I have talked a lot about the IBE and this would be my final blog in the series. I would just list down some of the gains I made from the IBE:
Network- I made new friends among my MBA colleagues especially with Victor, Nurlan, Luis, and Isa. Though I knew them prior to the IBE but during this trip I felt we got closer.
I also met a number of alumni and company representatives and that improved my network in the UAE/ Turkey.
Exposure - I learnt a lot about the economies of the middle-east especially Dubai and Turkey. I was not aware of the tension in EU regarding Turkey and gained many new insights into the geo-political situation of the region. I learnt about Arabic/ Turkish food and their delicacies.
Confidence- yes, I am more confident now while interacting with people from different parts of the world. I remember how convincingly I started talking to a group of people from US/ Australia when I met them at a hotel in Istanbul. I feel I have lot more to talk to about.
Knowledge about the culture, language and people of these regions
Practical aspects of the models and theories learnt at MBA
Finally, a nice break and enjoyable experience which I would like to repeat at the first opportunity that I get.
Gule-Gule (bye bye in Turkish)
15 June 2008
IBE- Istanbul (Turkey): Europe’s cultural capital
My next destination after Dubai was Istanbul, one of the most important cities of Turkey. The capital of Turkey is Ankara.
Our first visit was to Sabanci University, where we attended the lectures given by some of the renowned Turkish-US faculty, expert in Turkish political-social-cultural areas. The quality of the lectures was so high that we learnt about the past and the current geo-political situation in Turkey just in a day. I was very impressed. Later on we went to Kordsa factory, Arkas, Grani Bank and HSBC. In all these organisations we were given presentations about different aspects of doing business in Turkey.
The best feature of the presentations was that I could relate all my learning and theories studied in MBA to the practical aspects of business and economy that were shown to us during these presentations. The OBPPD course, which continues throughout the MBA, helped a lot in understanding the culture of the new countries that we visited.
The presentations by the financial director of the Kordsa factory and by Granti and HSBC banks were in line with our finance module.
Apart from the official visits, we went out to explore Turkish markets that I found very similar to the one in India. I did not go to any shopping mall as I had already explored a lot in the UK and Dubai. I just went to traditional markets such as Grant Bazaar, Spice Bazaar and Taksen junction.
Turkey is vibrant and full of life. It is actually a very nice blend of Asia and Europe. You would find bazaars (markets) and ancient monuments just like in Asian countries of India and Pakistan. At the same time you would find European style of living in concepts such as work hard throughout the week and party hard on weekends. It was amazing to see people coming out in thousands on streets on Friday and Saturday evening and partying around till 3 or 4 in morning.
Thanks to the clean and blue sea, there were many restaurants offering nice views and I even went to a day long boat-tour around Bosphorus and it was fun. I enjoyed dinner at one of the most expensive restaurants of Istanbul-360°; this place was amazingly cool.
We all were surprised by the cost of living in Turkey as it was no less than what we have in the UK; may be slightly less. We wondered how an ordinary man would be surviving in such a costly city.
The hotel where we stayed offered steam, sauna and traditional Turkish hamam baths and needless to say we enjoyed all the stuff.
Our first visit was to Sabanci University, where we attended the lectures given by some of the renowned Turkish-US faculty, expert in Turkish political-social-cultural areas. The quality of the lectures was so high that we learnt about the past and the current geo-political situation in Turkey just in a day. I was very impressed. Later on we went to Kordsa factory, Arkas, Grani Bank and HSBC. In all these organisations we were given presentations about different aspects of doing business in Turkey.
The best feature of the presentations was that I could relate all my learning and theories studied in MBA to the practical aspects of business and economy that were shown to us during these presentations. The OBPPD course, which continues throughout the MBA, helped a lot in understanding the culture of the new countries that we visited.
The presentations by the financial director of the Kordsa factory and by Granti and HSBC banks were in line with our finance module.
Apart from the official visits, we went out to explore Turkish markets that I found very similar to the one in India. I did not go to any shopping mall as I had already explored a lot in the UK and Dubai. I just went to traditional markets such as Grant Bazaar, Spice Bazaar and Taksen junction.
