8 January 2008
(See two posts below for explanation for the strange chronology)
Given the obsession with rankings (see previous posts) I thought, dear reader, that you may be interested in the below.
http://rankings.ft.com/exportranking/european-business-school-rankings/pdf
How rankings are put together:
http://www.ft.com/cms/s/2/fa44d838-9ef1-11dc-b4e4-0000779fd2ac,dwp_uuid=ca0d89c8-9f5d-11dc-8031-0000779fd2ac.html
World rankings
http://media.ft.com/cms/9753d360-a6ee-11db-83e4-0000779e2340.pdf
The latest FT rankings come out at the end of the month and I am sure that will be another excuse to re-visit this.
As a final caveat, rankings should be taken as a guide and are no substitute for serious research on the individual school, its culture and its unique selling point. For example, for me if you are serious about working internationally, then INSEAD should be near the top of your list.
Have fun.....
"Asked about the power of advertising in research surveys, most agree that it works, but not on them."
Eric Clark
Showing posts with label INSEAD. Show all posts
Showing posts with label INSEAD. Show all posts
Sunday, 3 February 2008
Saturday, 2 February 2008
Catching up.....
I seem to spend half my time on this blog apologising for not posting and so I am proud to maintain this tradition by, again, apologising for not posting.
In fact I have commenced a number of posts that I then leave in draft with the express intention of returning to complete the post "later that day". As with all the best intentions something generally goes awry and of course what is a day, week or month between friends? Therefore, I am now faced with 3 draft posts that were commenced on various days in January, but have yet to be published. So in order to assauge my conscience (which conveniently is very small in this matter) I have decided to publish them now with the date they were originally created.
On a more serious note, when researching INSEAD I know that "delayed/incomplete" blogs used to be a tad frustrating, and that is partly why I started this blog. So its doubly galling to realise that I have been much worse at this than many of those I quietly criticised for their lack of organisation. Any one wish to join me for humble pie?
Apologies again
Accipiter
It is very easy to forgive others their mistakes; it takes more grit and gumption to forgive them for having witnessed your own.
Jessamyn West
In fact I have commenced a number of posts that I then leave in draft with the express intention of returning to complete the post "later that day". As with all the best intentions something generally goes awry and of course what is a day, week or month between friends? Therefore, I am now faced with 3 draft posts that were commenced on various days in January, but have yet to be published. So in order to assauge my conscience (which conveniently is very small in this matter) I have decided to publish them now with the date they were originally created.
On a more serious note, when researching INSEAD I know that "delayed/incomplete" blogs used to be a tad frustrating, and that is partly why I started this blog. So its doubly galling to realise that I have been much worse at this than many of those I quietly criticised for their lack of organisation. Any one wish to join me for humble pie?
Apologies again
Accipiter
It is very easy to forgive others their mistakes; it takes more grit and gumption to forgive them for having witnessed your own.
Jessamyn West
Tuesday, 4 December 2007
Logistics "mini" rant
Dear reader,
I have no idea how long this post will be, I just needed to "let it all out."
A few comments:
a) Apologies for not posting in the recent past - its manic.
b) Housing in Singapore is astronomically expensive.
The favourite haunts for INSEAD students are very close to campus, but boy do you pay for the privilege. Also, the whole rental system is very different to North America and Europe in terms of what different definitions mean (fully furnished vs part furnished).
I think INSEAD students should make try to manipulate the market by grouping together and setting prices. Now this might start an Anti-Trust investigation in the US but if everyone agreed that this was the price for 2bdr or 3 bdr and offered only that we would all then benefit as landlords would be faced with getting no rent or a certain consistent rate. Of course this does bring into play the prisoner's dilemma (or so I'm told by a smarter person than I).
