The Faculty of Business Administration, Rajamangala University of Technology Thanyaburi (RMUTT) marked another milestone in its progress on 3 March 2020, with the latest annual “Business Day”, a major platform for the university’s business students that evolved from an equally ambitious “Marketing Day” held by the Marketing Department.
This year, Business Day involved many works, community enterprise projects, and international and national awards for all majors, including General Management, Finance, Accounting, Marketing, Economics, International Business and Logistics and Supply Chain Management, Information Systems, and International Program, as well as an extensive showcase for works of teachers and students in master’s degree and Ph.D. programs.
“Throughout the years, this kind of platform has kept getting bigger as we value the importance of hands-on approaches to business education,” said Asst. Prof. Dr. Sommai Pivsa-Art, RMUTT President, who presided over the opening ceremony.
Asst. Prof. Dr. Nartraphee Tancho, Dean Faculty of Business Administration, RMUTT, said that in addition to being a platform for well-researched, hands-on works, Business Day also encouraged knowledge exchange and collaboration between students from different majors and industrial sectors.
Every student at the Faculty of Business Administration is required to do a semester of internship, whether it be in Thailand or abroad, and they will be asked to conduct research or a report with the help of the teachers and mentors from organisations they work with.
“We truly believe that an internship at a real workplace will benefit business students both in terms of their academic expertise and future career opportunities. We also encourage them to go abroad through our various collaborations with international institutes or even do a credit transfer at other partnered international universities,” said Dean Nartraphee.
“Most importantly, an event like Business Day will foster interdisciplinary collaboration which will be of great advantage for students when they go into the job market. It also pushes students to keep improving and developing new ideas because there is a platform for their creativity.”
And it seems that the visions of the president and the dean are no exaggeration as passion filled RMUTT’s main hall where Business Day took place, especially at the Information Systems booth.
An introverted Poyen Huang, a senior in Information Systems, spoke with great enthusiasm about his booth presentation. “The concept for our major is ‘Past, Present, and Future.’ We want to present the evolution of technology through the years, so we start from an early computer model for the social media era, then AI and the Internet of Things where you can try speaking to a virtual assistant device.”
When asked about his love of technology, Poyen explained, “I love programming and it is truly amazing how technology can help to make our lives easier. For example, I learned in class about how people with speech difficulties who cannot speak a normal language use AI and machine learning to translate their ideas into a language which other people can understand.”
Moreover, he was even more excited to be able to apply his knowledge in the real world: “Last semester, I did an internship with a Chinese company in Chengdu, creating a website interface for them. The real learning was so much fun and I had to do a presentation on the work that I did later today as well.”
Another student who found an internship a fortunate opportunity is Rapeepat Sari, a fourth year logistics major. “I did my internship with Yusen Logistics (Thailand) Co., Ltd. and was asked to do both office duties and warehouse management. It was a steep learning curve for me because I had to perform a variety of tasks. I was able to apply some in-class knowledge to the real job, and the staff at the company was working together and exchanging ideas with me.
“Moreover, during the internship, I was required to do some research. My project was about how to reduce ‘waste’ time, movement, and manpower in supply chain management. Under the guidance of my teachers and the first-hand experience I received while working with my mentors at the company, my work was awarded second runner-up prize at the 9RMUT event. I was proud of myself.”
Many more works and projects were displayed at different booths, reflecting the knowledge gained and dedication paid off by students. However, one booth stood out with an OTOP product.
Chanchira Weangrawang is in her first year on the path to completing a two-year degree program as she had already earned a vocational diploma before entering RMUTT. As a Marketing major, she has enthusiasm for sales and advertising but her heart is also in community service. Her group was assigned in the Event Marketing Practice class to do a comprehensive marketing campaign for a shop or product from around the local area.
“We went to help ‘Rungtiwa Tie-Dye,’ a tie-dye style clothing and OTOP product of Pathum Thani. Our main goal was how to present this style, traditionally viewed as old-fashioned, to the younger generation. So we decided to do a small fashion shoot with models featuring the products and today we also held a mini fashion show on stage. We also organised a tie-dye demonstration to build more awareness of the product.”
Rungtiwa Vichit, the owner of Rungtiwa Tie-Dye, and her daughter, also an alumnus of RMUTT, Petchpailin Vichit, said Chanchira’s group project really helped to modernise and promote their products to a larger audience.
“They helped us set up a lovely, welcoming stall at an OTOP market at Future Park Rangsit and made us a life-size great standee of my mom. Plus they enhanced the presentation of the products, using a piece of fine cloth to wrap the tie-dye to add more values. They also helped designed better packaging so that the contact information is clearly displayed. It’s like a total makeover in terms of product promotion,” said Petchpailin.
Chanchira said that she felt fortunate to do this marketing campaign. “Besides the hands-on experience of formulating strategies, I feel proud that my project can really help a local community.”
Not only does the Faculty of Business Administration push its students to go out and gain real work experience but it also provides great learning facilities to enhance the learning environment and has been building up various collaborations with outside organisations.
Patimakorn Sutthirat, a junior year finance major, explained the concept of his booth: “Our theme is ‘Millionaire,’ where we share knowledge on investment and economic trends in 2020. We also have interactive games for everyone to play and learn.”
Patimakorn gave a glimpse of the life of a finance major: “Since our study is about financial management and investment, a lot of my peers aim to work in the banking and brokerage world. The faculty has an annual investment competition where we are given a virtual 10 million baht to try investing and the winner is the one who builds the most profitable portfolio. I would say these learning aids are ideal for finance majors because the studies deal with real numbers and we need to have first-hand experience of trading and investing.”
“Moreover, our department often hosts a roadshow by banks and securities companies and, therefore, we have great opportunities to do an internship with well-recognised organisations, learn from the real corporate world, and sometimes receive career prospects for the future.”
RMUTT President Sommai says Business Day was a true success for business students. “The hands-on experience not only ensures high educational standard, but also prepares students for the labour market that they are going to face after graduation,” he says. “The Faculty of Business Administration has also developed a curriculum alongside companies, so that the students will learn the right skills that are needed from them.”
Dean Nartraphee concluded that ultimately an event like Business Day is about sharpening students’ skills and nourishing young talents that will be an important force for the country.
“We intend that our business students will become able to compete internationally with great competence and first-hand experience. We encourage all our students to equip themselves with up-to-date skills sets such as e-commerce, English language, digital disruption, and entrepreneurship, so that they can rise above no matter what economic situations or uncertainties, and wherever their career is. When graduates are ready to be part of an educated workforce, then the country can move forward.”
For more information, please visit www.bus.rmutt.ac.th.