Student Feedback

Much more than just a course requirement

By May 26, 2020July 6th, 2020No Comments

by Jessica

Me in Beijing

I initially planned to take this course solely to clear my Technological and Entrepreneurial course requirements. However, this journey turned out to be entirely different from what I thought.
It was the most practical and hands-on course one can get in a business school like SMU, and it allowed me to see things much more clearly. Ironically, this was the first time I had the chance to come out with financial statements myself from scratch, despite being an Accountancy and Finance student. It was also made realistic because we all had our specific roles rather than everyone working on a balance sheet together in other Finance modules. In addition, we were coming out with figures for a company my group set up ourselves.
Despite everyone having their specific roles, it was an excellent learning opportunity because everyone can learn from others who are experts in their fields. I was able to learn technical skills, marketing skills, leadership skills and the like from my team members.
The way Prof Pam conducted the class was also different from other modules, where she acted more as a facilitator rather than a Professor. She tried to be our friend rather than just a Professor and she made us set goals and targets for ourselves rather than provide a generic one. This is definitely better because everyone is different.
As a facilitator, she shared with us many stories of her life and other entrepreneurs and why they failed, or why they succeeded. She shared with us important aspects of how to set a business, from choosing a management team to the eventual raising of funds, etc. The way the class was conducted allowed us to refine our business plan gradually, with not only Prof’s inputs but the comments and views of our friends and peers.
I also learnt that so many of my peers are actually entrepreneurs and having their own business which does make me consider what should I do in the future. It also made me rethink that maybe it is not as impossible as I thought to start up a business. Most importantly, the talks by the CEOs taught me a lot of important lessons about entrepreneurship, setting up of a business and life in general. In essence, the course gets me thinking, and this might affect important decisions about my future career plans.
Thank you Prof Pam, Andy, my awesome group and the wonderful class for this experience.

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