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07 Jul 2021, 08:00
| FROM Cambridge Admissions Blog: Taking parental leave as a startup CEO – Sponsoo Founder and MBA alumnus |
 I just returned from the first out of four months of (part-time) parental leave. While I was spending time with my wife and my newborn son, I had lots of opportunities to think about my situation – wondering why it was still relatively uncommon for startup founders to officially take some time off. Here are my thoughts – I’d be happy to hear yours! Why is it so uncommon for startup founders to take parental leave? After the birth of his oldest daughter, Mark Zuckerberg made global headlines when he announced to take two months parental leave. Two years later, he did the same for his second child. However, Mark Zuckerberg’s case still remains an exception to this day. But why? Why is parental leave still such a controversial subject, especially in tech leadership roles? In my small (non-representative) sample of about a dozen other startup founder-parents, none of them officially took time off. Some were even surprised that it is possible at all if you’re self-employed. With 10+ years of leadership experience in several startups, I learned the hard way how difficult it is to let go of work tasks. There’s always a strategic project to manage, an important deal to close, or a new product feature to develop. The pressure to deliver results to your shareholders and to keep the company growing is always there. This obviously conflicts with taking time for the family. However, while there’s ample opportunity to help your startup grow, there’s only one chance to be there for your partner and your newborn baby directly after birth. And, in hindsight, I’m so glad I didn’t miss it. We need to challenge the expectations of the startup community The startup community is increasingly vocal about “mental health” and “equal opportunity for male and female founders”, yet when it comes to actually taking time off for the family, it is awfully quiet. Dear startup community, “mental health” is more than just writing some snappy blog posts, hiring expensive coaches or occasionally going on a one-week meditation retreat in an instagramable natural reserve. If you want your founders to remain happy and stable, you should not just (grudgingly) accept, but actually promote taking longer periods of family time. After all, isn’t this the “new work” we’re all so passionate about? And yeah, I totally believe that this is also an issue of gender equality. Male founders can theoretically go back to work directly after their child is born (although they shouldn’t), but female founders don’t have that choice. The only way to balance the scale would be to actively encourage founders of all genders to take some time off. On a side note, this would also fight the outdated perception that raising children is primarily a mother’s job. And why stop at just taking some time off! Here in Germany, both parents can together take up to 14 months of paid parental leave. Again, this clashes with the startup community’s expectation that founders should be available as much as possible. Many founders (including me and my friends) feel that they would be evaluated as “not fully committed” by investors if they don’t live up to this expectation. I’m grateful that this doesn’t apply to my current investors in Sponsoo, who were fully supportive of my plans to reserve some months for the family. To be fair, I didn’t take full parental leave, but just scaled down my work to part-time (to about 30% of the hours I usually work). I would wish that the decision how much time to take is fully within the realm of the soon-to-be parents, and not constrained by the startup ecosystem or shareholder expectations. Be creative, be flexible To address the obvious: Yeah, it’s clearly not possible to just leave your startup unmanaged for an extended period of time without prior planning. But who does that?!? If you are a founder, your startup is your other baby. No one leaves their baby without ensuring that it is taken care of. If you’re part of a team, and have enough planning time ahead (and usually you have about 9 months…), it should always be possible to find a way that works for you and your startup. To just throw some ideas into the room: Work part-time. Work flexible hours. Work from home. Temporarily hand over some responsibilities to other team members. Find an interim manager, if necessary. Split your time off into several smaller chunks. Be creative, be flexible, and make things happen! Turn the startup ecosystem into a (more) family-friendly environment So, what remains? From my personal perspective, it was great to have the opportunity to take some time for my family. I don’t think that Sponsoo’s growth suffered at all from my (partial) absence – quite contrary, I feel much more energized and able to focus on my work. If I had a wish, I’d love to see more founders take family time, and be vocal about it – so that others are encouraged to follow their example. In my ideal world, running a startup and having a rich family life wouldn’t be at odds. In my ideal world, the startup ecosystem also wouldn’t miss out on all the would-be founders who were forced to decide between family and founding a startup, and selected the former. What are your thoughts on parental leave for startup founders? I would love to start a discussion!  This article first appeared on LinkedIn written by CJBS alumnus Andreas Kitzing(MBA 2013-14) at Sponsoo – the #1 marketplace for sports sponsorship. For more Career insights from Cambridge MBA alumni and Founders visit our Cambridge MBA Entrepreneurship web pages> |
14 Jul 2021, 03:00
| FROM Cambridge Admissions Blog: My Cambridge MBA Global Consulting Project (GCP) with United Nations Defeat-NCD Partnership |
 I had the privilege of doing my MBA Global Consulting Project with the United Nations Defeat-NCD Partnership. My teammates and I – Dhananjay Dixit, Jim Chang, Tim Belitza, and Yoshin Nakamura – successfully developed a business case and investment pitch for a set of satellite cancer centres in Rwanda, to improve health outcomes impacted by non-communicable diseases. Our team helped the government of Rwanda and relevant stakeholders determine the order in which they should implement their chosen NCD initiatives and which potential funders to work with. The Cambridge MBA GCP project provided me with the opportunity to apply many learnings from courses like Strategy, Corporate Finance, and Management Praxis, in a tangible and impactful way. With a wide range of impressive projects to choose from, I picked a project that aligns well with my background and my future career aspirations – global health strategy. The project validated not only my desire to continue to work in this space, but also my ability to contribute productively now that I am equipped with skills and tools from my MBA year. The Global Consulting Project was one of the main reasons I chose the Cambridge MBA programme and I am glad I did! The highlight of the GCP for me was my team! It is really important for me to be a part of a team that I will work well with and have fun with. Our skills and strengths complemented each other’s perfectly, allowing us to learn from each other and deliver a really strong deliverable to our clients. I know that they are lifelong friends who I can count on to support me throughout my future personal and professional development. More Cambridge MBA GCP and Practical Project insights and experience >  |
16 Jul 2021, 04:00
| FROM Cambridge Admissions Blog: “Doing Good” and “Doing Well” are not mutually exclusive – my Cambridge MBA MIINT experience |
 It was the early weeks of the Cambridge MBA and we (all 174 of us) were just acquainting ourselves with one another. Few of us had interacted over some Zoom sessions earlier that summer, but we had barely scratched the surface of the immense collaboration that was to follow. During the course of this entire year, we would all have worked in multiple teams together. Definitely, one of my absolute highlights for this year, would be representing Cambridge Judge Business School in the extremely prestigious and coveted Turner MIINT (MBA Impact Investing Network & Training) competition. MIINT, a seven month-long competition, is a collaboration between Bridges Impact Foundation and Wharton Social Impact Initiative It was the early weeks of the MBA and this was the first year that Cambridge Judge would be sponsoring two teams for the MIINT competition. So one Saturday morning, over a Zoom call, we split up 10 enthusiastic impact-driven individuals into two formidable teams. Our team comprised some of the smartest minds I have engaged with in Charlie Foster, Stephanie Esuola, Yann Grandemange and Ashish Khanna. We were divided by our diverse cultural and professional backgrounds, but united by a strong passion in impact investing and the sentiment that “Doing Good” and “Doing Well” are not mutually exclusive. During the sourcing stage of the competition, we were extremely lucky in our access to the University of Cambridge research and entrepreneurial structures focusing largely on solving environmental issues (e.g. Cambridge Zero, Centre for Circular Economy, Cambridge Cleantech and Cambridge Institute for Sustainable Leadership to name a few). We were also benefited immensely by access to the entrepreneurial ecosystem courtesy of Cambridge Judge faculty, Dr. Chris Coleridge. As a result, we were able to source over 60 companies as potentially excellent investment opportunities. All of these start-ups were radically different from one another – from a sustainable fashion tech to battery as a service (BaaS), but were aligned in their goals of a better world. By mid-December, we were able to screen all these companies and narrow down to five potential investment opportunities, which we split among ourselves as the SPOCs. It was during the next phase of the project, i.e. the due diligence phase, where we had the amazing opportunity to talk to the founders of impact-driven start-ups and discuss business ideals, innovative technologies and impact measurement. Eventually, we zeroed-in on representing “Zedify” at the competition. Zedify is a zero-carbon last mile delivery company operating in multiple cities in the UK. While we ultimately were not successful in proceeding past the semi-finals of the competition, participating in MIINT has been one of my biggest learning endeavours this year. While I have worked in Mergers & Acquisitions before, impact measurement and sustainability in business was not something I was well acquainted with. We had some fantastic study material, made available to us by the Turner MIINT people, and were also able to tap-into previous knowledge, experience and skills of our selfless Cambridge MBA cohort. It is the last few weeks of my MBA, as I bitter-sweetly write about how I spent seven enriching months of this MBA year. For incoming cohorts, I would highly recommend future students to seriously consider taking part in this amazing opportunity. Capitalism is evolving – today’s “buzz” of social innovation and sustainability are tomorrow’s indispensable business pillars. The MIINT team also worked with the wider Cambridge Judge Business School community including Cambridge Social Ventures and mentor and Fellow of Social Innovation Belinda Bell. The Turner MBA Impact Investing Network & Training (MIINT) is an experiential lab designed to give students at business and graduate schools a hands-on education in impact investing. For more insights about Prizes & Competitions during the Cambridge MBA year visit our news archive > |
19 Jul 2021, 03:00
| FROM Cambridge Admissions Blog: Going Native – my Cambridge MBA Global Consulting Project with Native Design |
