By Chenning (Gloria) Zhu, 2018-2019 president of ABCD

Earlier this month, Asia Business Club at Darden (ABCD) hosted Darden’s first-ever Asia Week. The week introduced a comprehensive view of Asia from economic, cultural, art and lifestyle perspectives to the whole Darden community. ABCD believes that the Asia Week activities provided the global perspective and knowledge that every future leader from Darden will need going out into the world.

Music filled PepsiCo Forum on Monday morning as Asia Week began with a K-pop mob dance during First Coffee in collaboration with the Darden Dance Revolution club.

During Asia Week, ABCD invited professors to share their perspectives on Asia. Faculty spoke on topics including “Addressing Financial Exclusion”, “Asia in the 21st Century: Rethinking relationships between education, employment and entrepreneurship”, and “How Chinese business leaders are developing a new growth-oriented competency that gives them a competitive edge: Insight from a collaboration with Tencent”. Each speaker session attracted almost full-classroom attendance, and attendees were excited to review Asia’s recent and renowned growth, learn more about social impact under the context of a transforming society and explore the potential of doing business in Asia.

In addition to the academic sessions, ABCD also organized a series of workshops to introduce various Asian countries and cultural traditions. Classmates shared their experiences in Indonesia, Singapore, China, Thailand and Philippines during ‘spotlight’ First Coffee gatherings, and ABCD offered a yoga session and a Tai Chai class to showcase traditional spiritual practices. Lunar New Year Cold Call on Wednesday was the highlight of the week. The cultural Cold Call event included a dumpling workshop, ping pong tournament and endless Asian food for the Darden community to enjoy.

See some photos from the week’s events below!