Alternatively, live a 20 minute bus ride away and reduce the rental by 20%. Some might suggest cycling - well a friend of mine emailed from Singapore and advised me that it was presently cold there "mind you its still 75 degrees Fahrenheit" -and given the humidity by the time you get to campus it will look like you just walked out of a sauna/shower combination, although with the added fragrance that heat and exercise bring.....
c) Banks are strange- they know you are going to do a top MBA and may offer pots of cash (at very commercial rates of interest), but then "cheese" you off by making silly, careless mistakes. If you travel a lot you could try the HSBC premier account (I'm looking at it right now - but the requirements could be (and are) beyond me!).
d) I love my laptop -highly recommend Toshiba - competitive price but (with all due respect to Necromonger) a better performance than the Lenovo.
e) Getting a flight to Singapore with Singapore airlines is nigh on impossible presently - its like there has been a run on the seats and everyone has booked one!
f) The potential summer internships with banks in Asia require preparation of CVs pre-mid December.
g) The to do list has hit over 30 items despite working solidly on sorting myself out for the last 2 weeks.
h) I have not read any of the pre-reading (unlike two of my class who began in October!!!) and have not done any work on my third language.
i) Blah, Blah, Blah....
I will try to blog more regularly (again how does Necromonger do it?)
Well , as Shrek said "better out than in" (a challenge for you - which number film and to which scene does this refer)
If you break your neck, if you have nothing to eat, if your house is on fire, then you got a problem. Everything else is inconvenience.
Robert Fulghum
I have no idea how long this post will be, I just needed to "let it all out."
A few comments:
a) Apologies for not posting in the recent past - its manic.
b) Housing in Singapore is astronomically expensive.
The favourite haunts for INSEAD students are very close to campus, but boy do you pay for the privilege. Also, the whole rental system is very different to North America and Europe in terms of what different definitions mean (fully furnished vs part furnished).
I think INSEAD students should make try to manipulate the market by grouping together and setting prices. Now this might start an Anti-Trust investigation in the US but if everyone agreed that this was the price for 2bdr or 3 bdr and offered only that we would all then benefit as landlords would be faced with getting no rent or a certain consistent rate. Of course this does bring into play the prisoner's dilemma (or so I'm told by a smarter person than I).
Alternatively, live a 20 minute bus ride away and reduce the rental by 20%. Some might suggest cycling - well a friend of mine emailed from Singapore and advised me that it was presently cold there "mind you its still 75 degrees Fahrenheit" -and given the humidity by the time you get to campus it will look like you just walked out of a sauna/shower combination, although with the added fragrance that heat and exercise bring.....
c) Banks are strange- they know you are going to do a top MBA and may offer pots of cash (at very commercial rates of interest), but then "cheese" you off by making silly, careless mistakes. If you travel a lot you could try the HSBC premier account (I'm looking at it right now - but the requirements could be (and are) beyond me!).
d) I love my laptop -highly recommend Toshiba - competitive price but (with all due respect to Necromonger) a better performance than the Lenovo.
e) Getting a flight to Singapore with Singapore airlines is nigh on impossible presently - its like there has been a run on the seats and everyone has booked one!
f) The potential summer internships with banks in Asia require preparation of CVs pre-mid December.
g) The to do list has hit over 30 items despite working solidly on sorting myself out for the last 2 weeks.
h) I have not read any of the pre-reading (unlike two of my class who began in October!!!) and have not done any work on my third language.
i) Blah, Blah, Blah....
I will try to blog more regularly (again how does Necromonger do it?)
Well , as Shrek said "better out than in" (a challenge for you - which number film and to which scene does this refer)
If you break your neck, if you have nothing to eat, if your house is on fire, then you got a problem. Everything else is inconvenience.
Robert Fulghum
Sunday, 18 November 2007
INSEAD pre-reading
Term starts on 7th January 2008 and the various items on the to do list are being ticked off. For example, accommodation is almost finalised and today I sent a whole a suitcase of stuff with a friend. This whole thing is starting to feel more real.
Some of my classmates are preparing for the business foundations course. This is for those students that do not have a "finance" background, to bring them up to speed in a four/five day course.
