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FROM IMD Admissions Blog: Snowshoeing in the mountains |
A weekend spent getting to know each other in the fresh air of the Swiss alps with fondue and snowshoeing on the menu of activities. This weekend, was a chance for everyone to get to know each other better whilst exploring and experiencing some typical Swiss culture. On Saturday, the whole class set of for Villars, along with the MBA Office team. Situated in the north of the Swiss Alps, this is one of the closest ski stations to Geneva and Lausanne, and is a truly beautiful location. A free afternoon gave everyone the opportunity to explore the area a bit before taking a privatised train up to a secluded mountain fondue restaurant. For those of you who have never tasted fondue, it is basically a dish of melted cheese, into which you dip pieces of bread, best accompanied by white wine or hot tea. Tastes a lot better than it sounds! The next morning, breakfast at the hotel was followed by some snowshoeing. For some, this was their first experience of snow, but no matter the level of experience, it was a lovely day to be in the mountains and a fun way to round off the first week. Suzy MBA Recruitment and Admissions |
FROM IMD Admissions Blog: And it hasn't even started yet … |
The pace picks up for the second opening week of the MBA program, with the official start just a few days away. “You have all been admitted to one of the most selective programs in the world. You have been hand picked among the best in your fields, because you are the best in your fields. Maybe nobody said that to you before, but we will. And we’ll make sure you remember. You’ll go through an intense and innovative program that will change you for life. It is pretty much like table tennis, no matter what they throw at you, you will return.” Professor Seán Meehan, Dean of the MBA Program, welcoming our class This is how it started. This is how we were received. And it is for real. You have the best facilities, you have support, you receive all the required tools, backpacks, material and … infinite coffee, tea, chocolate … you pick your preference – and amazing lunch. Did I mention the fruit? It is almost like you are spoiled, yet, if IMD is composed by spoiling smiley parents, they manage to keep you aware of your reality with pre-program assignments, information, assignments, requirements … And they keep coming. In a speed that is unstoppable and overwhelming. Timing by the second, you miss something, and it is gone. Keep in mind: it has been three days of introduction classes. “Wonder if we can manage to keep our relations of outside the school” one of my colleagues said to me, seconds after I realized I had not yet responded to my mother’s message from Friday (this was on a Sunday). You can see the smiles on the faces of the professors coming in for the first time, “It is always so nice to teach the first classes” they say, “It is always nice to see this stamina and energy” they say. This is just the beginning; this is just the easy part. Shaking hands, hellos and where you come from. Hopes and fears. Scratching the surface of our personalities. The layers are yet to be pealed. The leaders are yet to manifest. Relationships will get deeper, probably stress out. And recover … We have no idea how this is going to roll out. We have no idea how the year is really going to be. We don’t know, IMD doesn’t know. Each class of 90 has their own personality. We have ours, #IMDMighty90. We are different from the start, the class of 90 with 89. What we know for sure is: the balls will keep coming, with 178 arms to throw them back. The Opening Dinner |
FROM IMD Admissions Blog: An honest letter to the Class of 2020 |
An MBA alumnus from the class of 2019 shares his tips and advice as the current class starts their journey. Dear Class of 2020, Congratulations on getting the admit and beginning what I believe to be a “Transformative year”. Now that you have dived into the rather interesting world of solving cases, storyboarding, T-accounts (No! I’m kidding here), and meeting humanity from different hemispheres. I thought of putting together a rather non-MECE (you will hear this A LOT!), and unstructured rambling of learnings and observations from my own experience. However I do hope that some of this will be useful to anyone who’s beginning their MBA program. A General Rule: A big learning that I have come to appreciate even more is the simple yet not obvious distinction between “Facts” and “Opinions”. What I’m saying below, in unequivocal terms, represent my “Opinions” based on my assessment. I speak on behalf of myself. Period! Over this year you might find yourself in situations where Facts and Opinions will be used with great elasticity and interchangeability. It’s an important skill to develop. Nonetheless, Let’s truck on. [b]On Program[/b] [b]1.