The 2010 core class officially ended last Thursday!
Before all came to an end, we literally had to “put up a fight of our lives” to prepare for the integrated final exam, and then raced against the clock to put together the finishing touch for the business plan project.
The final exam topic – Analyzing Ballard Power and alternative energy industry – was given to us a week in advance (about 3 weeks before the end of core). The actual exam question was handed out on the day of the exam. Before the exam, we were required to research the company and the industry using secondary information, e.g. financial statements, industry reports, staff interviews, etc.
Even though we knew the topic early, we had little time to work on it as there were four course finals plus a case assignment the week before. It wasn’t three days before the final that we could concentrate on putting together the analysis. Many of us formed study groups and divvy up the research and analytical work. There are tremendous amount of information available
and it was a difficult task to narrow down all the information.
I was part of a 15 member study group team and we spent two nights together to tackle the exam topic. Amazingly, we were able to digest these
large amount of information, and garner a lot of insights from the observations we have made. The knowledge that we have accumulated since August is putting into good use! We prepared an appendix with 20 sections, spanning across the functional areas of HR, Accounting, Marketing, Strategy, and Operations, for use on the day of the exam. And with some luck, our study group made an accurate guess for the final exam question, so eventually I had all the information I needed for the final exam.
As soon as the final exam ended, most students anxiously got back into their own business plan team. The breakouts room in the Henry Angus building were jam packed. At that point of time, most teams have completed the necessary research, but has not started writing. To catch up, for three consecutive days, sleep and regular meals were sacrificed. It was pure adrenaline rush from then on. The night before the submission headline, a dozens of the team were out at Kinkos after 5am to get the project documents binded. Yes, you read it correctly – a BIG PARTY at Kinkos!
We then had our business plan presentations on Thursday, and after that, the CORE graduation ceremony! Three months of hard work has now paid off. In the evening, we were downing a few drinks and dancing away past midnight at the Century house, joined by our Core profs. to celebrate the accomplishment we all made in the past three months.
A few words cannot justly describe how intense and intellectually simulating the Core program is. Made no mistake, during the three months there was little time to relax, and many of us spent absolutely no time with families, wife, kids, and friends. But as I mentioned before, with strong will power and focus on your goals, nothing is impossible. Also, with a tightly bonded team, ANYTHING can be accomplished. I cannot stress how important teamwork was during the Core – whether it is in project teams or study groups. The knowledge sharing opportunities in a team situation is something that I really enjoyed and appreciated. Those that do not know how to work with people from a diverse background will be hard-pressed to gain any success – and this is my major takeaway from the Core.
Although now I am on holiday, in the next two weeks, I will do some more blogging about my experience during the Core (most likely a three part series). Until then, I will be sleeping and snowboarding as much as I can 😀
