Finnish Nightmares and Pierogi Delights: My International Strategic Management Workshop Experience in Poland

When I first applied for this program, I had so many things I was anxious about such as how do I connect with people from different cultures and backgrounds and will I be able to adapt to these cultures. Fortunately, this program exceeded my expectations. I enjoyed the lectures that told me about different cultures.

One thing that is the most memorable to me from the lecture was “Finnish nightmare” (Google it up to find out what it is! Trust me it’s really interesting!). I never expected that such a culture would exist! Apart from the lectures, is the food. One of the students in the program has a Polish background and he introduced me to the Polish culture and foods. One word to describe this was “outstanding”. I tried different flavours of pierogi, which was absolutely flavoursome. I think people should try this when they go to Poland. He also told me the chocolate I should get whilst I am in Europe. Liqueur chocolate is a must-get thing in Europe. I tried one and fell in love with the flavour and I ended up buying a lot of them! Sitting down and getting to know your peers and listening to the lectures are important but people should go sightseeing too! There are so many things to discover in Poznan (you’ll know if you get the chance to attend this program).

Above all, I also got to know people from UTS too! I met some people who are studying the same major as mine and we get to share laughter and of course, fun! So, the highlights for me personally are learning different cultures, getting to know people from across the globe and most importantly foods. If you ask me if I’ve learnt anything related to management, yes definitely! Communicating with people and getting to know them allowed me to understand what management strategy the best for me would be and for them. For example, understanding the culture of how people work (e.g., procrastinator vs diligent type) will help me in finding a way to motivate them to give their best. In short, I recommend this program to anyone keen on learning about different cultures.

Farrel Separgo
Faculty of Engineering and Information Technology
Faculty-led program International Strategic Management Workshop at Poland University of Technology, Poland