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[url=https://i2.wp.com/www.cambridgembastories.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/GAWANKAR_Tripti-2-1-resized.jpg?ssl=1][img]https://i2.wp.com/www.cambridgembastories.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/07/GAWANKAR_Tripti-2-1-resized.jpg?resize=610%2C406&ssl=1[/img][/url] [b]What was your Cambridge MBA Global Consulting project experience like overall?[/b] Doing an MBA is about charting out a transformational journey. I wanted my journey to lead me from the world of finance to the world of Design Thinking. The Global Consulting Project (GCP) with [url=https://native.com/][b]Native Design[/b] [/url]at Cambridge Judge Business School gave me an amazing opportunity to do just that. I had the chance to work with a leading design consulting firm which let me challenge both sides of my brain. My creative and analytical skills were put to the test and I could get hands on experience in a field that excites me. [b]What MBA learnings did you apply during the project period?[/b] We used our modelling skills along with market research skills. Identifying market opportunities was also something we learned while working on the GCP. From our digital business class, we were able to map potential customer journeys as well. [b]What were your takeaways and Cambridge MBA learnings after the project? [/b] Our four-week project was akin to a mini-internship. It was amazing to see what all we could accomplish in just four weeks – We looked at the future of the world, discovered trends that could stick in a post COVID-19 world, designed commercial solutions for the client and devised a pricing strategy. [b]What was the dynamic like across the MBA team on this project? [/b] Working with extremely diverse and talented people in the cohort is a different form of learning in itself. You learn from their experiences and you also learn to work with people who are very different than you, which can be very challenging especially when time constraints are involved. [b]What was the highlight of your GCP for you?[/b] The Cambridge MBA Global Consulting Project is designed to give us experiential insights into our dream jobs at leading companies. The highlight for me was that I got to do some which was a world apart from my previous experience. I could leverage my transferable skills and I also got to learn so much as our clients gave us masterclasses in various design techniques. It was a chance to metamorphosize into something completely different. [b]What client outcomes do you think were delivered successfully? [/b] We were able to give them very interesting insights into the world of education through the lens of leading universities along with innovative ideas to commercialise technological solutions that would make the customer’s life easier. Tripti worked with MBA classmates [b]Isam Khan, Rachel Osnos [/b]and [b]Hikaru Oikawa[/b] at Native Design. [b][url=https://www.jbs.cam.ac.uk/programmes/mba/curriculum/experiential-learning/global-consulting-project/gcp-experience/][b]More Cambridge MBA GCP and Practical Project insights and experience >[/b][/url][/b] |
06 Aug 2021, 02:00
| FROM Cambridge Admissions Blog: My Champions |
 My whole life, I have sought out great teams that have made me better; working with others towards something bigger than myself is the most intrinsically joyful experience. My father was my champion; he encouraged me in all of my sporting events, helped me start and run a company, and taught me how to develop a curiosity for the world. He was a Wharton MBA, and the greatest friendships in his life developed there. He died in March of 2018. Growing up, I wanted to be like my dad: an MBA. Upon graduating from the University of California in 2014 as an NCAA rowing champion, I looked into Cambridge as a potential place to pursue my rowing career while continuing my education. But that year, my father’s kidneys failed. I put my own journey on hold to join the fight for his life. I pivoted to rugby as a less time intensive sport, where I could still compete at the highest level in the USA. I started a successful tutoring company, was the head coach of a master’s men’s rowing team, and spent time with my father, helping him navigate his lack of mobility as he led me through novel ways of problem solving and company building.  My dad was always a dominant, intelligent figure, but in his physical weakness, he became humble and loving. While bedridden, his power came from his curiosity and his empathetic listening. I had always admired and feared the CEO that ran his 9-person household like a Fortune 500 company, but I loved and fought for my dying dad. After he passed away, I was lost. All I knew was failure and grief. But I continued to move through the pain as I had been trained to do. When the lactic acid eats away at your legs in rowing, when broad shoulders hit you in a rugby tackle, the only way out is to keep pushing forward. My dad’s best friend from Wharton and my godfather, Jay Mancini, guided me through. He helped me find business opportunities where I could grow – where I could find my dad in a beautifully arrayed excel spreadsheet or the calm boldness of raising capital. I knew I would never feel ready to leave my family, my businesses, my teammates, my clients, and my athletes. But growth only truly happens at the edge of discomfort. I filled out one MBA application: Cambridge Judge. My mom provided loving support as my siblings proofread my essays. My journey was a team effort, so my acceptance was a family victory. I missed my dad holding my shoulder, looking me in the eye, and saying, ‘you did good, Mooey,’ but my godfather’s ecstatic whoops when I told him I was going to Cambridge filled my soul. My dad’s spirit was alive in his business school friends. Lady Anne Judge, another Wharton grad and friend of my father, became my mentor and connection to family in the UK, so I was less scared about moving to the other side of the world. Then I met my Cambridge cohort and varsity rugby team. And I knew I was home.  My Cambridge MBA cohort has shown me the infinite potential for growth, love, and goodness: Nicole’s uncompromising care, Arjan’s creative attentions, Tommy J’s magical storytelling, Hanna’s sweet staunchness, Manideep’s tender courage, Mira’s gathering glow, and Aniket’s calm leadership. In the Cambridge community I found Arta’s fierce entrepreneurial passion, Anna’s cool intensity, and Jack’s quick wit. Every person I have met through Cambridge demonstrates layers of complexities representing a multitude of cultures and beliefs. Together, we are emerging into the world shaped by the best in each other. I became the warrior my dad always believed me to be – not by stiff-arming girls and scoring tries – but by sharing my own gifts, giving love, and recognising the greatness in people around me. Stepping into the Leicester Stadium for my Varsity Rugby match in June of this year, I heard the cheers from more than 50 of my MBA classmates that came to support me. As they chanted my name, I felt my dad’s love and strength pulse through me. Even before the match ended, I knew I had already won.  |
09 Aug 2021, 05:00
| FROM Cambridge Admissions Blog: Siemens Advanta – our Cambridge MBA Global Consulting Project |
 Kshitij Ghumaria – Cambridge MBA Class of 2020/21 What was the Cambridge MBA Global Consulting Project experience like overall? The Global Consulting Project with Siemens Advanta was an exciting opportunity to use our past experiences and MBA theory to tackle a real-world live project that created both short-term and long-term impacts on Siemens in the UAE market. With the guidance of our mentor and a constant dialogue with the Siemens team, we delivered actionable insights targeted to Siemens for harnessing the UAE government’s operation 300 Billion potential. Furthermore, during our regular weekly calls, we constantly updated the Advanta’s team of our weekly progress to provide updates from our primary research interviews and our suggestions, a process that kept the project dynamic helping our client to apply our recommendations immediately. What MBA learnings did your team apply during the project period? Cambridge Judge Business School offers a plethora of courses that weave together, helping us understand client problems, conduct qualitative and quantitative research, and finally deliver a comprehensive solution to the client. We have subjects in strategy, management science, marketing, and many more that we were able to apply during the GCP. In addition, CJBS offers a Digital Transformation Concentration that focuses on technology and management, which is essential in understanding and delivering solutions to businesses in an environment in which technology is disrupting the old business models and challenging incumbent business strategies. These learnings helped us tackle the entire project in a better way, as our project was about disrupting industrial manufacturing processes through implementing Industry 4.0 technologies. What were the takeaways and Cambridge MBA learnings after the project? We had a deep understanding of the UAE market dynamics, Industry 4.0 in UAE and global context, and business challenges in implementing and augmenting strategies and technologies on a global scale. By interviewing CXOs and business unit heads, we were able to appreciate the business priorities of business leaders and the role of consulting firms in helping leaders navigate the nuanced implementation. Our Cambridge MBA Global Consulting Project helped us bridge the gap between a theoretical understanding of business and real-life issues when implementing those theories.  Alokchandra Somisetty – Cambridge MBA Class of 2020/21 What was the dynamic like across the team on this project? The Cambridge MBA GCP is designed to be an intense and rewarding four-week project with the client that brings together a diverse group of people from different industries, countries, and hence perspectives, allowing the group to challenge each other’s assumptions and create multi-dimensional solutions for our client. We were very focused on the diversity of ideas, collaboration and mutual respect while being open to critics, and our GCP team dynamics reflected the same values. What was the highlight of the Cambridge MBA Global Consulting Project? We had an opportunity to discuss our ideas about the future of work with Aymeric Sarrazin, Global CEO of Siemens Advanta Consulting, in a fireside chat at TRANSFORMENA, which is a two day event that explores how technology is shaping the vision of the Middle East, from government strategy to the sustainable challenges of the next generation. The fireside chat we were involved with offered us a global stage, allowing us to represent the MBA student community take on how businesses need to use technology to attract the workforce of tomorrow. Link here to the You Tube recording of our Fireside Chat.  What client outcomes were delivered successfully? We delivered the market trends for UAE, identified which technologies within the Industry 4.0 will be critical for businesses to harvest short to medium-term gains, and recommended the top six customers across three industries that clients can contact for consulting on developing strategy and implementing Industry 4.0 technologies. Furthermore, we proposed a list of services and function area expertise Siemens Advanta should offer to compete with other consulting firms in the UAE market. How do you think the team will take this GCP project experience forward into a future career? The Cambridge MBA GCP taught us to view client problems as unique opportunities to deliver impactful, tailor-made solutions. We deep-dived into technology, strategy, operations, and business models for our GCP, which required us to acquire new subject area expertise as we navigated through the project. The project sparked our interest in working at the intersection of Technology-Consulting-Business. We are moving ahead in pursuing a summer role that meets this intersection criteria in different companies and aim to continue in a similar profile in a full-time position. More Cambridge MBA GCP and Practical Project insights and experience > |
10 Aug 2021, 05:00
| FROM Cambridge Admissions Blog: My education start up – MIRAIing – an MBA career journey into entrepreneurship |
