UCD Smurfit MBA Blog

Archive for the ‘MBA Programme Team’ Category

I’ve just returned from what can only be described as a fabulous trip to Brazil.  It was my first time accompanying one of our MBA groups on what I call a “long haul” mission.  Together with our MBA Academic Director, Brian McGrath, we set forth to go and discover this new world for ourselves.

Day 1: Our expedition to the southern hemisphere departed on 10^th March and fifteen hours later we reached the promised land of Brazil – Sao Paulo to be precise – thus starting the first leg of our trip. That evening was supposed to be a quiet one, but the excitement of the group became too much and weariness soon evaporated for the large contingent that headed out into the night to a self-satisfyingly posh restaurant selected by one of our fellow travellers – John Wainio. In fact, John and I shared some Amazonian fish – Pirarucu & Tambaqui – beautiful!  This set the tone for the trip – work hard and play harder.

Day 2: On Sunday, we had a leisurely excursion around Sao Paulo with visits to famous monuments, parks, cathedral, sand one very impressive indoor food market – the highlight of the tour for many of us (the piranha there was only to die for!). That night we visited our first “meat” restaurant called Jardineira Grill Barbecue.  This is nirvana for all carnivores.  I am sure there were many who thought they had died and gone to heaven. The main event involved multitudes of servers calling to the table with various types of succulent cooked meats on skewers. On the way home, we stopped off at the wonderful Skye Bar on top of a hotel that allowed us to view what is a truly impressive Sao Paulo skyline by night – Manhattan, eat your heart out! After a brief dalliance of an aquatic nature, we called it a night – and egged our taxis into a race to see who would get home first.  But, don’t tell them I told you that.

Day 3: The real work kicked off on Monday with visits to the FIA Business School.  We did manage to lose one of our troupe that morning, but we won’t name any names now will we, Conor.  We were treated to very interesting lectures on Brazilian economics and social networks that proved to be the inside story on doing business in Brazil – earn the trust of the network is key to success which requires lots of patience.  The Dean of FIA treated us to a fantastic lunch based on the local dish – Feijoada.

We left FIA and travelled across town to the very swish offices of JWT Brazil who gave us a very insightful summary of online marketing in Brazil. That evening we had our first networking event of the trip where we met quite a number of local Irish who are living and working in Sao Paulo.  Dan O’Brien from Kerry gave a short talk on how he ended up in Brazil and his views on life there so far.  Enterprise Ireland were instrumental in setting up the evening and they also gave a short talk on working in Brazil.  The highlight of the evening though was to be able to speak to all the “local” Irish who turned up.  We stayed on far too long as usual chatting away to these ambassadors of Ireland who have managed to build lives for themselves over there.

Day 4: Tuesday involved a visit to banking heavy hitters – Itau!  They are the top retail bank in Brazil whose headquarters also houses a considerable Brazilian national art collection with some very interesting pieces if I may say so. This was followed by Pernod Ricard Brasil.  Irishman Colin Kavanagh is practically running the show there and treated us to very interesting insights into brand marketing in Brazil with a special mention for our own Jameson which is quickly becoming the tipple of choice for the elite of Sao Paulo.  Not only did Colin and his protégé, the fair Bruno, treat us to cocktails at the end of their presentations but they also lined up the evening’s entertainment in a very swish private club in one of the hottest areas in town.  The Irish like to party no matter where they are.

Day 5: Very early next morning we all headed off to our final destination in Sao Paulo – the cosmetics company, Natura. This is a quiet oasis on the edge of this sprawling metropolis of twenty million that is Sao Paulo. Natura are the top cosmetics company in Brazil and only have one shop which is only temporary.  The reason for this is that they are solely reliant on their direct selling though local agents up and down the entire country.  The agents take the orders and the customers get their purchases delivered to their doors a few days later. The beautiful surroundings of this manufacturing facility were a perfect way to remember Sao Paulo. But before we leave Sao Paulo, I want to say a special thank you to our local guide here, Piero, a wealth of knowledge and experience who made everything look so easy. By 2 p.m. we were already in the air winging our way to part two of our wondrous Brazilian adventure – Rio de Janeiro.

- Michael McDonnell, Specialist Executive MBA Programme Manager

Time has never passed as fast as it has done since I began working on the MBA International Study Tour. I started planning the trips in October of last year, and March 10^th seemed like light-years away.

Now here we are, only days before the group of 81 MBA students head off for their 8 day intensive trip, which is part of the MBA module ‘Doing Business In Emerging Markets’. This year, one group will be going to China while the other group is going to Brazil. The China group will be spending their time in Beijing and Shanghai. The Brazil group will be visiting the cities of Rio Di Janeiro and Sao Paulo. This is Smurfit’s seventh MBA Trip to China and the third year we will be visiting Brazil.

