I decided to end the year with a completely different topic: relationships in the MBA. I guess we all expect to make friends for life in the MBA. A career change and a life experience also come with the territory. But every year, for some people the MBA gives them something else. It seems like every year something like 5% to 10% of the class engages in some kind of romantic relationship. This year was no exception and there were some couples formed, which have resulted in two scheduled weddings for 2009 amongst MBA classmates!
To be honest, it doesn’t surprise me that some couples are former during an MBA. It is a very intense experience where we get to know each other very well. MBAs spend many long hours with each other in group work and doing many different sporting and social activities (already described in this blog) and travelling for holidays or projects.
MBAs usually have many things in common. Most of them are ambitious, hard working, well educated and the MBA admission acts as a filter to create a group that despite being very heterogeneous, it has many values in common. Therefore, relationships during an MBA don’t surprise me at all. In fact, I had heard stories before about MBA sweethearts and seeing couples being formed during the MBA was normal and not surprising.
However, there was something that did surprise me about the couples that were formed: I am part of one of them!
Looking back, I went for the for the MBA completely open minded regarding my career, job location and all those things but quite frankly, the idea of finding a partner never crossed my mind. I was seeking for many things by signing up for an MBA. This wasn’t one of them.
Sometimes we can only find something when we’re not actively seeking.
I’m very happy I found what I wasn’t looking for. I must say this was a great year that changed my life. This whole year was definitely much more than an MBA!
Showing posts with label business school. Show all posts
Showing posts with label business school. Show all posts
Saturday, December 27, 2008
Saturday, June 14, 2008
The end is the beginning...
Friday, 13th. Where I come from, a Friday the 13th is associated with bad luck.
Rather than unlucky, I would say that was a sad day. Yesterday, the MBA has ended. It was the last day of classes and from now on we are all in the Individual Project stage.
What that means is that from now on many of us will fly to many different places and some of us will not come back to Cambridge at all. It is a very strange feeling and it is amazing how fast this year went by.
It has been the most amazing year where I got to know lots of fantastic people and more than dwelling on all the fantastic things we did together, I just wanted to pay my tribute to all these amazing people and leave my big thank you for all we've gone through together!
The MBA Class of 2007
Saturday, January 26, 2008
Football weekends
I have been receiving many emails lately and one of the main concerns people show is how is live in Cambridge and what is the actual workload. So the best way to answer to those questions is writing something about some of the activities outside the lecture room. And football is one of them!
Even though we were very busy most of the times we got to play football almost every weekend. I guess that’s not too bad for a bunch of busy guys. And believe me, sometimes we really need some will power to get out of our cosy beds put our shorts and t-shirts and face the lovely 5 degrees Celsius of Cambridge.
Every year the MBA gets to play in the league. Obviously, we are older, slower and clumsier than most undergrad teams. Therefore it comes with no surprise that our performance is not the best. However, for the first time in history, the MBA07 actually won a game! I suppose that’s something to be proud of! :)
But despite what you might think, this is not only about 14 or 15 guys that come together to sweat for one and a half hours. It’s much more than that. We have cheerleaders!
That’s right. Cheerleaders! Some people from the MBA (mostly our female colleagues) go to the trouble of going to the pitch and support us while shouting some swear words at the other team (well…not sure about this last part though). But the best bit is that our supporters not only shout a lot but they also bake us some cakes for us to eat after the games, as a consolation prize (and boy, do we need it!).
For me, this says a lot about the spirit of this MBA. I suppose these are the type of things they have in mind when they say this is a collaborative MBA.
Even though we were very busy most of the times we got to play football almost every weekend. I guess that’s not too bad for a bunch of busy guys. And believe me, sometimes we really need some will power to get out of our cosy beds put our shorts and t-shirts and face the lovely 5 degrees Celsius of Cambridge.
Every year the MBA gets to play in the league. Obviously, we are older, slower and clumsier than most undergrad teams. Therefore it comes with no surprise that our performance is not the best. However, for the first time in history, the MBA07 actually won a game! I suppose that’s something to be proud of! :)
But despite what you might think, this is not only about 14 or 15 guys that come together to sweat for one and a half hours. It’s much more than that. We have cheerleaders!
That’s right. Cheerleaders! Some people from the MBA (mostly our female colleagues) go to the trouble of going to the pitch and support us while shouting some swear words at the other team (well…not sure about this last part though). But the best bit is that our supporters not only shout a lot but they also bake us some cakes for us to eat after the games, as a consolation prize (and boy, do we need it!).
For me, this says a lot about the spirit of this MBA. I suppose these are the type of things they have in mind when they say this is a collaborative MBA.
Saturday, January 19, 2008
A taste of Lent term
I’m now having a taste of the Lent term. Michaelmas term was hard and completely packed, especially in the end with all the assignments to hand in. But until now, I’d say there is a big difference between the two.
For what I’ve seen so far, Lent term has many many assignments to hand in but these assignments are smaller. So it seems like there was an exchange between size and frequency from one term to the other. In the first term, assignments were bigger and more complex, including the Cambridge Venture Project. This term assignments are smaller, usually consisting of one or two page reports, but we have an average of two assignments per week in the next weeks.
The timetable is also different. A typical lecture day during Michaelmas term would start at 9.00 a.m. and would finish at 17.30 p.m. except for Wednesdays where the afternoon was free. This term, it seems like there are more slots free. Also, there are some factory visits scheduled during the week for Operations Management.
Also, the subjects have a shorter duration. We start with some courses now but in some week’s time, some will end and some electives will begin. So the timetable seems a bit messier and confusing but it should also be more interesting.
As far as readings are concerned, I don’t think the volume is very different. But I’m under the impression this term the learning will be much more case study based than it was last term. Last term we got the basis and the lectures were very much like regular college lectures. Now it seems like the courses are more discussion oriented which makes it more interesting but also more demanding in terms of pre readings and preparation.
I guess the timetable seems to be lighter because we’re supposed to have a much more active job search this term too. Let’s see if I have the time to keep updating this blog!
For what I’ve seen so far, Lent term has many many assignments to hand in but these assignments are smaller. So it seems like there was an exchange between size and frequency from one term to the other. In the first term, assignments were bigger and more complex, including the Cambridge Venture Project. This term assignments are smaller, usually consisting of one or two page reports, but we have an average of two assignments per week in the next weeks.
The timetable is also different. A typical lecture day during Michaelmas term would start at 9.00 a.m. and would finish at 17.30 p.m. except for Wednesdays where the afternoon was free. This term, it seems like there are more slots free. Also, there are some factory visits scheduled during the week for Operations Management.
Also, the subjects have a shorter duration. We start with some courses now but in some week’s time, some will end and some electives will begin. So the timetable seems a bit messier and confusing but it should also be more interesting.
As far as readings are concerned, I don’t think the volume is very different. But I’m under the impression this term the learning will be much more case study based than it was last term. Last term we got the basis and the lectures were very much like regular college lectures. Now it seems like the courses are more discussion oriented which makes it more interesting but also more demanding in terms of pre readings and preparation.
I guess the timetable seems to be lighter because we’re supposed to have a much more active job search this term too. Let’s see if I have the time to keep updating this blog!
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