2nd Semester | saraconstance

Class | Study Skills

-What I learned about myself: Learning to learn-

The "Study Skills" class has made a great impact upon my education at TEKO, allowing me to create what I like to call- my personal learning "SWOT" analysis. I was able to learn how to make the most out of my strengths during my assignments and cope with my weaknesses, how to seize any learning opportunity , as it can really make a difference on my academic performance, and lastly, I learned how to face the threats that might hinder my education, such as procrastination.

Mr. Paul offered us, during the classes, insightful information that really engaged me personally into analyzing myself and trying to apply the knowledge he shared with us. The topics and chapters encountered in Mr. Paul's "Essential Study Skills & Strategies" book, such as "What kind of learner are you ? " , "Getting the most out of lectures" , "Participating in a team " or "Report Writing &Structuring a dissertation" , were extremely engaging and interesting, especially for me, as this particular class was a new concept in my educational background, and also a very useful one. I was extremely lucky to have been able to benefit from such an opportunity.

HERE you can discover my individual assignment for the Study Skills class, based on "Report Writing".

Project | Entrepreneurship

I truly believe that, for this project, I had the highest level of motivation compared to any other TEKO projects so far. I feel like the Entrepreneurship project provided me with the perfect platform to explore my personal strengths and ambitions as it was extremely significant for my future career in a business environment.

Not only did it cover a topic very important for my further development, but it also offered me a challenging opportunity to explore both my creativity and entrepreneurial spirit.

Another positive aspect of it was the freedom given to the students to select their own team members. I thus had the chance to work with a team of like-minded fellow students and friends with whom I shared the same drive and motivation for this project.

We were able to build up an idea from scratch by joining 6 creative minds together, from 6 different cultures and the result pleased us all.

Although the individual feedback wasn't very rewarding for me personally, our team’s idea has a lot of potential for further development and we hope to be able to make it happen together someday.

In connection to the individual feedback , I believe it was extremely helpful as it made me understand my teacher’s expectation for the final exam, where we will actually receive a registered mark. I am now more confident and prepared to deliver the expected outcome at my most convincing level.

Besides the creative part of the project, there was also the less enjoyable part, consisting of the formal and professional piece of writing we had to prepare. This process of creating the actual business plan was very challenging, as we had to work under a lot of time pressure, but at the same time, that allowed us to get an idea about how hectic the life of an entrepreneur is, therefore it was to our advantage.

Class | Concept Development

The Concept Development class was a really inspiring and exciting experience for me, as it allowed me to explore my visual communication skills and enhance my creativity through a range of engaging exercises and small projects assigned in class by my teacher who constantly challenged my imagination.

I was able to learn during class how to initiate and participate in the development of a company’s concept, and develop a visual identity for it , how to make presentations of the concept and meet the company’s expectations, how to analyze the DNA of a company and the various elements of a brand’s concept, starting from logo, typography, design, packaging.

The typography assignment, when we were assigned to create our own alphabet, was one of my favourite moments during the Concept Development classes, as well as the day when we watched the movie Helvetica, which gave me a very interesting insight about the best typographic trends happening at the moment. The Illustrator + InDesign lessons were also very interesting, and I look forward to exploring more thoroughly these programs during my electives.

We are currently working on the final assignment for this class, which involves the development of a new concept supported by a brand-book. The process is really creative and exciting!

Class | Branding

The Branding class allowed me to challenge my creative self and to think outside the box in connection with branding strategies, product identity and promotion.

I was presented relevant information regarding this topic in an engaging and stimulating manner by our class teacher, Paul, which constantly surprised me in a positive manner and made me even more interested in discovering his next lesson.

I was really captured by all the visual materials that our teacher provided us with during class, by the extremely current references related to brand management and strategic thinking and by the colourful and energetic atmosphere surrounding each lesson.

I particularly recall with great excitement a branding exercise we played one time in class, by being spread in two opponent teams which had to compete against each other in a true/false kind of game, based on information related to branding. No matter who the winner team was, the experience was a gain for both sides, as it functioned as a great tool for us to practice the information acquired during the semester.

As Branding & Marketing students, we are dealing with a very complex , yet exciting task, around the case of the Cottonfield brand , therefore I look forward to applying my skills within this final assignment which is bound to become yet another challenging TEKO task, extremely relevant for our future careers.

Class | Marketing Management

The Marketing Management class has given me the basic skills to be able to better understand the competitive marketing environment I am bound to deal with within my future career.

The lessons during this class have given me a resourceful range of materials and opportunities to practice my understanding of this domain and to challenge myself.

Our teacher, Mary, has constantly strived to push our limits and I absolutely adored her innovative teaching strategy and the emphasis she constantly put on applying the information received during a particular lesson through oral presentations based on various small tasks during the class.

I was able to gain knowledge and understanding of the connection and interaction between a marketing department and other departments of the same company, I was able to explore the potential of the current trade market supported by its macro and micro environments, and asses the strategic thinking of a successful marketer.

By way of illustration, the Jaggermeister assignment was extremely comprehensive and it allowed me to apply most of the information collected during this semester by creating a thorough assessment of a successful global company.

To conclude, I look forward to applying my Marketing skills during my upcoming internship, when I will have the great honour but also responsibility to work within the Marketing & Communication department of a 5 * hotel in Sevilla, Spain.

Class | Macroeconomics

The Macro Eco class allowed me to acquire knowledge related to the demand and supply of a market, to consumption, investment or terms like export and import.

Topics like the trade off in the economic policy regarding unemployment and inflation were also discussed, having a direct connection with our current Cottonfield case.

The class dealt on a theoretical level with serious issues like fiscal and monetary policies or costs and benefits, which all contributed to shaping a more serious and thoughtful vision upon the business environment at least for me personally.

I realized I have previously overlooked some of the details discussed in class , when having considered the context for developing a prolific business, therefore the class was extremely useful.

Class | Business Economics

Business Economics took me through Accounting, Costs, Profits and various financial exercises that really tested my mathematics background from high-school, which to be honest, even at its modest level, was extremely useful.

Although I am not normally drawn towards figures and finances, trying to remain within the creative area of any task, I actually found myself fascinated in a way by all the economy-related challenges we were put through in class. Despite my lack of proficiency within the field, I am aware of its undisputed importance within any business area, therefore I took this class rather seriously and focused.

After the Value Chain project, where me and my team faced a frustrating struggle while dealing with the financial side of our assignment, I started reconsidering my previews apprehension towards exploring finance-related topics, as I have realized that no matter what my company will be focused on, a basic understanding of money is imperative.

After all, the CEO and the CFO should speak each of their languages as proactively as possible !

Project | COTTONFIELD brand book

I had the chance to create my first fictional brand book for a study case of a Danish clothing company, called COTTONFIELD. The experience was amazing and it gave me the chance to gain valuable InDesign skills and to enhance my creative vision. You can access the brand book on my Issuu account HERE