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About my entrepreneurial journey Honestly speaking, I did not think about becoming an entrepreneur seriously until my Cambridge Judge life started. Before joining the Cambridge MBA, I was working in the public sector, providing international cooperation in the Japan International Cooperation Agency. My career goal after my MBA was a career change to work in a tech company as I thought leveraging the resources of the tech giants could bring a bigger social impact in the 21st century. But, during my MBA, my thoughts about my career path changed radically. I really loved talking with entrepreneurs and start-ups in Cambridge. Through a year of exposure to the rich entrepreneurial environment in Cambridge, building my own start-up became my clear short-mid term career goal, and so I started applying for business competitions with the EdTech start-up idea while still at CJBS.  Cambridge MBA Class of 2018 Team Competition Although I wanted to launch my own company, I also thought gaining work experience in a tech company would help my business idea grow, and so I joined SoftBank Robotics in Japan directly after my Cambridge MBA. However, I could not forget my passion to start my own business and to initiate a new kind of education. So I started providing online leadership education programmes to high school students under the restriction of COVID-19, and the fledgling company was given an award in the Japanese business competition 0->1 Start 2020. This made me decide to go ahead and launch my education startup “MIRAIing”. MIRAIing is an education startup providing an online leadership program “TOPPA!!”. “TOPPA!!” is a systematic online leadership programme for G7-12 students that focuses on high-quality inputs and outputs for three months, which reflected my own experience on the Cambridge MBA programme in 2018/19. We had been providing the programme in Japanese, successfully attracting more than 100 students and achieving a high satisfaction rate among the participants.  With this success, we are now launching a global version of the TOPPA!!, which takes place all in English. In TOPPA!!, through interactive lectures by global young leaders including CJBS faculty and Cambridge MBA alumni, our students will be challenged, encouraged and inspired to become global leaders.  Meanwhile, by forming a group of about five students to address a project, they develop collaborative skills and the leadership skills necessary to play a globally active role in the 21st century, as well as developing individual problem-solving skills. For instance in the programme from September 2021, students will be assigned to a project creating social innovation in the medical field. They will be challenged by the healthcare start-up OUI Inc. to propose a “New project idea to radically reduce the loss of eyesight”.  My experience at Cambridge Judge and on the MBA definitely changed my life and set me on the path of an entrepreneur. Embracing what I learned in Cambridge, MIRAIing will help to fill society with outstanding leaders and innovators who change the world, and support the move to create a bright future today.  Kei Ikegami, Founder, MIRAIing The TOPPA!! global programmestarts in September for those teenagers wishing to embark on a leadership future. For more about Entrepreneurship on the Cambridge MBA visit our webpageshere> |
17 Aug 2021, 01:00
| FROM Cambridge Admissions Blog: Co-founding and moderating a Leadership Series – moments to share |
 What do Mohamed El-Erian (President Queens’ College, Cambridge, & former CEO of PIMCO), Fagun Thakar (Actress, Director, CEO of Fagun Foundation & Cambridge EMBA ‘21), and Timo Boldt (Founder & CEO of Gousto) have in common? Together with many other esteemed guests, they were part of our ‘Leading Insights’ series this year. ‘Leading Insights’ was a student-led initiative by MBA Class of 2020/21 Aaron D’Souza and myself, during our Cambridge MBA year to engage and connect Cambridge Judge Business School students with global leaders of all industries and backgrounds. During fireside chats, these leaders candidly shared their unique leadership experiences, personal journeys and their true perspectives of both current and past events. Sir Mene Pangalos, Executive Vice-President of AstraZenca, for example graciously talked to us while he was leading AstraZeneca’s roll out of their Covid-19 vaccine to save millions of lives and recounted the challenges both he and the company had faced over the past year. While each of our guest speakers had their own individual story to tell, they were all united by simply being people driven by a specific passion to make a difference in their respective fields. We were fortunate to often learn about key moments in their past that defined them and made them who they are today and that had given their lives a specific meaning and direction. Another thing that united all of our guests was their humble attitude and desire to give back to others, despite their huge individual successes and busy schedules.  Leading Insight Kick-off Session with Dr Mohamed El-Erian One question we asked most of our guests was, ‘If you have 2 minutes left to live, what advice would you give to your loved ones and us?’ Two specific answers still stuck in my mind: First, don’t let fear come in the way of trying to achieve your dream. Second, follow your passion and think holistically when asking yourself ‘have I given everything that I could (in life)?’ Personally, I have not only learnt to moderate such engaging and interactive sessions, but also realised that, even more importantly, that all leaders are just humans like us with their own stories, challenges, and experiences.  Leading Insight Co-Founders and Hosts – Aaron D’Souza and Tim Belitza Thanks to all our guests, my co-founder and co-moderator, Aaron D’Souza, and all the participants who attended our sessions. It was a pleasure and truly my most passionate side project during my Cambridge MBA at the University of Cambridge. |
18 Aug 2021, 02:00
| FROM Cambridge Admissions Blog: BCG MBA Fellowship – Forté scholar Yinshan Loh shares her insights |
 We caught up with Cambridge MBA Class of 2020/21 student and Forté Foundation scholarship holder Yinshan Loh, as she looks back on her extraordinary Cambridge MBA year, as well as sharing her insights having been awarded the BCG Women’s MBA Fellowship during the year. Can you tell us about your support from BCG – Boston Consulting Group – going forward? I am very honoured to have been the first across the University of Cambridge and the first in Asia to be awarded the BCG Women’s MBA Fellowship, as well as receiving an Honorarium scholarship from BCG as one of their top candidates. The BCG Women’s MBA Fellowship includes a one year one-to-one mentorship from a female leader within BCG. I will continue to receive mentorship from my BCG mentor, a partner from the Kuala Lumpur office, until the end of my Cambridge MBA year. In addition, I also have a BCG buddy, a project leader, with whom I can discuss on-the-ground matters about the Singapore Office. I am also participating in Diversity and Inclusion with BCG. I was recently invited to speak on a panel to share my experiences of the Women’s MBA Fellowship. This year, BCG has delightfully expanded the MBA fellowships to include ethnic and cultural fellowships, in addition to women’s fellowships. I was honoured to be included on their Diversity MBA Fellowships – Information Session panel earlier this year – the recording of which can be found here>  How has BCG worked with you alongside your Cambridge MBA? My experiences this year as a BCG Women’s MBA Fellow enriched my Cambridge MBA experience greatly. BCG has provided me with tremendous opportunities through the fellowship programme – a supportive mentor who has shared with me the inner workings of BCG, a network of 17 BCG MBA Fellows as peers to explore BCG together, and access to various enriching events, such as the Global Women’s Forum, that have opened my mind to just how impactful women can be. I am also honoured to have been featured on various BCG platforms (BCG in UK, Women@BCG). I am happy and excited to continue being a part of BCG’s open and growth-directed culture. Additionally, as a British Chevening scholar and a Cambridge Trust scholar, I have had the privilege of meeting incredibly talented and driven fellow international scholars that are pursuing studies in other fields. I love meeting people from diverse backgrounds, and the wide range of scholar networks and events have been great for that in this extraordinary MBA year. How have you used your Cambridge MBA to focus your career into the consultancy sector? The Cambridge Venture Project (CVP) and MBA Global Consulting Project (GCP) allowed me to experience working in international teams of talented people with diverse skill sets, as well as grow beyond my previous experiences in social sector consulting. I was able to serve a broader range of global clients and industries, such as a non-profit in the UK helping businesses digitalise to survive Covid-19, as well as the country of Georgia in growing their fin-tech ecosystem. Intentionally choosing Cambridge MBA consulting projects outside of my comfort zone, has widened my exposure and tested my agility – these have in turn grown my confidence in being a versatile consultant. As Co-chair of the Consulting SIG, I have also had the opportunity to create resources and drive initiatives that are helpful to my classmates and myself, in growing in consulting, be it networking, interview practice, or consulting competitions. I also utilised the synergies, with my BCG Fellowship and other leadership roles, to deepen my contributions in my MBA consulting projects and in my role as Co-chair of the Consulting Special Interest Group (SIG). How have you managed the elements of your MBA alongside your other projects and activities like the BCG Fellowship? My MBA experience has undoubtedly been different than usual amid the many uncertainties of COVID-19. I have found it helpful to strategically choose commitments that align with my values and longer-term goals, set boundaries on my time to protect what matters, and take it a day at a time when things get busy. I like to take a “Why not?” approach to the Cambridge MBA. If I am interested in something, why not give it a shot? After all, it is a safe environment within which failure has limited consequences… I’m not telling you it’s okay to fail your classes though! What other activities have you been part of during your Cambridge MBA year? Throughout the MBA programme, I have been challenging myself to grow as a female leader, by taking on multiple leadership roles in an international arena. These include roles relating to the Cambridge Judge Business School and within the broader university ecosystem, as well as undertaking activities outside of the University of Cambridge alongside my MBA commitments and learnings. These include, Chair of the Government & Public Policy Special Interest Group (SIG), Co-chair of the Consulting SIG, member of the Fintech Club SIG and member of the Wo+men’s Leadership Club/SIG. I was privileged to be serving across these SIG leadership positions for my MBA cohort. In addition, I was a co-ordinator and organiser for multiple international and inter-business school events, such as, LBS-Cambridge-Oxford IMPACTathon, an inter-business school social impact case competition to support international social enterprises and allow students to showcase their impact consulting skills. The Cambridge-INSEAD-LBS-IESE Women in Search Funds Panel, where various Women founders/CEOs of established search funds share their experiences on acquiring and running successful companies, and CJBS-Cambridge Majlis fireside chat with Pawan Khera, a national senior leader of the Indian National Congress Party and former Political Secretary to the Chief Minister at the Government of Delhi, on the largest mass demonstration in human history (purportedly over 250 million people), the ongoing farmers’ protests. Alongside this I have acted as an ambassador, as a CJBS Scholar and Forté Foundation Fellow, speaking on panels on scholarships and recruitment drives, providing guidance to prospect Cambridge MBA students and Forté scholars on various social media platforms. Through my