Congratulations to the students who have been admitted to the program so far!
As an MBA ambassador, I’ve been contacted by a few of you with questions about the program… To make the answers open to all admits and people wanting to learn more about the program, I prefer to post the questions and answers here. Please post your questions as a comment to this entry and I’ll post the answers.
Thanks and enjoy the spring!
As I was preparing to come to Vancouver for my MBA, one of the main questions I had was about how life would be in a new city and what it would be like to go back to school again, this time married and in a new country.
Vancouver is an amazing city to live in. Apart from the beauty of nature, great public transport and so many parks, the people here are amazingly friendly. I remember a day I was buying a dishware set for my new place and had this huge box to carry out to the street to catch a cab. A young man standing in line nearby saw me struggling and set down his things, asked me to watch them, and carried the box outside. This show of kindness isn’t unique. It’s great to know I can ask people on the street for help. I know this makes me sound like someone who comes from a country of mean, unfriendly people. On the contrary, Venezuelans are very warm and affectionate. However, kindness in strangers is far more appreciated when you’re alone and starting life again in a new country.
My own classmates were amazing in helping me settle in. I arrived before my husband and I remember that the first thing I did when I arrived was to leave my bags in the hostel room (a UBC residence turned hostel in the summer) and went down to call some classmates that I had met over Facebook. A few minutes later, two of them arrived and we spent the evening out on the town, walking down to Spanish Banks and having dinner with a Vancouverite (Joel). In the next days a group of other international students and I went out to see Vancouver before the ISP.
Some Canadian classmates helped me to move into my new place (moving without a car is tough!!! Specially when you’re a vain Venezuelan woman and have so much stuff) and to do my first grocery shopping trip, which was also quite a load (I’m a big fan of cooking too).
Since then, I’ve really enjoyed living in a city that is small enough to not have so much traffic, but big enough to have enough entertainment, retail outlets, etc. There seem to be tons of outdoor activities to do, even in the winter. I love walking in the parks, even in the rain. Though it rains a lot here, it’s mostly a light rain. Being close to ski resorts is definitely a plus during this time of year, if you’re a winter sport fan…
Adapting to Vancouver has been relatively easy. Some things are weird, though… Can somebody explain to me how the “curl” sport works??? I just see a bunch of women yelling and brushing like crazy, but I don’t understand what all the brushing is for… Please don’t laugh. Consider the fact that the main Venezuelan sports are Baseball, soccer, surfing and maybe kitesurfing.
Firstly, my most sincere apologies for not keeping up to date on this blog. During the CORE I had every intention of writing weekly entries; however, as you will come to learn, the CORE cannibalizes much of one’s time. In fact, when I was in your position (searching for a suitable MBA program), I often read the blogs at Sauder while asking myself why there were such few posts during the fall term. Well, now I know why. With everything said and done (Nine Final Exams, Two Large Scale Projects and More), the CORE exceeded all expectations while challenging my strengths and weaknesses. And yes, I passed.
Looking back on the past five months in the MBA program I’ve learned an incredible amount of material on a diverse range of subjects – I often compare life in the CORE to drinking water straight from a fire hose. The sheer amount of information coming at us seemed insurmountable, yet the faculty and staff were always there to help us get through it, all the while trying to have a little fun in the process. Just wait… Karaoke Night is a CORE Classic.
Along the way I was fortunate enough to meet a great group of people, becoming close friends with several of my colleagues who inspired me during our Project One and Project Two (P2) meetings. Working with Canadian engineers, an insurance and finance specialist from South Korea, a corporate accountant from Saudi Arabia and many more, I not only grew academically, but culturally too; though I still haven’t grown accustomed to Kimchi!
Our P2 Business Plan, which was created for the Vancouver’ Children’s Choir, a non-profit arts organization, came to us from President Toope’s Office. As President of the University of British Columbia, President Toope is involved with many organizations, including this one. Our mission: to create a sustainable business plan for the choir’s 25th Anniversary. After presenting our report to the students and faculty, our P2 team also had the opportunity to present the business plan to the President, as well as the VCC Board of Directors. Being taken to task on several key issues is not for the faint of heart, but it was a true test of preparedness and teamwork.
Now that our Post-Core modules have begun, much of the class is dispersed among different specializations including: Finance, Strategy, Marketing, Supply Chain Management, Sustainability and General Management, to name a few. Not being one to miss out, I’ve decided to go the General route, as I see the future of management requiring a well-rounded and diverse range of skills. In the first module I’m taking Managerial Economics, Corporate Finance, Investments and Statistics. True, the course load is difficult, but I am in it for the long haul – homework, late nights and all. This being said, I promise to be more up to date with my future blogging activities (If you see me slipping, send me an email – please.)
For now, I have a massive assignment due for Statistics; Chi-Squares and T-Tests… here I come!
Best wishes and Happy New Year,
Joel
It’s only mid January and I already feel like its been years since the Core. In this second phase of the program it’s all about specializing (or not) in the area you like the most and above all, taking the reins of your career.
A great part about being in this program is having the support of the Sauder Business Career Center (BCC). Since you enter the MBA program, the BCC team will be reminding you to get started on your career planning. Like me, I bet that getting an MBA is mainly a way of enhancing your career or changing your area of work. Throughout the program, the BCC goes through a lot of work to give you the tools to make decisions about what you want to do and how to do it. There are two managers assigned to full-time MBAs that are there to give you advice on writing and adapting your resume, cover letters and researching careers and industries. I am a big fan of the workshops which give me ideas on topics like networking, interviewing, writing cover letters, and negotiating salaries.
