Dear friends,
We are glad to have GHRM English MBA Program student Aaron shared his experience of dual degree program in the UK, as he just finished his studies at Nottingham Trent University (NTU).
Aaron was born and raised in Chiayi. He obtained his bachelor’s degree at National Chi-Nan University with major in Foreign Language (English & Japanese) and minoring in International Business. Soon after completing bachelor’s degree, Aaron took his first job and worked for a pump manufacturer (Stairs Pumps) based in Chiayi. He was a salesperson dealing with customers from abroad (mainly from Central and South Asia). The next year, he relocated to Kaohsiung and started working for China Airlines, where he has been and is working through the years of his studies.
“I had worked for three years before working on my master’s degree at NSYSU. The reason I chose GHRM MBA program was quite simple－it enables me to obtain another master’s degree in the UK at minimum cost. Nevertheless, GHRM MBA program granted me much more than that! I met a bunch of people who inspired me a lot either in the academic field or personal life. Moreover, it enabled me to bridge the three-year gap (during which I stopped studying) with up-to-date skills as well as hands-on experiences in the field of Human Resource Management. Besides, I found it undoubtedly a great place to study thanks to its diverse environment (foreign lecturers and students, international programs, and abundance of academic resources).” – explains Aaron.
Aaron has just finished his studies at NTU, and he is very excited about his experience: “It was amaaaazing!!! As a Taiwanese student, I would say I hardly know what a master course is truly like until I set foot in NTU. However, studying at NTU would not make any differences if you do not keep an open mind. The fact is that you could learn much more than you expected once you get out of your comfort zone and start a discussion with someone you are not familiar with. Overall, I had countless unforgettable life experiences in the UK and my master study would not be completed without them.”
During his first year at NSYSU, Aaron really enjoyed the “Independent Studies” class instructed by Professor David McConville, as the opportunity to work closely with an operating business as a HR consultant is very valuable.
“I had difficulties adapting to new technologies widely used by other students at first. For example, I could not use Google to create documents for group editing as I usually made slides on my laptop. Fortunately, my teammates taught me how to do it later. Time management is a common issue for most of the students in this program since if we want to graduate on time, we may have to take at least 3 to 4 courses each semester while most of them are quite demanding. From scheduling, prioritizing, to letting go is the process I used to deal with my time. I planned my school schedule based on my work roaster and prioritized the school tasks based on their deadlines. And letting go was sometimes inevitable when things went beyond my control.” – These are the challenges Aaron faced and successfully dealt with being part of GHRM MBA Program.
After graduating from GHRM English MBA Program, Aaron thinks with the Diploma in HRM, it would be easier to get a position in the HR department via internal transfer in his current company. Similarly, he is convinced that students with this diploma will be able to find a decent job thanks to NSYSU’s reputation in industry as well as in research.
The following are some facts and tips for the new blood (from Aaron):
(1) You would learn mostly by yourself and a lot from your peers.
(2) If you are highly interested in HRM or your main purpose of study is to explore it, taking courses across programs would be suggested.
(3) Communication comes first in every social context. Sharpening your language skills would make your study more fruitful.
(4) Setting short, medium, and long-term action plans (as required to state in the study plan) would help clarify your initial purpose of the study, track the progression during the study, and review the takeaways in the end of the study.
(5) Always be positive and prepared for shocks, challenges, and failures as they would help you grow.