[/b] First & foremost, remember that you have come here for your own professional and personal development. A person once told me that every single day you get 86,400 seconds credited to your account. Use them wisely. [b]2.[/b] The total cost of program is ~120K CHF and duration is 11 months. Every day you enter the building, you amortize ~360CHF. Financial motivation for those “Bad days”. [b]3.[/b] There will be times when Copying & Pasting will appear to be a promising and time saving strategy for assignments and exams. Don’t DO IT! Remember Point 1 [b]4.[/b] Normally, Accounting will feel difficult to significant many. Take full use of the resources at your disposal – E-learning (Khan Academy, YouTube), Batch mates, and extra classes. [b]5.[/b] I found “Strategy” class to be the most challenging and rewarding. If there is one class where you need at least 2 hours of pre-class prep to get the maximum out of the discussion, this is the one! [b]6.[/b] The program has a high academic workload frontloaded on Module-1 which begins to taper off progressively. Sometimes with so much work, it’s natural to feel like you’re going through the motions in module-1 but don’t forget Point-1: Find quiet time to think about your future! [b]7. [/b]Over this year, you’re going to get a lot of feedback from a lot of people both harsh and soft. You will also learn about your inherent biases. The program focuses not only on learning new things but unlearning old ones. [b]8. [/b]You will be writing a lot of new material this year. From analysis of business situations to self-analysis. If you do it properly, you will develop some writing skills which will come in handy during the latter half when drafting your cover letters. [b]9.[/b] An important learning to target this year is being a better “Storyteller”. Make sure you get enough time to practice on the center-stage in front of an audience. The program gives more than enough opportunities and it’s up to you to make the most of it. [b]On Relationships[/b] [b]1.[/b] Initially your colleagues may get “Wow-ed” by your academic, professional, and personal achievements (Maybe you’re an Olympic finalist). However, you will be remembered for your personality, energy, class contributions, eccentricity (applicable to few) and most importantly how you treat others. [b]2. [/b]You might not be able to make great friends with everyone because of various reasons but you can always maintain good relations. As Stephen Covey said friends are similar to “Emotional bank accounts” – The more you invest the more you can gain. This year you have limited time so choose your accounts well. [b]3.[/b] Having said that, if you maintain good relations with everyone you will have a known at basically every continent in the world (not sure if there are MBAs in Antarctica) when you graduate. [b]4. [/b]You might have few or many awkward conversations, because you don’t understand or can’t relate to the culture, the words and the accent of the other person. However, make the effort to engage and break the ice. These people will be your family for 2020. [b]On Jobs[/b] [b]1.[/b] Job Search is going to be easy, and uneventful for some while difficult, exhausting, and draining for others. You won’t know what category you belong to, so better start the efforts now and not wait until June or beyond. [b]2.[/b] One of the things that I wished I had done better was to talk to more people outside of my industry. Conducting informational interviews with people from different industries gives a chance to explore new things that might translate to future interests. [b]3.[/b] I used LinkedIn Premium A LOT! I got my job through LinkedIn. I recommend LinkedIn for InMails, job recommendations, and LinkedIn Learning Job Interview video series [b]4.[/b] The school network opens doors which were previously not accessible. Start early and talk to as many interesting people as possible. I understood what excites me or dulls me not from job descriptions or HR talks but simple conversations with different people. [b]5.[/b] Don’t forget that you have a previous professional and personal network. Make extensive use of everything at your disposal. [b]6.[/b] I favor taking the summers off unless you have an opportunity which can translate to a role in future. Sometimes interesting opportunities may only be open to work permit holders! [b]7.[/b] I found that the alumni to be quite responsive and helpful. I also learnt that it important to briefly introduce yourself and talk about your interests when connecting with them. What is a strict no-no is assuming that alum is obligated to help you! [b]On Extracurriculars[/b] [b]1.