CSR Educational Tour and Seminar

Photography session among the participants 

The Faculty of Accountancy and Management (FAM) organised the International MBA and EMBA Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) Educational Tour and Seminar at Sungai Long Campus from 24 to 27 February 2018.

Present at the event were UTAR Vice President for Internationalisation and Academic Development Prof Ir Dr Ewe Hong Tat, Vice President for R&D and Commercialisation Prof Ir Dr Lee Sze Wei, FAM Dean Dr Sia Bee Chuan, Head of Programme for MBA/MBA in Corporate Governance Dr Pok Wei Fong, Tunghai University Center for Healing Environment Administration and Research Prof Chou Ying-Chyi, Huaqiao University Prof Xu Xiao Fei, The Global University of Islamic Finance Prof Dr Syed Abdul Hamid Aljunid, Seijoh University Faculty of Business Administration Dean Prof Lu Tsong-Ming, Seijoh University Li Jian Hui, France Former Ambassador Lu Ching-Long, Far Eastern International Bank Vice President Lee Ming-Bor, AFT Asset Management Corp Founder and CEO Ted Hsu Cheng-Jung, students from Tunghai University, Huaqiao, Seijoh and UTAR and staff.

Dr Sia warmly welcomed the guests and said, “This is indeed a wonderful collaboration between different universities and industries where we are able to work closely on CSR which is also in line with the United Nation’s Sustainable Development Goals. We need to cultivate a position at the intersection of academic and practice to achieve our goals. Events like this enable us to be the driver of innovation, lead transformation and encourage interdependence.”

Prof Chou said, “This event served as a platform for us to share our different opinions on the concept of CSR between few universities. I am glad to be a part of this event and I look forward to more collaborations to benefit the students.”

Prof Xu said, “It is an honour to join efforts in making this event a success. I am glad for the support received from different universities with the same goal to joint efforts for CSR activities. I hope to see more activities and outcomes in our future collaboration.”

Prof Syed delivering his keynote speech

The event was followed by a keynote speech titled “Ethics and Governance-viewpoints and world views” from Prof Syed. He said, “There is a need to understand the concept of human being. We have standards of right and wrong, the ideas of truth and it differentiates between people. It is critical to go back to the history in order to further understand it.”

Throughout the educational tour, the students from both universities visited the main attractions of Kuala Lumpur. The students were exposed to the Malaysian culture through food tasting, sightseeing and case study.

Ching sharing his work experiences

The first session saw Ching sharing his diplomatic experiences titled “Sharing of International Experience on Citizen’s Social Responsibility”. He said, “We live in an era of modern communications and we should embrace the ever-changing world and grab the opportunities that lie ahead of us.” He ended the session with a French song titled “Bonsoir, Mes Amis!”

Lee presenting the CSR report to the audience

In the second session, Lee with his title “CSR Report on Banking Service in Taiwan” spoke on several agendas such as participants of the CSR report in Taiwan, principles of the CSR report, quality measurement of the CSR report, award and winners of the CSR report for banking services in Taiwan and the conclusion of the overall agenda.

Students from UTAR, Tunghai, Huaqiao and Seijoh worked on their case studies and presented it to the audience. The students studied on cases pertaining to the companies CSR such as Nike, Nestle, Heineken, Standard Foods, UOB, Starbucks, Globe Union Industrial Corp and Ikea.

“We are honoured to be in this programme because we were given the opportunity to expose ourselves to the Malaysian culture and different opinions from the students. Overall, UTAR students and lecturers have shown us great and warm hospitality and we look forward to more activities to come,” said Tunghai University students Wang Chuan-Yu, Chen Jei-Ni, Gu Yi-Chen and Lai Ying-Yu.

Prof Lu (left) and Hsu commenting on the students’ case studies

The group presentations were followed by the comments from the experts, Prof Lu and Hsu who agreed that the event was a great learning experience for each other and the students from all groups have shown various skills such as teamwork, resourcefulness, and diligence in their case study.

“Internalisation is important and students having the opportunity to go overseas to learn and being exposed is a rewarding process in life. Today’s topic is about CSR and I believe this is an important act that we need to participate in order to contribute back to the society. We are happy to witness the collaborations between different universities to exchange different intellectual properties as well as to gain real exposure to increase our understanding towards CSR,” said Prof Ewe in his closing remark.

The event was followed by certificate presentation to the students from Prof Lee before it adjourned.