• A unique numerical identifyer, like how the Romans used to name their children,
• A suite of software no business student should be without,
• Access to the tubes,
• And some goodies here and there to keep the wolves at bay.

We’re aware that there are some issues regarding USB devices and we’ll be addressing that issue at a future date.  For now, please attempt to access your USB device through “My Computer,” restart the puppy or move to another machine better suited to your needs.

With kibble,

The kennel watchers,

Jason and Jojo

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What is in this post:
++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++++

1. Announcement of Junior Class Student Council Election
2. What you should do if you are interested in being a part of the S.C.
3. Information about the Council timeline
4. Responsibilities of the Council
5. Message of Encouragement
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1. Announcement of Junior Class Student Council Election
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There will be a student council election for this years student council on November 18th at 930pm.  The election will be held at the weekly student council meeting on the second floor of the IIMBA building in the new research area next door to the IIMBA office room 62201.

All Juniors are invited to join the election process and help to decide the President of the Student Council. We have decided that the President position will be an elected position and the remaining ~9 slots will be filled by volunteers. The organizational structure will largely depend on the amount of volunteers that are willing to contribute to the program.

Although the scheduling may be difficult, the only time to place a vote is on November 18th at the designated meeting. This makes logistics much easier, and will assure voters have the opportunity to see the people interested in the position.

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2. What you should do if you are interested in being a part of the S.C.
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You should begin by attending our regularly scheduled meetings on Tuesday nights beginning at 10pm. These meetings are held in 62201(next to the IIMBA office) and will give you the chance to see what we do, the types of things that we discuss and plan, and have a better idea of what you are getting into. This will also allow you to begin thinking about the ways in which you can grow and improve your program.

You should also read the limited amount of information contained in this email as well as browse the Student Council webpage for more information about what we do.

Finally, you should talk to current council members about their experiences. Have them answer any questions you might have. If you cannot get your questions answered, please feel free to contact me (philipmcandrew@gmail.com) and I will be happy to help you however I can.

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3. Information about the Council Timeline
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The council elect will begin meeting the week following the election. They will continue meeting with the old student council as a large team. This will give opportunity for any questions to be answered and advice to be given so that the things we have learned over the past year will be passed on.

The first responsibility of the new council will be the planning of the holiday party. The council elect will be in charge, and have the standing council available as a resource for planning and suggestions. It is important to the standing council that the creativity and fervor of the council elect be encouraged. There will be very little micro-management on this project.

Following the completion of the first semester the council elect will become the official student council with the seniors being involved on more of a project basis (ie.taking care of yearbooks, photos, class shirts, etc.) All decision making authority will be held by the new council.

Being involved with the Student Council is a little more than a one year commitment. Your time as standing council will be one year, and your involvement during the “council elect” period and the “senior project teams” period will be at your discretion.

If I am forgetting anything I am sure these ideas will be brought up again during the meetings.

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4. Responsibilities of the Student Council
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The Vision of the Student Council is: “To be an active student organization that encourages involvement, strengthens our global perspective, provides organization, enhances the value of our degree, and bridges the gap between students, alumni, and ultimately the world…and have fun!”

We strive to meet head toward this vision in the events that we plan and all that we do.

The responsibilities of the student council consist of, but are not limited to:
1. Hosting the Junior Welcome Party
2. Hosting the Senior Graduation
3. Hosting the Farewell Party
4. Monitoring and Controlling Class Funds
5. Class photos
6. Class shirts
7. Holiday Party
8. Representing school at various outside events
9. Helping to plan trips for the school

As the current student council, we has tried to do things that make life in the IIMBA a little better for the students. Some examples are:

1. Buying mosquito rackets for the RR
2. Assisting in multiple aspects of AACSB accreditation
3. Laying groundwork for future Alumni Association
4. Putting soap in the bathrooms
5. Hosting internationalization meetings and helping to connect international students and local students.
6. Disseminating information
7. Hosting social events
8. etc…. there have been too many things to name, and the more general they are the less meaning you will receive from this list.

