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Folake Oshinyemi:- The knowledge that you gain from the sessions, especially the assignments and discussion boards that we have through which we learn, is-- it's very, very important. And it's germane, because during the discussion-- when discussions are going on in the discussion board, you ask questions. You have your ideas. Then the tutor comes and asks further questions to probe.
So that helps critical thinking. And it enables us to learn more, and application. Because we are talking, we are all students asking, discussing, we find that it models the physical classroom very similar. And I don't think I miss much about that. And then, application. We're learning from other people. All the culture. All the ethnicity.
Aside from that, we're also learning from our tutors, and the research work we do. The assignments or readings that you have to do online. Pretty much, the application for me, it has helped me in many ways.
The first assignment we had in December that we submitted, I think it was Global People Management. I actually-- that was very, very-- that was a turning point for me in relating with our partners who are culturally different from us here in Nigeria, the Chinese.
And I learnt quite a lot of things through the books, [INAUDIBLE] research that I did, and quite actually picked that. And I changed-- I was able to review the way we relate with them. And the organization was really very pleased about that, because we were expecting too much from them, immediate responses and things like that. We work here.
We sent an information, and you wanted to respond to it immediately. But you have to give them time to come back. So that enabled me to change the process of relating with our clients and partners here in Nigeria. And I think that it really also helped me in my career because my board members were really pleased that we got-- we were able to move ahead. And we now have a smoother relationship with them. So it helped me to do my job well. And I also got a thumbs up from my directors.
Alex De Carvalho: - It's important to differentiate the differences between-- we've got academic research or theoretical knowledge within the field of human resource management. But we've also got the practitioner side, which-- they don't necessarily test the theory. They'll want quick responses to the application. Quick resolutions. So what the course does, it helps you deep dive into many areas.
I echo what Folake has mentioned. We've got students internationally. So we're able to have that cultural diversity and see how HR management works in practice, as well as in theory across internationally, across the world, which gives insight, especially as you're based in the UK. We're not always exposed if you're not in a big organization, multinational corporation.
So the application of what you learn, the critical thinking, the evaluation, the challenges on the discussion boards and how that challenges-- people from different countries saying one thing. We in the UK say another. Somebody in America saying different. And you just challenge each other in a positive way to move forward, to expand your knowledge and your skill sets.
Now the application of completing, or being on the course, even where we are now, you are able to take what you've learned immediately from the module and base it in practice.
Now a great example of that is one of the hot topics we've got at the moment, the trends in HR, would be menopause. It's a great example, as a male being in HR 15, 16 years plus. It's still a very difficult conversation to have. I'm also of a generation where males don't speak about that kind of topic.
However, nowadays, we're encouraging to speak about menopause. We've covered it quite extensively in the previous module. It helped me and equipped me with the knowledge on how to address somebody, a female going through the menopause stages. And how to address it in a way that their integrity, their dignity, is all still instilled within them. And they feel nurtured and encouraged to speak to you openly rather than reverting to themselves, which has productivity issues potentially.
So productivity can go down. They can have a brain fog. All these things impact the business, or the stakeholders within an organization. So it's very much being aware of how to handle these situations in an empathetic, compassionate way that's supportive and helps your workforce not only be engaged, but also thrive.
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