娜些小事｜研究所第一學期總結！What I learned in IMBA at NTHU (Part 1)

6 min readSep 7, 2021

2021/10/19 更新：感謝大家對這篇文章的喜愛與支持，敝所將於11/3在清大台積館舉辦招生說明會，歡迎對敝所有興趣的讀者報名：
2021/10/19 updated: Thanks for your supporting, if you’re interested in NTHU IMBA, we are going to have our 2021 IMBA Infomation Session, you can sign up the form below.

很快的在研究所的第一個學期結束了，我想要用這篇文章與各位分享我在清大IMBA的課程與生活，也整理這學期對自己的省思。
Time flies, my first semester at NTHU is officially over, I would like to share my life and courses here in IMBA, and also write my reflection this semester.

若想看簡易分享，可以至我的LinkedIn：

If you want to see sharing in a simple version, you can visit my LinkedIn post:

Una Wu on LinkedIn: #gradschool #nthu #imba

I am thrilled to share with you that I just checked out my first semester in NTHU! It was an amazing journey for me to…

www.linkedin.com

課程 Curriculum

這學期我總共15學分，修了5門課，分別是文字探勘、組織行為、全球化管理、公司法與金融科技與未來發展。我認為15學分的課對於研究生而言真的是滿吃緊的，再加上我還有實習跟家教，所以我認為研究生對於時間管理這方面真的很重要，必須有效的規劃自己的時間，才能同時應付課業與實習之間的平衡。

I had 5 courses (15 credits) this semester: text mining, organization behavior, globalization management, corporate law, and finance technology and future development. For me, 15 credits for grad students can be tough since I have my internship job running it, so I think is important for a grad student to do the time management. Once you plan your time well, you can find the balance between classes and internships.

在修文字探勘之前，我對於python的學習歷程可說是幼幼班的程度，基本的數字、變數、字串概念，然後對於if/else有基本的認識，所以一開始有點擔心自己的程度會跟不上大家。但是在經過這一學期的洗禮之後，雖然還沒成為Python高手，但是對於Python有更進一步的認識。不過文字探勘這門課本身比較著重於"processing”的部分，所以在課堂中比較是學到tf-idf, clustering, SToRe的部分。不過也是有在此學到一些coding的基本技巧。

Before joining Text Mining, I have little learning of python. Although I have concepts of numbers and strings, knowing if/else, I am still afraid of my skill can’t fit with my classmates. However, after taking the course, although I haven’t become a python master, I truly learned a lot about using python. However, text mining is the main focus in this class, so mostly I learned about tf-idf weighting, clustering, and SToRe. In the class, I still learn some basic coding skills, such as web crawling.

組織行為是我們研究所的必修課，主要是探討每個人有什麼樣的性格，而這些性格在工作中會造成什麼樣的事情。課程中會提到職場歧視的因素、工作者的動機、道德危機等等議題。這堂課我覺得最有價值的地方是由於我們所的同學來自世界各地，所以可以在討論中聽到不同文化不同種族的文化習性與看法。

Organizational Behavior is one of our required courses in IMBA. This course mainly focuses on workplace priority, workers’ motivation, and moral hazard. I think the most valuable of this course is the cultural difference. Since our IMBA family is from different countries and cultures, so you can listen to opinions from different people from different cultures.

金融科技與未來發展是我這學期最喜歡的一門課，因為這堂課的人數很少，老師也很用心的準備課程，也有許多可以跨組討論的機會，可以讓我更完整的吸收老師給的知識。在這學期的課程中，老師帶領著我們學習數位金融、區塊鏈、加密貨幣、國際金融等扎實的主題。課程進行的方式除了老師講課之外，也有個人作業、期中/期末分組報告、Case Study、跨組討論等。這學期結束後，我認為我對於金融科技這個領域方面的知識與趨勢皆有大幅度的成長。

Financial Technology and Future Development are one of my favorite course this semester because there‘re not many people in the class and professor prepare the course neatly, also we got many chances to discuss with classmates, it makes me gain the knowledge from professor more thoroughly. In this semester, the professor leads us to learn topics like Digital Finance, Blockchain, Bitcoin, and International Finance. The learning path in the course are lectures from the professor, personal assignments, midterm/final term presentations, case studies, and break group discussions. After the end of this semester, I think I have huge growth of the knowledge and trends of FinTech.

全球化管理也是我們所的必修課程之一，老師在準備課程方面非常用心，而且在三級警戒發布前採用實體+同步遠距教學(學生可以選擇要實體還是遠距上課，三級警戒發布後改成全面遠距)，是相當人性化的上課方式。課程的內容是關於全球議題的討論，像是USMCA、疫情下的國際貿易、生產相對優勢等內容。這堂課的進行模式為老師講課、課堂討論與講座，有期中考試、期末報告、期末essay、分組期末essay。我認為如果平常有在關注全球議題的話，這堂課對你而言不會太困難，而且能有與不同國家的同學有討論的機會。

Globalization Management is also one of our requirements in IMBA. Professor prepared the course nicely. One of the features of this course is you can choose to either join the lecture in person or online via Microsoft Teams. It is nice for students to have choices to attend the class. The content of the course is mostly related to global topics, such as USMCA, Trade during Covid-19, and advantages of producing products. The evaluation of the class is based on the midterm exam, final group presentation, final individual essay, and final group essay. I think it might not be too hard for you if you were aware of global topics, and you will also have a chance to discuss with your classmates from different countries and cultures.