multiple leadership roles, I have been able to initiate activities and build resources for my classmates, such as a crowd-sourced knowledge exchange, events bulletin and job opportunities sharing platform, inter-student consulting case practice groups, inter-business school competitions, as well as fireside panels and conferences with CEOs and national leaders. Additionally, I have been able to provide synergistic support between multiple clubs on various multi- disciplinary topics, organising international inter-school and cross-club events for the benefit of my fellow Cambridge MBA students, the broader University of Cambridge community and the international multi- school MBA student base at large. These were tremendous opportunities provided to me by the wider eco-system across the University of Cambridge, which have helped me grow significantly as a person. Consultancy roles and activities across my MBA year – In consulting roles through the MBA programme, I have had the opportunity to serve as Lead MBA Consultant on a consulting team of five MBA students to formulate a national partnership roll-out strategy for Digital Boost, a large UK non-profit that provides digitalisation training to UK’s small businesses, thereby making a tangible positive impact on the UK’s small businesses amid the COVID-19 crisis. I have also acted as an international fin-tech MBA consultant for the country and central bank of Georgia on their fin-tech ecosystem, through the United Stated Agency for International Development (USAID). We were delighted that the National Bank of Georgia (NBG) had begun implementing some of our suggestions, even before the end of the project. I have also undertaken leadership and engagement roles within the broader University of Cambridge ecosystem, such as an organiser and mentor for the Cambridge Women in Business (CAMWIB) Mentorship Programme, where we recruited over 20 female Cambridge MBA professionals to mentor over 70 female undergraduate business students on hard and soft skills, and organised various events to provide interaction and support for mentors and mentees alike. I represent the inaugural BCG MBA Fellow and Ambassador from the University of Cambridge in the Boston Consulting Group (BCG) Women’s MBA Fellowship Programme, where I received mentorship from a Principal and a Partner in BCG, and was part of an exclusive network of 17 BCG MBA Fellows from around the world. I am honoured to have won an Honorarium of €2,500 as BCG’s top candidate from Asia and I have also been personally featured on various BCG social media platforms (BCG in UK, Women@BCG). I have stood as a key representative of the University of Cambridge and a founding member of the European Business School Entrepreneurship Through Acquisition (ETA) Club for MBA students passionate about entrepreneurship through acquisition. Beyond the University of Cambridge community, I have furthered opportunities to contribute to the international social sector and grow my entrepreneurial spirit with the following roles and opportunities; I am both a British Chevening Award recipient and a Cambridge Trust Scholar, contributing to the international Chevening community by sharing my experiences at the University of Cambridge, providing support to fellow Chevening scholars, especially amid difficulties with COVID-19. We were a finalist Innovator team (top 11/5300+ teams globally) at Stanford University’s Rebuild Innovation Sprint, in a team of four selected to present at the final showcase to Silicon Valley’s seasoned entrepreneurs and investors. We presented and developed an innovative solution to assist the retail sector during the global pandemic. Our team received coaching from Keegan Cooke, an Associate Director at Stanford University Graduate School of Business.  The ‘Footprint’ startup team in Stanford’s Rebuild Sprint Competition 2020 Finally, I was also a mentor at the Young Women’s Leadership Connection (YWLC) in Singapore, and I have also been mentoring a female university student to fulfill her highest potential and found an online baking business. I still manage a 7-figure multi-asset investment portfolio, as well as acting as a Startup Advisor at Bridges for Enterprise (BfE) to Rohobot Nursing Services, an Ethiopian social enterprise providing home-based health care services to the chronically ill and elderly in Ethiopia. Since January 2021, I have also become a part-time Associate with a London-based search fund, Soris Capital, where I intern and work closely with the Managing Partner to conduct industry reviews, search for companies in the UK to acquire, and am currently conducting commercial and financial due diligence for two companies. As a spokesperson for Cambridge and the MBA programme, I have cherished the platform to share my experiences of personal and professional growth to encourage other women to take up opportunities for themselves. How was your MBA Global Consulting Project experience and the practical learning outcomes of that? For my Global Consulting Project (GCP), I was an international fin-tech consultant for the country and central bank of Georgia on their fin-tech ecosystem, through the United Stated Agency for International Development (USAID). With a vision to become one of the world’s leading fin-tech hubs, Georgia is stepping up its efforts to strengthen its fin-tech ecosystem and promote innovation in the financial services sector. It was awesome working with a Cambridge MBA team of fellow central bankers, as well as an expert in international development and an ex-CTO. We conducted 24 interviews of diverse stakeholders within Georgia’s fin-tech ecosystem – it was great to get close-up perspectives of what could be done going forward in Georgia. It was also heartening to see quick action being taken in line with our recommendations. Our MBA GCP team was invited to attend an inaugural Georgia fin-tech forum the following week, where we presented an opening address to the fin-tech ecosystem stakeholders, many of whom we had got to know during our project. The client also shared excerpts of our presentation on international and domestic collaboration as well as open banking, to the broader fin-tech industry. Overall, we received very positive feedback from our client, who noted that they would be happy to collaborate with the Cambridge MBA GCP team again in the future, to further develop the Georgian fin-tech ecosystem. How have you worked with and represented women across the cohort alongside your [b]Forté scholarship[/b]? In the following capacity, all of which I have enjoyed and was thrilled to a part of: Ambassador as a Cambridge Judge Business School Scholar and Forté Foundation Fellow, speaking on panels on scholarships and recruitment drives, providing guidance to potential MBA students and Forté scholars on various social media platforms. Organiser and mentor of the Cambridge Women in Business (CAMWIB) Mentorship Programme, where we recruited over 20 female MBA professionals to mentor over 70 female undergraduate business students on hard and soft skills, and organized various events to provide interaction and support for mentors and mentees. Coordinator and co-organiser of Cambridge-INSEAD-LBS-IESE Women in Search Funds Panel, where various Women founders/CEOs of established search funds share their experiences on acquiring and running successful companies. Inaugural BCG MBA Fellow and Ambassador from the University of Cambridge in the Boston Consulting Group (BCG) Women’s MBA Fellowship Programme, where I received mentorship from a Principal and a Partner in BCG, and was part of an exclusive network of 17 BCG MBA Fellows from around the world. I have also been personally featured on various BCG social media platforms (BCG in UK, Women@BCG) Mentor at the Young Women’s Leadership Connection (YWLC) in Singapore, mentoring a female university student to fulfill her highest potential and found an online baking business. The resulting article can be read here>  British Chevening Scholar at the British High Commission, Singapore. With the exceptional MBA year that Yinshan has led – we can clearly see the enormous range of opportunities and extra curricular activities that exist alongside and as part of the Cambridge MBA programme, within the University of Cambridge and Cambridge Judge Business School community. For more Cambridge MBA curriculum details and Cambridge life visit our further web pages here> |
18 Aug 2021, 06:00
| FROM Cambridge Admissions Blog: Student Initiative Bulletin – the resilient MBA cohort |
 A rainy Cambridge Saturday morning (yeah, I know that does not really narrow anything down) at the beginning of the year, Chaitanya, Cynthia and Harsh sat at a table brainstorming ideas for a student newsletter. After hours of discussions (and pots of tea) around the narrative, the structure and the content – the Cambridge Student Initiative Bulletin (SIB) was formed. To say that this year has been different is most definitely an understatement, but that didn’t stop us. We have all conquered Zoom fatigue, despite many of our classes being held online, whilst still coming up with fun ways to stay connected. We have managed to stay connected to the world of business and our industries of interest with memorable fireside chats on events such as Gamestop, through the ‘Leading Insights’ talk series, inter-business school networking mixers, as well as the many Special Interest Groups (SIG) organised speaker series. We have won and performed exceedingly well at Varsity matches across the year, business school case competitions and won laurels for the CJBS family. The idea for SIB was born out of the desire to appreciate the amazing initiatives undertaken by this amazing cohort despite the adversities of the year gone by. ‘Resilient’ is definitely the most appropriate adjective to define and describe this cohort. The Student Initiative Bulletin also became a medium for some of us to share our personal voice, to talk about our subject matter expertise and to share unsolicited advice. It became a medium to know and understand the motivations of our fellow students in the cohort. For some, it also became a medium to escape the harsh realities of various global and UK lockdowns. We had a great time designing, writing and editing the collection of memories of the year gone by and we can only hope that everyone had a great time reliving them through the Student Initiative Bulletin. One last time: Warmest regards from the Editorial board, Cynthia Zheng (CBSC Communications Chair), Chaitanya Nallaparaju (CBSC Co-President) and Harsh Mohta (CBSC Treasurer) A link to the Student Initiative Bulletin for Cambridge MBA Class of 2020/21 can be found here> More details about the Cambridge Business School Club here> Please note that the SIB magazines and its content is entirely produced by the student cohort and that Cambridge Judge Business School had no editorial position over its published contents. |
19 Aug 2021, 01:00
| FROM Cambridge Admissions Blog: Tokyo Olympics – an insider view from an MBA alumna |