Turkey is vibrant and full of life. It is actually a very nice blend of Asia and Europe. You would find bazaars (markets) and ancient monuments just like in Asian countries of India and Pakistan. At the same time you would find European style of living in concepts such as work hard throughout the week and party hard on weekends. It was amazing to see people coming out in thousands on streets on Friday and Saturday evening and partying around till 3 or 4 in morning.
Thanks to the clean and blue sea, there were many restaurants offering nice views and I even went to a day long boat-tour around Bosphorus and it was fun. I enjoyed dinner at one of the most expensive restaurants of Istanbul-360°; this place was amazingly cool.
We all were surprised by the cost of living in Turkey as it was no less than what we have in the UK; may be slightly less. We wondered how an ordinary man would be surviving in such a costly city.
The hotel where we stayed offered steam, sauna and traditional Turkish hamam baths and needless to say we enjoyed all the stuff.
IBE- Dubai: a man-made wonder
Well as a part of the IBE, I visited two places Dubai and Turkey. I would first detail my experience in Dubai.
I just spent 3 days in Dubai and came to know so much about the city and whole of the Middle East that I could not have understood those dimensions of the middle-east through Google. It’s a man made wonder; really, everything you see around yourself has been made using technology (civil-engineering to be specific) and through best possible use of the natural resources, which exist only minimally.
Thanks to the wonderful presentations at Dubai School of Government, PwC and Sama Dubai, we learnt a lot about the revolution which is going on in this desert, which is no longer deserted. I was surprised to know that there is a monthly influx of about 30000 people in Dubai and city is expanding rapidly. The major thrust behind this growth has been the leadership at helm. The Government has done and is doing its best and wants to see Dubai as one of the prime powers of the world.
If we look at Dubai, we learn a very important lesson that the word ‘Impossible’ is actually ‘I m possible’. Nothing is impossible. Dubai has created green lands out of deserts. Arabs have used their financial muscle, curved out of oil, to create a place which offers something to everybody. You have a variety of restaurants, huge shopping malls, world’s tallest buildings, low costs of living (excluding accommodation), a financial centre is flowering up, places of fun for children and desert safaris to enjoy the nature at its best. Who would have thought 15 years back that a desert area can be transformed to such an extent.
I enjoyed my 3-day stay with lot of Indian food and visited some of other Emirates such as Sharjah. A remark here: Dubai is the best out of the 7 emirates and you can feel a difference between Sharjah and Dubai.
Emirates is really cheaper than UK and many other countries if you consider the costs on Purchasing Power Parity. The salaries that are offered are enough not only to meet your living costs but also to save considerably.
I had a chance to catch up my childhood mate Sunny, who took me around in evenings. An evening was spent with Umesh and we had a gala time in an Indian restaurant. Umesh and Sunny really made my time in Dubai and I would cherish it for long.
I just spent 3 days in Dubai and came to know so much about the city and whole of the Middle East that I could not have understood those dimensions of the middle-east through Google. It’s a man made wonder; really, everything you see around yourself has been made using technology (civil-engineering to be specific) and through best possible use of the natural resources, which exist only minimally.
Thanks to the wonderful presentations at Dubai School of Government, PwC and Sama Dubai, we learnt a lot about the revolution which is going on in this desert, which is no longer deserted. I was surprised to know that there is a monthly influx of about 30000 people in Dubai and city is expanding rapidly. The major thrust behind this growth has been the leadership at helm. The Government has done and is doing its best and wants to see Dubai as one of the prime powers of the world.
If we look at Dubai, we learn a very important lesson that the word ‘Impossible’ is actually ‘I m possible’. Nothing is impossible. Dubai has created green lands out of deserts. Arabs have used their financial muscle, curved out of oil, to create a place which offers something to everybody. You have a variety of restaurants, huge shopping malls, world’s tallest buildings, low costs of living (excluding accommodation), a financial centre is flowering up, places of fun for children and desert safaris to enjoy the nature at its best. Who would have thought 15 years back that a desert area can be transformed to such an extent.
