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cONTENTSA Welcomefrom the President of the Student Association, Asmat Ullah

Introducing, the Kid TricksOur multi-talented students are full of surprises! This month we spoke to...

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A message from the Rector & CEO, Prof Maurits van Roojien

60 seconds with... This month’s 60 Seconds features Samuel Ogunro, Global MBA student...

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Measuring the strength of real wealth vs real currency The best way to measure the strength of a currency is to measure it...

Student offerExperience Pure Adrenaline with 20% off Airkix Indoor Skydiving at Buyagift.com

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Talk Back Each month we will answer questions posed to the Student Association

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Next monthwe will bring you an exclusive interview with Rector and CEO for LSBF, Maurits Van Rooijen

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LSBF in London casting for talent show - Who's got talent? Following on from the huge success of last year’s ‘LSBF’s Got Talent’...

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Student offer Enjoy 20% off personalised greeting cards and 10% off ales with Hello Turtle.

Hello Turtle provides personalised online...

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London campus launches LSBF Football club 12

the influence of cross- cultural communication on economic developmentWithin the spread of globalization, all spheres of our being are shifted by the challenges of our contemporary world. These changes turned us into a new type of society, one that is involved in the web of globalisation and is on its way to becoming...

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The definition of musicACCA Student, Abeer Ali, discusses...

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Maurits

Rector & CEO of : London school of business & Finance,

Rector@lsbf.org.uk

My dear fellow students and friends,

We are well into 2014 now and Varsity Life is evolving nicely! I would like to congratulate you all for your continuing interest and involvement in your student newsletter – keep up the good work! This issue of Varsity Life features several articles on the topic of music. Sticking with the musical theme, I should remind you all about the London campus’ talent show ‘Who’s Got Talent’ coming up this April! Last year the audience was blown away by the talent we had on show, so to any London based students who have a talent to share, email us at studentassociation@lsbf.org.uk quoting ‘Who’s Got Talent?’ in the subject line. There was a great public speaking event held by LSBF’s Careers department earlier this month, where Managing Director EMEA Merges & Acquisitions at Nomura International, Guy Hayward-Cole, spoke about the career prospects in investment banking and answered students’ questions. Please don’t hesitate to contact the team at Varsity life (varsitylife@lsbf.org.uk) if you have any ideas, suggestions or would like to be part of the editorial team. We would love to hear from you!

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A welcome from the president of the Student Association, Asmat Ullah

A message from the Rector & CEO, Prof Maurits van Roojien

One of the features - some would say perk, others would say burden - of working for a global provider of education is spending quite a lot of time on planes. Last week I was travelling to our campus in Toronto, this week, Singapore. The new building at the Toronto campus looks fabulous, though some floors are still being converted to teaching space. Work should finish in the next few months. The formal opening of the new premises, located in central Toronto near University of Toronto and Ryerson University, is foreseen for May. The completely unjustified action of the Ontario government last year has been resolved, as we knew it would. Toronto is all set to become a prominent part of LSBF.

During my stay, temperatures in Toronto dipped to -20°C! The UK is much warmer but parts of it are currently flooded from heavy rainfall. Singapore, predictably, will be hot and on 26th February we opened our new premises in the Central Business

District there. Last time I saw the place, we still had to take possession, but now it has been fully equipped for the top-quality teaching we provide in Singapore to our thousands of students there. It offers an educational facility of which we can be truly proud.

Being probably the fastest growing provider of global education in the private sector, finding new and suitable real estate is a big challenge, as those in the UK know all too well. But even in the overheated property market of the capital, our expansion is relentless. In my view it is much better having to work hard to accommodate ever-growing student numbers than seeing demand drop because one no longer offers the right education in the right place.

The unprecedented success of LSBF continues and it is truly great that you are willing to be part of that.

Asmat

President of the Student Association ,

president@sa.lsbf.org.uk

LSBF in Londoncasting for talent show

Who’s got

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Who’s got Talent

exclusive exclusive exclusive exclusive exclusive exclusive

Following on from the huge success of last year’s ‘LSBF’s Got Talent’, the highly anticipated talent show returns and this year it is set to be even bigger! LSBF in London have teamed up with two other schools from our group and, as a result, the name has changed to ‘Who’s Got Talent?’

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exclusive exclusive exclusive exclusive exclusive exclusive

Last year the audience was blown away by the talent we had on show, which included beat boxing, comedy, dancing, singing and more. To ensure we make this year even better than the last, we want to hear from you!

