By Dr. Somboon Kulvisaechana
Associate Director for International Affairs
“To get ahead is to get around.” This saying has been strongly echoed in business education at the 2007 EFMD Undergraduate Management Education Conference held at Rouen School of Management, Rouen, France, during 23-25 September 2007. The main theme of the conference is the role of a business school in developing a complete student. Dr. Somboon Kulvisaechana, Associate Director for International Affairs, is a delegate from BBA Thammasat to attend the conference this year. Much of the discussion centers on sharing innovative ideas and practices in creating a ‘whole, complete’ undergraduate – a person who can reflect and apply ethical business values, rise above simple self interest and make complex decisions in a face of competitive environments. Most, but not all, business schools, including BBA Thammasat, have a critical role in transforming powerful education by enhancing experiential learning in class, internships, service learning, international experiences and a combination thereof. “Actually, these notions have been well translated into practice at BBA Thammasat for a long time. We primarily focus on equipping our students with not only an intellectual orientation but also a social responsibility mindset. Living examples can be witnessed through numerous extant BBA initiatives, like TUBC, ASES, WWF visits and other outreach activities. Meaning that we are literally riding on, not falling beneath, the global wave.” remarked Dr. Somboon.
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More than 55 participants (i.e., deans and high-ranking authorities for undergraduate programs) from 14 countries in 4 continents gather at the conference venue, allowing fruitful discussions on challenges of developing the whole, complete undergraduate to be even more productive. In addition, Dr. Somboon has an opportunity to explore a possibility to establish academic collaborations, including a student exchange activities, with the top-notch business schools, such as Rouen School of Management (France), Tsinghua University (China), Lund University (Sweden), University of Richmond (USA) and Babson College (USA).
An intriguing point to take home is that the conference has emphasized good practices in delivering ethics throughout the undergraduate curriculum and dealing with issues related to diversity and multiculturalism. These in fact help us to take a further step in developing the whole, complete undergraduates under the BBA-Thammasat-specific context.
Posted date: October 2, 2007 – 10:00 hrs.
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