Expanding your international network through global opportunities at UBC Sauder

The Global Network for Advanced Management (GNAM) is a collaboration of 31 of the top business schools in the world that offers students global learning opportunities. The UBC Sauder School of Business is the only Canadian member, and from traveling abroad to study at partner institutions to meeting talented peers across the globe at international events, this enriching experience could be a bonus to your Master’s degree at UBC Sauder.

Learn more about UBC International MBA (IMBA) student Erika Chen’s experience at the Berlin Global Dialogue.
 

Q: Why did you want to attend the Berlin Global Dialogue?

Our world is going through historic transformations in economic order, technology, innovation and transitioning to a low carbon economy. The Berlin Global Dialogue creates space for leaders around the world to communicate and propose better ways of working together in the future – and I was honoured to be the delegate from UBC Sauder to participate in this grand event as part of the Young Voices Program.

After living in Vancouver for ten years following the completion of my Bachelor of Commerce degree at UBC Sauder, I moved to Shanghai to explore China’s business environment while completing my UBC IMBA. I’ve always been interested in international opportunities, so the opportunity to connect with business and political leaders from around the world at this event was very exciting. Working in the investment industry, I knew that the insight this dialogue would offer on a global scale would be invaluable.
 

Q: What were the three top takeaways you got from the event?

There were a lot of valuable learnings that I took away from the event. If I had to summarize them into three things they would be:

1) The importance of diverse perspectives

We participated in three workshops before the dialogue with the objective of identifying global challenges and then working together on potential solutions to present at the event.

My group chose to focus on climate, and we all provided our country’s commitment to reducing emissions as well as the unique challenges they each face, such as wildfires in Canada. We explored models to help guide us in constructing solutions to the problem we identified – analyzing how to scale innovation for a low carbon economy. The final workshop was in person in Berlin, where we finalized the proposal that we would present to the business and political leaders at the event.

I found participating in discussions with international professionals and leaders in person more impactful than reading global news online. It reminded me that we all have different perspectives and challenges, but we also have so much in common. When seeking collaboration for global challenges, we need to ensure that everyone’s voices are heard – including the minority parties – we can’t just look at one country or continent. It got me thinking: how can we apply what we’ve learned from our country’s successes and failures to other regions, and vice versa?

2) Global networking opportunities

I built close connections with many of my peers who attended the event from around the world. We spent a lot of time together – from conferences to discussions, from breakfast to dinner – and got to know each other well. I feel very fortunate to have so many intelligent people in my network as a result of this experience. Consulting with these connections across the world will certainly help me in my professional career as an international investor.

3) Lessons from business and political leaders

As part of the Young Voices Program, I attended the private sessions with the Chancellor of Germany and the CEOs of both Mercedes-Benz and Telekom. The self-discipline and lifestyle tips they shared that have led to their successes really resonated with me. For example, a common theme was that the CEOs would take every minute as an opportunity to learn. Whenever they saw new concepts or ideas, they would consult professionals for the latest information in various industries.

I took this to heart. I believe that no matter how successful you are or what position you’re in, continuous learning is so important – particularly across different industries as our world evolves and new ideas emerge.
 

Q: How are you hoping to apply this to your professional career?

This experience was extremely impactful on how I approach my professional career. As I work through my second year in the IMBA program at UBC Sauder, I found that this experience helped expand the way I think to incorporate a more global perspective. Understanding how global policy interacts with my work as an investor is key to my career success.

The international connections that I built from all over the world are invaluable in my profession. For example, as I look into ESG investment opportunities in specific countries, I now have business connections in the ESG sector that I can consult with in those regions. Consulting with my network ensures that I consider diverse perspectives when determining how to conduct my business.
 

Q: What was your favourite portion of the event?

Due to my career in the investment industry, I was particularly interested in the session on the “Future of Trade in a Fragmenting World”. This session explored how rising fragmentation in economy has heavily affected global trade and investment, and the role that industrial policy and national security should play in trade and investment. I was also the student delegate to ask and answer questions from the chairman of BGD at this session.
 

Q: Did anything surprise you about the event?

I was pleasantly surprised by how much we were encouraged to “challenge” the leaders during the dialogues and room sessions.

The intention behind the group project that I mentioned was to ensure we were all prepared and educated on the topics being covered at the event, so we felt empowered to ask tough questions to both business and political leaders. This fostered insightful, in-depth conversations with different, enriching perspectives.
 

Q: Do you have any words of wisdom for anyone considering or currently doing a master’s degree at UBC Sauder?

I would encourage students to always stay curious, keep learning and don’t be afraid of a challenge – including challenging leaders and challenging yourself.