students will choose to start their own businesses.
According to Dr Weng, this major mainly cultivates students' comprehensive skills including technical abilities and management skills; while on the other hand, it also encourages students to creatively use these technologies by diversified teaching modes such as business competitions, case discussions, corporate research, and project cooperation. The means are combined with actual business application scenarios and product innovation. The professional background and comprehensive capabilities of graduates majoring in e-Business Management and Information Systems are widely recognised by the market.
From MPRO
Reporter: Samuel Burgess
Editors: Deen He, Covee Wang
