Wednesday, December 26, 2007

Sir Paul Judge party

Sir Paul Judge is the major benefactor of the Judge Business School (therefore the name of the school). Every year he invites all the MBAs to a big party in his flat in London. This year was no different. This year it was held on the 1st of December. It was a while ago but the last weeks of the Michaelmas term were insane, so I had no time to blog.

The party was a black tie party, which means everyone was looking very sharp. It’s very nice to see everybody in tuxedos and dresses for a change. So JBS rented some buses for us and we all went to London in our best looking outfits. The party was very interesting and lively and a great opportunity to take tons of pictures.

The party was cool but the most exciting part was after the party. Some of us decided to go around London and take some pictures with our nice outfits with Big Ben and some other landmarks as backgrounds. It was great fun and despite the cold it was completely worth. How cool is it to have pictures in London by night in dresses and tuxedos? We also stole some balloons from the party so we looked even more ridiculous holding balloons, in our tuxs, taking pictures in the middle of the street. Well, I guess this is all part of the MBA experience.

Back home

After a hectic three month period I’m back home again. I think everyone was in need of a rest by now and being back home will give me the opportunity to slow down the pace and relax a bit. It will also be a period of reflection and assessment.

These three months were very intense and my initial goals and views have changed a bit after going through the experience. For instance, in the beginning it was quite obvious to me I wanted a financial career. After seeing all the entrepreneurial opportunities and getting insights from people who work in the field, I’m not sure if investment banking or asset management are really what I want. I guess part of the MBA experience is getting to know the industries and getting the feeling from people who are there. So for now, I'm not worried by my change of heart.

So I will use these holidays to go through this adaptation term and prepare myself for the times to come. I will also try and update the blog with some stories and events from this term, so stay tuned!

Saturday, December 8, 2007

Queries time!

I remember last year when I was thinking of applying to some MBAs, I really felt the need for information and there were few blogs and contacts that were reachable. I know by this time there are many people wondering where to apply. So I'll try and do for some of you what I'd like to have at the time.

I'll be happy to answer any questions some people might have about the Cambridge MBA and I've had some queries already. Just be patient as time is not an unlimited resource :)

But I will answer to everyone who asks questions either through comments (and leaves their email) or through the email I use here (mbablogger@hotmail.com).

The Cambridge Venture Project

Many things have happened since I last wrote. I promise I will update the blog during my Christmas holidays. For now I just want to write about one of our big assignments for this term, the Cambridge Venture Project.

Basically it is a real part-time consulting project made with a company based in Cambridge. Its main focus is marketing analysis and as I said before, it is a part time project. It lasts the whole November along with our classes and other assignments.

Obviously, it is hard work to cope with everything at the same time and we have to cut on some things (like the blogs!). But this kind of projects was the reason I chose to come to Cambridge and not go to any other MBA. I think these projects are a very good opportunity to see how things work in the real world.

However, I don’t think this project is much different from the studies and projects that are made in class. I’m sure the Global Consulting Project in the Lent term will be much different as it is full time. Nevertheless, this is a very good opportunity to make us realize what is like to work in a multicultural team with people with very different experiences and backgrounds. It is also a good opportunity to learn something about ourselves and how we deal with some difficulties, like time pressure and miscommunication.

This week all study groups did their presentations and the general feeling was it went well. It means people worked hard to deliver something with quality and were prepared to face the question and answer session with their clients. As for me, it was an interesting experience to work with such diverse people.

What stroke me the most was how very different people can come together when facing common adversities. That was what happened when we knew our client would give us a hard time during the Q&A. We came together and we did a great job in the end.
To my team I have only one thing to say: Thank you and we did it!