In Episode 6 of SAF Ready the podcast, Sam is joined by Alan, an SAF student who has taken part in the International Study Trip Course (AFM 334)! They explore every corner of this unique opportunity through the student perspective – from the application process and preparation to the thrilling journey itself. Join them as they discuss the richness of this experience, including the invaluable lessons that students bring back home.
In Episode 6 of SAF Ready the podcast, Sam is joined by Alan, an SAF student who has taken part in the International Study Trip Course (AFM 334)! They explore every corner of this unique opportunity through the student perspective – from the application process and preparation to the thrilling journey itself. Join them as they discuss the richness of this experience, including the invaluable lessons that students bring back home.
Hi everyone, and welcome to SAF Ready the Podcast here at the University of Waterloo. On this podcast we have a variety of guest students, faculty and staff to let you in on all the School of Accounting Finance has to offer. I'm Sam and I'll be your host. We want to ensure that you're hearing everything that you want to hear, know and learn about in the School of Accounting and Finance. So after listening to each episode, feel free to DM us on our variety of social chains as well as emailing us at saf@uwaterloo.ca with any more questions, topics, or people that you want to hear from. Tune in soon for our next episode on the Buzzsprout, Spotify and Apple Podcasts. Honestly, any platform that offers podcasts, we're most likely on it. Today we have Alan and he's going to be talking about the international study course. He's currently. You're currently an executive on the current trip right now, right. Part of the management team. Yes. Amazing. Okay. So yeah, we're going to dive right in and just talking about the opportunities that you have by being a part of this. So, Alan, thank you so much for coming in today. Thanks so much for having me. Really appreciate it. Amazing, okay! So yeah, let's just dive right in. So what is the international study course for students? Yeah, sure. Yeah. Kicking it right off and diving into what the international study course is. It's essentially an opportunity for students here with the School of Accounting and Finance. You know, regardless of your program, if you're an ad AFM, CFM, SFM, it's a chance to experience culture and international business in another part of the world. So most recently, yeah, it is really cool. I went to Singapore and we met with 12 different companies, met a ton of dignitaries and it was just incredible. That's so cool. So do you guys like plan the whole process? Like kind of like, how does the course run, I guess I should say. Yeah, yeah. So, so it really is more of a course than a trip in the sense that there's three different teams. We've got the marketing team, the meals and logistics team and the corporate relations team. So these three teams all work dynamically, but you know, separately. But together, yeah. To essentially form this trip. So the entire four months that you've got in school is here to plan. And then for the actual ten days that you're in Singapore or we're going to Vietnam next, it's yeah, we just take it from there. Okay. That's so cool. So yeah, and just kind of get a little bit more about you. So, what program are you in here at the School of Accounting Finance. Yeah, so I'm currently in my 3B term, so third year of an AFM. Okay. And yeah, I've completed two co-ops so far and I've got my third coming up in the fall. Really excited for that. And yeah, for specializations, I'm just doing the financial market specialization. Okay, perfect. So that kind of really works out well with like being on the management team for the international study course. Yeah. That specialization that really works out well. Nice. That's so cool. So yeah, what was the application process like? I know that this course is not like something you can just quickly enroll to. You have to apply. Yeah. So there's a couple of steps in the application process. It's mostly two tiered. So for the first round there's going to be an email that will be sent out to you guys over LEARN and all you've got to do is submit your resume, cover letter and the application form to the study trip. I've got a couple sample questions here for you guys, just to give you a little bit of a head start on it. Yeah, they'll ask you questions like, why are you interested in participating in the course? What do you expect to learn from it, and what do you think you can bring to the table, right? Like which of the three teams would be best suited to you and how could you really support the process of planning the trip? That's so cool! So like, you get to like, really kind of. It's not just like something where I feel like a lot students are like, nervous. Like, what they're just looking at grades. So it's kind of nice that they get to look at like you as a person, not just like you're necessarily. I mean, obviously, I imagine you have to be pretty good academic standing to get into the course, but I like that it's not just more like just on an academics. Yeah, See, I was just really cool. Yeah, absolutely. I think it's like a really comprehensive application process, so it's like a whole lot more than just your grades. They really get to know you for who you are. I forgot to mention, if you make it past the first round with your resume and cover letter, they are going to give you an interview request. Oh, cool. And then, yeah, you'll interview with them for 15, 20 minutes. You'll sit down with Steve, the prof who runs the course as well as he loves the Steves coming on, like next week. So what's Steve talking about? He's talking about this over more about the study trip. We’re going to talk about, like more the administrative side and also just like some of the other courses that he teaches. Yeah, Yeah. that's awesome. Yeah. Yeah. Steve's amazing. So that's going to be a great episode. I know I was walking around the halls and he's doing like a pizza social, so I'm very jealous. I know. Only for second years, yeah. It’s too bad, I know I should have done it last year. Yeah, I know. Exactly. So is it just like the, the prof that they so just, Steve, who kind of does the interview process or is there like a team or like a committee that kind of like looks over the applications? Yeah. So it'll be with Steve and the teaching