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[url=https://i2.wp.com/www.cambridgembastories.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/genny-tokyo-2021.jpg?ssl=1][img]https://i2.wp.com/www.cambridgembastories.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/genny-tokyo-2021.jpg?resize=610%2C458&ssl=1[/img][/url] Well, Tokyo 2020 Olympic and Paralympic Games hosted in 2021…. That name alone encompasses some of the continuous confusion around a Games that was meant to take place during a global pandemic, only to be delayed to a year later when the Delta variant was causing a 2nd or 3rd (or 4th?) wave worldwide. And yet, under this uncertainty, under this foggy haze, athletes performed,Tokyo delivered, and the world came together in some ways, united around sport. I was there working on it in two different roles; an achievement in and of itself. I almost messed up in getting two accreditations – I didn’t know how serious an offence that would be (it’s like getting two Visas to enter Russia once, you just can’t do that without raising major alarms). And thus, major alarms were raised when my full-time role with [b]Airbnb [/b](which would have me operating onsite in Tokyo running our Olympian and Paralympian Experiences Program) applied for an accreditation for me, when I had already been accredited under my other role, commentating on the sailing racing for OBS – the Olympic Broadcast Service. Strike #1. (Resolved after much hassle!) Strike #2 came when I went to take my first at-home Covid test, before flying to Tokyo. Like all other staff, workers, athletes and anyone flying to Japan for the Games, I had to submit two negative tests within 48 hours of my flight over. I had read the small print that said do not move the tube once you’ve put it on the table until the lights blink, but the table is where I work, and 45 minutes is a long period of time when you’re preparing for two roles a month. I’m pretty sure I moved it accidentally. It came up both positive and negative, which asks you to call a number that about a million or so (it seemed) other people were trying to call, as I never actually got through. Scrambled phone calls to get backup tests lined up at doctors nearby, and two more negative at-home tests later, and I was cleared to fly. Strike #2, averted. Fly to Tokyo, test in airport, 3 days hotel quarantine, 14 days venues to hotel only, then one can technically be in public spaces as well, that was the Covid-required movement restrictions and operations plan. Luckily, there was no 3rd strike for me. The closest I came to that disaster, was being told the day after I was stood up for an in-person meeting (wow, those even happen these days?), that the person who had missed it came down with Covid 12 hours later. So lucky that I had not actually met with them, or I would have been put into quarantine myself for fear of infecting anyone further. Our Airbnb team wasn’t so lucky. One colleague had two perfect negative tests and was cleared to fly, but found out from a friend he had seen the weekend before that he had tested positive that day. The colleague took it on himself to get tested again (for fear of spreading further), positive this time. No Tokyo for him then. Gutted after all the hard work he had put into it. This is how I feel it felt for everyone. Complicated systems leading up to Tokyo, above and beyond a normal Games year, which is already complicated enough. Constant fear of catching Covid or messing up a test, all the while testing daily or almost daily. Concern of being near someone who was positive, which would then implicate you in the tracking systems, and minimise your movements until confirmed negative after the incubation period. Relegated mostly to your room for meals, or to the hotel restaurant only (which couldn’t serve alcohol because of the emergency order), not going out and about in Tokyo for fear of being seen and promoted by the media as rule-breaking, even if post the 14-day, now able to go out in public window. Athletes were even more restricted, meant to arrive within 5 days of competition and having to leave within 48 hours of their final performance. Opening and closing ceremonies were a luxury only for those who competed in a time window allowing. And yet. [url=https://i0.wp.com/www.cambridgembastories.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/airb-n-b-genny-tulloch-cropped.jpg?ssl=1][img]https://i0.wp.com/www.cambridgembastories.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/airb-n-b-genny-tulloch-cropped.jpg?resize=610%2C316&ssl=1[/img][/url] There was sport. Athletes had trained for years (usually many, many, many years, then added the extra one on top) for this moment. Many had made-up crazy at-home workouts during the pandemic to stay fit in the ensuing year (lifting things like water jugs on broomsticks), planning their peak for a second year in a row, in a limited capacity with Covid restrictions. Then they had traveled to Tokyo without the typical fanfare, without the hometown sendoffs. But they competed on the world stage, and in doing so, they moved the mind of the world (and the world’s media) onto sport, if only briefly. Friends of mine from my Olympic sailing days defended their gold medals, one becoming the most successful female sailor of all time. Yet others, like the 99% of athletes competing at the Games, failed to realise their medal dreams. I cried, for the first time ever while on-air – just at the sheer glory of the race – a close race, the medal race, with amazing tactics performed by incredible athletes while competing at their physical best. An athlete made a stellar move, sealing her gold medal in a very tight scenario after being far behind, and I was (ever so briefly) overcome by the achievement. [url=https://i0.wp.com/www.cambridgembastories.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/Genny-Tulloch-2021-olympics.png?ssl=1][img]https://i0.wp.com/www.cambridgembastories.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/Genny-Tulloch-2021-olympics.png?resize=610%2C294&ssl=1[/img][/url] After what had been such a trying year, it was uplifting and awe-inspiring to be able to concentrate on sport, to be amazed by the resilience of athletes to come through a year like we had all had, and still stun us on the world stage. There were partnerships. I worked for the first time with two sailing commentators whose work I had previously only admired from afar. We worked in separated booths with windows between, unable to make the normal in-room cues. We were speaking to pictures delivered to us at the International Broadcast Center by a group of sailing broadcasters two hours away in Enoshima, most of whom we had all worked with for years, yet never got to see in person while in Japan. One of my best friends told me of their upcoming first child over a phone call. He had saved it to tell me in person in Japan, then realised he flew out on day 14, so he could never leave his Covid bubble. With my Airbnb colleagues, I met people from the IOC (International Olympic Committee) with whom I had been on daily if not hourly calls and emails in the months leading up to the Games. Together we had organised 200 worldwide, and 10 in-Tokyo experiences: letting guests into the new sports of surfing and sport climbing, gymnastics with Nastia Liukin and basketball with Scottie Pippen, and into the mind of the Opening Ceremony exec producer with a behind-the-scenes how it all went down experience the day after. Incredible what you can achieve on Zoom, through months of planning effort, to make things then run smoothly in person. There was ‘omotenashi’. Technically meaning ‘public face’ (omote) and ‘of nothing’ (tenashi). No public face, or the art of hosting from the heart. Incredible Japanese hospitality, from everyone. At the airport on arrival we were greeted by employees who had painstakingly made origami swans out of USA and Japanese flags that adorned our welcome cards. Almost every cab driver (in our special Covid bubble cabs) had some sort of gift for their riders: a Japanese candy, a handwritten note, or more beautiful origami. Our final (almost daily) in-Tokyo experiences were hosted by Jun Nakano, an ultra-runner and Airbnb Superhost, who modified his typical Tokyo tour guide experiences to host on the Olympic promenade, next to the Olympic Cauldron, letting guests into the world of Tokyo, and this Olympic Games. He wanted to do it for those who weren’t able to come experience a piece of it all, dropping his normal price to just $1. Now, settling back into daily news, much of it heartbreaking in Haiti or Afghanistan or with Delta, I am warmed by memories of the Tokyo Olympic Games, and looking forward to the Tokyo Paralympics, because I really do think the Games help to unite us, worldwide, around sport, no matter how complicated or complex the scenario on the ground may actually be. Seeing the front page of the newsletter change from Covid numbers to athlete faces, watching the TV channels switch from vaccine conversations to medalist interviews, knowing that friends and family at home were tuned in to sports they might never watch otherwise; I know I am privileged to be able to open windows to it all. [url=https://i1.wp.com/www.cambridgembastories.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/genny-rings-olympics-cropped.jpg?ssl=1][img]https://i1.wp.com/www.cambridgembastories.com/wp-content/uploads/2021/08/genny-rings-olympics-cropped.jpg?resize=610%2C569&ssl=1[/img][/url] Cambridge MBA alumna [b][url=https://www.linkedin.com/in/gennytulloch/]Genny Tulloch[/url][/b] is based in San Francisco, USA and is Sports and Olympian/Paralympian Experiences Lead at Airbnb. |
01 Sep 2021, 10:00
| FROM Cambridge Admissions Blog: Leaving a legacy in the impact space |
 Prior to starting my MBA at Cambridge, I attended a Forté Foundation workshop that encouraged us to find our personal purpose statement. I chose “value: to know mine and to show others theirs”. Little did I know that a short-year later, I would be in a new position that would be giving me the opportunity to live out that statement in meaningful ways. I came to Cambridge as an international development professional, specifically having focused my career in humanitarian intervention, foreign policy, and institutional proposal development. Throughout my varied experiences, I continued to see disconnect between for-profit and not-for-profit endeavours. So I began imagining a world where synergy between impact and income was a core practice for organisations of all types; and I knew that I wanted to be a part of creating it. It was finally during my role as a humanitarian Country Director in Niger that I made the firm decision to pursue my MBA at Cambridge Judge Business School in order to accomplish this dream. At Cambridge, I found myself surrounded by a diverse set of backgrounds, worldviews, and priorities. In this diversity, I learned valuable skills particularly in communication, leadership, and negotiation. I collaborated alongside many students and professors who also envisioned a world where social impact is a business fundamental. Additionally, I had practical opportunities to research, design, and consult with real firms in the social impact and innovation field. Through these experiences, I was both challenged and inspired. When choosing my focus for the Cambridge MBA Summer Term, I knew I wanted to work alongside an entrepreneurial firm focused on social impact but one that would allow me to apply the business disciplines taught through the MBA. TerraMica turned out to be the perfect fit. It is an organisation that seeks to alleviate the burdens of poverty among smallholder coffee farmers; seeking to transform coffee communities from the bottom-up to increase quality of life, environmental sustainability, and grassroots innovation.  During the MBA Summer Term, I consulted on their strategy for international growth outside of their core project in Honduras. The combination of my professional and academic experience made it possible for me to create a vision for expansion that so aligned with the founders’ passion for TerraMica, that I was offered a full-time executive leadership position before my MBA summer project had even ended. At Cambridge, I learned not only how to appreciate and communicate my own value, but, more importantly, I learned how to create opportunities for others to do the same. I could not be more excited to leave both a legacy for the social impact career opportunities that the Cambridge MBA offers, but also to be setting out as a social entrepreneur in my own right.  Rachel Baxter holds the Forté Foundation scholarship for MBA Class of 2020/21 – Find out more about the Cambridge MBA and our community of women here > For more Cambridge MBA Career insights visit our Careers pages here > |
06 Sep 2021, 02:00
| FROM Cambridge Admissions Blog: We got this! – Oxbridge Oxygenates |
