A tightly focused orientation program August 23-24 got a new class of 35 Global MBA students ready for their first semester that opened September 1.

Sixty-five percent of the entering class were foreign students from 14 nations and many different backgrounds. Orientation began with welcoming addresses and encouragement from Young-Ho Eom, dean of the Yonsei Graduate School of Business, Il Im, associate dean of the Yonsei Graduate School of Business, and Professor Soon-Hong Min, director of the Global MBA program..

Orientation included campus tours, discussion and instruction about academic studies, school life, and the exchange student system, all aimed at orderly transitions into campus life at Yonsei. Foreign students unfamiliar with Korea also were introduced to life in Seoul. During the campus tour, a professional team-building company organized teams that were given assignments that required teamwork, cooperation, and leadership to solve. This exercise also fostered another goal of orientation — introducing the students to each, generating networking opportunities, and building relationships.

I'm proud to be a member of the Yonsei group, and I'm grateful for the encouragement and support of professors," said Allyce Best, an MBA freshman. She added, "I have heard that it is important to have a good relationship with various people in Korea, so I want to expand networking through various communities by completing a global MBA program. Also, because students from a wide variety of backgrounds are gathered here, we can look at one culture from various perspectives and learn something new from them every day."