assistant, whoever it is. Okay, cool. Very, very nice. Awesome. So, yeah, what would you, what advice would you have for students who are interested in applying? Yeah, I'd say if you're applying, there's a couple of things you really have to consider. Yeah. First of all, you really have to understand why you're interested in the trip and what you bring to the table. Kind of speaking to what I was mentioning earlier. Like if you wanted to be part of the marketing culture team, you have experience with marketing. Yeah. Were you a past maybe a tour guide? You know, in a past life like that, Right. Like, or do you really understand Vietnam? Like, is your family from there? Yeah, just. Just what do you bring to the table and how can you support the process? Also, I think you should really have a good reason for why you're interested in this specific location. Oh okay. I know I'm the first student to be on the trip more than one time. I can say you did the Singapore. And then you're also going on this one, right? Exactly. Exactly. But historically, you could only go on one. So you'd really have to nail why you're interested in this one location. So, for example, the trip after the one that we're doing now is going to be most likely, I think it's unconfirmed. It might be best to talk to Steve about it. Oh my goodness. Are we getting like a down low information? This is so exciting. I hear it's going to be to Switzerland. Swiss cheese and hot chocolate and like the fondue, all of that. Yeah, I would love that, too. Oh my goodness. Yeah, I know. One of my friends did her exchange there and like, she always just posts like, all these amazing pictures of all the food she was eating. And I was like, Really? Thanks. I got to go on exchange. I know it's definitely a huge thing to talk about. So. Yeah, well, we'll have a whole other episode about that too. But yeah, but there's this. There's almost like a mini exchange, right? And I think the whole fun side of it too. Yeah, Yeah, exactly. But just to wrap up my point, I think, like, if you're interested in Switzerland, maybe it's because of the financial services. Maybe it's because they're known for the best and, you know, most secure private banking in the world. Yeah, something like that might help with your application process. Cool. That's definitely something to think about. That's awesome. So cool. And I just think that it's just so colleague at school credit for just being able to do. I know it's so is that amazing. I know. Thank you SAF. Yes. Thank you so much. Yeah, so I think one of my main questions is kind of like what is like the day to day for when you actually get over to the place you're doing the the conference. Like kind of like, how is it work? Like, do you guys like, meet with them beforehand? Is there like certain like meetings, Like does it kind of like role? Yes Samantha, that's a good question. So I can give you an example. So for Singapore, we had about ten days there. We had about, you know, four or five days of meetings and then the rest were actually allocated towards sightseeing and tourism. Oh fun. So yeah, so for the sightseeing portion, that's mostly led by meals and logistics and the marketing team. Yeah, given that it's marketing and culture, they're kind of bringing you around, trying all the unique foods, seeing what there is to be seen. And then for the actual days that we're all business that would be led by corporate relations. Okay, gotcha. So, yeah, cool. So do you guys do like, is it like conference style or like networking style? Like, kind of like what is like the specifics of, like the corporate side of the trip. Okay so for the corporate side, we've got meetings lined up throughout the day. Typically, it's going to range anywhere between 2 to 4 meetings, depending on, you know, how busy we are that day or like, you know, how long the meetings actually are. Yeah, Yeah, for sure. That's so cool. And so you said you had 12 companies go the last time you guys were there, 12 companies for 12 students. So each of us prepping a proprietary document for one company that we're assigned to. So it's like you do some background research on who are you meeting and you know, obviously who was the firm. Yeah, Yeah. In the morning over breakfast, while everyone's munching away, you're going to give all the students a rundown on exactly who we're meeting and you know what might be some good questions to ask them. That's so cool. Okay, that's so interesting. I was like, Yeah. I was curious of how, like, the whole process went because like, obviously, like in my job, like I'm told a lot about what the international side of course is, but I haven't got like all the nitty gritty details of like what to explain of like what you do on a day to day basis. It's like, that's helpful for me. Yeah, you have it, but it's also just like really cool. Like learn about the specifics and it's like it's kind of fun that you've got to deal with both like the kind of the tourism side and then also like the business side of it, of course. Yeah. Yeah. And do you guys like, make those connections of those execs like is, like kind of, like I, I guess it would be kind of like a premier opportunity to like meet these people and like, then you have like an international connection, which is kind of crazy. Exactly. It's actually really, really cool. So for the corporate relations team, all the meetings, well, we try to have as many meetings of as many of the meetings as possible be set up by the students themselves. Okay. So what we're going to do at the beginning of the term is all the corporate relations students are going to reach out over LinkedIn or they're going to send out cold emails. Or if you know an uncle who knows the CEO of whatever, you're going to reach out to him and then say, hey, can we meet you? So it's actually entirely student led. That's so cool. Yeah, it's incredible. And it really teaches you about like getting yourself out there and getting the word out there and, like, making those connections. That's so cool. I love that. That's so fun. So, like, how many people would you say are on each teams? Like how many people are in per class, per study course. Yeah. So it's a pretty good even it's a pretty even split between the three teams given that we have usually around, you know, 10 to 12 students. Yeah. There's going to be 3 to 4 on each of them. Okay. So there's usually about 12/15 that do the study trip. Exactly. So it's a little bit