An Asian Experience at Asian University; “A great experience!”

Written by Dr Astrid Kainzbauer and Netikan Roopngarm

In July 2006, I lived a big experience! An Asian experience! For me it was the first time in an Asian country and I loved the experience! (Frederico Simoes, Portugal)

For three weeks, seventy three students from thirteen different countries were based at the Welcome Jomtien Beach Hotel for a Summer University on business practices and cultures in Asia. Ages of the participants varied from 21 - 53 years. Many of them were students of business and some of them already had many years of work experience.Asian University put together an exciting programme including topics such as Economic Growth in Asia, an Asian perspective in International Marketing, and Cross-cultural Management in Asia. On top of these academic subjects, taught by professors of the Business faculty, a series of talks about Oriental Culture and Philosophy introduced aspects of Japanese, Indian and Thai religion and philosophy. For these talks, Asian University managed to attract some famous specialists in those fields.I appreciate my time here! I had so many impressions of Asian life and a lot of new inputs within a short time. (Renate Krascovic, Austria)Apart from the academic programme, students were given a chance to experiment with activities such as Thai boxing, yoga and meditation, Thai dancing, Thai cooking, Thai massage and of course survival Thai language! Highlight of the programme for many students was a talk with the Head Monk at Wat Yan, who kindly offered the students some insights into Buddhism and the daily life of a monk in Thailand.Field trips to experience the actual business environments included a company visit to Nestlé Thailand, and the Bangkok-Pattaya Hospital, where students had a chance to discuss practical business issues with members of the management team.

Of course, local sightseeing excursions took the students to Wat Yannasangwararam, the Buddha Mountain, Nongnooch Tropical Garden, and Koh Samet. Two days in Bangkok offered the group the possibility to visit the Royal Grand Palace, some temples and markets, and to have dinner at the Royal Bangkok Sports Club. And a long weekend provided the opportunity for more distant trips: Phuket, Chiang Mai or Cambodia.
Mingling with students from so many different countries and cultures was of course an experience in itself, as expressed by Barbara Jeza from Slovenia: “It has been quite a privilege for me to learn and live alongside everyone these three weeks. I really enjoyed everything with the group, all the fun, laughter, parties, trips.”

This is an Asian Experience! I love the group! I’ve met very interesting people and I’ve learned a lot of new things. (Filipa Paisana, Portugal)

The programme director for this very successful Summer University was Dr. Astrid Kainzbauer, Associate Dean at the Business Faculty. For the programme coordinator, Katharina Auer, it meant a lot of planning before the programme started, and a lot of running around during the programme. She is enthusiastic about the result: “I am very happy to have had such a great group of participants. It was great fun to organise the Summer University. I hope I managed to arrange an unforgettable experience for everybody.”From the reactions of both participants and lecturers, we can certainly conclude that this was a wonderful experience, and that Asian University will plan to repeat it in the future.
One participant summed up his feelings this way: “Remember: always smile. I really enjoyed this Asian experience.” (Catia Luis, Portugal)