VBP Student Testimonials

"It was a very fruitful and enriching experience in Virtual Business Professional (VBP). I had the chance to learn about data storytelling and how to better convey key messages to the target audience in a compelling manner, which is a skill that is essential not just in school projects but also in the workplace. Besides that, it was also an eye-opening experience working virtually with teammates from various countries, where I learnt how to work with people of different culture and working styles, as well as managing expectations and coping with uncertainties, especially during times like these where most collaborations take place virtually. VBP is definitely a module which equips one with both hard and soft skills essential for the workplace! The best part of it - you get to forge new friendships both locally and globally while learning about data storytelling and brainstorming for ideas to solve real-world business problems!"

Toh Ying Hui
School of Computing and Information Systems
VBP Spring 2021

"Having a background in personal start-ups and working for an Israeli company looking to expand into the SEA for over a year, I always felt the need to brush up on my ability to communicate with people outside of my comfort zone. 

Besides the occasional language barrier issues, it isn't uncommon to glaze over the cultural differences that you and your business partner might not be accustomed to. The VBP module prepares you for these interactions. By pairing you up with people from the other side of the world, it forces you to be prepared to work around obvious issues with communication and gets you used to the initial awkward phase. As Singaporeans who interact primarily with other locals, even hearing an accent can put you outside your comfort zone. but when your whole team has to adapt to different cultures, university requirements and management styles, there is no easy workaround for anyone and you have to get used to it in a short period of time.

Personally I felt more prepared for the negotiation phase for work with the VBP training beforehand. Understanding the cultural norms and workplace culture allowed me to get a grasp of the amount of leeway I had for negotiations or how socially acceptable it is."

Gerard Koh
Lee Kong Chian School of Business
VBP Spring 2021

"VBP is one of the most interesting and unique courses I have taken in SMU! A concept that I took away from VBP is Data Storytelling. As long as there is data and someone who needs the data, data storytelling will be very useful in getting your message across effectively. Aside from that, I looked forward to the discussions we would have during the lessons as they flowed freely and naturally. Also, the inputs by my classmates really provided multiple perspectives to topics on culture and communication.

To the highlight of VBP: the collaborative Capstone project with students from overseas universities. It gave me a taste of the challenge and also the fun of working in a global team. Every meeting minute was precious.

Overall, VBP was a rewarding experience and I hope that more students can bid for it too!"

Lim Jia Ying
Lee Kong Chian School of Business
VBP Spring 2021

"VBP has honed my communication skills, both verbal and written. It has been an enriching experience working with teammates from other parts of the world, which was fulfilling as I got to learn about other cultures and values. Other than managing time differences across time zones, I also learnt to work better in a multi-cultural and multi-racial team, with individuals coming from all walks of life. Personally, VBP was fulfilling as it taught me how to structure my points and ideas more coherently, and the importance of having a logical outline/skeleton before creating a written piece. The short 6-7 weeks of capstone project experience has been quite an eye-opener; I learned to manage expectations, work in teams, and delegate tasks to team members. As all of us came from different backgrounds, there were many differences among us, including our writing styles. Through this project, I learned the importance of joining all our ideas together fluently without losing the overall tone. With teamwork and collaboration, my team managed to emerge as the winning team for Starbucks. Although it wasn't easy, I am glad that I decided to take this course as it has brought me countless benefits and allowed me to gain new skills.

Presently, I am interning as a Business Analyst in a start-up, and the skills that I learned from VBP have been put to good use, helping me to manage my team and project development more effectively. As communication is an important skill a BA should have, I find myself applying what I learned from VBP to my internship every day. It has helped me to be an effective communicator. Therefore, I would recommend this course to anyone who is looking to improve their verbal and written skills in a professional setting."

Nanda Gian
School of Computing and Information Systems
VBP Spring 2021

"It's quite rare for us to work with peers from countries like Germany, Lithuania and Spain – all while enjoying the comforts and safety of Singapore -- which makes VBP such a unique experience. It allowed me to appreciate the differences in my teammates' and my own work cultures and priorities.

Despite the challenges, I think there's never been a better time to experience what it's like to work with people from around the world as the emergence of COVID-19 has accelerated the need for people to get used to such working conditions. VBP prepares you for such an environment by introducing you to popular collaboration tools and giving you the opportunity to work on a project which may be implemented by companies like Google, Netflix and Starbucks. I'd recommend this course to anyone who's ready to take up a challenge and excited to meet people from around the globe!"

Djulian Naval
School of Computing and Information Systems
VBP Spring 2021