[/b] A lot of social bonding will happen over Friday night parties, house parties, MBAT, discovery expedition, and the spur-of-the-moment visits to Lacustre. Go for it! [b]2.[/b] Three books were always discussed in details on many occasions so might be useful to have a look: [list][*]“Thinking Fast & Slow” by Daniel Kahneman[/*][*]“How will you measure your life” by Clayton Christensen[/*][*]“Valuation: Measuring and Managing the Value of Companies” by McKinsey[/*][/list] [b]3.[/b] Some of you are likely to get addicted to staying in the dungeons after a few months., Make sure you get out of that comfort zone. You can take a walk by the lake, explore the markets or go for one of the hikes (Highly recommend the app Komoot) As I said, this is by no means an exhaustive list and neither did I intend it to be. Over this year, you will have your own unique experiences and I hope you make the most out of your stay here! [*][img]https://imdmbablog.files.wordpress.com/2020/01/imd_mba-pre-graduation_2019_104.jpg?w=1024[/img] [/*][*][img]https://imdmbablog.files.wordpress.com/2020/01/imd_mba-pre-graduation_2019_123.jpg?w=1024[/img] [/*][*][img]https://imdmbablog.files.wordpress.com/2020/01/imd_mba-pre-graduation_2019_125.jpg?w=1024[/img] [/*][*][img]https://imdmbablog.files.wordpress.com/2020/01/imd_mba-pre-graduation_2019_110.jpg?w=1024[/img] [/*][/list]The class of 2019 getting a first glimpse of their yearbook, 2 days before graduation Wish you all the best, [url=https://linkedin.com/in/uzairfahmi]Uzi[/url] Class of 2019 PS- Feel free to connect with me if you think I’m not all bonkers. |
FROM IMD Admissions Blog: Opening weeks are over |
After 13 consecutive days of the IMD MBA bubble, the introductory weeks are over and a routine starting. |
FROM IMD Admissions Blog: Love Knot of the Chinese New Year |
The Chinese New Year, Spring Festival, is a big day when family members and friends gather together with a reunion dinner to celebrate the past and look to a new year. |
FROM IMD Admissions Blog: MBAs discuss latest IMD award-winning case |
Case developed at IMD, wins major case award and the following week gets taught in the MBA Program with case protagonist participating |
FROM IMD Admissions Blog: Student Committees |
The IMD MBAs choose their committees for the year: social, sports, sustainability, speakers, and yearbook. |
FROM IMD Admissions Blog: Start me up! |
On January 30th, the IMD MBA class of 2020 officially launched their Startup Projects with companies as diverse as one can imagine. |
FROM IMD Admissions Blog: Living the startup experience |
MBAs discuss motivation and business hurdles with entrepreneurs and set expectations for their startup projects. |
FROM IMD Admissions Blog: Having the Humility to Lead |
The MBAs are split into two groups as they head off-campus for their leadership labs with advice to keep an open mind! |
FROM IMD Admissions Blog: IMD MBA Scholarship Winners |
IMD awards scholarships based on merit and financial need to encourage diversity in each class. See the 2020 results. |
FROM IMD Admissions Blog: Economics and cultural diversity |
Professor Ralf Boscheck has a reputation for his challenging Economics classes, but they can also have a fun twist. |
FROM IMD Admissions Blog: Leadership through experience |
Professor Jennifer Jordan talks about the leadership experientials that take place at the beginning of the leadership stream |
FROM IMD Admissions Blog: Valentine’s Day with partners |
The MBA Partner Integration Program is an important part of the IMD experience. For Valentine's families joined MBAs for lunch. |
FROM IMD Admissions Blog: A program just for partners |
The IMD MBA Integration Program for partners is well underway with something for everyone |
FROM IMD Admissions Blog: Kein Hammerschlag: The Pump Startup |
“So, an Indian, a South African, a Russian, an Argentinian, a Chinese, and an American walk into a pump room…” |
FROM IMD Admissions Blog: Public speech delivers impact – Toastmaster Event |
Our first Toastmaster event, organised by MBA classmates, was an amazing experience. |
FROM IMD Admissions Blog: The slow approach of spring |
It's the beginning of March, the weather has decided to give us a glimpse of what winter should have looked like, and the MBAs are beginning to feel the pressure. |
FROM IMD Admissions Blog: Teamwork: the secret of success |
The challenges of the first two months of the IMD MBA program encourage creativity, bonding and making the most of every minute. |
FROM IMD Admissions Blog: Transforming transformation |
Working with founders of Startup Company, Changeway®, offers a chance to create tangible value in the entrepreneurial world. |
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