On May 22nd, the International Relations Office of the College of Management, NSYSU held the “Pre-Departure Seminar of ESSCA Business School’s Joint Program”. Alumnus Chuang Wei-Hao was invited to share his achievements during his study and to provide notes before the junior students departed.

At the beginning of the seminar, Chuang talked about the International Business program on which he majored at ESSCA, and reminded the participants that the required courses listed on the website were not the same as the actual courses available. Therefore, they needed to be open-minded about the school’s arrangement, because he had not even attended the same courses as other alumni. Afterward, he talked about a particular feature of ESSCA: most of the professors in the school also work in the industry, so students need to pay attention to changes in course times; it is not like Taiwanese universities, which have fixed daily schedules.

Chuang also explained the current epidemic measures, which included: “Present a PCR negative report within 72 hours when boarding a plane, print out the declaration of entry into the country and the declaration that you are asymptomatic”; “Implement a curfew”; and so on. These are the measures required in France and Hungary, the locations of the ESSCA campuses. Afterward, he used the visa application process as a bridge to introduce information about preparation and pre-work, as well as various problems students may face post-entry, such as transportation and accommodation, health insurance, housing subsidies, etc.

In the second phase, Chuang reminded the participants that although lockdown has eased in those two countries, the vaccination program in France is not going well, and the French campus is remote and difficult to access. In Hungary, however, the number of COVID-19 cases is relatively moderate, and the campus is located in the capital city with convenient transportation links. Therefore, he suggested that students focus on their studies while in France, and relax and have fun while there are no classes in Hungary. Chuang explained that there are many things to observe and learn, not only through traveling experiences, because the world is currently in a period of economic recovery; he advised that students wear masks properly and pay attention to their safety.

During the Q&A session at the end of the seminar, a participant asked Chuang about his internship and the job responsibilities involved. He explained that he is a business analyst in a consulting company focusing on digital transformation, and talented applicants with R, Python, and VBA skills are welcomed. Although one can always learn from work, applicants will have a greater chance of being hired if they are equipped with these skills. One of the reasons he was successful in applying for the position was that a supervisor who was an alumnus of our school, and had a favorable impression of it, had noticed him. Chuang admitted that luck had been a crucial element too, so it would be nice to attempt applications with different aspects. The seminar ended with enthusiastic questions from the students.

Contributor ZHANG YA-QING, Department of Business Management /

Edited by College of Management