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A little far into the year already for this heading, but I wasn’t able to post any sooner. This term started last Monday and it did so quite abruptly. 5 new subjects plus 1 elective (I’m in the 15 months program) plus the “Doing Business in the Middle East seminar” that makes 7 new teachers and 5 readers in the mailbox. I am really enthusiastic about this term because classes promise to be very interesting. In “Global Context of Management” we split up into 3 groups for most part of the class to discuss different topics that influence long-term management decisions globally. Last week we had a heated discussion about who was responsible and what to do about the financial/economic crisis. I’m guessing climate change tomorrow will be no less interesting …

So after one week I can say, it will be quite a busy term but definitely worth it. Plus, Barcelona keeps on proving to me what a great place it is to live in:

• 2,5 hrs to go skiing in Andorra
• First BBQ of the year on the terrace mid-January
• Lunch on ESADE terrace every day of last week

I can definitely get used to that!

Beginning of December (I know it’s been almost three weeks, but the MBA has kept us quite busy during the past weeks …) about 20 of us went to London to visit different consulting firms. The ESADE Consulting Club had organized this together with Career Services .

The purpose of the trip was to see different consulting companies that were not able to participate in our Fall Career Week. Also we tried to get in touch with smaller boutique companies that usually get less coverage during application periods but provide excellent opportunities in either certain industries or geographies. I liked the fact that we were able to learn more about these companies that covered a wide range of what is out there in terms of consulting:

• Bain & Company
• Navigant Consulting
• Solon Management Consultants
• KPMG
• Bearing Point
• Analysis Mason
• Oliver Wyman

Of course we also seized the opportunity and got a couple of pints while in London. Thursday night we met up with ESADE alumni and former collegues of some classmates working in London now. Besides the fact that it was a fun night, it was also an excellent networking opportunity, which one of us was able to convert into an interview in January!

Another upside was that I was able to get some Christmas shopping done between company visits (and that really paid off as I had no time to do so ever since then, but more about exam week after Christmas…)

Merry Christmas to everyone!

Mo-vember took over ESADE. For the past four weeks male students have grown and groomed their mustaches in order to raise awareness for men’s health problems and raise money for a good cause.

The ESADE Mo Bros, supported by our Mo Sistas, started November clean shaven. After the first week the fearless uncovered their Mos and where soon followed by their fellow classmates in an effort to sport the most impressive Mo.

Every participant paid a small fee to enter the contest and to lay a foundation of funds to be donated to a charity of our choice at the end of the month. We supported by our Mos were walking billboards for men’s health issues and were able to raise some more funds. The month is not quite over yet, so the final amount we were able to raise has yet to be counted.

This very special month culminated in a Mo-Down last Friday. ESADE Mo Bros and Sistas met in a bar to find out who grew the most impressive Mo. The two charming ladies behind the bar of cafe Berlin not only served us drinks but also a verdict on who would be honored “most impressive” Mo. I hereby want to thank the winners and fellow classmates Brad and Ziad for their inspiring Mos!

Stay tuned for an update on the amount ESADE was able to raise! Looking forward to next year. I will miss you Mo…

www.movember.com

We are about halfway into the first term and I feel it’s time to write about the classes I have taken so far.

Including pre-term, I attended or am still attending the following classes: Accounting I and II, Finance, Economics I and II, Business Law, Marketing and Project Management. Being a business major, none of these subjects were completely new to me. However, and this is what I expected from an MBA, the way of teaching these subjects is new to me.

Professors make us apply what they teach us by providing us with cases, giving us homework (a little too much maybe…) and/or group assignments due end of term. Take economics, for example. I remember it being one of the dullest subjects I have ever taken when I was in university. Now we are working on a paper analyzing a company of our choice and all the macroeconomic and industry related factors that affect the performance of the company – finally applying the theoretical concepts in a real life context.

Another example: Marketing. A subject that I had pretty much no exposure to as a Corporate Finance consultant. All I remember from school are the 4Ps to be honest. Luckily marketing is more than that. Our professors do a great job painting a lively picture of the concepts supported by cases and by far the most fun performance of a professor I have ever experienced.

In short, although I have a strong business background, but coming from a traditional European university, the MBA gives me a chance to revisit certain concepts and see them in a new, way more interesting, light. And that’s one of the reasons I’m here.