Part of the precourse preparation for all of us is to undertake the precourse reading. This involves reading chapters of two of the the three texts advised and the whole of the third accounting text.
The first challenge is obtaining the texts and at a reasonable price. The texts can be purchased from INSEAD for between €45 and €55, which is not unreasonable. As a matter of interest I checked the prices in London bookshops, when I was there last week. So if a book is €50, one would assume that given the present exchange rate that the book would be approximately GBP£34. Wrong - the actual price is GBP£47?! How does this work then? It just seems that the publishers feel that there is an opportunity to obtain a super profit and so go ahead and charge the maximum they can. Fortunately, Amazon.com charges a price that is much closer to the one would expect to pay and so I am awaiting free (thanks to Amazon's super saver service) delivery of my books.
For completeness pre-reading is :
ESSENTIALS OF ACCOUNTING - R. Anthony - L. Breitner
9th edition -Prentice Hall
MODERN FINANCIAL MANAGEMENT – S. A.Ross - R. W. Westerfield -
J. Jaffe & B.D Jordan 8th Edition - McGraw Hill
PRINCIPLES OF MICROECONOMICS – N. G. Mankiw
4th Edition – South-Western
Hopefully, I will do some work on this in the near future, particularly as some of my classmates volunteered that they had begun reading over a month ago. I guess this demonstrates how motivated some of my classmates are and how the forced curve class performance indicator could make life interesting.
Some of my classmates are preparing for the business foundations course. This is for those students that do not have a "finance" background, to bring them up to speed in a four/five day course.
Part of the precourse preparation for all of us is to undertake the precourse reading. This involves reading chapters of two of the the three texts advised and the whole of the third accounting text.
The first challenge is obtaining the texts and at a reasonable price. The texts can be purchased from INSEAD for between €45 and €55, which is not unreasonable. As a matter of interest I checked the prices in London bookshops, when I was there last week. So if a book is €50, one would assume that given the present exchange rate that the book would be approximately GBP£34. Wrong - the actual price is GBP£47?! How does this work then? It just seems that the publishers feel that there is an opportunity to obtain a super profit and so go ahead and charge the maximum they can. Fortunately, Amazon.com charges a price that is much closer to the one would expect to pay and so I am awaiting free (thanks to Amazon's super saver service) delivery of my books.
For completeness pre-reading is :
ESSENTIALS OF ACCOUNTING - R. Anthony - L. Breitner
9th edition -Prentice Hall
MODERN FINANCIAL MANAGEMENT – S. A.Ross - R. W. Westerfield -
J. Jaffe & B.D Jordan 8th Edition - McGraw Hill
PRINCIPLES OF MICROECONOMICS – N. G. Mankiw
4th Edition – South-Western
Hopefully, I will do some work on this in the near future, particularly as some of my classmates volunteered that they had begun reading over a month ago. I guess this demonstrates how motivated some of my classmates are and how the forced curve class performance indicator could make life interesting.
Tuesday, 30 October 2007
Update on logistics
I thought it might be interesting to update my dear reader as to some random facts and comment on INSEAD logistics.
Diversity
In terms of diversity we are up to 70 nationalities for the class of Dec 2008. There are representatives from all the major continents. It is interesting to note that there are large number of students from North America (Canada and USA), perhaps indicating that INSEAD's profile in the US is rising?
Language Requirements
INSEAD requires you know 2 languages to get in and a basic knowledge of a third language before you exit. Also your English must be fluent as demonstrated by TOEFL or a University education in English. Presently a large chunk of "my" class are attending language courses to certify that they have reached the required level for their second language. Others are working on their third language so that they can clear the third language requirement during their first week at INSEAD. I think its fair to say a lot of people are working on their language skills.
Financing
There are a lot of scholarships available at INSEAD - most of which will help provide considerable financial help to the recipient. Some scholarships are industry specific, others region specific (e.g. Africa) and a large chunk of them are country specific. Additionally, there is a needs based scholarship fund. INSEAD is undertaking a large drive to raise funds such that they can provide more scholarships to more students, thereby ensuring that funding does not act as a barrier to entry to capable applicants/students.