 Srivani Chatti– MBA Class of 2020/21 – https://www.linkedin.com/in/srivanichatti/ When I was asked by Cambridge Judge faculty Michael Kitson during the Cambridge MBA interview, “If there was one thing you would like to change about Cambridge, what would that be?” I was stumped. For a place that I have revered all my life, thinking about a change was not easy. “Access”, I said! Access of a world class institution like Cambridge to marginal communities.” Coming from a developing country myself, I understand many may not have it. But little did I know that I could work towards it in the next six months during my MBA year. There have been many stories on how the Cambridge MBA give ample opportunities to push yourself beyond limits. It gave me this opportunity and in one of the most unforeseen situations. When India was badly ravished by the second wave of Covid-19 and we were feeling helpless, there was a question lingering, “Is there something we could do?” and what came out of this fantastic Cambridge Judge community was a response that I could have never imagined. Joining forces with Oxford MBA students, I developed and led “Oxbridge Oxygenates”, an initiative to support the oxygen crisis in India along with my partner, Mayanka Sheoran and with the support of an amazing bunch of people from across the business school community. The Cambridge Oxford ecosystem came together in more than one way with the help of CJBS Professor Jaideep Prabhu, our guiding star from day one. With an overwhelming support from the Cambridge Judge’s leadership and an amazing MBA alumni community, our funds increased from £2000 to £10,000 in just eight weeks. It was also gratifying to witness the manufacturing of home-grown oxygen kits with the help of a partnership between the Cambridge Judge Business School and the Maker’s Asylum. But if there is one thing that has been truly special to me, is how this initiative answered the question we began with. Oxbridge Oxygenates provided mentorship by Cambridge and Oxford MBA students to people from different countries around the globe. We were able to support and serve close to 100 students with not just advice but also referrals, personal stories, and coaching. When responses like, “Wow, I now know I could do this!” emerged, it all made sense. If it was my mom who made sure I reached Cambridge, what I will carry from this place, as the Cambridge MBA programme ends, is the phenomenal experience that this place gives in making you believe, “I got this!” and that is how this one year transforms you! From me to you – We got this!  Srivani Chatti – MBA Class of 2020/21 – Photography – Amanda Lee Tromp For more on this story and other student-led leadership initiatives during the Cambridge MBA year, read our MBA News and Insights section > |
07 Oct 2021, 04:00
| FROM Cambridge Admissions Blog: My Cambridge MBA entrepreneurship journey |
“A successful warrior is the average person with a laser-like focus” – Bruce Lee Foodbud team 2021 In early 2018, I launched a food related entrepreneurial project which failed miserably because of my inability to connect with the target market. This experience not only gave me a good 200 words to describe my most spectacular failure on the Cambridge MBA application but also, a purpose to learn ways to manage such challenges in future. Therefore, at the time I joined the MBA programme in September 2019, my post MBA goal to pursue entrepreneurship was extremely firm. However, it was not well defined. I wanted to develop a mechanism to connect food businesses to their consumers in a meaningful way but I did not have any idea how to achieve that. During the pre Cambridge MBA alumni interaction, I was advised by many, to avoid the FOMO by being well prepared on what I wanted to achieve from the MBA and then involving myself in activities related to that specific goal. I really liked this advice and followed it during the programme to keep myself sane. However, this disengaged me from many activities that had little elements of Entrepreneurship. Currently, I don’t know if this strategy worked in my favour, but I do know that I will never regret my decision. It helped me stay focused on my goals. I realised the impact of the Cambridge MBA on the three essential elements of entrepreneurship: developing an idea to be passionate about, developing skills or network to execute the idea and lastly, managing resources to achieve the execution. The MBA at Cambridge Judge and the Cambridge experience in general, provided me with many opportunities to interact with founders, investors and industry experts who helped me normalise the fear of starting a company. Whether participating in the Cambridge Venture Creation Weekends, volunteering for external Entrepreneurship programmes like Impulse, attending CUTEC (Cambridge University Technology and Enterprise Club)events, taking up the Cambridge MBA Entrepreneurship Concentration, dedicating the MBA Summer Research Paper to my business plan or engaging in conversations with CJBS alumni who were also startup founders, the Cambridge MBA had so much to offer. In March 2020, I attended an Entrepreneurship event at Trinity College, Cambridge. As part of the five minutes introductory ice breaker activity, I introduced myself to the person sitting next to me and told him about my intention to start a food tech company. Fast forward one and a half years, he is now the chief advisor and investor to our company. In order to understand the tech start up landscape in Cambridge, I identified and offered pro-bono support to a few early stage startups. This helped me establish a relationship with their investors and advisors, who are now closely associated with my entrepreneurial journey. Accelerate Cambridge accepted my proposal and provided me with a route to generate resources to execute my plan. Many of our early adopters were introduced to me by coaches on the accelerator. While the Cambridge Judge Entrepreneurship Centre programme in itself helped me with skill development and ideation, being in Cambridge and part of the University of Cambridge wider eco-system, helped me develop a network of people who guided me at every step. I graduated at a time when the whole world had literally shut down due to the global pandemic. This sudden change of situation challenged the extremities of my resolve and after contemplating on all possible career paths, I decided to stick to my Plan A, as per the narrative on my initial Cambridge MBA application form. There was some hesitation considering the uncertainty of the pandemic and its effect on the entrepreneurship landscape, but nevertheless I decided to take the plunge. I must admit that it was also partly because, during my MBA I couldn’t work on my Plan B and found myself miserably unprepared for the usual round of job applications and interviews. As a matter of fact, the only cover letter I wrote to a hiring manager of a prestigious consulting company was addressed to their biggest competitor! About the startup and journey so far – Foodbud Foodbud is developing a highly innovative food recommendation platform that aims to digitise tastebud and provide its users with personalised and curated food recommendations. It also aims to help businesses like restaurants, grocery outlets and food service companies, become transparent about their food ingredients and expand their customer outreach with affordable and easy to use data analytics tools. At Foodbud, we believe that no one should regret their food choices because of lack of information about food ingredients. Our innovation will enable people to discover new food based on their dietary and taste preferences. In the first phase, Foodbud plans to help people with food allergies and dietary preferences navigate safe food options at restaurants around them. Restaurants can use the platform to convert their passive digital PDF menus to smart menus and enable their customers to choose dishes that are more suited to their personal needs. As the platform grows in data, it plans to implement a Spotify and Netflix like model to predict the likability of new food products.  The Road ahead Foodbud has come a long way ever since it was founded in January 2021 and on our journey, we have been immensely supported by the Cambridge Judge and Cambridge MBA family. We have realised the importance of the wider CJBS network in providing us leverage to expedite our key business decisions. Our aim is to use the fast developing technology to build tools that help more people make safe, nutritious and taste worthy food choices. Foodbud can be contacted through these channels: Website: www.foodbud.ai LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/company/foodbud Instagram: https://www.instagram.com/foodbud.ai/?hl=en Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/foodbudai/ Twitter: https://twitter.com/foodbudai For more about Entrepreneurship and the Cambridge MBA, visit our main web pages> |
12 Oct 2021, 13:00
| FROM Cambridge Admissions Blog: From colleagues, to classmates, to competitors – our career switch from Shell to McKinsey and Bain |
 Introduce yourself: Nate: Both Audrey and I are actually “Shell Babies” – we both joined Shell on the Graduate Programme right out of college and stayed there until we enrolled in the business school. I joined Shell in 2014 as a Production Engineer in their newly constructed lubricants blending plant in Indonesia and have moved on across various roles since. My pre-MBA role was as a Country Planning Manager in which I led a team of ten planners to supply Shell Indonesia’s lubricants business. Audrey: As for me, I was in a variety of HR specialist and business partnering roles over 10 years. Immediately before the MBA, I was the Lead HR Consultant for Shell Singapore and led a team of internal consultants to design and deliver strategic people projects that would support the business agenda across all our Downstream and Integrated Gas businesses which were represented in Singapore. Interestingly, both of us had only ever been in one company (and industry)! Why Consulting? Audrey: I was keen to broaden my horizons. Consulting grants me exposure to a myriad of industries within a condensed period. At the same time, I wanted to challenge myself beyond the people strategy arena and further stretch myself in the space of business/commercial acumen and strategic thinking and analysis, and again Consulting is one of the best places to sharpen these skillsets. Nate: Audrey took the words right off my mouth! I suppose another reason for joining consulting is because I wanted to advance the public purpose, especially in my country of Indonesia. During the MBA, I learned that management consultants play a key role in massive government projects, from transforming energy landscapes to moving capital cities. I wanted to be a part of making the change that matters and leave a lasting positive impact on my nation. Which firm will you be joining, where, and why did you choose to join them? Nate: I’ll be joining McKinsey Jakarta. I chose McKinsey because I see them as the epitome of management consulting. In our MBA classes, their frameworks, lasting impacts, and top-notch ways of working are often discussed, which appealed to my sense of personal growth, as I perceive it as an organisation that I can grow with together. Furthermore, speaking to McKinsey consultants before and during the interview process, especially those from the Jakarta office, showed me that the company only tackled projects that matter and create a lasting, positive change. I find that super energising!  