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Catherine Jing, 2010 Management and Institutional Analysis Concentrator
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Catherine Jing is a SIPA student pursuing an MIA degree with a concentration in Management and Institutional Analysis. She has started to take coursework in Strategic Management and plans to focus on Cost-Benefit Analysis, Decision Models and Management, Project Management and Human Resource Management during her time at SIPA.
Why did you choose the Management and Institutional Analysis concentration?
“I joined SIPA primarily because of its comprehensiveness in courses related to International Affairs combined with International Media and Communications. However, during the first semester I felt that I was drawn into the endless possibilities that the Management field can offer. Management courses teach you solutions in businesses, no matter what kind of businesses you are looking into.”
What do you see yourself doing after you graduate?
“I plan to start in the marketing/ brand management field and hope to find a firm that has a specific interest in Chinese/Asian clients. I want to expose myself to real business surroundings and build on skills and competencies that will further develop my career. I would like to work for around five years and then possibly pursue additional studies.”
Have you taken any classes at other Columbia schools?
“I am taking courses from Barnard Collage and the Columbia Business School this semester.”
SIPA features lots of events for students to attend. Is there any interesting presentation or meeting that you attended recently?
“A presentation by the United Nations recruiting staff was the most memorable presentation during my first semester. The United Nations is a prestigious international institution that has a vision to help make the world a better place by helping people in need. However, it’s also a grand bureaucracy and outsiders have hard time making sense of the inner workings. The presentation provided a great deal of very useful information.”
What do you like most about SIPA?
“Studying at SIPA with people from all over the world is the greatest thing that SIPA has to offer. Here it’s like a small United Nations. Your peers are from all kinds of amazing places and all kinds of academic and professional backgrounds. This is a unique characteristic I felt I could not obtain by attending another school. I am constantly amazed by everyday surprises and new discoveries in social and academic interactions inside and outside of class.”