◎ 【New Faculty Interview】Professor Ryan Brading

Dr. Ryan Brading is a new member in the IBMBA&GHRM programs at NSYSU. He joined NSYSU in August 2018. Ryan is from the United Kingdom. This semester, Ryan is teaching: ‘Business Ethics and Social Responsibility’, ‘Sustainability of Global Enterprise and ‘Asia Pacific Business Environment’. He also taught: ‘Organizational Politics’, ‘Production and Operations Management’ and ‘Seminar in Business Management’ – during the first semester of the 2018-2019 academic year.

Ryan received an MBA from Royal Holloway, University of London, a MA in Comparative Politics (Research Track) at Nottingham University, and a PhD from the Department of Government, University of Essex, UK. Ryan tries to interconnect management, economics and politics. He believes that there are some common elements in these three subjects that need to be fleshed out in MBA programs.

Before coming to Taiwan, Ryan taught at SOAS (School of Oriental and African Studies) University of London. When I asked Ryan why he chose Taiwan, he said: “Why not Taiwan?” Such a response really made me think for a while, because we always wonder why here, but seldom, why not here! This implies that Ryan likes Taiwan very much. He said that “Kaohsiung is a brilliant city. NSYSU is a unique university which is beside the ocean and a great mountain for hiking. Such a university with a good location is rare and makes people relaxed. It’s a good place for me to live.” Taiwan also provides a unique opportunity to do some research, examine how the government connects with society, as well as, find out how we think about these social changes.

As for his new life in Taiwan, Ryan said that many things are new to him. He thinks that this is a unique experience for him. As Ryan mentioned, he said that living in a different environment helps him continue to learn new things. “It is exciting to learn new things.”, Ryan said.

The IBMBA program gives him the freedom to design courses, and therefore give students a chance to learn new approaches. Ryan thinks that students can develop new skills here by learning how to have new ways of analyzing the business environment. At different stage, students will face different issues and challenges, and they need to have a set of different skills to deal with them successfully.

Students are encouraged to express themselves. This is what Ryan keeps emphasizing in his courses. He knows that by expressing what we think in class, which he very much encourages, helps Taiwanese students construct excellent analytical ideas. He thinks that these skills will be important for us in the workplace. He claims that we have a lot of knowledge; however, we need to know how to express our ideas coherently and effectively.

Ryan expects students to be curious about the world, try to find their own answers to the difficulties we are facing, and don’t just accept the answers given to us. Overall, the MBA program gives you the platform to let your ideas materialize and convince others. Ryan encourages students to develop their own ways to solve critical questions and find his/her own core personal values very much.

Dr. Ryan Brading led the IBMBA students to have an oversea visit in Thailand.
Dr. Ryan Brading get well along with students, and they had meals together during the intensive courses learning in Thailand.
Dr. Ryan Brading took the photo with a stapler wittily.
IBMBA program serves intensive learning courses overseas, Dr. Ryan Brading took students to have a visit in German company, Häfele which has a branch in Thailand and gave the gifts of gratitude to their representatives.