The deadline for applying for scholarships was in mid September. Let us say a large number of students submitted a lot of essays and cashflow statements to try to get some additional funding.
Otherwise most people are borrowing from banks (international or domestic), parents and using up all their savings. The only (minor) complaint I, and other students, have so far against INSEAD, is that INSEAD does not have a deal with a major bank to ensure that all students are guaranteed funding. For example, something similar to the deal LBS has with HSBC.
My understanding is that this is causing the most headaches amongst us. I think those students not based in their "home" country are facing real problems in getting the funding, or having to go through multiple hoops to be granted the funding. You could argue that its just a fact of life or view it as preparation for the mad rush of challenges at INSEAD, but its something that the school may want to review. Of course the school may already be taking steps, and if so I apologise to AdCom.
Logistics
As mentioned in an earlier post, there is a large to do list involving multiple form filling and document gathering, as well as immigration and medical issues. Then there is the finding of accommodation, wiring of funds and sorting out the affairs in which ever country you are in. On top of this is the packing and trying to work out what you are going to take, then packing this and then arranging freighting it to either Fonty or Singapore. Of course given shipping times, you might be sending things without yet knowing the final destination address!?
Socialising
A fair number of the class seem to already be travelling having left their jobs. So as they travel this gives more reasons for people to get together - so there are, from a quick skim of NV (the INSEAD student intranet) currently get togethers planned for New York, Tel Aviv, Milan, London, Beijing and Kuala Lumpar. Yes, we do seem to be a bunch of networking social butterflies.
Hope this helps those applying and those who just got in (congrats Bluey).
Diversity
In terms of diversity we are up to 70 nationalities for the class of Dec 2008. There are representatives from all the major continents. It is interesting to note that there are large number of students from North America (Canada and USA), perhaps indicating that INSEAD's profile in the US is rising?
Language Requirements
INSEAD requires you know 2 languages to get in and a basic knowledge of a third language before you exit. Also your English must be fluent as demonstrated by TOEFL or a University education in English. Presently a large chunk of "my" class are attending language courses to certify that they have reached the required level for their second language. Others are working on their third language so that they can clear the third language requirement during their first week at INSEAD. I think its fair to say a lot of people are working on their language skills.
Financing
There are a lot of scholarships available at INSEAD - most of which will help provide considerable financial help to the recipient. Some scholarships are industry specific, others region specific (e.g. Africa) and a large chunk of them are country specific. Additionally, there is a needs based scholarship fund. INSEAD is undertaking a large drive to raise funds such that they can provide more scholarships to more students, thereby ensuring that funding does not act as a barrier to entry to capable applicants/students.
The deadline for applying for scholarships was in mid September. Let us say a large number of students submitted a lot of essays and cashflow statements to try to get some additional funding.
Otherwise most people are borrowing from banks (international or domestic), parents and using up all their savings. The only (minor) complaint I, and other students, have so far against INSEAD, is that INSEAD does not have a deal with a major bank to ensure that all students are guaranteed funding. For example, something similar to the deal LBS has with HSBC.
My understanding is that this is causing the most headaches amongst us. I think those students not based in their "home" country are facing real problems in getting the funding, or having to go through multiple hoops to be granted the funding. You could argue that its just a fact of life or view it as preparation for the mad rush of challenges at INSEAD, but its something that the school may want to review. Of course the school may already be taking steps, and if so I apologise to AdCom.
Logistics
As mentioned in an earlier post, there is a large to do list involving multiple form filling and document gathering, as well as immigration and medical issues. Then there is the finding of accommodation, wiring of funds and sorting out the affairs in which ever country you are in. On top of this is the packing and trying to work out what you are going to take, then packing this and then arranging freighting it to either Fonty or Singapore. Of course given shipping times, you might be sending things without yet knowing the final destination address!?
