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A Feast for the Heart

Apr 18-2013   



 

——The Summer School Program for West Point Cadets and Overseas Students at BiMBA

Two cadets from the Department of Behavioral Sciences and Leadership, United States Military Academy at West Point, visited BiMBA during the summer holiday, 2009. They also took part in BiMBA summer school program-Chinese Language and Culture Introduction Course. During the intensive 4-week summer course, the cadets studied Chinese culture and language together with other overseas BiMBA students who were about to enter BiMBA in 2009. In addition to classroom-based teaching, the course also included a diverse range of extracurricular activities, including a tour to local historic and cultural scenic spots in Beijing, homestay accommodation, and visits to companies run by BiMBA alimuni in Shanxi, Henan and Shanghai, etc. The course was attended also by Professor Hu Dayuan, Chinese Dean of BiMBA, Professor Bruce Stening, International Dean of BiMBA from Vlerick, and Liu Qian and Xie Yi from the International Project Department. As well as giving them an opportunity to experience a real taste of the exotic Chinese lifestyle, the course enabled the student to explore the time-honoured and profound traditional Chinese culture—it was a spiritual feast, distilled but rewarding.

Based on its existing resources, previous experiences in organizing summer shool program and cooperation with West Point, BiMBA developed the Summer School Program-Chinese Language and Culture Introduction Course as a brand-new feature program customized to the individual needs of students of West Point and BiMBA international students. It started with intensive Chinese language training classes. The students began their studies in Chinese as soon as they arrived at BiMBA. Apart from language training, West Point cadets and BiMBA international students were also offered interesting lectures given by BiMBA faculty members: Professor Bruce Stening shared his experience of doing business in China, which was an important lesson for students wishing to set up their business in China after graduation; Professor Hu Danian’s lecture helped the students acquire a general understanding about Chinese culture and history in just a few hours; Liu Qian’s lecture was a vivid account of the prosperity of the Qin Dynasty; and Ms. Xie Yi's lecture entitled China Image revealed for the students inside stories behind external experience. Li Xiaolong, a junior at the Department of Behavioral Sciences and Leadership of West Point, told us after the lectures “I benefited considerably from these interesting and inspiring lectures. I feel that I am lucky to be chosen for this course which makes me more confident in my ‘Chinese Dream’”.

For the students, the course had been stressful as well as entertaining. They visited many local tourist sites, including the lofty Simatai Great Wall, beautiful royal gardens, the Forbidden City and Temple of Heaven, Chairman Mao Memorial Hall, the famous Lao She Teahouse and Olympic venues of the Beijing Olympic Games. “I had seen them all in pictures, but, to my surprise, I still felt the impact on me when I visited these places in person. It was just like a dream!” says Michael, a sophomore at West Point, after he finished his tour round in Beijing.

Having received some basic trainings in the Langrun Garden, the students went to Taiyuan (Shanxi Province), Zhengzhou (Henan Province) and Shanghai. There, they visited the Ancient City of Pingyao, the Shaolin Temple, Songyang Academy and Longman Grottoes, best-known examples of the widely celebrated Shanghai Culture, e.g. Yu Garden, Town God's Temple and Nanjing Road, as well as showpieces of China’s opening-up policy and economic reform such as the Oriental Pearl Tower and the Bund. As a result, the students experienced, for themselves, cultural and social differences between Beijing and these cities. More importantly, they became acutely aware of the regional diversity of the Chinese market. Moreover, BiMBA also arranged for the students to visit some of the companies run by BiMBA alumni in Shanxi and Henan, where they held discussions with the senior management of some local state-owned enterprises as well as private business owners, whose successful stories were an inspiration for all of the students. Nakajima from Nomura Securities (Japan) told us: “China will become the center of global economy in the future. I am totally convinced of this. I have always wanted to know more about the Chinese market and entrepreneurs, and my visit to BiMBA this time has been very successful and rewarding. I found the successful stories of BiMBA alumni were very useful in guiding my company in its future operations in China.”

