Conference provides opportunity to apply theory to practice

Five King’s students took part in the Global Career Seminar (GCS) in Toronto on February 17-22, 2020, which gave them an opportunity to work together on projects for real-world companies.

A unique seminar, Global Career, organized by King’s partner university, Kwansei Gakuin University KGU), in Nishinomiya, Japan, brings students from Canada and Japan together to work collectively to provide strategic recommendations to real-world organizational issues. 

A selected group of participating companies from Canada and Japan included Air Canada, Japan Foundation - Toronto, Asia Pacific Foundation of Canada, Kubota Canada, Uniqlo Canada, Manulife, Toyota Canada, Venture for Canada, and Ernst & Young.

The King’s students were among 46 participants, which included those from KGU, Queen’s University, University of Toronto, and Mount Allison University. The King’s students studied under the guidance and leadership of Dr. Ayoub Yousefi, Associate Professor in the School of Management, Economics, and Mathematics.

The following students took part in the seminar:

• Xiao Shi, Fourth Year BMOS, Honours Specialization in Finance and Administration
• Qirui Sun, Second Year BMOS, Honours Specialization in Accounting
• Srishti Rai Chowdhury, Third Year BA, Honours Specialization in Economics, Minor in Finance
• Karanveer Singh, Second Year Honours BA, Honours Specialization in Philosophy
• Jia Wang, Second Year Undeclared, 4-Year BA

Here are few samples of what they wrote:

“From the perspective of acquiring professional knowledge, it was an excellent way to apply theory to practice genuinely. We have acquired an unforgettable and beneficial experience,” says Wang.

“I cannot fully convey to you how much this program has meant to me and how beneficial it is for students to partake in experiential learning like this of some sort. Even after the course was over, I found myself making more conscious choices in real life,” says Chowdhury.

“in my opinion, our experience outside the classroom was what set CCC apart from a regular course. Apart from academics, the amount of cultural exchange that we managed to achieve in a week was surreal,” says Chowdhury.

Each student worked on an assigned project with one of the host companies, developing an understanding of the history and current position of the company as well as the industry the company operates in.  The students also undertook formal workshops with Professor Ayoub Yousefi, Professor Takamichi Mito, and Professor Mackenzie Clugston from KGU and representatives from the businesses they were studying, receiving detailed analysis and suggestions about the plans they had developed.

Shi worked with three students from KGU and another from Mount Allison in identifying the gaps between millennial’s expectations and the actual experience of working at EY (Ernst & Young Global Limited).  Shi says he made a lot of connections, including students from other universities and people who worked in different industries.

In working together with people they had not known before, the students had the opportunity to learn how to break down language and cultural barriers while developing leadership skills.