HONOLULUÑTwenty-two participants in the Intercultural Management Program (ICMP) 2002 Spring class were congratulated during the ICMP closing ceremonies on July 25.

JAIMS was honored to have Jackie Ingamells, managing director of AT&T Hawaii, speak to the ICMP participants and offer her words of advice for success. Dr. Glenn Miyataki, president of JAIMS, bid the ICMP's a fond aloha as he congratulated them for their inspiring effort throughout the term.

"This being the best ICMP class so far, I am proud to have all of you as the banner for JAIMS as you go out into your home countries and abroad," Miyataki said.

Participants were presented with certificates for completing four months of intense studies on U.S. business principles and cross-cultural sensitivity. Awards were also presented to those participants who excelled in the final week of presentations.

First place for the President's Business Plan Award went to the team of Rachanee Jirathawonkul, Yoshitaka Kataoka, Rowena Maravilla, and Juliana Sjaiful for their presentation on Paradise Ice Cream. Second place went to Dwaipayan Bora and third place went to Nicolas Delamare.

The first place winners of the President's Research Awards went to Mitsuhiko Kawami, Akiko Nagamori, Ikuo Sonoyama, and Hideki Yamamoto for their research on the Copy Shop, Inc. Second place went to Toru Okada, Hideyuki Shibasaki, and Masayo Yamashita. Third place went to Noriaki Ito, Keita Sekiguchi, and Nobuo Yuasa.

The recipients of the Francis A. Wong Award for Leadership were Dwaipayan Bora and Noriaki Ito.

The Students' Choice Award was awarded to Noriaki Ito for being the "Most Reliable, a Good Entrepreneur, and a Friend to All."

On behalf of the participants, Ito expressed his appreciation for JAIMS. "We learned many things here," he said, "JAIMS gave us many great opportunities and great experiences."

While some ICMP graduates will immediately begin their careers, others will continue with JAIMS in the Business Exchange Program (BEP) where they will intern with American business firms or organizations in the U.S. for two months.