IMBA is pleased to announce that two of its students, Arlene Chang from the Philippines and Inez Lim from Singapore, represented Asia at the 2021 Geneva Challenge, which took place on November 16, 2021. The team, which included another graduate student from the University of Saskatchewan in Canada, finished second worldwide.

The Geneva Challenge – Advancing Development Goals Contest is an annual competition hosted by the Graduate Institute of International and Development Studies in Geneva, in which master students from around the world are encouraged to submit proposals to address a pressing development issue. In its eighth edition, students were asked to provide solutions to “The Challenges of Crisis Management.”

Five finalists teams, each representing a continent from across the world, were chosen and invited to present at the Maison de la Paix in Geneva. The team had to make their presentation virtually due to the global pandemic.

In order to address the Philippines’ food insecurity and malnutrition concerns, the team presented DAAN, a digital solution that could be used to ensure that essential goods can move freely across the country’s National Capital Region (NCR). It also aims to promote systemic cooperation and data-driven planning in order to reduce food waste caused by poor logistics.

“There were a lot of news headlines during the first wave of the COVID-19 in the Philippines about how tons of vegetables were thrown out due to border controls and contradictory government policies. At the same time, the lockdown resulted in food insecurity in the capital; it appeared to be criminal that food was being thrown away as people struggled to acquire food. So we know that as a team, we wanted to create a solution that can help address that” said Arlene.

The projects underwent different iterations. The initial idea was to develop a solution to make government procurement sustainable. However, since the scope was too broad, the team had to narrow it to make it more actionable. During one of the late-night discussions, one of the team members, Inez, shared her experience in how Singapore is utilizing technology in its fight for COVID-19. This insight led to the development of the final proposal called DAAN, which also means “road” or “way” in Filipino, DAAN is an app that digitalizes the food pass and paves the way for more efficient logistics. This multidisciplinary solution is based on the team’s observations of Singapore’s COVID-19 pandemic efforts and study into the Philippine government’s digitalization push.

Leveraging on the learnings from the different IMBA classes and the diverse disciplinary perspectives, the team was able to come up with a business proposal that was theoretically grounded and actionable. They were awarded CHF 5,000 (NT 150,000) in prize money for coming in second place, which they will use to further develop their concept.

Arlene encourages more participation to this case competition in the future from NCCU: “The Geneva Challenge is a fantastic opportunity for students to put what they have learnt in class into practice in order to achieve the Sustainable Development Goals. I learned a range of business models from IMBA, which I was able to use to my project. I am delighted I was able to put what I learned in the IMBA program to use; since it instilled in me an entrepreneurial mindset as well as a greater awareness of social issues. I strongly encourage all NCCU graduate (masters) students to join in this year’s edition of the Geneva Challenge. The theme for this year’s edition is “The Challenge of Poverty Reduction.”

To learn more about the competition, go to https://www.graduateinstitute.ch/geneva-challenge/contest/.

It was Saturday morning, when all the new students gathered in the NCCU College of Commerce to commence their orientation ceremony and discover what it is like to attend one of the most recognized MBA programs in Taiwan. This semester the IMBA program is glad to have such a wide diversity of international students that, for COVID-19 related reasons, have yet to arrive in Taiwan. This day, the orientation was attended by all Taiwanese students, a few international students that already live and work in Taiwan, and international students streaming from all over the world as they prepare to travel to their new home for the next 2 years.

They started at 9:00 AM sharp, with kind & welcoming words on behalf of IMBA Director, Professor Shari Shang. Minutes later, Professor Swee-Huat Lee led the session with a flaring lecture on “Re-learning How to Learn.” This lecture helped incoming students understand that in order to be successful in their IMBA experience (and in life), they must re-think how is it that they learn, and improve on their habits by continuously managing themselves. Professor S-H Lee reminded students that, “in order to change the world, we must first change ourselves.”

Later that morning, the new students proceeded to take a group picture that will remind them of the day they joined the IMBA family. Furthermore, they received two short lectures on behalf of IMBA Administration representatives Ms. Li-Chi Ho and Ms. Jasmine Lu. These were related to the facilities around campus, the online and offline resources offered by NCCU and IMBA, career advice services, and much more useful information that will help students solve any frequently asked-for issue.

Before lunch, the class received Alumni Jim Lai, who shared an inspiring message with the new students related to how to manage work, life, and studies. Followed by Jim, student council president, Holly Chen, along with student council members shared important information related to future networking activities, school facilities, and information of interest for new students. Along with them, club leaders Irina Aguilar and Cinny Huang, presented about the Dragon Boat Club and the Oath Club. In their speech they persuaded new students to join their activities and be part of their teams.

During lunchtime, new students were joined by 2nd-year students and alumni to share a meal together, connect, and answer any questions they may have. In the words of 2020 graduate, Paul Huh, “it is inspiring to see them all so happy for this new challenge that it feels as though it was yesterday, we were in their shoes.”
Lunchtime was followed by a small reception at the IMBA Student Lounge, where students can study, relax, and meet in a casual manner. At the reception, alumni and 2nd year students shared some advice on how to navigate the program and painting a picture of how the new students’ future will look like.

On behalf of all IMBA family members, we are all excited to receive a new batch of talented professionals into our program and wish them all a fruitful IMBA experience!