CBA Foundation Launches Chula WISE
An Online Mentoring Platform from Chula Alumni to Undergraduates
The CBA Foundation has launched the Chula WISE program (Chula Wisdom for Self-Enrichment) for students at Chulalongkorn University. The program has been developed from the ChAMP (Chulalongkorn Alumni Mentorship Program) pioneered by Chulalongkorn Business School (CBS) which has been a successful mentoring system for undergraduates learning from alumni. The model has been applied broadly by other educational institutes as well as public and private organizations, creating a new path for personnel development.
In response to the tremendous demand of students who need to develop their potential, the ChAMP adopted online technology to create Chula WISE as an online platform to meet the current educational landscape where learning is not limited to a classroom but lifelong. It is a key role of universities in the 'New Normal' to enable undergraduates to develop strong fundamentals for growth in the future world.
Prof. Dr. Wilert Puriwat, Acting President of Chulalongkorn University, revealed that the university's strategy is to be more than an educational institute and serve as an education incubator in cultivating students to follow a career path that leads to prosperity. Students must gain knowledge and experience and develop their intellectual and wisdom. Most of all, the university's core value is to deliver robust relationships with friends, seniors, juniors, and lecturers. Such relationships will create good connections for career advancement in the future. In addition, Chulalongkorn University's strength lies in alumni's unified support, empowering younger generations to build a strong nation and society.
"One of the strategies to enhance Chulalongkorn University to meet the challenges of the modern world is connecting the university with all sectors of society to jointly create Future Global Leaders. This is in line with the learning model which dictates that learning is not limited to schools or one faculty, but that students can learn from anywhere, gain knowledge, and broaden learning through an exchange of experiences with seniors from alumni to experts in various professional fields. Today, Chula's role is to build thought leaders," Prof. Dr. Wilert said.
Assoc. Prof. M.L. Sawika Unahanandh, Vice President of CBA Foundation, said that thanks to the financial support from CBA (Chulalongkorn Business Administration), the foundation was able to previously offer support to the ChAMP and Coach by ChAMP projects. CBA anticipated that the Chula WISE is the Mentoring Platform that will allow a lot of students to participate in the mentoring process and be both mentors and mentees throughout the year. The students can share knowledge, ideas, and valuable experiences from mentors who are chief executives in diverse fields, and business owners, as well as those with learning experience in leading global universities including Stanford University, Harvard University, MIT, and the University of Cambridge.
Hence, the foundation has supported and helped drive the Chula WISE program, enabling interested students to join an Agenda-based or Mentoring approach in specific subjects via the online platform. This will enhance the potential of students with essential skills to become graduates of quality, with a high moral code and ethics, and the leadership to develop business organizations.
On behalf of the President of Chula WISE and as one of the initiators and developers of the program, Saranee Boonritthongchai, Country Marketing Manager, Google Thailand, said that the past mentoring program ChAMP opened for applications only once a year. The Chula WISE will unlock students' opportunities by offering access to over 50 mentors from various professional fields throughout the year. The mentors will transfer their life experiences and ideas to current undergraduates through the sharing of ideas. Students will also get knowledge about relations in organizations, making a living, and creating value for society through the On Demand Monitoring Platform, which learners can make an appointment with a mentor as needed for a personal chat. Importantly, there is no expense involved.
Saranee is confident that in the next phase, the Chula WISE will be expanded to other educational institutes for the optimized benefit of educational development in Thailand.
She added that mentoring will be a capability development process that enables mentees to better understand themselves through support for thinking and provoking thought. This is a process to enhance intelligence through the Reflection method combined with Coaching and Advice from mentors to unleash the potential of mentees and drive them toward success.
Alumni joining Chula WISE as mentors this year are executives from leading companies including Google, Microsoft, The Walt Disney Company, Kiatnakin Phatra Bank, and Sea Group.
The existing undergraduates at all faculties and years can apply to be mentees of the Chula WISE program at https://wisementorship.org/. Students can follow up on their applications via Facebook: wise mentoring or IG: wise. mentoring
*Applications are open throughout the year