Posted by Pam at 27 September , 2009
Many things have happened during the past two weeks and I have to admit that my self-assigned discipline of writing here at least once a week is starting on a wrong foot…
Here are a few noticeable things we did.
Negosim
The second week of classes, basically after a first week of cheering and hugging, we got onto business with a business simulation game called Negosim. We were all dispached into groups of 4 to 5 people and our task, as the board or directors of a B2B company, was to compete with others.
It was a fantastic experience for those two main reasons:
- It was a jump into the water of corporate strategy. For someone who had no idea what the terms “liability” and “equity” meant before school started (me), this game was a great way of teaching these basic concepts through play.
- It was a first time for group work and interactions with other classmates. I was amazed at how a 4 day course allowed us to work with each other so quickly. Within our own group, of course, but also with people from other groups. It wasn’t always easy but it was definitely a good introduction to our future group work.
Classes
We were assigned to our sections (I’m in the bilingual section) and classes started for real on the 3rd week, along with group work and case studies. By the way, one of the reasons why I could not post my article on Negosim last week was because we had a Marketing assignment due for Monday 8am.
 Garden of Chenonceau (Loire Valley) This week, I started to realise how crucial good planning is. After reviewing my class schedule and making a quick estimation for class preparation (reading material + preparing cases) I found that I’ll need to spend around 60 hours weekly on studies. Basically, my key is that for each class, I’ll have to spend once to twice as much time for preparation.
Holidays are finished for real now…
Integration week-end
This week end we went on integration in the Loire Valley. It was a mix between cultural visits (to the châteaux here and there), partying (with the regional wine, of course) and fun fun fun :)
I feel that by now, I know 80 to 90% of my intake by name.
Way to go!
Tags: Academics, Assignments, HEC events, Social, Students
Posted in: 2. At HEC MBA | 1 Comment »
Posted by Pam at 13 September , 2009
One week has passed and we are now fully into our MBA. We have had a few academic classes so far and I have to say that I have been pleasantly surprised by their quality so far.
But before I go on and on describing my life as a student, I wanted to share a few facts about the September 2009 intake:
I like:
- The small class size, so we get to know each other better.
- The diversity of nationalities. It’s not just the number of nationalities but also the proportions. I like the fact that we have roughly 1/3 of participants coming from the American continent, 1/3 from Europe and 1/3 from Asia.
- The diversity of backgrounds. I didn’t have time to take the numbers down, but from what I’ve seen so far, only a few of us came from banks or consulting firms.
- 29% of women student is pretty good. Actually the highest proportion of women I’ve been studying with since I left high-school.
- The average age of 29.6 and average work experience of 5.6 years which is significantly higher than most 2y MBAs, meaning that there will be more learning from real life experiences and less theorizing.
Tags: Students
Posted in: 2. At HEC MBA , Just me | 1 Comment »
Posted by Pam at 7 September , 2009
Today was my first day at school.
After the welcome breakfast, we were quickly dropped into more meaty action with an “ice-breaker”.
I’m not sure about you guys, but for me an ice-breaker is some sort of funny moment when people tell things about themselves such as “two truth and a lie” and others must pick up which one is the lie.
Here our ice-breaker was speed-dating times 142 (the number of HEC students in this intake). So there we were, among groups of 2 to 4, discussing about various problems, never with the same people for each topic. After those 2 hours, I had discussed with 14 people on topics ranging from Nespresso going to China to a new Coca Cola drink…
Anyway… after just half a day, me: dead.
Lunch happened in the Hall d’Honneur, with a staff presentation and an excellent buffet (incl. wine).
Afternoon was for presentations about procedures: medical, visa, IT. French people (who don’t need visas to study or work in France) started working on stereotypes about… French people.
Tonight, welcome party :)
Tags: Students
Posted in: 2. At HEC MBA | No Comments »
Posted by Pam at 4 September , 2009
 Expansiel corridor  My bed Yesterday was the day when I checked-in to HEC.
I’m now officially immatriculated as a student at the HEC MBA.
Youpi! :)
I also got the keys of my room at Expansiel (see pictures).
The whole administrative process took me around 2 hours.