Socialising
A fair number of the class seem to already be travelling having left their jobs. So as they travel this gives more reasons for people to get together - so there are, from a quick skim of NV (the INSEAD student intranet) currently get togethers planned for New York, Tel Aviv, Milan, London, Beijing and Kuala Lumpar. Yes, we do seem to be a bunch of networking social butterflies.
Hope this helps those applying and those who just got in (congrats Bluey).
Monday, 22 October 2007
INSEAD to do lists...
I admire, and to some extent, am envious of those who are "naturally" organised. They get up in the morning and know what they are going to do, when they are going to do it and how they are going to do it. They possess a permanent mental to do list with a click for more details option built in. It would be nice if I could count myself as falling within this category. Unfortunately I cannot.
I like to think I am organised, and to be fair, at work, I know what is going on. Yes there are days when it all goes out the window, but even then I seem (luckily?) not to miss anything too important (please excuse me while I touch wood and try to convince fate that I am not, in fact, tempting it to prove me wrong). But this is more down to being trained by and working alongside highly talented, driven individuals, whom drilled into me what a "good professional" should aspire to. So while I do have the occasional (daily) lapse in the office, overall, I've got away with it.
My private life is more akin to organisation deriving from chaos theory. I want to be organised. I know its important to be organised. but when I get home I am too lazy to be organised. This means that letters lie in a drawer for weeks, deadlines are missed (thank God for direct debit for credit cards), lottery tickets not checked for so long that you can no longer claim a prize (fortunately not costly yet), enough paper is hoarded to stop acres of Amazonian rain forest being destroyed, expensive flights and hotels are the only option as all cheap options are gone because it is being done in a rush with a few days to go...... I'm sure you get the idea.
I normally get through this by sitting down every month or so and, once I've stopped castigating myself for being so stupid again, sort through everything, dumping or filing papers and writing a to do list. I then action the to do list.
However, on getting in to INSEAD I decided to set a new precedent for my private life and do a to do list at the beginning. The result? Surprisingly, I am doing ok! Trust me this is a wonderful surprise for me - and long may it continue. I find that a large chunk of important INSEAD admission procedures have been completed, while other minor issues (such as getting loans to fund this 12 month "jolly") are also progressing - again I'm hoping fate is not being tempted by the above.
Of course this does not mean that all is light and rosy in my nest. I am finding that my lack of motivation and effort at work ( i.e. zero) is slipping into my private life, such that items on the to do list are looked at 6 pm in the evening i.e. well after office hours so that a number of the items cannot be dealt with. I also spend an inordinate amount of time on the internet and the more time spent reading pointless, enjoyable rubbish*, the more my motivation and will power drain out of me. Call it an internet induced vegetative state.
I deal with this by re-visiting my to do list frequently in order to scare myself into doing something about the aforementioned list. So far this is working - although I really need to get cracking on my third language revision and I need to submit the language declaration form and...
"Science is organized knowledge. Wisdom is organized life."
Immanuel Kant
*(why did I read the entire wikipedia entry about the Hindu Elephant god and summaries of all the "Alias" episodes when I've never watched the programme?)
I like to think I am organised, and to be fair, at work, I know what is going on. Yes there are days when it all goes out the window, but even then I seem (luckily?) not to miss anything too important (please excuse me while I touch wood and try to convince fate that I am not, in fact, tempting it to prove me wrong). But this is more down to being trained by and working alongside highly talented, driven individuals, whom drilled into me what a "good professional" should aspire to. So while I do have the occasional (daily) lapse in the office, overall, I've got away with it.
My private life is more akin to organisation deriving from chaos theory. I want to be organised. I know its important to be organised. but when I get home I am too lazy to be organised. This means that letters lie in a drawer for weeks, deadlines are missed (thank God for direct debit for credit cards), lottery tickets not checked for so long that you can no longer claim a prize (fortunately not costly yet), enough paper is hoarded to stop acres of Amazonian rain forest being destroyed, expensive flights and hotels are the only option as all cheap options are gone because it is being done in a rush with a few days to go...... I'm sure you get the idea.