It doesn’t matter what talent you have, we would love to hear from you, as auditions will be taking place within the next few weeks (information regarding dates to be released soon).

We hope you are all as excited as we are for the return of this amazing talent show and we hope if you’re not planning to take part by performing, you’re planning to take part by attending and supporting your fellow students!

Do you have a talent that you would like to share? Would you like the opportunity to perform in front of hundreds of people?If so email us at studentassociation@lsbf.org.uk quoting ‘Who’s Got Talent?’ in the subject line.

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INTRO-DUCING, THE KID TRICKS!

I did a performance at the Birmingham Custard Factory with a group I was part of at the time, MSG. When the beat dropped for the chorus the crowd knew my lyrics word for word - I was so shocked!

Music has provided me with so many great opportunities and I have met some incredible people like Witness, an award winning recording artist and entrepreneur who provided opportunities for me such as school tours across the West Midlands and performances at the National Indoor Arena and other amazing venues.

Ideally, in the long run, I would like to run my own successful media company, but right now I’m focused on my music related goals.

Our multi-talented students are full of surprises! This month we spoke to Birmingham-based student, Glanvan Farrell, 21, who has been studying Business Management since November 2013. In his spare time he is also known as musician and rapper, The Kid Tricks. Here, he tells us a bit about his current musical projects and his upcoming track and music video being filmed in collaboration with Birmingham basketball team, the Birmingham Knights!

So Glanvan, tell us a little bit about your involvement with the music industry.

Well my father is a musician himself so I guess it’s in my genes! As far as I can remember I’ve had a passion for music, since I was in primary school.

I started playing around with the idea of writing my own lyrics in about Year 7 (age 11) and recorded a few songs as school projects with friends in class. I didn’t record a song of my own outside of school ‘til I was about 16 at my local studio, Young Disciples, which was operated by renowned Birmingham-based producer and sound engineer, KMD. The song was called ‘Street Life’ and was a very positive song. The amount of recognition and love I received after I ‘released’ it was ridiculous - and by ‘release’ I mean me and my friends sending it around via Bluetooth!

Nevertheless, the response was so great it confirmed that this was what I wanted to do career-wise. I remember a few months after releasing the song,

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THE DEFINITION OF

Music

mu·sic n.1. The art of arranging sounds in time so as to produce a continuous, unified, and evocative composition, as through melody, harmony, rhythm, and timbre.

The definition of music sounds just that: definitive. But what if you consider what music means to you? How it’s linked to your cultural background, your mother language, even your other interests?

My own culture is always at the front of my mind. Before I began exploring music from other cultures,

I used to say that eastern music had a certain ‘feel’ to it, something that was unique anywhere in the world. Some of the genres I listen to these days often get dismissively labelled as ‘noisy music’; the likes of Led Zeppelin, Metallica, Black Sabbath. These bands don’t even class as music to some people, they’re just a noise.

But it would be unfair to claim our own tastes are better, and that everyone else should follow our interests. After all it’s music; we can’t say who’s having a good time with which music at the end of the day.

ACCA Student, Abeer Ali, discusses his interpretation of music and its links to his own culture.

Abeer Ali, ACCA Student

We hear you are about to shoot a new music video for an upcoming track! Can you tell us a bit about it?

On March 16th I will be shooting my first music video of the year entitled, ‘Still Here’. The title is pretty self-explanatory and means a lot to me. Life is never easy and remembering where you’ve come from and what you’ve been through is never a bad thing. The fact that I’m still here is a blessing. I hope the track will spread through cities across the UK and then across the world so that people can see what ‘The Kid’ is capable of!

The video features my home town’s newly-formed basketball team, the Birmingham Knights! As we are both relatively new in our respective fields, the collaboration will be great promotion for us both. Besides that, basketball is my favourite sport so this is a project I’m very excited about!

Do you play basketball yourself?

I did actually try out for the Birmingham Bullets but unfortunately I wasn’t picked! Personally I think I must have been too awesome haha! Who knows, maybe I should try out for the Knights after this project is finished and I can be a rapper turned baller!

We wish Glanvan the best of luck with his music career and will catch up with him again after the video has been shot in March!

You can keep up with The Kid Tricks on social media:

TW: @TheKidTricksIG: @TheKidTricksFB: www.facebook.com/TheKidTricks

Where were you born?

I was born in Abeokuta, Ogun State (South West), Nigeria.

