Vancouver’s stunning in terms of natural beauty! And I’ll only say – Experience it. Read – be here for the 2010 olympics. Vancouver’s gearing up and its only going to be more beautiful.
Canada’s been easy to move into and very welcoming. Smiling and helpful people around, part of a largely accepting culture make the transition fairly easy for someone moving in from another country.
And in my very first week, I was introduced to business learning while negotiating a cel phone contract with an executive at Future Shop. Coming from a country with extremely cheap call rates and ‘no brainer’ contracts, I had a tough time selecting a contract juggling various choices and options. Wasn’t an MBA all about decision making in the light of multiple variables. Well, literally, I had begun. Think – save costs and increase utility – aha, economics!
ISP – rechristen it to ‘Living and Learning, the North American Way’. An amazingly well structured program for international students to absorb the cultural and corporate fabric of North America. Interactive games, pub socials, experience sharing, role plays and presentations intertwined with wine tasting sessions + the occassional bloopers, make it an experience worth being a part of before you hit the grind come early september.
If the numbers and concepts from undergrad and corporate exposure seem to be blurred and in the distance, find your groove again with the pre-core. Find your project teams too(nah, thats early). Leave that to the Core faculty team. Let them mix you up a bit and shake the comfort zone you inhabit. But fasten ur seat belts though. You might experience turbulence with time.
Missed the ropes (getting MBAs used to getting their hands dirty) at Orientation, you would agree you missed a lot. Team work, attitude, charisma, smart thinking and plain old hard work personified activity. Get the adrenaline rush and your last few hours of freedom before you sleep at the Corporation Reading!
Find out if you are a red personality type or a green thinker. Don’t know what i mean, Google it. Think sustainabilty for green and traffic lights for red. Well, thats mixing it up further.
Also consider this – When you do an integrated business case on a circus company in your first couple of weeks at business school, you see the creative stlying of newer and constantly evolving business models. When the case discussion is laced with you-tube videos of the company’s unique set of acts followed by a session with one of the top officials from the same circus entertainment company, you know that interactive, real life business learning just touched a new high!
The very selection of a case such as this highlights the thought process behind the development of the program and the value add it is designed to provide. Welcome to the Sauder MBA integrated core! Undoubtedly, one of the most exciting and stimulating part of the program, it does keep me awake until 2am most nights. And yes, its fabulous!
What is the opportunity cost of writing this post to this length. Well, I am yet to discover. Maybe an ITM assignment or a trip to the Anthropology Museum on Campus.
Stressful times ahead. I’ll remind myself I am here to make my own mistakes 🙂
Cheerio.