I normally get through this by sitting down every month or so and, once I've stopped castigating myself for being so stupid again, sort through everything, dumping or filing papers and writing a to do list. I then action the to do list.
However, on getting in to INSEAD I decided to set a new precedent for my private life and do a to do list at the beginning. The result? Surprisingly, I am doing ok! Trust me this is a wonderful surprise for me - and long may it continue. I find that a large chunk of important INSEAD admission procedures have been completed, while other minor issues (such as getting loans to fund this 12 month "jolly") are also progressing - again I'm hoping fate is not being tempted by the above.
Of course this does not mean that all is light and rosy in my nest. I am finding that my lack of motivation and effort at work ( i.e. zero) is slipping into my private life, such that items on the to do list are looked at 6 pm in the evening i.e. well after office hours so that a number of the items cannot be dealt with. I also spend an inordinate amount of time on the internet and the more time spent reading pointless, enjoyable rubbish*, the more my motivation and will power drain out of me. Call it an internet induced vegetative state.
I deal with this by re-visiting my to do list frequently in order to scare myself into doing something about the aforementioned list. So far this is working - although I really need to get cracking on my third language revision and I need to submit the language declaration form and...
"Science is organized knowledge. Wisdom is organized life."
Immanuel Kant
*(why did I read the entire wikipedia entry about the Hindu Elephant god and summaries of all the "Alias" episodes when I've never watched the programme?)
Wednesday, 17 October 2007
Mutual Support
Since my last missive there seem to have been references to my blog by those doyens of the INSEAD blogerati Necromonger (a direct link) and Res I(p)sa (my previous post).
I would not be honest if I did not admit to a small amount of gratification to have been noticed by these bloggers. However, what was nice was that Res, in her blog, commented that:
".....be afraid, be very afraid (and be sure to practice your not-sleeping, speed-reading and multi-lingual-costume-wearing-alcohol-consuming skills before you get here). You're going to love it." http://resipsainsead.blogspot.com/2007/10/contagious-panic.html
So, why do I appreciate this comment? Well, apart from the fact that Res took the time to comment (and judging from the J'08 blogs time is the scarcest commodity in Fonty), its funny and positive (as always), and, in a very weird way, the comment encapsulates my (and others') emotions while in P0. This emotion is a kind of an incredible excitement (frisson, even) together with mild panic at what the hell have we got ourselves into.
But also there is an anticipation as to the people your going to meet. I've had the pleasure (and it really has been) of meeting and corresponding with a whole bunch of future class mates over the past 6 weeks and they are just a bunch of (Americanism alert) "Awesome" people. Already you can see what the big deal about MBAs (and INSEAD in particular) is. You are sharing information/experiences, helping each other and not necessarily waiting for something in return. The key is sharing.
Of course when I get there, the reality may be different. And my more cynical side is fighting back. But at the moment I'm going to give it a whirl and look forward with unfettered optimism.....
See the world in green and blue
See China right in front of you
See the canyons broken by cloud
See the tuna fleets clearing the sea out
See the Bedouin fires at night
See the oil fields at first light
And see the bird with a leaf in her mouth
After the flood all the colors came out
It was a beautiful day
Don't let it get away
Beautiful day
Beautiful Day - U2 (2000)
I would not be honest if I did not admit to a small amount of gratification to have been noticed by these bloggers. However, what was nice was that Res, in her blog, commented that:
".....be afraid, be very afraid (and be sure to practice your not-sleeping, speed-reading and multi-lingual-costume-wearing-alcohol-consuming skills before you get here). You're going to love it." http://resipsainsead.blogspot.com/2007/10/contagious-panic.html
So, why do I appreciate this comment? Well, apart from the fact that Res took the time to comment (and judging from the J'08 blogs time is the scarcest commodity in Fonty), its funny and positive (as always), and, in a very weird way, the comment encapsulates my (and others') emotions while in P0. This emotion is a kind of an incredible excitement (frisson, even) together with mild panic at what the hell have we got ourselves into.
