Entrepreneurial Mess

The much *un*waited BS402 Entrepreneurship module has started last Saturday. Yes, although I'm studying biology, for some reason Entrepreneurship is also a compulsory subject. Whatever.

Last Saturday was the orientation day. Orientation as in get to know your class members. Already I wasn't in the mood for it, as Mum & Dad came down to Sg for a visit, .... and there I was, time spent getting to know people I already knew instead of spending precious time reunion with my family. But whatever, it was compulsory so I can't help it but to attend.

The first half of the orientation was going pretty well until we came to a part where we were supposed to build structures using a combination of a few items e.g. cups, bowls. We worked in a large group and produced a bridge-like structure. And decided to market it like a bridge connecting the Causeway between Sg & Msia. I thought it was an innovative idea. But when the "investors" i.e. organizers came to evaluate our model, they threw questions and comments which offended me alot. I did not mind constructive criticisms, but the way they gave their comments was completely undiplomatic, insensitive and thrown out with an air of arrogance. I was feeling quite pissed at that time, but kept silent. Did they not even consider the presence of international students within the group? They said things like, " So if the two countries decided not to share the bridge anymore several years down the road, how is the bridge going to be separated? Whose side are you on?" If it was said constructively it would have sounded alright, but the organizer had this condescending look on her face I wanted to wipe off badly. That moment onwards, I lost all my respect for the organizers. And mind you, it wasn't only this instance, there were remarks made that would offend Chinese nationals as well. The lack of sensitivity and diplomacy in these "adults" who pride themselves "entrepreneurs" is really appalling.

The other issue that totally ruin the mood for this module occured during the grouping of students. As there were almost 40++ students, we were broken into groups of 7. Initially, the instructor group individuals randomly, thus most cliques are broken and people who are not very close friends are put together in a group. The instructor's rationale of doing this is to get the students our of their comfort zone and to work with new people. Fine by me. But then, some students voiced out their preference to work with close friends and requested to form groups of their own preference. This discussion led to a heated argument between this group of clique-ers and a minority group of students who preferred to stick to the random grouping as they echoed the instructor's sentiments. I had thought it would be a heated argument that would result in no difference, as the instructor wasn't willing to budge to the request to change. But student X butted in and said that even though the instructor did not agree, they would still swap amongst themselves. And then, student X just left his group and moved into his clique. This trigger the rest to do the same, and in the end, everyone just move into their preferred group, completely ignoring the instructor's presence. I was, again, appalled by the lack of maturity and diplomacy of these young adults in handling such petty situations. In the end, the heated argument and all these chaos resulted in strained relationships between the class members.

Following to that tension, today's session was just as dreadful. Again, the two groups of students with different opinion are at loggerheads. This time, they lash out at each other via war of words. They bombarded each other's oral presentation with destructive comments and questions... that I thought I was sitting in a battlefield. I find that many of my peers are not quite intellectually mature for their age and are very emotionally driven in their counteraction. They appear very defensive, judgemental, and unwilling to give in to make peace. So much for entrepreneurial spirit.

It is going to be such a long week ahead.

～みはる～