Building your leadership and intercultural competency skills can help you land your dream job after your degree! Student Ambassador Tran Minh Hoang from Vietnam shares what he has learned as part of his degree, which he thinks might be useful for anyone looking to study business in Ireland!
UCD Smurfit Campus (photo: Tran Minh Hoang)
Aside from thinking about a school and a degree while planning a study abroad trip, many students are most concerned about job prospects after graduation. Despite the fact that Ireland is recognised as Europe’s “Silicon Valley,” with over 1,000 firms and students having the opportunity to work in Ireland for two years after graduating with a master’s degree, obtaining a dream job is difficult. However, if you study at University College Dublin Michael Smurfit Business School (UCD Smurfit Business school) you won’t have to worry because here, the school prepares you properly with 2 prestigious programmes to boost your employability. For the five years 2018-2022, UCD is ranked first in Ireland in terms of graduate employability (according to QS World rankings).
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The Intercultural Development Programme (ICD).
This is a one-of-a-kind programme in Ireland, available only to UCD Smurfit students. The content of the curriculum is based on scientific studies on how to learn and work successfully in a multicultural setting. Through a series of online courses and seminars on a variety of critical topics, ICD equips students with 11 essential skills for success in the twenty-first century: managing time/tasks, developing intercultural competence, communicating cross-culturally, working in teams, managing conflicts, and improving our global career prospects. Aside from practical lectures and seminars, students will take a variety of tests to learn about their personalities and tendencies while dealing with people, and so on. As a result, they gain a deeper understanding of themselves and learn new approaches to collaborate with classmates and coworkers in the future. Students will receive a certificate upon completion of the programme, which will help to improve their CV. The best part is that the programme is absolutely free and open to all UCD Smurfit business school students.
Intercultural competence (photo: Tran Minh Hoang)
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Global Leadership Programme (GLP):
This is, without a doubt, one of the best programmes for developing leadership abilities in which I have ever attended. The curriculum is a wonderful blend of numerous activities, including providing the foundation with leadership skills through extensive learning resources and seminars with guest speakers who are business leaders or well-known experts. In addition, GLP offers two unique features that set it apart from other programmes. To begin, students will actively organise and implement activities to improve their leadership abilities based on an self-awareness of their own talents, interests, and passions, etc. Following this, each student will choose at least three activities to complete over the academic year, such as being class ambassadors, international student ambassadors, society leaders, and so on, in order to put the theories and tools into practice. Aside from that, a second unique characteristic of GLP is that you will be mentored by the university’s alumni from the beginning of your journey to landing your dream job. You will need to apply because the program requires a high degree of dedication and there are a limited number of mentors. You will be given a certificate to put on your CV after completing the programme for free, and you will be able to exhibit your leadership during the interview process and afterwards at work.
Global Leadership (photo: Tran Minh Hoang)
Simply apply to UCD Smurfit Business School and you will have numerous opportunities to maximise your potential and land your dream job. All the best!
Tran Minh Hoang is studying an MSc in Strategic Management at UCD Smurfit Business School.