 

A Feast for the Heart

Apr 18-2013   



 

——The Summer School Program for West Point Cadets and Overseas Students at BiMBA

Two cadets from the Department of Behavioral Sciences and Leadership, United States Military Academy at West Point, visited BiMBA during the summer holiday, 2009. They also took part in BiMBA summer school program-Chinese Language and Culture Introduction Course. During the intensive 4-week summer course, the cadets studied Chinese culture and language together with other overseas BiMBA students who were about to enter BiMBA in 2009. In addition to classroom-based teaching, the course also included a diverse range of extracurricular activities, including a tour to local historic and cultural scenic spots in Beijing, homestay accommodation, and visits to companies run by BiMBA alimuni in Shanxi, Henan and Shanghai, etc. The course was attended also by Professor Hu Dayuan, Chinese Dean of BiMBA, Professor Bruce Stening, International Dean of BiMBA from Vlerick, and Liu Qian and Xie Yi from the International Project Department. As well as giving them an opportunity to experience a real taste of the exotic Chinese lifestyle, the course enabled the student to explore the time-honoured and profound traditional Chinese culture—it was a spiritual feast, distilled but rewarding.

Based on its existing resources, previous experiences in organizing summer shool program and cooperation with West Point, BiMBA developed the Summer School Program-Chinese Language and Culture Introduction Course as a brand-new feature program customized to the individual needs of students of West Point and BiMBA international students. It started with intensive Chinese language training classes. The students began their studies in Chinese as soon as they arrived at BiMBA. Apart from language training, West Point cadets and BiMBA international students were also offered interesting lectures given by BiMBA faculty members: Professor Bruce Stening shared his experience of doing business in China, which was an important lesson for students wishing to set up their business in China after graduation; Professor Hu Danian’s lecture helped the students acquire a general understanding about Chinese culture and history in just a few hours; Liu Qian’s lecture was a vivid account of the prosperity of the Qin Dynasty; and Ms. Xie Yi's lecture entitled China Image revealed for the students inside stories behind external experience. Li Xiaolong, a junior at the Department of Behavioral Sciences and Leadership of West Point, told us after the lectures “I benefited considerably from these interesting and inspiring lectures. I feel that I am lucky to be chosen for this course which makes me more confident in my ‘Chinese Dream’”.

For the students, the course had been stressful as well as entertaining. They visited many local tourist sites, including the lofty Simatai Great Wall, beautiful royal gardens, the Forbidden City and Temple of Heaven, Chairman Mao Memorial Hall, the famous Lao She Teahouse and Olympic venues of the Beijing Olympic Games. “I had seen them all in pictures, but, to my surprise, I still felt the impact on me when I visited these places in person. It was just like a dream!” says Michael, a sophomore at West Point, after he finished his tour round in Beijing.

Having received some basic trainings in the Langrun Garden, the students went to Taiyuan (Shanxi Province), Zhengzhou (Henan Province) and Shanghai. There, they visited the Ancient City of Pingyao, the Shaolin Temple, Songyang Academy and Longman Grottoes, best-known examples of the widely celebrated Shanghai Culture, e.g. Yu Garden, Town God's Temple and Nanjing Road, as well as showpieces of China’s opening-up policy and economic reform such as the Oriental Pearl Tower and the Bund. As a result, the students experienced, for themselves, cultural and social differences between Beijing and these cities. More importantly, they became acutely aware of the regional diversity of the Chinese market. Moreover, BiMBA also arranged for the students to visit some of the companies run by BiMBA alumni in Shanxi and Henan, where they held discussions with the senior management of some local state-owned enterprises as well as private business owners, whose successful stories were an inspiration for all of the students. Nakajima from Nomura Securities (Japan) told us: “China will become the center of global economy in the future. I am totally convinced of this. I have always wanted to know more about the Chinese market and entrepreneurs, and my visit to BiMBA this time has been very successful and rewarding. I found the successful stories of BiMBA alumni were very useful in guiding my company in its future operations in China.”