Which part of London are you living in now?

I live in South East London, precisely Anerley, the London Borough of Bromley.

Where would your dream home be?

My dream home would be a big mansion on a cliff top over the sea because I love the idea of dark rainy nights with the awesome view of lightning and the sound of the waves crashing against the cliffs. Alternatively, I would love to have my mansion among trees where I could hear the birds singing and the leaves and branches of the trees rustling in the wind.

60 secon

ds w

ith Who is your idol?

Jesus Christ is my idol. This is because he is love and he loves everyone irrespective of their skin colour, ethnic background, sexual orientation etc. He loves everybody equally.

What is the best piece of advice you have ever been given?

“Love your neighbour as yourself.”

What is your favourite motto?

“There can be no success without sacrifice. Anytime you see success, you can be sure someone made sacrifices to make it possible.”

Which other subject would you study if not the current one?

My degree was in sciences while my Masters was in management, hence, I would love to study art.

What can’t you live without?

I can’t live without God, the author and finisher of my life. He has been protecting and providing for me ever since I was born. Without God I am dead!

Which actor would play you in a movie?

I would love Will Smith to play me in the story of my life.

Why is education important to you?

Education is important to me because it makes me relevant in society.

Thank you, Samuel!

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My name is Oluwaseun Samuel Ogunro. I just completed the Global MBA in Project Management after completing a Postgraduate Diploma in Strategic Management and Leadership, both at LSBF.

What was your first job?

My first job was in banking. I worked in the department of Credit and Marketing.

What is your dream job?

My dream job is to work as an Executive Project Manager where I can manage complex programmes/projects in any sector.

If you could have one superpower what would it be?

To see the future. A successful project manager must be able to foresee any risks or uncertainties that might affect his project objectives. If I could see the future I would be the best project manager in the world!

Samuel Ogunro, Global MBA student

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For more student offers, please visit http://www.loyalty.lsbf.org.uk (login using your student ID).

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10/ 16

Real currencyBy

food for thought food for thought food for thought food for thought

Real wealth vsMeasuring the strength of

Khamis Jamil Khan, CIMA student

The best way to measure the strength of a currency is to measure it against real assets like gold and silver. Unlike paper money, gold and silver cannot be printed at will. As a result they hold their value, and, in the case of depreciating paper money, appreciate in value. The following chart shows that before the advent of the Federal Reserve, the dollar was backed by real assets and hence its value remained the same, while after the Federal Reserve was created, the value decreased so much that an item that used to incur a cost of $1 in 1913 was incurring a cost of $27 in 2009.

If you’ve ever wondered why your ancestors don’t have stories about the rampant inflation of the past, this is why.

From 1774-1913 there was, on average, zero inflation. Back then, we used real money and inflation netted out to zero. Since the advent of the Federal

Reserve, and national policy makers being able to print money at will, a good that went for $1 now goes for more than $27; an increase of 2700%.

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food for thought food for thought food for thought food for thought

Cost and pricing of goods during inflation

Gold and silver have intrinsic value, and they will always remain that way. A lot of people invest in the financial markets to beat inflation, and those who do prefer the US market. The Dow Jones index is a great benchmark to establish the value of equities, currencies, commodities, agricultural products and precious metals. The following chart shows the Dow Jones Index, where the blue-chip companies carry a heavy weight into the index. If these companies are doing well, so is the index and so is the market economy. As you can see, on average it has been going up in dollar terms. But we know this is the age of inflation, so let’s see where the Dow really stands (graphs on the right):

We can clearly see that even though the Dow Jones rose in nominal terms, it was actually free-falling in terms of gold and silver.

Proposed action points

Some key steps which can be adopted on an individual level are:

• Transforming all assets into real wealth

• Purchase physical gold and silver rather than certificates

• Create awareness of the issue

• Facilitate the conversion of paper-based assets into real assets

• Design secure physical locations to place these real assets

• Channel assets into profitable initiatives, circulating wealth through society

• Use real assets to give all forms of charity

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The LSBF London Football club has officially launched!

Being part of a football club is not only great for your health and fitness but at the same time it is great fun! The LSBF Football Club will bring students together from different schools within the LSBF group and provides the ideal opportunity for networking and making new friends.

If you are interested in joining the club, whether you want to perfect

If you are good at playing in a particular position on the field let us know!