competitive, but if you make it on, it's incredible. Okay, awesome. Well, yeah, I know. I was like I was curious of how large the class is actually, because I feel like something like this would definitely be a little bit more exclusive than like a introductory AFM elective. Yeah, it would be kind of hard to, you know, get it out on the subway with 500 students following you. So yeah, absolutely. So how did you become a part of like the management team, which I'm guessing is like separate from is that it separate from those three teams that your honors is like, Yeah, yeah. Technically I'm like half management, half marketing. So being on the marketing team, that's pretty much a student role. Okay. Pretty much what you'd expect from what I described, you know, setting up those meetings with with the actual sorry, not the meetings with the corporations, but the meetings here on campus. I got to do like a rundown of etiquette around out of culture. But the other half, my role is to help Victoria Hinde Shout out to you Victoria. We love Victoria. But basically what I'm helping Victoria do is we're setting up a little Singapore reunion because Singapore is between here and Vietnam. That's so cool. I love that. Yeah, that's great. Okay. Yes, we're actually leveraging those connections we made on the last trip to bring these guys in again for a little dinner. Yeah, just have to meet more students and to have the students meet them. That's so cool. my goodness. And I guess now, like, more of, like, your personal experience. So, like, what has been like, your favourite memory that you've had from the last trip and like, what are you kind of looking forward to most for the next one? that's my favourite memory. I think there's so many of them. I think just being in such a small team environments, being in a completely different country somewhere that's super, super uncomfortable, somewhere that, like, really puts you out there. Yeah, really makes you have the opportunity to get really close to the other students and to Steve. yeah, Yeah. I think that was incredible. One of my favorite memories was probably a bit of a stressful one. We were, yeah, we were wrapping up our meetings and we were on the fourth meeting of the day and for context, you know, four meetings may not sound like a lot, but with each one being about 2 hours with considerable travel in between, that's when you were pretty gassed by that time. I'd be like, like, let's go to sleep. Right? Right. But we were we were so hungry because we didn't have time for lunch that day. And in Singapore is really unique in the sense that the cities are really clean, but it's illegal to eat or drink anything on the subway. Really not even water is completely illegal. Oh my goodness. I have I know what like the gum thing, but I didn't know to all food and drink illegal. So we were completely famished going to our last meeting of the day. And we were like, Guys, we got to eat something, but we couldn't do it on the subway. So we we took the subway and there was about 10 minutes of walking between the subway and our final meeting. We ran to a 7-Eleven. We grabbed a bunch of sandwiches, and I think it was like it was like three, for $8. So I got like three full sandwiches. But, you know, I think my eyes are a little bigger than mine. I actual appetite. So I, I was still on my last sandwich by the time we got there and the dignitaries were in the lobby waiting for us, they came, they said, Hey, nice to meet you guys. How's it going? And I see your by hand with like, you know, my mouth full and half a sandwich left. And I was, you know, I sort of mumbled, Nice to meet you, too. But it's just it's just so crazy. It's hectic, but in the best sense, right? Like you just the experience so much. You get to know so much more. And yeah, once again, it's incredible. That is so funny. I love that. And like, is there anything like that you're specifically looking forward to for like Vietnam, like any of the tourism that they've kind of already like planned, I guess that you're like, excited about? Yeah, I'm really excited for the food tourism. I I'm such a foodie. I love Vietnamese food. Yeah. I used to be a food blogger, actually. Really? Yeah. Cool. Do you are you still pretty active with your food blog? Unfortunately not. say, we could be a shout out down here if you want to. you should know my my little food account. No, no. But I used to help out Asian restaurants within the GTA with their marketing. That's so cool. Yeah, I feel like we're kind of coming full circle with me actually going to Asia and actually doing marketing. Yeah. So I love to try the rice dishes, the noodles. I hear it's like really, really authentic over there. Like top tier, top tier. It's got to be, that's awesome. Well, that is all the questions that I had. And guys that will feel free to like message us about any specific questions and I'm happy to connect you guys with Alan. He'll give you more information about it. And yeah, definitely think about doing the international study course if you're interested in it for sure. But thank you so much for coming on today. Yeah, thanks so much for having me. I think if I could just say one last thing to the students. Absolutely. One last thing. Okay. If you guys are interested in the international study trip, I think you really got to get a head start on it. It's a little bit competitive, but I'd really love for you guys to have the opportunity to be part of this. You know, I might even call it life changing experience. Yeah. So, you know, really make sure you brush up on your resume and cover letter, speak to older students, speak to industry professionals, speak to your mom, get it reviewed, and really have a why for your application. And then finally, when you're actually going to the interview with Steve, he's really going to want to make sure you guys have done your homework. So we speak with yeah, people who have been on the trip in the past listening to this podcast and just be part of the whole experience. Yeah, we also have a variety of blog posts that are going up and it's like you guys that have taken those pictures and have given us all the information about it. So yeah, definitely check out all of our online blogs and also like this podcast if you're like listening already and yeah, definitely reach out to some of the students for sure. Absolutely. Well yeah thank you again so much. Yeah thanks again for having me and thanks for listening in.