I enjoyed my 3-day stay with lot of Indian food and visited some of other Emirates such as Sharjah. A remark here: Dubai is the best out of the 7 emirates and you can feel a difference between Sharjah and Dubai.
Emirates is really cheaper than UK and many other countries if you consider the costs on Purchasing Power Parity. The salaries that are offered are enough not only to meet your living costs but also to save considerably.
I had a chance to catch up my childhood mate Sunny, who took me around in evenings. An evening was spent with Umesh and we had a gala time in an Indian restaurant. Umesh and Sunny really made my time in Dubai and I would cherish it for long.
The most interesting part of MBA- IBE
IBE- International business experience. For those who are not aware of IBE, this is a week long study tour conducted by Cranfield as a part of the MBA. We have to select one of the several international choices such as Dubai/Turkey, US, China, India, Japan etc. Then we go to these countries as a part of a group of MBAs and visit many government and private organisations to understand that country’s political, social and economic climate. The idea behind this is to gain insights into at least one more country than that you already knew before coming to Cranfield. The offered choices are a mix of developing and developed nations and it also includes some exotic destinations such as Brazil and Cuba and some social projects such as in Ghana.
I visited Singapore last month to attend an interview and met a person from Cambridge. He told me that though Cambridge charges more fee than Cranfield yet it does not offer any such experience like IBE. At that moment I realised that Cranfield MBA is also a great value for money. Moreover Cranfield offers many such facilities which one does not get in other B-schools. For e.g. A fully dedicated career services cell and the hostel facility. It helps cut your costs of doing MBA.
I visited Singapore last month to attend an interview and met a person from Cambridge. He told me that though Cambridge charges more fee than Cranfield yet it does not offer any such experience like IBE. At that moment I realised that Cranfield MBA is also a great value for money. Moreover Cranfield offers many such facilities which one does not get in other B-schools. For e.g. A fully dedicated career services cell and the hostel facility. It helps cut your costs of doing MBA.
MBA has cooled down????
I am here once again and after a long gap. Probably now everyone is busy with their electives, projects and most important of all- jobs!!! I guess ‘job’ is a million dollar question that weighs heavily on everybody’s mind especially when the market is not doing well and companies have put a virtual freeze on hiring. I have been getting a lot many queries regarding post MBA job scenario. I would just say at this moment that I would be in a position to reply only after July as currently almost everyone is amid the process of job hunt and nobody is sure about the results.
I got a mail last week from a prospective student, who remarked that probably my study load might have reduced than what it was at the start of MBA. Well in the last one month, I also thought that MBA has just cooled down a bit and I have more time for myself (read… for job hunt). As I thought MBA has cooled down, things started catching up the steam in June and now I am loaded with many projects, assignments and reports. I have secured 2 corporate projects and both are very interesting. A point to be noted here that both the projects have been secured through alumni and that’s where I feel Cranfield has an edge over other B-schools that are in the same league.
I would suggest to the prospective students to not to compare Cranfield with LBS/ Harvard/ Wharton. Compare apples with apples. LBS/ Harvard are in different league especially they are 2 year courses and involve greater investments. I reiterate this point that amongst its league, Cranfield is the best. Best than the rest!!!!
I got a mail last week from a prospective student, who remarked that probably my study load might have reduced than what it was at the start of MBA. Well in the last one month, I also thought that MBA has just cooled down a bit and I have more time for myself (read… for job hunt). As I thought MBA has cooled down, things started catching up the steam in June and now I am loaded with many projects, assignments and reports. I have secured 2 corporate projects and both are very interesting. A point to be noted here that both the projects have been secured through alumni and that’s where I feel Cranfield has an edge over other B-schools that are in the same league.
I would suggest to the prospective students to not to compare Cranfield with LBS/ Harvard/ Wharton. Compare apples with apples. LBS/ Harvard are in different league especially they are 2 year courses and involve greater investments. I reiterate this point that amongst its league, Cranfield is the best. Best than the rest!!!!
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