By Pilar
Junco
Published:
May 13 2003 16:51 | Last Updated: May 13 2003 16:51
While I sit in the sunny courtyard of the Insead Singapore campus
reading the case for the next lecture, I receive a phone call from a fellow MBA
student on the Fontainebleau campus. We discuss the big project that is due
this week for the strategic management course and compare notes for our finance
elective. I am happy to hear that we seem to have reached very similar
conclusions.
When he asks me how I am doing and I describe my current state of
tropical bliss, I hear a sigh - over there in France the temperature has barely
crept above zero degrees.
I am one of the 60 students of the September promotion that started a
one-year MBA at Insead's campus in Fontainebleau and has opted to spend part of
it at the Insead campus in Singapore. And our reasons were more substantial
than just escaping the European winter.
Both campuses in Fontainebleau and Singapore receive two intakes of MBA
students each year, one in January and one in September and both promotions can
exchange campuses for two to six months depending on demand and availability. At
the moment, the Singapore campus hosts approximately half the number of
students of the campus in Fontainebleau.
Attending either campus should yield the same academic experience. The
MBA is divided in five periods of two months each. During the first two
periods, students only take core courses that aim at covering the basics of
business (accounting, economics, marketing, organisational behaviour, and so
on) and during that time they are not allowed to switch campuses.
During the third period MBA participants take fewer core courses and
more electives and many take the chance to move and change environments. So my
peers that started with me in Fontainebleau last September and who stayed there
have the same core courses and assignments as the group that came to Singapore
with me.
But not only do the students switch, many professors also make the move,
so both campuses have permanent and visiting faculty. The ensuing
organisational nightmare is sorted out by the Insead administration - a
business case study in itself!
Emails and other IT needs are taken care of, we receive information and
assistance regarding accommodation and visas, schedules are rearranged until
they suit everybody (or most) and facilities on both campuses cater for most of
the other needs that we MBA students have.
This week for instance, many students have had interviews with companies
that are currently recruiting for summer jobs. For those companies that could
not send recruiting staff to both Singapore and Fontainebleau, the Insead
administration arranged interviews via videoconferencing.
The reasons why people move vary: some want to learn more about the
different parts of the world and decide whether that is a place they see
themselves living in, others want to be closer to the job market in Asia or
Europe, yet another group has decided to chose to spend part of their MBA
living in the French countryside and the rest in one of Asia's most exciting
metropolises.
Personally I came to Singapore because I wanted to learn more about
Asia. There are things that you cannot gather from books.
Living in a town like Singapore, with its mix of Asian cultures, I have
been able to learn about a different ways of life and new ways to look at
business. This is also the opinion of many of my fellow students and since we
are all considering careers in international business, this experience might
prove invaluable in the future.
Moreover, for many of us, this is a once-in-a-lifetime opportunity to
live in two completely different environments under such ideal conditions.
In Fontainebleau, most of us share big country houses located in
picturesque villages along the Seine or even rent beautifully refurbished
chateaux. Almost everyone owns a car and on weekends, when the workload allows,
we make the most of the Paris nightlife or escape to Normandy or Chamonix. And
every day we enjoy the wonders that the local gastronomy has to offer,
excellent and inexpensive cheeses, pastries and wines.
In Singapore on the other hand, many students live in modern
condominiums with swimming pools and tennis courts and that are located five
minutes away from campus. The city offers many exciting distractions, including
a full range of restaurants where you can sample the delights of Asian and
international cuisines. We also make the most of our weekends and organize
diving trips, visits to the regions' most beautiful beaches.
Moreover, the campus environment is different. The Insead students have
practically taken over Fontainebleau and it is almost impossible not to walk
down a road in the centre of town without bumping into at least one of your
peers or a professor. The events outside campus are driven by student
initiatives and the community is closer.
In Singapore, given the size of the city and the choices it offers, one
can lead a life outside the campus that is less linked to Insead, something
that many of the partners of the students here welcome.
Looking at the ease with which many of my peers have adapted to life in
Fontainebleau and/or Singapore - two such different environments - I understand
why many companies tell us that they like hiring Insead MBAs for international
positions. But before many of us take up our new jobs in London, Sao Paolo or
Hong Kong, we are making the most of a unique learning experience, inside and
outside the classroom.
That includes the chance of reading the business case studies in a sunny
courtyard as opposed to the library.