Chinese work term supported by alumni

Dawn Wiseman

Fiona Shi planned to come to Canada for a long time. “My English professor at the Beijing International Studies University was Canadian, and she influenced me a lot.”

Although the professor was originally from Brock, Shi chose Concordia before she even knew what she wanted to study here. “At first I was attracted to Fine Arts, because I love dance,” she said. Eventually, the JMSB student decided to pursue the Goodman Institute Investment MBA because it combines MBA work with the first three levels of Chartered Financial Analyst qualification.

At the time Shi entered the program, it was also beginning a pilot project with the Institute for Cooperative Education to implement a co-op option for graduate students. With no previous formal work experience, she was very excited by the prospect of exploring her academic knowledge in a more hands-on manner.

“Sometimes in the real world, the things you read about in class don’t look quite the way you expect,” she said. “I wanted that kind of concrete experience, because I thought it would help me in my studies, and later on in the workforce.”

This past summer, Shi undertook her first work term at in the Fixed Income Department of West China Securities (WCS) in Beijing. Despite being thousands of kilometers away from the university, her experience was quite the Concordia affair.

Her supervisor, Mingxia Sun, vice-president at WCS, is a graduate of the Diploma in Administration program (2003), and members of the Beijing Chapter of the Concordia Alumni Association welcomed her with open arms.

“I heard from them by email before I even arrived in China,” said Shi. In the second week, Chen Zhang (MBA 2003), the Chapter president, invited her for coffee and let her know members were there to provide any support she needed. The group even hosted a dinner for Shi near the end of her placement.

The Beijing chapter hopes more co-op students will pursue placements in China. Their hospitality certainly impressed Shi; while a Chinese work term was not the original plan, in retrospect, “It was 100 per cent the right choice.”

Shi’s primary project at WCS was working with a private company, in Inner Mongolia, Nai Lun Co., that wants to issue a corporate bond.

“This is a very new idea for private companies in China,” she explained. “I was involved in the whole process — analyzing the company, looking at each product and service it offers, giving advice on how to meet government requirements.”

Shi said the experience taught her how key teamwork is to success. “You absolutely need a group of people to do this work. It involves quota, issuing and trading applications, as well as security and corporate law. No one person can undertake this type of project.”

With a year and half to graduation, Shi plans to get more experience here. She will look for a co-op placement in Canada next summer, and hopes to start her career in North America. “The different experience and perspective you gain here is very valuable, both personally and professionally.”