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[Scholarship]

The Outstanding Alumni Jane Chen and Alumna Yiming Chan Granted Scholarship to 2022 FLP Students

​In the Summer of 2022, the Center for Global Business (https://jindal.utdallas.edu/centers-of-excellence/cgb/)  in the Naveen Jindal School of Management at the University of Texas at Dallas and the Education Change Lives and Times (ECLAT) Foundation (https://www.eclatfoundation.org/) held the Future Leaders Program (FLP) to combine academic and corporate resources to cultivate distinguished young students to become future leaders. The FLP was a 3-week intensive program. Due to the COVID-19 pandemic, the program was held online this year.

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To expand students’ horizons, the College of Management continuously provides various opportunities for students’ interactions from different countries, giving out scholarships to encourage students to participate in the Program. In 2022, the College of Management sponsored Wendy Shen, Dan Chen, and Eugene Lai. The Oustanding Alumni Jane Chen and Yiming Chan from ECLAT Foundation came back from the US to hold a 2022 FLP class reunion to discuss what the students impressed the most about the program and what they have learned from the program. In addition, they granted a scholarship to 4 students: Eugene Lai, Wendy Shen, Dan Chen, and Cindy Huang for their brilliant performance during the 2022 program period. The scholarship aims to encourage students to devote themselves to social services, issue discovery, and problem solving so they can contribute to social impacts. The College of Management thanks both Jane Chen and Yiming Chan for their long-time devotion to education. Moreover, they will help bridge the College of Management at Fu Jen Catholic University (FJCU) and the Naveen Jindal School of Management at the University of Texas at Dallas (UTD) to build more international collaborations.

“The first time I saw the FLP info, I found it a great opportunity to learn from professors and students in the US, ” said Eugene Lai, from Dept. of Statistics, who has always planned to study abroad after graduation. She expressed that the intensive and demanding full English courses and group discussions enhance her English proficiency and critical thinking. So she was actively participating in all the class activities and assignments.

Also from the Dept. of Statistics and Information Science, Wendy Shen mentioned, what impressed her the most was the Social Impact Plan in the last week of the program. Each team would have to come up with a proposal for a social issue. To overcome the time zone difference of the participating students, teamwork is crucial from data collection and analysis, to execution. So each team member had to use the only time they can meet economically and strategically to discuss and solve problems. One of the most challenging items is they had to narrow down their research to a specific city. But there was not much info online. So they had no choice but started a field trip to interview the research target. They faced so much frustration and failed so many times. But with teamwork, they finally completed this mission impossible.

Dan Chen from the Dept. of Statistics and Information Science said, through the program, she learned more about herself, no matter in self-management or self-advancement. So she expanded her human network. She learned a great deal from the professors, business elite lecturers, and even other participating classmates. Eugene mentioned the 3-week full English program activated her potential. From a great deal of English listening, speaking, reading, and writing, she also learned negotiation skills. The Final Report discussions with partners from India were the most challenging ones. It’s hard to express her idea accurately. Many times she almost broke down in front of the webcam. But the team finally reached a consensus. That is every team member should keep silent while others are delivering ideas. They would only comment or respond after one had completed their ideas. In the beginning, the meetings became longer, but gradually they built a mutual understanding and later discussions become more efficient to make the team collaboration run more smoothly. The growth for her and her teammates was they became more mature after the 3 week program.

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FLP is not a quick camp program like a cram school. It provides students to learn more about the diversity of multicultural and multiethnic society in the US. Students can also learn to communicate with international corporates and know about global trends. They can also develop social impact plans to deliver their influences in the communities. They also build a network with various people and expand their friend circle to promote inter-university and international interactions. Through the program, they can enhance their English speaking professionally and improve their leadership ability.

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As Wendy said, to learn in a fully English environment, and experience teaching and learning interactions in the US program is very different from what she had learned in Taiwan. Though one may not be proficient in English, as long as one can step out of the comfort zone, one can expand their horizon, and promote themselves. Eugene said, she even applied what she had learned from the program in their daily life while conducting discussions. All of them encouraged future students to take advantage of the program in 2023 and go to UTD to study physically. They believe this will be a great chance to advance for the  better for everyone.

The Future Leaders Program (FLP) is a selective three-week virtual program designed to educate young future leaders around the world. This endowed program is intended for students who exhibit leadership capability and are interested in becoming global citizens and leaders. This program provides a theoretical foundation and practical application for students to begin their journey as change-markers of this world. Intellectual curiosity about world issues and business problems allow students to become students for life, and identify; and address problems that exist not only in their communities but also around the world. The goal is to instill this curiosity in participants. No problem can be solved by just one individual, therefore, through this program, students are provided with an opportunity to build a global network.