Possible areas for the future:
1. Internships
2. Connection to the Tainan Science Park (think Stanford and the Silicon Valley)
3. More Alumni Connection
4. Further establishing the presence of the IIMBA SC as a student organization (bylaws, constitution, etc.)
5. Annual events to raise funds for students (ie. golf tournaments, concerts, etc.)
6. Connecting with other IMBA programs throughout Taiwan
7. Anything your creative mind can come up with…

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5. Message of Encouragement
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Well, if you made it through this entire post, then good for you. It took me a long time to write and to think about… so allow me to say, “thanks!” I hope that this was clear and gives you a little better insight as to how the transition of power will be handled and what the responsibilities of council members are. As I mentioned earlier, if you have any questions please feel free to email me or stop me when you see me.

As you can understand, having worked together with a team over the last year, and to see something come almost completely from nothing, I take a lot of pride and ownership in the Student Council. My team and I have become extremely close, and it has been an experience that I would never trade. Times were not always easy, and we had more that a couple intense meetings with differing opinions, but i think I can say that it has been rewarding on many levels to be a part of such a great group.

I can only hope that we have started something that we can pass off to you, and that you will be able to take ownership and make it survive and thrive greater than i could imagine. I really think that your class has the talent to make things better, and I can assure you that you that there are countless ways you can contribute and improve the young program we are in. It is truly a unique opportunity that you will carry with you for the rest of your life. It is not only about the experience of managing and coordinating things, but the relationships you build and the truly multicultural environment you work.

I hope to see many of you stepping up to the plate and making a difference in your school and self. You will not be the same person after a year dedicated to the student council, and I can promise that the changes will be for the better.

I look forward to seeing where the council goes from here.

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Sincerely,

Philip McAndrew

Enjoy,

Jason, Jojo and Jay

To register simply go to the office and put your name in the little red booklet.  It’s labeled “Welcome Party 2008 Official Register.”  All master’s students may put their name under the “Official Student Register” section.  PhD students and guests must be listed under the “Official Guest Register” section indicated by the bookmark.  Guests will not be counted or admitted to the party until they have paid.  Payment must be made in the office and in cash.  The deadline for registration and payment is Wednesday, October 22nd at noon.  The book will be available after some of your classes and at Junior Orientation.

Buses to the event will be NTD 100.  This is a tad bit cheaper than taking a taxi.  Payment for buses can be made in the office, in exactly the same way that guests are to be paid for.  The deadline for this is also the 22nd at noon.

Every year, the seniors put on a little party for the juniors just to show them how much we appreciate them.  It usually begins as a half formal event and ends in complete chaos.  We love it.  In two weeks the time will be upon us again to eat, drink and be merry away some of those student fees.

We can sense that you’re already getting the jitters.  They can be remedied at:

3rd Floor, 539, Qing-ping Rd., An-ping, Tainan City.
台南市安平區慶平路539號
(a map is included at the bottom)

On:

Saturday, October 25th, 2008

From:

6 p.m. ’til 8 in the mornin’ (you drop)

We’ve taken the liberty of providing transportation to the event.  Buses will leave at 5:15 from the Kuang-fu Campus main gate.  It’s pretty important that you arrive on time because missing the bus may directly affect the amount of fun you have on the night of the 25th, savvy?

And now for the meat:

To go to this event you must register for the event.  It’s important that you do so because this is the only way we can get a proper headcount to give to the hotel to pay the hotel to make the food to serve to us for us to eat.  Registration will be availible right outside after some of your classes, in the office and at Junior Orientation (thank you Johanna) on the 18th.  Guests are welcome to the event but must be registered at the office.  Payment for guests, which is NTD 650 per adult and NTD 300 per child, must be paid in cash at the time of their registration.  The last day to register is Wednesday, October 22nd.  Unregistered guests will be escorted out by our goons.

The Student Council (surf the website for more information) can be approached for any questions you may have about this event.

Dear Fellow seniors,

Because super-typhoon Jang-Mi has thwarted our efforts to bring this information session. We have put together a pdf to bring you all of the information that was to be presented.

It is important because the last day to ADD/DROP is on Tuesday, September 30th.

If I have missed anything or you still have questions, please leave a message or comment here and I will try to answer by the end of Monday, September 29th.

I hope everyone is having a safe and joyous Typhoon day.

—

Jay Gaddi

Downloads:

Presentation (pdf file)
(please remember the contents are only for the class of 2009)

Complete list of all courses and majors

This good stuff that everyone’s talking about (well, so no-one’s talking about it, which is why I’m writing this here article) are all the software and other resources that are available to all of us at NCKU at just a few clicks of a few buttons.

