W o r l d ’ s L a r g e s t U n i v e r s i t y

MUST Matters

JAN 2013

Table Of Contents

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Editorial

Cover Story: The Balancing Act:Work with Education

Expert Corner: Companies Dealing with Employee Retention Issues

World Events: 2013 Celebrations across theglobe

Testimonial: MUST University helped me in my entrepreneurial endeavors

Person in Focus: Ricky PontingRetires from Test Cricket

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Season’s Greetings to all our readers!! MUST University wishes you all the best for the festive break and a happy & prosperous 2013.

This month, in our cover story we will tell you how you can manage your personal and professional commitments while pursuing a degree. In the

section, Person in Focus, we will also be discussing the professional achievements of acclaimed Australian cricketer Ricky Ponting.

In addition, in our World Event Section, we have collected information of the hottest and most happening places that celebrate the New Year amid a lot of

glitz and fanfare. We hope you will find this month’s newsletter entertaining and informative.

Happy holidays & happy reading!

W o r l d ’ s L a r g e s t U n i v e r s i t y

The Balancing Act: Work with EducationGone are the days when just children and young adults used to return to school by fall season. As online education continues to offer the luxury of studying from virtually anywhere and anytime, moms, dads and even grandparents, are going back to school to pursue higher education that will ultimately not only enhance their personal development but also help them achieve their career objectives and ambitions.

For many working adults, the decision to return to school and pursue a degree provides them with an opportunity to help put their career back on track as it helps them refocus on what's important, such as, enhancing their skill set and developing other capabilities that will ultimately help them increase their earning potential and make them become more attractive as potential employees. However, returning to school to pursue higher education can turn out to be a rather daunting task, with many adults struggling to strike a balance between work, family and education. Enrolling in a degree program at a traditional university is out of the question for such people as it is highly difficult for them to take out time from their busy schedules to attend classes that are part of a proper semester routine.

In such cases as the ones outlined above, online education has proven to be the solution for those who want to earn a high quality degree without compromising on other responsibilities and commit-ments, whether it's attending their child's soccer game or working late at the office to meet a big deadline. Offering immense flexibility and convenience, online institutes provide these adults the opportu-nity to improve their career prospects or enhance upward social mobility with self-paced and incredibly structured degree, diploma and certification programs. These programs consist of tools and software made available to the student to enable him/her to attain the education he/she needs from the comfort of his/her own home. Tools such as video lectures, online course material and discussion forums help students get the maximum out of their student experi-ence and ensure that they do not lose out on high quality teaching and learning that are normally associated with a traditional class-room setting.

Online universities provide flexibility and convenience to working adults as they are free to choose online study programs from various online schools and are making a career out of it. For instance, if you work in an organization as a manager pursuing studies at an online university, an offering of business and management would suit you best. These online universities provide a plethora of majors for you to choose from, thus giving you the freedom to choose a program that is most related to the field you are currently operating in. Not only do these universities have high quality education programs that are unparalleled by traditional brick-and-mortar universities, they also offer efficient student and alumni services along with high quality career develop-ment services, all of which aim to help students' journey at the university be a smooth one and even facilitate in their personal and professional development.

MUST University, a pioneer in online education, ensures it provides its students with the opportunity to pursue higher studies without having to sacrifice their personal and profes-sional commitments. Dedicated education consultants and student representatives are on hand 24/7 to attend to students' and alumni's queries while expert career and guidance counselors are available to help students develop the skills and capabilities needed to help them achieve their career ambitions and goals. If a promising and highly fulfilling career combined with solid academic credentials is what you're looking for, then you should look no further than MUST University.

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Question:“Although the job market is not as robust as it once was, companies still have problems retaining their top employees. Why do their employees want to leave their current, secure job and take the risk of some place new?Diane EngramManager HR, Sportswest Answer:Dear Diane:The reason is because they do not feel they have room to grow and develop their careers within the organization. If employees are seeking opportunities elsewhere and they are not the employees the company wants to leave, then company should look into their career development programs.Career development often gets mistaken for something that takes a lot of time and resources. Career development is much more than spending money to send an employee to a training course and can be as simple as giving them exposure to online education that is aligned with their aspirations and company goals. It is also as simple as giving them exposure to mentors and other leaders and peers from whom they can learn. The expert is a Senior HR Manager at a Fortune 100 company in the United States

Companies Dealing with Employee Retention Issues

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2013 Celebrations across the globeEvery year as the clock nears midnight on December 31st; the world holds its breath...and cheers as the clocks strike twelve. For many people, New Year's Eve can be disappointing -- there's so much hype in the lead-up to the event that when it actually comes around, it often falls short of the mark. However, certain destinations around the world offer such spectacu-lar greetings to the New Year, that you may want to seriously consider braving the throngs for a front-row seat.

Hong Kong This year, for the first time, the city's midnight fireworks displayed journey across town, beginning at the sea and moving along Victoria Harbor to the Hong Kong Convention and Exhibition Centre in Wan Chai.