Audrey: I’ll be joining Bain Singapore. Aside from being a top consulting firm globally, Bain is also well-known for its very supportive and strong people culture. I was impressed by how sharp, yet humble and approachable, every “Bainie” with whom I interacted was and I felt like these were people I could enjoy learning from and working with! Singapore was a natural choice because it’s home and I see myself being based out of Asia in the long-term, given many of the markets are still emerging and have very exciting growth trajectories, in my personal view. What did you do to prepare yourself for the interview? Audrey: A lot of case interview preparation for sure! Thankfully, it paid off in the end because the Bain Southeast Asia office is also very “case-centric” in its recruitment processes and there are no fit interviews at all; hence you only have one chance, so to speak, to get it right. It was also helpful to connect with actual ex/current Bain managers who can share at a high level what they’re looking for in the interview process. That said, I had also been preparing my personal stories for fit interviews with other applications and was ready to draw on snippets of those that were relevant in more casual conversations, which still helps with reinforcing positive impressions. Nate: I echo what Audrey said – I started practising cases a couple of months before my Cambridge MBA, and by the time the recruitment cycle began, I must’ve done over 100 cases! I was thankful to have found supportive case partners (Audrey included) in Cambridge, who are equally invested in joining management consulting firms, so it made the process much less stressful. For the fit segment of the interview, I worked with the CJBS Careers Team to sharpen my stories and then created ‘flash cards’ so that I was well prepared for any experiential questions. What surprised you the most about the recruiting process of the top consulting firms? Nate: I’m not going to lie – the interviews were very rigorous and at times stressful. However, I was very surprised at how friendly everyone was across all the consulting firms. The HR teams were very supportive and gave many useful pointers on how to ace the interviews, and McKinsey even gave us “case partners” to practice the interview before the real one starts. The interviewers were also very helpful, providing nudges when I go off-track. I initially thought that consulting interviews are very cut-throat, but it’s clear that everyone just really wants you to succeed. Audrey: It’s the variety for me. Even though consulting firms broadly use a combination of case and fit interviews in the assessment process, the essence (and hence experience) of these can be drastically different. From the interviewing experiences of my MBA classmates, we have observed that some firms are a lot more quantitative/data-heavy, whereas others are more free-form and abstract, for example. Within the same firm, different offices could have very different assessment components as well, so be sure to do your homework in advance so you can prepare in a targeted manner. What tips would you give consulting applicants who also want to do a career switch? Audrey: Have conversations with as many and as broad a variety of people who used to be or are currently in your target firms as possible. In the best-case scenario, it gets you a strong referral and even if not, it’s beneficial for building an accurate mental picture as to what the industry, firm and specific office is truly like. On that note, it helps to know which business sectors the firm you’re applying to has a stronger presence in or is trying to build up, as you probably will stand a higher chance of being shortlisted if your industry experience is aligned to those sectors as well. Keep an open mind on the range of firms you would be willing to explore. Lastly, interview preparation (particularly case interviews) is a marathon, rather than a sprint, so better to start early and pace yourself rather than stressing out at the last minute. Nate: To add to Audrey, it’s important to find the right “partner” during the interview preparation phase. Finding a practice partner that can give (and receive) constructive feedback, who is equally dedicated to joining top consulting firms, and also knows how to conduct cases well, is easier said than done. A good partner is hard to find, and harder to keep especially as the MBA year becomes much, much busier. Keep your best partners close to heart!  |
13 Oct 2021, 11:00
| FROM Cambridge Admissions Blog: From colleagues to classmates, to competitors – our career switch from Shell to McKinsey and Bain |
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Introduce yourself: Nate: Both Audrey and I are actually “Shell Babies” – we both joined Shell on the Graduate Programme right out of college and stayed there until we enrolled in the business school. I joined Shell in 2014 as a Production Engineer in their newly constructed lubricants blending plant in Indonesia and have moved on across various roles since. My pre-MBA role was as a Country Planning Manager in which I led a team of ten planners to supply Shell Indonesia’s lubricants business. Audrey: As for me, I was in a variety of HR specialist and business partnering roles over 10 years. Immediately before the MBA, I was the Lead HR Consultant for Shell Singapore and led a team of internal consultants to design and deliver strategic people projects that would support the business agenda across all our Downstream and Integrated Gas businesses which were represented in Singapore. Interestingly, both of us had only ever been in one company (and industry)! Why Consulting? Audrey: I was keen to broaden my horizons. Consulting grants me exposure to a myriad of industries within a condensed period. At the same time, I wanted to challenge myself beyond the people strategy arena and further stretch myself in the space of business/commercial acumen and strategic thinking and analysis, and again Consulting is one of the best places to sharpen these skillsets. Nate: Audrey took the words right off my mouth! I suppose another reason for joining consulting is because I wanted to advance the public purpose, especially in my country of Indonesia. During the MBA, I learned that management consultants play a key role in massive government projects, from transforming energy landscapes to moving capital cities. I wanted to be a part of making the change that matters and leave a lasting positive impact on my nation. Which firm will you be joining, where, and why did you choose to join them? Nate: I’ll be joining McKinsey Jakarta. I chose McKinsey because I see them as the epitome of management consulting. In our MBA classes, their frameworks, lasting impacts, and top-notch ways of working are often discussed, which appealed to my sense of personal growth, as I perceive it as an organisation that I can grow with together. Furthermore, speaking to McKinsey consultants before and during the interview process, especially those from the Jakarta office, showed me that the company only tackled projects that matter and create a lasting, positive change. I find that super energising! Audrey: I’ll be joining Bain Singapore. Aside from being a top consulting firm globally, Bain is also well-known for its very supportive and strong people culture. I was impressed by how sharp, yet humble and approachable, every “Bainie” with whom I interacted was and I felt like these were people I could enjoy learning from and working with! Singapore was a natural choice because it’s home and I see myself being based out of Asia in the long-term, given many of the markets are still emerging and have very exciting growth trajectories, in my personal view. What did you do to prepare yourself for the interview? Audrey: A lot of case interview preparation for sure! Thankfully, it paid off in the end because the Bain Southeast Asia office is also very “case-centric” in its recruitment processes and there are no fit interviews at all; hence you only have one chance, so to speak, to get it right. It was also helpful to connect with actual ex/current Bain managers who can share at a high level what they’re looking for in the interview process. That said, I had also been preparing my personal stories for fit interviews with other applications and was ready to draw on snippets of those that were relevant in more casual conversations, which still helps with reinforcing positive impressions. Nate: I echo what Audrey said – I started practising cases a couple of months before my Cambridge MBA, and by the time the recruitment cycle began, I must’ve done over 100 cases! I was thankful to have found supportive case partners (Audrey included) in Cambridge, who are equally invested in joining management consulting firms, so it made the process much less stressful. For the fit segment of the interview, I worked with the CJBS Careers Team to sharpen my stories and then created ‘flash cards’ so that I was well prepared for any experiential questions. What surprised you the most about the recruiting process of the top consulting firms? Nate: I’m not going to lie – the interviews were very rigorous and at times stressful. However, I was very surprised at how friendly everyone was across all the consulting firms. The HR teams were very supportive and gave many useful pointers on how to ace the interviews, and McKinsey even gave us “case partners” to practice the interview before the real one starts. The interviewers were also very helpful, providing nudges when I go off-track. I initially thought that consulting interviews are very cut-throat, but it’s clear that everyone just really wants you to succeed. Audrey: It’s the variety for me. Even though consulting firms broadly use a combination of case and fit interviews in the assessment process, the essence (and hence experience) of these can be drastically different. From the interviewing experiences of my MBA classmates, we have observed that some firms are a lot more quantitative/data-heavy, whereas others are more free-form and abstract, for example. Within the same firm, different offices could have very different assessment components as well, so be sure to do your homework in advance so you can prepare in a targeted manner. What tips would you give consulting applicants who also want to do a career switch? Audrey: Have conversations with as many and as broad a variety of people who used to be or are currently in your target firms as possible. In the best-case scenario, it gets you a strong referral and even if not, it’s beneficial for building an accurate mental picture as to what the industry, firm and specific office is truly like. On that note, it helps to know which business sectors the firm you’re applying to has a stronger presence in or is trying to build up, as you probably will stand a higher chance of being shortlisted if your industry experience is aligned to those sectors as well. Keep an open mind on the range of firms you would be willing to explore. Lastly, interview preparation (particularly case interviews) is a marathon, rather than a sprint, so better to start early and pace yourself rather than stressing out at the last minute. Nate: To add to Audrey, it’s important to find the right “partner” during the interview preparation phase. Finding a practice partner that can give (and receive) constructive feedback, who is equally dedicated to joining top consulting firms, and also knows how to conduct cases well, is easier said than done. A good partner is hard to find, and harder to keep especially as the MBA year becomes much, much busier. Keep your best partners close to heart! |
21 Dec 2021, 04:00
| FROM Cambridge Admissions Blog: Cambridge through the lens |
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Professional photographer Amanda Lee Tromp travelled to Cambridge from the States, with her husband Ollie Tromp for his MBA year at Cambridge. Here we celebrate a year of her photography as she captures Cambridge through the seasons, along with the MBA Class of 2020/21 from their Matriculation to their end of term Formal Hall dinners.  In Covid times the traditional ‘all class ‘photo actually took place in June! In a year when social distancing was the norm and for some months the UK underwent a total lockdown to combat the pandemic, we were honoured and delighted to be able to see, share and celebrate life across the Cambridge University community and throughout our Cambridge MBA Class of 2020/21 through the eyes of Amanda.  From Matriculation in Michaelmas Term and beyond across the whole one-year Cambridge MBA.  A moment that sums up Cambridge in many ways.  The end of Michaelmas Term for our MBA Class of 2020/21.  Amanda spent a fabulous year in Cambridge alongside her husband Ollie Tromp, who was studying for the Cambridge MBA based at Selwyn College.  Amanda was an active member of the ‘Partners Group’, who spent the year creating their own special Cambridge memories.  St Edmund’s College – a Cambridge College for postgraduate students only.  Gilad Weil – a product manager and consultant who led the Cambridge Middle East Business Societyacross the year.  Stream 4 – the cohort is divided into different and mixed ‘Streams’ each term, building the MBA network further each and every term, and enabling more collaboration and deeper connections.  Nicole Advani and Travis Tran both did their MBA together as a married couple – read their story >  Srivani Chatti – who led ‘Oxbridge Oxygenates’ during a peak in the pandemic in India, in particular – read her story >  Celebrating the end of the term and making more memories in June 2021.  Goodbye from the Cambridge MBA and another fantastic year! For more wonderful shots from Amanda Lee Tromp visit her web pages here > For more insights into student life on the Cambridge MBA visit our Cambridge Life pages here > |
