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30 Jul 2014, 09:00
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| FROM Oxford Admissions Blog: Overcoming the 46oC heat in Doha, Qatar |
Written by Alison Shawver, Al Jazeera Brand SCP Stepping out of the airport in Doha, we were hit by a wall of hot air. Although of course I anticipated the July heat, the warmth was still a shock after months in the cool, rainy weather of Oxford. Temperatures for the first few days hovered around 46oC/115oF, and then eventually “cooled” to approximately 41oC/106oF for the rest of the trip. In our initial naïveté, we attempted a walk from the hotel to the nearest shopping mall on our first night, only to find that even at 10pm the breeze still felt as if it originated in a hot hair dryer. It was dizzying. Needless to say, we took air-conditioned taxis thereafter! Despite the challenges presented by the desert weather, our trip to Qatar was a pleasant and enjoyable experience. My team and I are working on a strategic consulting project for Al Jazeera Media Network. We have been asked to make recommendations regarding the branding of current and future products in Al Jazeera’s portfolio. It is an exciting and challenging project, particularly in light of the recent significant growth of the company and the varied perception of the Al Jazeera brand globally. The project is highly relevant and necessary for the company at this stage of their expansion, which makes the experience even more rewarding for our team. A second SCP team is working on a related project for Al Jazeera as well, so it was fun to have 8 Oxford MBAs together sharing the experience. During our two weeks at the Doha headquarters, my team focused on learning about Al Jazeera’s brand identity and the company’s goals for the future. We met and interviewed key stakeholders from both the editorial and business functions of the organisation, and combed through company documents to find project-relevant data. Upon our return to Oxford, we have been interviewing some of the leading experts in both media and branding/marketing to gain their perspective. It has been amazing to see how wide the Oxford network can reach. We made an ambitious wish list, and have yet to find someone who has declined an interview request! Both Oxford MBA teams are fortunate to have two Saïd Business School alumni, Kostas and Samer, supervising us. This has made the entire process very easy for us, as they understand exactly the nature of the Oxford MBA programme and the strategic consulting projects. In addition to facilitating our project work, Kostas and Samer have also encouraged us to enjoy what Qatar has to offer. We spent a number of evenings at local sights such as the Museum of Islamic Art and a large market, Souq Waquf. As a big group, we all went ‘dune bashing’ one Friday afternoon, which involves off-road driving up and down alarmingly steep sand dunes. Luckily we all survived to put our feet in the Gulf waters as the sun began to set over the views of the Saudi Arabian coastline!  We are looking forward to gaining a fuller picture of Doha on our second trip to Qatar at the end of August. We were told that it would be quite a different experience from our first visit, which fell during the Ramadan month. Shops and businesses held holiday opening hours, and each night, many families ventured out to local restaurants to celebrate the breaking of their daily fast with elaborate Iftar meals. It is fortunate that this project will allow us to experience city life both during and outside of the Ramadan month. If all goes as planned, my team will present recommendations to a team of Al Jazeera Executive Directors in just a few short weeks. Time to get to work!  The two Oxford SCP teams in Qatar |
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19 Aug 2014, 03:00
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| FROM Oxford Admissions Blog: A day in Milan! |
| About a month back, if you would have told me that Milan is one of the many metropolitan cities, where on a Monday morning I would find people dressed in suits, nervously reading newspapers and waiting for a metro, or … |
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19 Aug 2014, 04:00
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| FROM Oxford Admissions Blog: The Power of Networks |
| Prior to starting the MBA when I thought of entrepreneurs I envisaged a solitary genius innovating in their garage or teams of founders living and working together in tiny apartments, coding every waking minute and sleeping in shifts on the … |
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