by Filip Gruber (Singapore)
I decided to take this course right after I got the letter of acceptance from SMU. I have a friend who attended this course last semester and she was very enthusiastic about it. And I have to say, I’m not disappointed. The course is very inspiring and Pam Lim is a very good lecturer and hearing her experiences through her career is very enriching.
As an exchange student I have learnt a lot of interesting and inspirational things about the Singaporean business environment and of course, about entrepreneurship. By working in groups with foreign people you don’t know before and try to start a business with them is also a very good experience. You need to adopt to different people styles and be considerate to all of your members. This is very interesting as a foreign student point of view. In the future, as the business world becomes more international, you have to have these skills – working with your own business or not. Another lesson is that a good communication platform is important when working in such a large group.
In this course, I might have been the more quiet one, but listening and learning from the local student is a good lesson itself. People here in Singapore are much more entrepreneurship driven, maybe because of the good business climate here, or maybe because of wanting to succeed by doing something on your own. Anyhow, I like the style and I whish my home country (Sweden) was more like this.
This course is also about actually do things, you’re not just writing a business plan and then call it a day. You will be taught several theoretical tools and then you have to try them out in a practical way. Learning by doing is, in my opinion a wonderful way of learning.
I also learned that change is very common and that change sometimes is the most important factor when developing a great business. You have to try, make mistakes and the get back on the horse again – this time with a new style.
I can happily recommend this course for anyone with just the slightest interest in entrepreneurship. It will give you the right guidance and the motivation for you to start trying to set up your own business.