On the student council’s resource link there are pdf files that explain where and how to download the software that is available through NCKU, as well as how to use a few of them in ways that will make life much more enjoyable here (or at least not as hellish as it sometimes can be).

The basic software that I would suggest you download from the NCKU server if you do not have them already are listed below, along with why. Now, I am not yet one of the cool students who uses a Mac, and so if you are in that elite group, not all of the software would apply to you.

• Anti-virus software. Importance is obvious. Especially if you are using a USB. Sticking your stick into a computer in the research room often results in an automatic 17 viruses and Trojans if you’re not careful. Some smart students even have a anti-virus software for their USB, which works wonders.

• Microsoft Windows Operating System. Get Windows XP perhaps; that seems to be the popular choice (over Windows Vista) with the least complaining that I have heard (you can always research the different versions and figure out which one you think would work best on your computer).

• Microsoft Office software. I’d download Office 2007. It may take a bit of getting used to (if you were using office 2003 before, there is a “map” workbook on the student council resource page that shows where everything is located in Office 2007; if you know where it would be in 2003 then you can get the location in 2007 from the map; some of it is applicable to Office 2000 as well).

• Go online to download the add-in save as PDF Microsoft dowload center: Microsoft Save as PDF or XPS) so you can save files as PDF files (good for when you want to print it at a print shop and you want it to look exactly like it looked on your computer, or when you are submitting a report)

• Learn how to use the styles function in Word [both PCers and MACers should do this] (see “secrets revealed” on the student council’s resource link). It will help you write consistent looking reports, potentially save you hours on formatting, as well as help when you are using the template for your thesis (also available with explanation on how to use the template).

• Then, from the library I would download the EndNote software. A definite Goody. This is not only for organizing research that you do for course papers and your thesis, but also for having your citations and bibliography in your reports be correct, as per APA 5th (which is NCKU requirement). Where and how to download, as well as how to use it, are all on the resource page.

• The last software item I would recommend you get is Adobe Acrobat Professional. The problem of getting this is that it is not available to students through NCKU as of yet. This is also a great tool for when you are reading PDF articles and papers for your thesis (or other reports) research (see how-to on resource site for details).

Finally, a request. After downloading the software, and after using it (perhaps by help of the how-to’s from the resource page), you may get stuck or have questions about how to do something specific (or have something not work as it is suggested it should). If this should happen, feel free to stop me in the research room or in class, or drop me a line at ra696781@mail.ncku.edu.tw. Chances are many others are struggling with it as well. We can then hopefully find a solution and include that in the how-to’s so that they are more and more useful and well-rounded.

Also, just a tiny disclaimer: I am not an expert in any of these software. Therefore, if you are, or if you have some other gems that no-one should be operating without, please share!

This post was submitted by JoJo.

For those going back home and taking a summer vacation - enjoy & have fun. For those taking summer courses - good luck.

We’ll see you again next year.

For starters, you’ll notice that Gromit has two user accounts: “Series” and “Steady.” Series is for administrative tasks, like installing new software and updates to Gromit. The average user won’t have access to this account. Steady is for day-to-day use, like word processing, presentation making and image editing.

Currently available through Gromit are: Windows XP, Office 2007, Firefox, Acrobat and support for English and Chinese input. Additional software will be added to Gromit as it becomes available.

This program is only in the test phase so any feedback and input that you can provide will be greatly appreciated! Simply add a comment to this post. Updates about Gromit and his future siblings will be added to this post.

In addition, for those with a natural affinity for computers and an interest in managing this and future Gromits {you’ll get access to the administrator account}, let it be known as well. One Gromit I can handle, many Gromits I cannot!

To help the NCKU international students community with their academic goals the student council is organizing a series of lectures on “Promoting Academic Excellence”.

“Quicker better thesis data collection with INCKU” lecture will demonstrate how NCKU students can use the INCKU survey system to quickly create online surveys. Online surveys can be spread to a large audience, much quicker and then automatically exported to SPSS/SAS/CVS/EXCEL.

No more chasing people with papers and pencils, then waiting for them to fill it up, collecting it, sitting down to put this by hand into the computer and then noticing that half of the questions weren’t filled in and that you just can’t figure out how the form was filled.

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Location : Room 62201, next to the IMBA office.

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