這學期的最後一個必修是公司法，對於法律這方面真的是0基礎的我來說相當具有挑戰性。老師對於課程的規劃有非常充足的準備，包含上課的主題、計分方式、分組報告主題等等都有很清楚的說明。這學期老師準備的課程主題有CSR、內線交易、公司治理、科技法律等等。我認為對一個沒有法律基礎的人來說有一點吃力，因為你必須要讀很多相關的case study跟paper，以及釐清一些觀念、概念與專有名詞解釋。在這堂課的最後的期末報告時我的paper主題是台灣新創的CSR，我覺得是我這學期的一個很重要的成果，讓我能有機會更了解台灣新創公司的產業發展與CSR執行的趨勢，也相當感謝教授在此之中給予我在閱讀文獻上的協助，讓我能更有方向的完成我的期末報告。

My last requirement course this semester is Corporate Law. I think it is hard for me who has zero background knowledge of the law, and it is changeable. Professor has the course fully prepared, including a clear description of topics of lectures, evaluations, and group presentations. This semester we had CSR, internal transaction, Company governance, and technical law. I think it can be changeling for people who have no experience of law because you have to read many related cases and papers to help clarify concepts and professional terms. At the end of the semester, the topic of my final paper is “CSR in Startups in Taiwan”, mainly focus on how CSR executes in startups in Taiwan and mentioned the possible trends. I felt thankful because the professor gave me a big help in finding relative articles to finish this final paper.

需要增強的能力 What I need to work on

在簡短分享這五門課之後，我認為這學期對我而言是一場很美好的旅程，但是我認為這學期結束後，我應該要增強的能力:

After sharing my experience of the courses, I think I had a wonderful journey of the semester. However, I think I still have some skills to work on.

Coding技巧: 雖然在入學前就有開始自學Python，但是實力不足以應付一些課程的需求。所以在這個暑假我就將自學Python的密度加高，目前的進度是已經完成基礎與進階課程，並正在學習更多的functions(之後有機會會分享自己自學的心得)。Coding: Although I learned Python by myself before enrolling in the program, my skill wasn’t good enough to deal with the class. So, I decided to learn Python more intensely this summer. My current process is finishing the novice and intermediate course of python and received the certificate. I am currently learning more function toolboxes of Python.
英文閱讀速度: 雖然平常上課都是用英文溝通、討論，但是我認為我在閱讀英文文獻的速度上還是需要做提升。我認為造成這個的原因可能是因為我在大學時期所接觸的課程都是以文學作品居多，所以對於商管領域常用的專業詞彙比較沒那麼熟。所以我對於這項能力的增強方法就是每天要求自己一定要找一篇產業新聞來閱讀，一方面是要增強自己的英文閱讀速度，一方面也是要讓自己更能掌握產業趨勢。我認為這樣的成效目前看來還不賴，而且讓自己能隨時掌握產業消息，一舉兩得。 Speed of reading English articles: Although I use English between class and discussion, I think I still have to evaluate my English reading skill. I think it’s because what I read during the university is not relevant to what I learned nowadays, so my speed of reading English at school might not be that efficient. So, I decided to make myself read at least one business article every day. Not only upgrade my reading speed but also understand the trends of industries. So far, I think it works well, one stone kills two birds!
面試時更應該突出自我優勢: 這學期為了找暑期實習（後來因為疫情提前中止合約），投了很多公司的履歷，也很榮幸得到了許多面試的機會。不過在面試的過程中還是會比較會因為緊張所以沒有發揮到自己應該有的水準。對於這個方面，我也透過學校所舉辦的與人資1on1對談中進行諮詢後進行自省與改善，希望能在之後找下一份實習的時候徹底發揮。 Have better performance during internship interview: This semester I was looking for a summer intern(However, it was canceled due to the Covid outbreak), applying for some position, and I felt honored to get the chance to be interviewed. However, I think I am too nervous during the interview, so I didn’t do my best during the interview. So, I consulted with HR with 1 on 1 consultation to asked as much as I can. After the consultation, I reflected and improved my performance, hoping to have better performance for the next interview!

結語 Conclusion

我認為我在研究所的第一個學期過的還算不錯，雖然在一開始有些許的不適應，但是後來就有如倒吃甘蔗一番越來越習慣，甚至還能樂在其中。在實習老師跟研究生角色之間的轉換也還算順利，而在這一學期結束之後，我想在文章的最後與大家分享關於研究所生活的幾點的分享：

I think I had great days in my first semester as a graduate student. Although I had a little struggle at first, after few weeks, I had a better life, even enjoy it! I have a great transformation between intern teacher and graduate student. And after this semester ends, I would like to share some points in my conclusion:

時時保持好奇心：對於新的事物抱持著好奇心，研究所的資源比你想像中的多，所以我認為多接觸新的事物，甚至是參加相關的活動，善用這些資源，會對你的研究生生活有所幫助！

Always being aware: Being curious about new things all the time since the resources in graduate institutions can be more than you think. So, I think you can reach out more new things, even participating in relevant events to use the resources wisely. It would a plus in your grad school life!

做好時間管理：研究所的課雖然不會像大學一樣那麼多課，但是真正重要的是你在課外時間有沒有浪費、有沒有做有意義的事，所以我認為研究生在課外的時間規劃相當重要。

Wise time management: Although grad students don’t have so much course loading as university students, the most important thing is that are you wasting time doing meaningless things? So, I think wise time management is one of the most important things during your grad student life.

培養運動習慣：我覺得研究生常常坐在lab或是教室一整天，久坐對身體畢竟還是不太好，所以我認為研究生應該要培養運動的習慣，不只可以讓自己的身體動一動，同時也能舒緩平常在課業上以及meeting上的緊繃感。

Regular exercise habit: Graduate students usually sit in the classroom or lab all day long, and I think it can be unhealthy for too much time of sitting. So, I think graduate students should keep the habit of exercising. Not only can move your body, but also release the stress of courses and meetings.