First post in the year 2011. I hope all of you had a great rest.
Now we are into Period 1 of Post-core, and it definitely has a different feel to it.
The Core was a foundation building course and lots of business topics has been touched on, but only at an introductory level. In the Post-core, each respective module gets into the depth of a specialized area, at a fast pace. Work volume is a bit less, but more time is required in dissecting an issue or problem. For example, in the Marketing Strategy class, we just finished a case on XM Satellite Radio. The issue was how to introduce this completely new technology to the market and under what price / pricing scheme (e.g. subscription base? commercial free or not?). Things that need to take into consideration include market size, segment selection, revenue potential, and the interest of other stakeholders such as manufactures, distributors, and potential advertisers. Data information in the case was limited and not presented very clearly, which added to the difficulty of this already complicated case.
On top of assignments, projects and regular readings, there are many other activities outside of class. Student clubs are already planning workshops and events for the next couple of months. There are also quite a few case competitions. Just last week, about 40 of us join 600 other MBA students across Canada to participate at the MBA games hosted by York University in Toronto. We competed in 8 events across sports, academics, and spirit categories, and each night there were also parties for networking with other schools. Indeed it was a wild, fun weekend, but we also competed hard. In the end, Sauder came in 2nd in the marketing case event (topic was how should Telus capture opportunities in the tablet market) under the academic category.
Also , kudos to Chris and Jordan for staying up late before their flight to put together a great video for the opening ceremony:
A few other competitions will happen in the next several months. For myself, I am participating in two – the Hult Global Case challenge for finding a solution on water availability and access in developing countries. As well I am organizing the Google Online Marketing Challenge, which competes on developing a marketing campaign utilizing Adwords for a local business.
As you can see, there are many opportunities to challenge yourself not only in class but also amongst other school and in the real world. While time seems scarce (and indeed it is), I believe it is important to apply the knowledge learned in class to real life situation through these competitions. Plus, Sauder provides many support (including a dedicated staff) to put students in a position to do well in any competition. All in all, taking advantage of these case competition opportunities will greatly complement your overall MBA experience.
PS – I will find time soon to hop on a time machine and write about my Core experiences.
Sunny