But also there is an anticipation as to the people your going to meet. I've had the pleasure (and it really has been) of meeting and corresponding with a whole bunch of future class mates over the past 6 weeks and they are just a bunch of (Americanism alert) "Awesome" people. Already you can see what the big deal about MBAs (and INSEAD in particular) is. You are sharing information/experiences, helping each other and not necessarily waiting for something in return. The key is sharing.
Of course when I get there, the reality may be different. And my more cynical side is fighting back. But at the moment I'm going to give it a whirl and look forward with unfettered optimism.....
See the world in green and blue
See China right in front of you
See the canyons broken by cloud
See the tuna fleets clearing the sea out
See the Bedouin fires at night
See the oil fields at first light
And see the bird with a leaf in her mouth
After the flood all the colors came out
It was a beautiful day
Don't let it get away
Beautiful day
Beautiful Day - U2 (2000)
Friday, 28 September 2007
I can feel it coming in the air tonight.....
I had some free time over the last 24 hours, hence the flurry of blogging.
Part of my inspiration to blog came from present INSEAD bloggers such as Res I(p)sa, Necromonger, Le Blog de Hog, D.T.L.F and Million Dollar Spatula. So with this free time I have also caught up with these blogs.
Unfortunately, while the blogs are all witty, informative and wide ranging, the recent posts are beginning to inspire the beginning of a mild concern (aka panic); hence the genuflection to the (ahem....) "master" songsmith known as Phil Collins in the blog heading.
P1 seems intense, manic, stressful, even overwhelming, as well as fun. The workload seems designed to be impossible, without factoring in company presentations, parties, networking and "me" time. Then there are the practicalities of life such as eating and sleeping.
The term "nightmare" springs to mind.......
"Only after disaster can we be resurrected"
Fight Club (1999)
Part of my inspiration to blog came from present INSEAD bloggers such as Res I(p)sa, Necromonger, Le Blog de Hog, D.T.L.F and Million Dollar Spatula. So with this free time I have also caught up with these blogs.
Unfortunately, while the blogs are all witty, informative and wide ranging, the recent posts are beginning to inspire the beginning of a mild concern (aka panic); hence the genuflection to the (ahem....) "master" songsmith known as Phil Collins in the blog heading.
P1 seems intense, manic, stressful, even overwhelming, as well as fun. The workload seems designed to be impossible, without factoring in company presentations, parties, networking and "me" time. Then there are the practicalities of life such as eating and sleeping.
The term "nightmare" springs to mind.......
"Only after disaster can we be resurrected"
Fight Club (1999)
Thursday, 27 September 2007
INSEAD and Diversity
INSEAD makes a great play of having the most diverse class of students amongst all the top business schools. Based on my pre-starting experience this strap line is, to use an Americanism, "right on the money".
Here are some class (December 2008) statistics :
Here are some class (December 2008) statistics :
- Presently 59 nationalities;
- Students from 6 Continents;
- Some of the Industries within the class: Aerospace, Architecture, Biotechnology, Charity, Crisis Management, Financial Services, IT, Law, MC, Manufacturing, Public Affairs, Retail and Travel and Tourism.
The above only hints at the diversity. The real diversity lies in the range of experiences that each individual brings with them and this manifests itself in their interests, opinions, approach to problems and view of life. Having had the pleasure of meeting some of my class, I can happily confirm this.
It does seem strange that one can meet a group of strangers and because of one commonality have so much to share. Even at the most basic level there has been an openess to help each other in dealing with the various logisitical problems that all of us face. There are countless meet ups, whether for drinks, picnics or meals, being organised across various continents. People are leaving their jobs to travel and are arranging to meet up with classmates on their travels. There are daily messages on the INSEAD intranet (NV) updating plans or creating new plans. The energy displayed is inspiring and you want to get started at class now.
Perhaps this is an insight as to why "we" all chose INSEAD and why you hear such positive views about the alumni network.
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