One of the main reasons Christian Biegert chose Griffith University for his MBA studies was the myriad of international opportunities on offer. So when he saw a notice calling for applications for a scholarship to support an Asia Study Tour, he couldn’t ignore it.
“I thought it was a good chance to continue my studies over there in an Asian context and get some international cultural experiences,” the German international student said. “In Europe you don’t have that many touch points with Asian countries.”
Christian’s application was strong and he was awarded a financial incentive to attend the tour. But as much as he was looking forward to expanding his learning sphere over in South Korea, he says he even benefited from the application process.
“When you write your application, thinking about why you are the right person for a scholarship makes you think about the program as well,” he explains. “It really helps you realise why you wanted to do the course in the first place. It gets you excited about study and the outcome.”
A self-confessed travel lover, Christian says there were two main reasons he felt the need to learn in South Korea. “One reason was the culture I could experience,” he said. “By going there and actually living somewhere you get more insight into their culture and how they behave and do business.
“I’d studied and read a lot about South Korea and it’s completely different to our western culture, especially in how they do business. So I thought the tour would teach me a lot about other cultural business behaviours that could benefit me in my career.”
But the other reason was one that he believes will help him through his university journey.
“The MBA Director [Chris Fleming] comes with you on the tour, so it’s a really good opportunity to learn from him personally, one I didn’t want to miss.”
Christian says he’s particularly eager to get started on the projects he will have to complete while on the Tour.
“While over there we have to develop a business idea that we want to do with South Korea so I will learn a lot about making a company both in Australia and over there,” he says.
And rather than just going over to the country to work, Christian has decided to extend his trip at the beginning and go a week earlier, to really give himself time to immerse himself in South Korean life.
“If I just go there for the study I’ll be totally busy the whole time and won’t have time to explore, so I want to experience the culture and everything else.”