Cooperation between FIM and Taylor´s University, Malaysia works!

It´s great to see the fruitful cooperation between the Faculty of Informatics and Managements and it was our pleasure to welcome Associate Professor Dr. Sothees, the Acting Head of School, School of Management & Marketing, from Taylor´s University in Malaysia.  

Dr. Sothees spent 10 days in Hradec Králové (based on Erasmus+ Credit Mobility Program) and her main goals were meeting and teaching students, discussions with colleagues, negotiations with the dean about current and further cooperation between universities and of course getting to know Hradec Králové. In our opinion, these days were amazing and everybody enjoyed. It was our pleasure to host Dr. Sothees at FIM!  

And what does Dr. Sothees think about her visit at FIM?  

The overall experience was highly satisfactory. The contributing factor was the good communication with my counterparts - Dr. Libuše Svobodová, Prof Josef Hynek; as well as with Ms. Eva Pospíchalová, the International Relations Coordinator at University Hradec Kralove. The constant communication ensured the planning was well coordinated, in addition to meeting the expectations of both the sending and receiving institutions.

The key benefit of the visit was the opportunity to expand my professional network, especially my international networks. This provided an opportunity for engagement in the area of research collaboration, joint publications, applying for international grants, among others. In addition, this opportunity for engagement was not limited at an individual level but there were discussions to explore cooperation at the institution level.

In terms of the lectures and workshops, I noticed that students were similar in some ways and different in others. The similarity been students needed time to acclimatize to an unfamiliar presence in their classroom. I am of course referring to my Asian appearance, my English accent, and my struggle with pronouncing their names. I had jokingly said that my tongue doesn’t corporate by rolling accordingly to pronounce their names well. They responded with a smile and chuckle, warming up slightly. I noticed that UHK students were quicker to adopt and adapt compared to my previous experiences. It took them a shorter time to respond and to participate in activities and case study discussions. Their responsiveness was encouraging, and I decided to go deeper in terms of the content and the level of coverage as well.  The interaction with the students provided an opportunity for me to understand the cultural perspective and how students respond. I must acknowledge the gentle nudging from the faculty members who were present during these lectures/workshops that encouraged higher degree of engagement from the students. Overall, it was a positive and pleasant experience.