Who should pay for the first date? If a party starts at 8pm, what time would you arrive? What is a home remedy that you use to cure a cold?
These were some of the questions posed to us at our orientation for the UCD Michael Smurfit Business School 2019/2020 cohort. As random as these questions were, they showed stark differences in the way that we approach social situations and it spoke a lot to our cultural backgrounds. We were then introduced to the Intercultural Development (ICD) Programme.
With increasingly multicultural workplaces, the ICD programme is a way to develop our intercultural competence and prepare us for key workplace and self-development skills in a time of accelerating globalisation. The programme takes place during the semester through a series of research-driven and theory-based workshops focusing on different intercultural aspects, such as communication, teamwork, emotional intelligence, problem solving, decision making and leadership.
The set-up of the workshops is more interactive than an ordinary lecture. We sat at tables with fellows from different academic courses, different countries and different backgrounds. The charismatic facilitator of these workshops, Dr Yang, ensured that we interacted with one another in the beginning of each session. She created an environment that was fun and interactive yet equally academically stimulating. I felt comfortable to share my own experiences with strangers, and to listen and learn from theirs. I found that every workshop was an excellent opportunity to interact with fellow students through engaging and challenging our understanding of culture. The highly interactive nature of the programme was refreshing and enabled me to learn from my peers.
I found that one of the highlights for my learning journey was that I became aware of the way in which I communicate and interact with people. For example, I realised that sometimes the way I communicated could be complicated and long-winded. Whereas, if I communicate concisely and clearly, it can be easier to understand for people who are not mother tongue English speakers. Throughout the semester, I became aware of the transformation in my language that I needed to make for the groups I worked with to effectively communicate with one another.
There were also some fun observations I made about myself, such as realising that I am a Hopper. I hop from one task to the next when I work. It may sound like I cannot concentrate on one task and complete it, but I maintain energy by keeping busy and I find having a couple of tasks going on at one time to be exhilarating. I discussed strategies to bring out the best productivity with my fellow classmates at the table and after that session, I started to adjust my learning style in a more efficient manner with the Hopper style of managing my time.
I am grateful to the UCD Michael Smurfit Business School for giving me the opportunity to take part in this programme to identify my intercultural strengths and develop the areas that are critical to a multicultural workplace. The business school not only values diversity in education but encourages us to embrace it and celebrate the opportunity to make the most of our learning experience within a multicultural environment.
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