MANY things can happen in six weeks.

Like finding the direction in which to take your future career. Or coming out of your shell and jet-setting with a group of new friends.

These experiences were what international students Shozo Yamamoto and Yavuz Ziddioglu cherished the most after a heady six weeks in Singapore.

They were two of the 23 participants in the 2009 summer intake of SIM Global Education's (SIM GE) Asian Business Study Abroad programme in Singapore.

This programme started in 2005 in partnership with the University at Buffalo (UB), the State University of New York.

Mr Ziddioglu, 20, is a third-year BSc in Accounting student at UB.

UB, in turn, has an exchange programme with Konan University in Japan.

Mr Yamamoto, 21, a final-year economics and business administration student at Konan University, joined the Singapore programme after spending a year at UB.

SIM's Study Abroad programme features visits for students to companies in Singapore.

Mr Yamamoto said the insights from these visits have helped him decide on his 'future direction' career-wise.

He said: 'In Japan, all the multi-national companies want to expand to the West.

'I'd rather work for companies that want to expand to South-east Asia because I think that's where the global economy will develop in future.'

The company visits complement the programme's anchor course: Asian Business and Global Economy.

All students have to take the course, which focuses on doing business in key markets in Asia, like China, India and Singapore, as well as the role Asia plays in the global economy.

Mr Neo Beng Tong, Chair of SIM's Education Abroad Programme, said: 'We ask the company representatives, who are often senior management, to explain to the students how they expanded overseas, and also to highlight the factors to consider and the challenges involved.

'For example, Eu Yan Sang CEO Richard Eu talked about working with the regulatory framework in China.'

Students visited six companies in total, including Sun Microsystems, Citibank Singapore and the National Library Board.

Mr Yamamoto said he found the visit to Frasers Hospitality, which manages serviced apartments globally, an eye-opener.

He said: 'We have similar serviced apartments in Japan, but I never had the chance to visit one.

'It's a unique concept that combines the good points of a hotel and a residence.'

Informative visit

For Mr Ziddioglu, the Eu Yan Sang visit proved particularly informative.

He said: 'I was surprised to hear that the current recession has helped in taking the company to the US.

'Mr Eu said with many stores closing down there, Eu Yan Sang was able to get the best store locations in the malls.'

The course culminates in a final project where students work in teams to develop a business plan for a company that is interested in entering an Asian market.

The structured programme consists of seminars, consultations and project work. In the final week, students will have to present their final project and take tests.

In addition to the compulsory module, students can choose a second module from a variety of courses, including human resource management, organisational behaviour and basic business Mandarin.

Mr Ziddioglu took up HR management while MrYamamoto learnt Mandarin.

'I've many opportunities to speak Chinese outside of class, like when ordering food,' said Mr Yamamoto.

Mr Ziddioglu said: 'The best part of the programme was always being with 23 people as it forced me to be more social.

'The more outgoing people would drag me out. We visited places, like Little India, Clarke Quay and Chinatown.'

They also flew to nearby countries, like Thailand and Malaysia, for weekend trips.

Mr Ziddioglu, who was born in Turkey but raised in Bahrain, said he was struck by how locals of different ethnic backgrounds all identify as Singaporeans.

He said: 'I never think to tell people that I'm Bahraini even though I grew up there all my life.'

Mr Yamamoto too shared a similar observation about Singapore's society.

He said: 'In Japan, we've only one language and race. I was surprised by the multi-racial society in the US. It's the same here, but Singaporeans live together very well.

'Being in the programme let me see Singapore from the inside. If I'd come as a tourist, I'd only have seen Singapore from the outside.'

This article was first published in The New Paper.