Responding
to the Challenge of Globalization:
JGSOM's Junior Term Abroad 2005
The
John Gokongwei School of Management (JGSOM) continues to establish itself
as a regionally recognized center of excellence and leadership in
undergraduate business education by launching anew its Junior Term Abroad
Program (JTA) for 2005. Now on its third run, the Junior Term Abroad
program makes possible for juniors enrolled in JGSOM to spend a semester
abroad through a student exchange agreement between the Ateneo de Manila
University and various partner universities in Asia, Europe, and the
United States.
Special
Academic Calendar
Despite
the availability of scholarships abroad, very few Ateneo students pursue
these because differences between the Philippine and foreign academic
calendars necessitate the delay of their graduation by a full year if they
opt to spend one term aboard. Through the JTA's Special Academic
Calendar, participating students can complete their first semester at the
Ateneo by mid-August, in time for them to catch the fall semester abroad.
They can start their second semester at the Ateneo in January, right after
completing their term abroad. Through this synchronization of academic
calendars, students are able to spend an entire semester abroad and
complete their academic programs at the Ateneo on time.
Aside
from Philosophy, Theology, and Management core subjects, Mathematics and
Economics are now offered to assure students that they will not miss out
on anything while they are studying in JGSOM's partner institutions
abroad.
Steady
Growth
From twenty-four (24) students joining JTA's initial run in 2003, and another twenty-four the following year, the number of participants almost tripled this year as sixty-one (61) students will be leaving for their respective institutions by Mid-August. These students are from the following concentrations: Management, Management-Honors, Legal Management, Communications Technology Management, and Management Engineering.
John Sy (JTA '03) recalled: "Studying abroad has helped broaden my knowledge in the field of management. I came home not only with the education I have received in Graz [University], but also with the experience of living independently in a European country… I returned with both insights my European colleagues shared with me and friendships I established with them."
Meanwhile,
Christopher Tiu, Dean's Lister and UAAP Cager leaving for Lille Catholic
University in France, said: "I expect to gain a network of friends from
all over the globe…and a broader perspective of things after this
experience. By joining this program, I will be gaining new knowledge which
will allow me to be more capable and flexible in whatever path I will
pursue in the future."
Establishing
Links
Not
also has the number of student participants grown for the past two years
but also the number of academic institutions JGSOM partners with. From six
(6) institution in 2003 and seven (7) in 2004, there are currently ten
(10) universities all over Europe, Asia, and the United states that open
their doors to Ateneo JGSOM students.
The current roster of partner institutions consists of The Beijing Center, UIBE (China), Hong Kong Baptist University (China), Kyushu University (Japan), Lille Catholic University (France), National Sun Yate Sen University (Taiwan), National University of Singapore (Singapore), Singapore Management University (Singapore), Sta. Clara University (USA), University of Macau (China), University of San Francisco (USA).
Striving for Magis
When asked what
prompted JGSOM to pilot such innovative program, Mr. Rudy P. Ang, Dean,
said: "No community can afford to isolate itself from the world outside.
As the world globalizes, business and industry must learn to become more
globally competitive. If we wish to develop leaders of tomorrow, we need
to provide them with more global perspective."
As a testament to
JGSOM's efforts in shaping its students into business leaders who are
global in perspective and interdisciplinary in approach, technically
proficient and analytical, yet humanistic and people oriented, Jack
Delacroix, Professor of Management in Sta. Clara University (California,
USA), in a letter to Dean Ang opined: "Thank you for sending me very
good students for the second time in two years. They are better students
than all but the best of my American-born students. It's a pleasure to
teach such students. The Ateneo is doing something very right. If I could
I would send you both my college-bound children!"
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