The first acculturation workshop for international CEIBS students took place on December 1st and 2nd. Together with CEIBS language courses, they are called the Acculturation Programme for CEIBS international students. The aim of the programme was to gain self awareness of Chinese culture, to grasp Chinese language skill, and to share experiences among participants in order to better succeed in the integration on China daily life.
The workshop consisted in a brief introduction to Chinese culture, an overview of intercultural competencies and exchange experiences and challenges between the students, alumni and the workshop leaders.
Profesor David Gosset gave an excellent overview speech on Chinese history and culture. Professor Gosset's lecture helped to better understand Chinese reality and reached to justify some of the difference on Chinese behavior based on Chinese history.
Another interesting axe of the workshop was about the discussion of the main challenges for international students living in China. It was interesting to discuss among the challenges which internationals face in china in their daily lives and the way to overcome these challenging situations. One of the more interesting parts of the workshop was to listen to alumni inspirational speeches. It was interesting to hear their advices and how they face the challenges to establish successfully in China.
Moreover, students received a feedback from PhD student Lily Li on intercultural intelligence based on a questionnaire that students answered before attending the workshop. It was interesting to understand our strongest points and our weaknesses in order to set our priorities to face daily integration challenges.
Workshop finished with the presentation of different associations for expatriates which could give advice for integration, mainly to the families of our students as it has already been the case with one of the workshop assistance.
The workshop was a success and the feedbacks are positive. It was a unique occasion to discuss student experiences in China and hear other people's points of views, from professors to alumni, to how to face daily life challenges in China. (Provided by David Vinagre Solans, MBA2006)