The first training session will be held on Saturday 1st March at 3pm in Regents Park .The meeting point will be The Regent’s Park Hub (London NW1 4RU). If you can’t make this session, don’t worry - we will also be holding subsequent sessions at evenings and weekends!

your skills or just have some fun, all LSBF students are welcome to register. The team will train together and eventually take part in matches against other schools. We look forward to hearing about their future successes!

To register you must send your full name, Student ID number, email address, phone number and programme of study to President@sa.lsbf.org.uk.

London Campus Launches LSBF Football Club

13/ 16

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*The Student Loyalty Programme is currently only available to students studying in London.

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mean that other spheres – political, social etc. – are neglected, but it does reveal that cultural and economic issues are inseparable now. General knowledge of cultural peculiarities is crucial for the minimisation of economic costs in world trade, and for the so-called synergetic effect in the work of multicultural groups.

One of the most important issues of this reality is that cross-cultural communication is gaining prominence and becoming an essential part of the dialogue among countries. What’s more, within the disposition towards regional collaboration, states are now more independent from the government and cultural co-operation seems to be a key-factor in the establishment

of palatable and fruitful relations. It’s easy to see how cross-cultural communication could be used to set up relations behind the Establishment’s mainstream policy, and how hostility between nations could create gaps in the dialogue among states.

Economy is an essential part of our globalised world, but this doesn’t

THE INFLUENCE OF CROSS-CULTURAL COMMUNICATION ON ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT

Within the spread of globalization, all spheres of our being are shifted by the challenges of our contemporary world. These changes turned us into a new type of society, one that is involved in the web of globalisation and is on its way to becoming a global society.

Mariya Kuzmenkova, Strategic Planning, LSBF online student

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Each month we will answer questions posed to the Student Association. It could be about student life, exam tips, local restaurant suggestions, accommodation enquiries and current affairs… let us know what is on your mind!

Send us your questions for the next edition: varsitylife@lsbf.org.uk!

Talk Back Next month...

However, the question of the influence of cross-cultural relations on economy is a biased one. There are two main camps of insiders who research this issue. Some of them affirm that it brings only negative effects on economy; others opine that it is a bolstering element. However, all of them are unanimous when talking about enhancing the role of culture in the world economy.

The phenomenon of cross-cultural communication is a base for the number of disciplines aimed at the solution of cultural problems and the elimination of cross-cultural borders in the economic sphere. They can be combined under the term “cross-cultural management”.

General knowledge of cultural peculiarities is crucial for the minimisation of economic costs in world trade, and for the so-called synergetic effect in the work of multicultural groups.

Such U-turns reflect the changes towards a cultural-centered world. Corporate culture in companies needs to be defined “right at the top”; this is the way to achieve fruitful cooperation and allow people from different cultures to permeate into the structure of the company. Moreover, understanding and respecting others requires sensitivity, tolerance, respect and modesty. Cross-cultural borders are a filter for companies – if you are able to adjust to the new cultural circumstances, you will thrive; if not, you are automatically an outsider. Let’s look at some real-world examples.

Gerber – the producer of children’s goods – tried to penetrate the African market. Without any thought for cultural differences the company marketed children’s food in boxes with a laughing child. However, sales were terrible. The company soon discovered that a large part of their target market were illiterate, so pictures on the package often signify contents – what is the product made of? It is evident that Africans were not ready to eat food made of children!

Another company that took the Chinese cosmetic market by its patience is L’Oreal. In order to outrun its competitors the company spent several years collecting reliable information on the issue of cultural traits of the nation.

In order to implement their strategy, L’Oreal made an agreement with the Chinese Medical College - the step to outline respect to the well-being of the nation. What is more, the company “bought” the famous celebrity Yue-Sai Kan. This was a masterstroke that granted the company a dominant position in Chinese cosmetic market.

To sum up, it is necessary to outline that in the era of globalisation the world is shrinking; everything is changing. The process of globalization is no longer an issue of solely economic development, but rather embraces all spheres. Nowadays tendency is shifted towards a cultural-centered world, and tin order to achieve maximum profit, companies must take into account cross-cultural communication.

This interview has been postponed to Varisty Life Issue 3. Stay tuned to hear his tips for budding entrepreneurs and academics! Send us your questions for Prof van Rooijen varsitylife@lsbf.org.uk. Stay tuned!

we will bring you an exclusive interview with Rector and CEO for LSBF, Maurits Van Rooijen

VVARSITY LIFELSBF Student association Newsletter

issue 2