The best places to view were; the Hong Kong Cultural Centre Piazza, the promenade from the Avenue of Stars to Hong Kong Cultural Centre, the promenade at Golden Bauhinia Square in Wan Chai and the area near Central Pier.

New York This year more than one million people were the part of New York's ball drop celebrations on New Year's Eve, at around zero tempera-ture, with live entertainment provided by the likes of Taylor Swift, Psy and the Neon Trees. As it has done for the past 105 years, the ball around 3.6 meters in diameter, studded with 2,688 Waterford crystals and lit by 32,256 LEDs descended from the flag pole at Times Square, dropping 21 meters in 60 seconds.

At the stroke of midnight, a blizzard of colorful confetti was released from the roof tops and party-goers treated to renditions of Auld Lang Syne and Frank Sinatra's New York, New York.

London With 2013 in full swing, hit the streets for the New Year's Day parade, which have seen more than 10,000 musicians, dancers and acrobats take over the town for the 2013 event, themed "Hats Off To London -- Celebration Capital of the World." Securing a river side perch, booking a Thames cruise or even better, secured a spot at the London Sky Bar, the views from there were unmatched and count down to the annual fireworks display launched from the foot of the 135-meter-tall London Eye Ferris wheel. Sydney The entertainment was launched early in the day with a series of aerial acrobatics shows, followed by a traditional indigenous cleansing ceremony: smoke flows across the harbor from Aboriginal and Torres Strait Islander vessels, removing the water of negative spirits.

There was an early fireworks show for families and a flotilla of boats which transformed with waves of color and light, but the real draw was the midnight fireworks show on Sydney Harbour Bridge. Dubai Never shy of making a grandiose statement, Dubai sees in the New Year with a bang literally. The world's tallest building, the Burj Khalifa, was the launching pad for a multimillion-dollar pyrotechnics display (also claiming to be the largest of its kind in the world), which sees choreographed fireworks cascading down the 828-meter-tall skyscraper to the tune of Arabic and world music notes.

The fun continued on the beach at the Atlantis, The Palm resort where the annual Sundance festival sees headlining acts Ellie Goulding, Rita Ora, Roger Sanchez and Paul Van Dyk entertain revelers into the early hours of 2013, back dropped by more fireworks, of course.

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MUST University helped me in my entrepreneurial endeavors

It was my good fortune that I found out about MUST University and its online education programs. I had been associated with a logistics company for over 5 years, and had to be on the move because of the nature of my job. I always worked hard and gave my 100% when it came to performance, but when it was time for appraisal; the company ignored me because I did not have the required degree to get promoted.

I thought about joining a university to complete my degree, but I could never save the money required to attend a conventional college or university. I had gained enough experience from my job to start my own business and hence I left my job. In the first few months, I realized I could not connect with my workers and there was a communication gap between them and me. I knew this was my own problem, because I always had issues with managing things and was never formally trained for it. This is where MUST University helped me out.

There was no other way I could have improved my management skills because I never got the time to attend a university. When I applied for MUST online, there were numerous options made available to me. The course that helped me out the most was their technical communications course. It actually taught me the value of HR and how I should come down to their level when doing business. The remarkable thing was that I could attend my classes at any time I wanted. The study material was always available online 24/7, and whenever I had any difficulty, there were faculty and staff available. The ease and flexibility with which I got through my education at MUST University would not have been possible anywhere. I feel blessed that I am a part of this university.

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Ricky Ponting Retires from Test Cricket: Ricky Ponting had the numbers, the attitude and the competitiveness that made him one of the most prolific batsmen of the 2000s. Whether he is on the ground as a captain, or as a batsman on the pitch you can’t help but notice his greatness and sportsman spirit. Here is a look at the batsman’s career spanned over 17 years in international cricket.

A sneak peek into Ponting’s career:

There have been ample twists and turns, as is predictable in a career as extensive as Ricky Ponting’s. The action days of the Tasmanian star started in 1995 when he went out to the ground for the first time and struck 96 runs against Sri Lanka at Perth, Australia. Following that knock, it took him some time to become a permanent feature the team. The initial few years were firm, but not precisely prolific. He scored 1,377 in 24 matches at a strike rate of 38.25 till the summer of 1998.

It was in the winter of the year 1999 that Ponting found out his form and used up the following one and a half years working on his skills. He did well, and scored another 1,453 in 23 Tests at a strike rate of 48.53 till the summer of 2001. There was no stopping him after that. For the next six years, he reigned over the world of cricket. His batting skills were nearly matchless from the winter of 2001-02 to the summer of 2008. He was regarded as the best batsmen in the world during this time. Ponting appeared in 72 Tests throughout this phase, and made 7,269 runs at 67.93 with the help of 28 centuries.

Not only did he master his batting skills but even managed to make his team win two consecutive World Cup trophies by scoring a quick century in the 2003 final and leading his team to victory in 2007."There is tenaciousness about him. He walks out and believes. He's not going to be intimidated by any one. I appreciate seeing guys who come out and have a particular presence," said West Indies great, Viv Richards while appreciating Ponting.

Ponting’s retirement from international cricket is a loss to both Austra-lian cricket as well as the entire cricketing world!

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