Today, looking back at all the milestones crossed, I realized that with my background in engineering and sales, surviving in a management, software and corporate based business management program was only possible through assistance from people around me: support systems. So, who are these support systems?
- Facilitators: the lecturers: teachers: facilitators, which ever name you give them, they are the people exposing us to new knowledge or helping us to solidify what we already know when you consider the consultants as our vey own Mr. Francis calls them (people who are practicing or have background in finance, economics or the main man: accounting). Our facilitators all employ different approaches to passing on information and ideas. They also have unique ways of approaching the curriculum
Take for example, Prof. Bongo went to look up some very important company’s job requirement for data analyst and used those requirements to compile a list of software that he showed us and gave introductions to them as well as facilitate classes on them; software’s like, SQL postgress, Microsoft excel, power BI and python and very important: he shared many links and material basically resources to aid in learning these software on our own because he believes most of the knowledge in software comes from personal practices and not classes or class activities. Well, that is a debate based on someone’s level of awareness of how things work or their personal preference in learning but prof Bongo’s method is informed and works because it does something one of my favorite facilitators does: allows students who know about the topics being discussed to share their knowledge and teach others giving us different points of view and understanding from multiple perspectives.
Another example is Dr. Anibaba handling ABP. So she takes cases with us having us participate both in groups and personally to look into the ABP cases and analyze them and then, she gives the floor for people to disagree or challenge another person’s point of view so that people do not keep their brilliant ideas and thoughts to themselves with the impression that it may not be welcomed. She also does some analysis herself and shares with us explaining how she arrived at each point and gives room for questions and clarity but note, she will not share her analysis files with you ‘LOL’ but because it does not allow you try and fail which is essential and unique in different ways to different people.
Another Example is Prof. Silk, having a very calm yet stern way or coordinating his classes and how he passes his information on management, crisis, public speaking and public communication or his full class engagement where everyone had to participate in presenting such that everyone represented their groups.
the mention of support systems would not be fully discussed without mentioning the man that made us to do what I am doing right now; preparing 3 writeups a week: one being on a any topic you want and two others on what you learned from other courses. This helps us revise without knowing as well as build our writing skills hence our speaking skills and makes us better at communication.
And then Dr Francis, our top one consultant that accuses student consultants of being consultants and having ‘plenty plenty’ principles, this man has helped me understand accounting from the business perspective and has been using carry everyone along style to teach. He can also be very free with the students allowing them take the stage and explain something if they feel they know one or two about it and then gives explanations to suit people’s fields or currents jobs specifically which makes whoever it is to understand because he is showing them from a familiar point of view. It is with confidence I say, ‘our facilitators are a big part of my support systems.
Happiness: A Unique Inside Job!