About The Course
Since globalization and innovation are two key forces that shape individual and business success in the 21st century, this course aims to enhance students’ understanding on how people can utilize their cultural knowledge to generate creative and innovative ideas, by means of integrating different perspectives, theories, strategies, and technologies. In this multicultural environment, people must collaborate effectively across cultural borders, broadly defined, to solve pressing problems and to develop new products and solutions that will appeal to the global market.
Cultural and creative industries are one of such sectors that emphasizes culture as the foundation for developing and supporting industries through creativity (e.g., cultural tourism, community cultural development,performing art, product design). Via collaborating with the students and faculty members in the Institute of Creative Industries Design at the National Cheng Kung University, SMU students will have hands-on cross-cultural collaboration experiences with their Taiwanese counterparts.
Through participating in class discussions and learning different case studies of Taiwan’s cultural and creative industries during the field trip, students will receive ample opportunities to sharpen their cultural knowledge and skills and to apply these new insights to benefit creative productions in the real world. Students will also gain cultural immersive experiences through conducting in-depth analysis of the business client in their SMU-NCKU work team.
At the end of the course, students will be able to integrate theories of culture, psychology, and design thinking to broaden their knowledge about the development and sustainability of cultural and creative industries. They might also identify from the insights gained from the Taiwan cases to benefit the cultural and creative industries in Singapore
Reflection
One of the main reasons I chose this particular study mission was the chance to immerse myself in the rich and vibrant culture of Taiwan. Coming from a different cultural context, I am aware that my understanding of psychology may be influenced by the environment in which it was studied and researched. By experiencing the Taiwanese culture first-hand, I hoped to broaden my perspectives and gain insights into how psychological research findings can vary across different cultural contexts.
This will enable me to better understand the nuances and potential differences that impact the generalizability and external validity of psychological theories and research, bridging the gap between theory and practice. I have achieved this learning objective through a newfound understanding of the impact of cultural nuances on creativity and its applications. By immersing myself in the Taiwanese culture, I have witnessed first-hand the unique cultural and societal factors foster or inhibit creativity. This exposure has challenged my preconceived notions and has made me more aware of the need for cultural sensitivity and context-specific approaches when conducting and applying psychological research.
This SMU-X Overseas course has also been a transformative experience in terms of personal growth. It has pushed me out of my comfort zone and encouraged me to embrace new challenges and unfamiliar environments. By navigating through cultural differences, language barriers, and diverse group dynamics, I have developed resilience, adaptability, and intercultural communication skills. These skills will undoubtedly be invaluable as I navigate future academic and professional endeavors.
Thank You Notes to Benefactors
This SMU-X Opportunity award has been instrumental in enabling me to partake of this transformative program, and I cannot express enough how appreciative I am for this opportunity. I am immensely grateful for your generosity that has made this experience possible, and I am confident that the knowledge, skills, and perspectives gained through this study mission will have a lasting impact on my academic and personal journey. Thank you once again for your support, and I am excited to continue paying it forward by making a positive difference in the field of psychology and supporting students through such learning opportunities in the future.