Back to student life again!
Tags: Logistics
Posted in: 1. Pre-MBA | 1 Comment »
Posted by Pam at 30 August , 2009
A week has passed, and the tension starts to build up before classes start. More students arrive in Paris from other countries.
 Le Pont des Arts on the day of the picnic As a result, I could see new faces during another HEC get together when we went for a picnic on the Pont des Arts last Friday (Aug 28th). In total, I could meet people from UK, the US, Japan, Hong Kong, Brazil, Columbia, and of course France.
However, most people will arrive on the 3rd and 4th of September, when we can move into our rooms in Expansiel, the HEC student residence.
On my side, I’ve started figure out what I could bring into my room and I think I won’t be able to do without renting a utility car for moving in.
Indeed, while I *could* do the public transport trip with a suitcase, it may be difficult if I have to lug a microwave and an ironing board around…
To be continued…
Tags: Logistics, Social
Posted in: 1. Pre-MBA | 1 Comment »
Posted by Pam at 25 August , 2009
I haven’t written much since I came back to France (beside a page about interviews).
True, things have been going slowly but it doesn’t mean nothing happened.
Indeed, as the day when school starts (September 7th) beckons, more students are gathering in Paris. So last Friday (Aug 21st) we had a nice event where we had drinks and a few of us continued for dinner in the Montorgueil area.
All good stuff :)
Tags: Social
Posted in: 1. Pre-MBA | No Comments »
Posted by Pam at 29 July , 2009
So here I am. I came back home to Paris a couple of hours ago after a 7 weeks holiday trip which brought me to China, Japan and Tahiti.
Another month of holidays to go, also to take care of various administrative errants and shop for school stuff :)
And last week, while in Tahiti, I learned I have been accepted to the TEC On-Campus Program that I had applied to early this month.
Everything’s good :)
Tags: Assignments, Travels
Posted in: 1. Pre-MBA , Just me | 2 Comments »
Posted by Pam at 15 July , 2009
On Monday I received my room contract from HEC. So I’ve been officially attributed a room at the Expansiel residence on the HEC campus! Yay!
One of my future classmates posted a link on the Facebook group to a few photos that a previous student took of the on-campus rooms a couple of years ago. Check this out: Photo 1, Photo 2, Photo 3.
That reminds me of the dorms I used to live in when I first left Tahiti to study for Prépa…
Back to student life again!
Tags: Life on campus, Logistics
Posted in: 1. Pre-MBA | 1 Comment »
Posted by Pam at 6 July , 2009
I’ve finally finished (and sent) the essays for the TEC On-Campus Program.
I’m FREE!!! :)
Tags: Assignments, TEC
Posted in: 1. Pre-MBA | 1 Comment »
Posted by Pam at 2 July , 2009
On Tuesday, during a trip to Kyoto, I was visiting around with some friends and as we grew tired of walking, we started to look for a café to sit down and relax for a bit. The café we found by the imperial palace was like nothing we’d seen before.
 Inside the imperial palace At first, we didn’t understand how to behave at the Free Café Harimaya Station. It seemed like just any self-service café in Japan, only with the exception of cashiers. Indeed coffee, tea, juice and even rice crackers were completely free of charge. This concept, we later found, had been developed by a successful confectionery company to “give back” to society and promote traditional food, in their case rice crackers (senbei), and environmental awareness.
The café wasn’t a place of only benevolent goodness as a small shop counter was conveniently located a few meters from the free café. By instituting this free café, Harimaya Honten managed to attract people, make them feel good, and even buy their product and offset their running costs!
Their philosophy also caught my attention as they were careful of making rice crackers in traditional, and more environmentaly-friendly, as opposed to sterile industrial ways. Pictures of their factories showed them more like Japanese country houses with beautiful gardens than the typical concrete blocks.
Since I’ve visited this café I can’t help but think of how this new model for marketing a quality products could be applicable in other circumstances. Could this café exist in Western countries or in any place outside of Japan?
I don’t have the answers right now and hope to ponder upon them during my studies at HEC.
Tags: Travels
Posted in: Just me | 1 Comment »
|
|