23 Dec 2021, 08:00
| FROM Cambridge Admissions Blog: My first term at Cambridge |
 Matriculation at Pembroke College, Cambridge. I came across my MBA admission essay for Cambridge Judge Business School when I sorted through my laptop over the Christmas holidays. I would love to take this opportunity to describe my experience of the University of Cambridge Michaelmas Term and compare it with what I had expected. 1. Diverse and international group In the essay, I wrote how the Cambridge MBA immerses me in a diverse and collaborative culture, enabling me to broaden my horizons and strengthen my effective interpersonal skills. The cohort of just over 200 students is a perfect size. It is large enough to find the most knowledgeable classmates when you want to know about manufacturing in Germany, or the financial industry in India, for example. At the same time, it is small enough that you can build relationships with your classmates in such a close and friendly way that you can send each other birthday wishes and Christmas messages. Doesn’t it make you feel like you can do anything with 200 strong supporters worldwide? 2. Practical and well-designed programmes The lectures are by far more practical and organically linked to each other than expected. For instance, in the Entrepreneurship course, you can learn how to raise capital from the entrepreneur’s point of view, and then, in Corporate Finance, you can learn how venture capitalists evaluate enterprise values. You will also gain insights from guest speakers and classmates with real business experience in each lecture. During the Cambridge Venture Project, you and your team need to contribute to real client projects, using the knowledge from the lectures and the skills that you have all developed that term. These opportunities allow you to turn academic knowledge into real business impacts. 3. Opportunities outside the MBA programme What I did not expect and what actually sets the Cambridge MBA apart from other business schools is the breadth and depth of our relationships outside of the MBA programme itself. For example, I am a Sponsorship Manager of the Cambridge University Technology and Enterprise Club (CUTEC) which allows me to discuss start-up ecosystems with undergraduates and PhD students from Engineering or Neuroscience. As the Co-chair of the Private Equity and Venture Capital Special Interest Group (SIG), I can also reach out to diverse experts by leveraging the broad University of Cambridge, as well as Cambridge Judge, alumni network. There are also plenty of fantastic events at the Cambridge colleges. I was lucky enough to be able to ask the UN Secretary-General about climate change at a Pembroke College event, recently. I have really enjoyed the Michaelmas Term as it has gone far beyond my expectations. I hope that even more remarkable moments will unfold across the future terms at Cambridge Judge, and that I continue to make the most of this once-in-a-life opportunity. |
28 Dec 2021, 06:00
| FROM Cambridge Admissions Blog: Michaelmas Term MBA Experience |
 For most of us, 2021 has been a fast ride. It still feels like it was only last month that I ended my four and half year’s career at Blackrock to join the MBA programme at the University of Cambridge, Judge Business School. Yet, here we are now towards the end of 2021 and I have finished the Michaelmas Term, also known as the most rigorous term, within the MBA programme. If I were to describe my three months’ MBA experience in Cambridge so far, I would describe it as a life-changing experience. For the past eight years, I have been living in big cities in New York and Singapore and now, to be able to spend one year in a place that has a rich history and influence on the world, nothing could be better than Cambridge. In Cambridge, I am able to focus on experiencing a full student life again, instead of getting distracted from the busy life at a big city such as London, New York and Singapore. In addition, there are a lot of historic buildings around the campus where the Nobel prizes ideas and research were conducted, that have influenced the world as it is today. On the Cambridge MBA , there are 221 of us and it is still considered a relatively smaller class size, compared to other MBA programmes. I personally believe a smaller class size is better, and enables more interaction and connection with the other classmates. Michaelmas Term has been a challenging term for most of us, given the number of classes that we need to attend, in addition to family, job hunting, Case competitions, MBA Projects, and other commitments. But we definitely have learned a lot within such a short period of time and the knowledge will be beneficial for our future career goals. The ‘live’ project in the first term, the Cambridge Venture Project (CVP), has been a unique experience on the MBA, as we have been grouped into a team of five, working closely with a UK-based start up for 6 weeks, to solve and provide advice on the company’s current issues. This experience has been valuable, as it allows you to experience the challenges that the company faces during an early stage, before it can grow further.  During my free time, I would typically pursue my passion for food by visiting tasting menu restaurants in London every weekend, not only to eat but also to interact with the chefs and staff to understand the story, concept, and inspiration behind the restaurant dishes. In addition, I also enjoy doing food blogging by posting photos of my tasting menu restaurants’ explorations on social media to provide a more objective view of my opinion regarding the food and my personal experience at those tasting menu restaurants that I have visited. As someone who is naturally softly-spoken and introverted, it will be challenging for me to make connections with everyone given the huge class size. But by the end of the programme, my goal is to be able to make at least ten genuine friendships with my fellow MBA classmates, that we will still actively keep in touch after graduation and beyond. I personally believe that every great connection should start from genuine friendships that do not require you to benefit from each other in the present. After all, you will never know if the friendship today will turn into something important in your career in the coming years. I am glad that to mention that on this term alone, I have managed to achieve 50% of my goal, i.e. being able to make those 5 genuine friendships. I am looking forward to the next chapter of my MBA journey in Lent Term and wish everyone Merry Christmas and Happy New Year.  All images courtesy of Kohnobe. For more insight into Cambridge MBA student life visit our main Cambridge MBA web pages > |
04 Jan 2022, 03:00
| FROM Cambridge Admissions Blog: The Cambridge Venture Project, a pivotal part of the Cambridge MBA experience |
 One of the unique experiences of the Cambridge MBA is the Cambridge Venture Project (CVP), an opportunity to consult for an external organisation, on a live case, in a field distinct from one’s background and along with a diverse group of batch mates during the first term of the MBA. And this has been an incredible journey for me! This is one of those exciting experiences where you do not mind being pushed into the deep end of the pool because the learning curve you have from figuring out the project along with your study group is invaluable. I am new to consulting and this provided me with an opportunity to interface with clients, learn best practices from my peers and work with them to come up with actionable results for our clients. I am far removed from the semi-conductor industry since I am a civil engineer by training who worked with a real estate development firm. This project allowed me to understand a new industry and gain insights into the nuances of the industry, the different markets in play, the technologies involved, and so on. The distinctive way in which we approached the problem statement, where we covered various continents of the globe in our market research, helped all of us understand the overall industry and its future better. Given the fact that my prior work experience involved working with diverse people within India, this was one of my first opportunities to work with people from diverse nationalities. It added complexities, since none of us come from native English speaking countries and we all have had a different career trajectory up until now. The fact that we all had to work as equals without a hierarchical structure did pose another exciting challenge as well. The team diversity also introduced huge learning experiences for each one of us, not only with respect to work, but outside of it as well. This included understanding each other’s cultures, thought processes, priorities and philosophies as well. As a group, we spent extra time in conversing about our prior work experiences, how we go about completing tasks, how we schedule our meetings and work days, etc. We built confidence and comfort within the group to share concerns and hurdles we faced individually and sort them out amicably. I can confidently say that I have built some strong friendships through the CVP that I will cherish for the rest of my life. There is a support system in my CVP team that I can bank on for the rest of my MBA journey. I can’t thank Keon Min, Miguel Valderrama Devescovi, Sirayaporn Chavanayarn and Whitney Tu enough for this!! Advanced Furnace Technology, Zoe Tolkien and Magnus Linklater have been amazing clients, giving us a detailed initiation into the industry, being available throughout to support us, patiently listening to us and helping reform our knowledge and research continuously. I hope our broad-based research, encompassing almost the entire globe, on the growth opportunities for Silicon Carbide Semiconductors and the subsequent short-term and long-term recommendations, will help our clients strategise their organisation’s future. I thank our clients for being genuinely invested and supportive throughout the project. In addition, I could not have asked for a better mentor than Peter Hiscocks. He supported our team through constant positive reinforcements, energy and suggestions to approach the problem in newer ways. His knowledge and his connections provided us the strong backing on which we knew we could rely on. My sincere thanks to Peter for making our project a success. In conclusion, I strongly feel that the Cambridge Venture Project (CVP) is a pivotal experience of the Cambridge MBA, ideally scheduled during the first term of the programme. It not only allows one to gain knowledge of a new industry/sector and consult for an external client, but also helps in experiencing team-working dynamics in a diverse setting and more importantly, propels the students to plan and balance the one year of the MBA programme better. These, in my belief, are the larger and more critical learnings coming out of the CVP. For more about live consultancy projects on the Cambridge MBA programme, visit our web pages here>  Nithish Bhat Kunjar |
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AGSM at UNIVERSITY OF CALIFORNIA RIVERSIDE
One of the fastest-growing graduate business schools in Southern California, shaping the future by developing leading thinkers who will stand at the forefront of business growth. MBA Landing | School of Business (ucr.edu) |
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