If you are an international student, like me, it is an invaluable resource for starting out in a new country. Canadian students here have found the workshops very useful to polish their skills. Just imagine how expensive it is to take workshops or courses on these topics… and it’s there for you throughout the program. If you’re an international student going back to your country at the end of the program, the tools you learn here will always be useful for you.
I find that another plus for my career research has just been being able to say: “I am an MBA student at the Sauder School of Business”. It’s amazing how people’s faces change… they immediately become more interested and receptive. A big part of being here is having the “Sauder brand” in your pocket and a great team at the BCC to help you with your job seeking.
Well, its the start of a new year and there is a whole lot of mismanaged stuff out there that the world needs to set right pretty quickly. Within the realm of my own MBA, there is a lot of adjustment to do to get the alignment for Post-Core right!
The famous Integrated Core is over. It is famed to be one of the most challenging and stressful parts of this program because it is an intensive three months that give you an unbelievable broad view of management. In 14 weeks we learned about Accounting, Supply Chain management, IT management, Finance, Ethics, HR… in all, 13 different subjects that serve as a crucial base for any manager.
Though it requires a lot of stamina, this is a really exciting experience. What I enjoyed the best is seeing management tasks from a multiple perspective. Most professionals start their career by choosing a major and then spending the next year specializing in their career. The great thing about the core is that it gives you the opportunity to step back and see it from all the perspectives of a company… For me (a humanities major), it has been great to analyze issues with numbers, instead of using my soft skills, which I have been perfecting for years because of my career. For others, it was the other way around.
As I mentioned in my previous entry, another great advantage of the Integrated Core is that it is made so that you build on your network of classmates to make the most of your time, energy, and to have fun. I made a conscious effort to hang out with different people all the time. In assignments where we were asked to work in teams I also made an effort to avoid working with the same people. It really paid off. I learned so much from the interaction with different people and their ways of accomplishing tasks. One of the most important elements of the Core and the integrated cases. These cases were analyzed from different perspectives for a class discussion. But before, we met with a small case discussion group to prepare for this. Our team was made of a Chinese student (Ken), an Indian student (Murtaza), a Canadian student (Patrick) and I (Venezuelan). We wanted diversity in our team and really saw great results. In our meetings, some would come in with great financial analyses, while I could add a lot of thoughts on marketing and OBHR, which are very easy for me to see. Thanks to our discussions, I became better at those financial analyses and at seeing the cases from a more international perspective.
I’m still recovering from the all-nighters and enjoying these first days of vacation, but looking back, I know that this has been a unique experience and I will always remember it with a sense of pride and accomplishment.
It’s been a serious couple of weeks here at Sauder – finals season is upon us. And while the upside of the Integrated Core program is taking twelve subjects simultaneously and seeing how they inform each other…the downside is that you are tested on all of them! The way it works is a series of subject-specific exams — accounting, finance, marketing, strategy, organizational behavior, etc. — followed by an overall case analysis exam.
At this point, we’ve finished with the subject-specific tests and are preparing for the integrated Core case exam. And I have to say, what is unnerving me is how great I feel about it. Now I’m not saying I’m going to set the curve here, but sitting down in my study group today I really felt the cumulative effects of all the work we’ve been doing.
As we discussed the case in my study group, it was clear how many analytical tools we brought to the table that we did not have before: how to compare financial performance from one era to another, how to build a cash flow statement, how to assess different leadership styles, how to develop a marketing calendar, how to determine the strategic fit of different activities, etc. The list went on. It struck me that in addition to all the soccer games, karaoke, dinners, and discussions with new friends, I might actually be learning something here.
It’s been more than 3 months since I arrived in Vancouver to begin a new life on many levels: to begin a postgraduate program I’ve been looking forward to for years, to begin a new life in a new country and to move my career into business.
As a Venezuelan communications specialist, I have been in wonder in this new life. It honestly has exceeded my expectations in many ways. First of all, Vancouver has been unbelievable. It is an amazing city, with so many parks and such amazing wildlife (I love seeing seals near Stanley park).
But mostly, I am so grateful for all the kindness I have received here. Since my very first day, I have been shown the city and received great advice from classmates, MBA Office and profs. Just after leaving my suitcases in a tiny room at Place Vanier (a freshman campus residence turned hostel during the summer), I found a public phone and called a classmate I had been chatting with over our class Facebook group. Since then, I have had the help of so many people for everything: moving into my new place, putting my furniture together, giving me a ride to get groceries (I like to cook, so getting a ride there and back was REALLY useful).
The MBA program at Sauder is designed so that you can build a network that will last you for a lifetime. I have always found a helping hand here, whether it’s for discussing class issues or help settling down and in your everyday life. That has made my experience all the more valuable. Meeting people, helping them and receiving their insight is even more valuable because we are all from such different backgrounds. It is one thing to know general geography and read the paper, and another to hear about people’s personal experience with a particular economic policy, company strategy, etc.
Even though I am only a few months into the program, I know for certain that I am now part of the Sauder circle and will be proud to be part of it for life.
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Next month, I would like to discuss our experience of being business students through this economic and financial upstart that is changing the way we conceive business today.
Hi All,