During the trip, the students will be meeting with a vast and varied group of International Businesses and Institutions. These include CELAP, Treasury Holdings Shanghai, 3M, JWT, Motorola, FIA Business School, Deloitte and Tesco, but to name a few. They will also attend a number of social outings, and for the China group, this includes the St. Patrick’s Day Black-Tie Ball in Shanghai.

At first, the task of co-ordinating two international trips for over 80 people was extremely daunting. However, as the first couple of weeks passed, I became more confident with the task in hand. The strong  relationships that Smurfit has built up over the years with the various International businesses and institutions became very apparent to me. The companies whom we have visited before were delighted to have us visit again and likewise, we are delighted to be returning. The strong relationships between the MBA Team, the businesses and Legacy Ventures, made working on the trip a pleasure. The reputation of Smurfit also meant that setting up visits to new businesses was warmly welcomed.

The great itineraries for both Brazil and China are surely going to guarantee an excellent, once in a lifetime opportunity for the MBA students to develop their knowledge of International Emerging Markets, expand their professional networks and of course strengthen the bonds of the friendships formed since they joined the MBA Programme.

I have thoroughly enjoyed working on the organization of the trip. It gave me the chance to communicate with the students on a regular basis and get to know them (even if it was just to give out to them for not meeting deadlines!) I can safely say I won’t know myself when the students depart on Saturday. Although I will miss working with Legacy and everyone involved in the International Tour, after one incident (or maybe two) of waking up in the middle of the night wondering if had forgotten someone’s visa or given out the wrong flight details, I will also enjoy the fact that the preparation is now over! Working on the trip taught me a lot of new and amazing facts about China and Brazil, it helped me to build new relationships and expand my business network. Overall, it was a great experience.

So now, it is just days until the students depart, I’d like to wish each and every one of you every success on your journey. Make the most of every opportunity, get involved as much as possible and most of all, ENJOY! I look forward to hearing all about it on your return. Safe travels.

- Avril Donohue, MBA Programme Assistant

Wednesday 7th December saw the 2011 class being conferred in the O’Reilly Hall in Belfield.  It was a great occasion for all the graduates and their families some of whom had flown in for the day and a fitting event to mark all the hard work and effort put in by the MBA participants from the beginning of the applications process, in some cases year ago, to the handing in of the final assignment and putting the pen down in the final exam.  The conferral was a joint one between the MBA and the Masters in Accountancy programmes.  The ceremony itself was conducted by UCD President Hugh Brady and Professor Ciarán Ó hÓgartaigh.  The address was given by Dr. Tony Brabazon, Director of UCD Smurfit Business School.

As usual the run up to the conferral was marked by lots of running around getting gowns and scanning of the hall to locate family, not an easy task in such a large hall.  After the official part of the day was successfully completed by graduates the 670 men, woman and children present adjourned to the O’Reilly Conservatory for the Conferring Reception.  There were lots of introductions of family to class mates, photographs taken with classmates and family with a rather splendid Christmas tree as a back drop and discussion of everyone’s plans for the evening.  A couple of the classes had arranged group meals or events for after family meals were over.   By all accounts some people didn’t finish celebrating until the early hours of the following morning.

Congratulations to the UCD Smurfit class of 2011 from all in the MBA Office.

- RoisinO’Loughlin | EMBA Programme Manager | MBA Office

This year’s MBA Welcome reception and dinner took place on Friday night last in the restaurant on the UCD Smurfit campus and was pronounced (by us) a great success with lots of positive feedback from those who attended.

For the MBA Office staff, this annual dinner traditionally marks the end of the busiest period of the year with all that goes into the beginning of a new academic year and the arrival on campus of fresh, new MBA participants to begin their MBA.  For incoming MBA particpants it marks the end of a significant period of preparation, change and in some cases moving across continents and it is a celebration of the achievement of each and every individual participant which recognises that they have worked very hard already to gain a place on the programme of their choice and that they have successfully made it through the Foundation module and the first full week of lectures, no mean achievement in themselves.

As partners are also invited to this event it is an opportunity to welcome them to Smurfit and to show them where their loved one is going to be spending a significant period of time over the next year or two -and to thank them in advance for their support.   The only danger noted by attendees was that the good food, company and ambience of the candlelight restaurant might give the wrong impression to their significant others who might think they were having too good a time and not really suffering for their MBA at all.

The Welcome Dinner was attended by 160 guests, including members of the Full-time MBA programme and Executive MBA year 1 classes and their partners.  The dinner was also attended by a large number of the academic staff and all the members of the MBA Office.  The official welcome was given by Professor Ciarán Ó hÓgartaigh, Dean of the UCD School of Business and Orla Nugent, MBA Director.

-Roisin O’Loughlin, MBA Programme Manager

Pictures courtesy of Bui Thi Hien Anh