UCD Smurfit MBA Blog

Posts Tagged ‘International Trip’

Day 5 (continued.): We landed in Rio de Janeiro after four exciting days in Sao Paulo and headed straight to Corcovado, where the monumental statue of Christ the Redeemer is located. Once arrived, we were left standing in awe of the legendary figure and the spectacular view from the top of the mountain. In the evening we had a Brazilian style dinner at a local Churrascaria.

The group at Corcovado

Day 6: The day began with a presentation by major development bank BNDES in down town Rio. It was very interesting to find out how Brazil was preparing for major sporting events including the 2014 FIFA World Cup and the Olympic Games in 2016. Following the insightful morning session, we had an eclectic lunch at Café Colombo. We then attended a meeting with Brazil’s largest company, Petrobras. After that we were free to explore Rio and the beautiful Ipanema beach by night!

Day 7: We had a meeting with Deloitte that morning and then visited Vigário Geral, one of Rio’s favelas for lunch and presentations by the social enterprise organization, Afro Reggae. It was a once in a lifetime experience where we witnessed a few exhilarating music performances and got to do some drumming ourselves! The final dinner was held that evening at one of Brazil’s finest restaurants, Porcao Rio’s. Most of the group then headed to Lapa, probably the most happening place in Rio on a Friday night!

Getting a taste of Brazilian music

Day 8: The last morning in Brazil was at leisure and I took that opportunity to visit the landmark Sugar Loaf Mountain. We all then boarded the flight back to Dublin after an intensive week of work that gave us a wonderful opportunity to get a first-hand experience of rich Latin American culture and understand how it influences business and society.

- Vishal Balasubramaniam, Full-time MBA 2011/12

One of the things that attracted me to the UCD Smurfit MBA over other post graduate business courses was the emphasis on personal development (PPD). Above all else, I wanted to find a course that stimulated me, challenged me and gave me new perspectives on the challenges we face in business.

We had the opportunity to do some personality tests back in SEM1 of YR1. I have done exercises like this in the past, which I did not find particularly enlightening. However, this was a whole different ball game. While I consider myself to be quite self-aware, I was surprised by some of the findings that arose from this period of personal discovery that occurs in the first phase of PPD.

Following one of the personality tests called Strength Deployment Inventory, we were put into groups with other individuals with similar personality types. I remember the group members looking at each other with quizzical expressions. We felt we were quite a diverse group and we were surprised that we shared similar traits. The facilitator went through the typical personality traits with us – our strengths, how those strengths could become weaknesses and how we tend to respond under pressure. He outlined factors to watch out for in terms of our interactions with other personality types.

Certain personality types have different preferences in terms of styles of communicating and making decisions. Some people like to have only high level information – they are the types of people who only want the key information in bullet points in an email. Others like to have much greater detail about the process of how something will work.

This type of knowledge about yourself and the people around you is very valuable in terms of how you work together effectively in managing Highly Effective Teams and progress issues.

Kate Healy, EMBA 2010-12

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

One of the hallmarks of the Smurfit MBA is the international study trip that every fulltime student takes part in each March. In the programme brochure, the trip is described as an opportunity to “visit a dynamic market and enhance your global perspective.” While these would both be true statements, after my recent experience in China, it’s my suggestion that Smurfit add a few more adjectives to the description such as ‘extraordinary’ and ‘monumental’ to illustrate the overall opportunity the trip provides. Indeed, after a quick informal poll from my classmates, I’d say the most common word they used to describe the experience was: ‘epic’.

The trip was filled with highlights on both a professional and personal level. From the space age city of Shanghai (felt like visiting the future) to the booming cultural and political capital of Beijing, we were treated with a line-up of interesting meetings, presentations, tours and networking events with local and international businesspeople.

Although I could go on and on about some of these experiences, there was one event in particular that I’d like to share about: The Irish Ball. In honor of St. Paddy himself, every year the Irish expat community in China throws a huge black tie event in Beijing. This year, the event was attended by 750 people and it was easily one of the coolest parties I’ve ever been to. Champagne reception, 5 course meal highlighting Irish cuisine, Guinness/open bar, with musicians and dancers flown in from Ireland – the place was electric. At one point it occurred to me while I was standing in a crowd of people (fresh off a really embarrassing attempt at Irish dancing!) watching the Irish rugby team dismantle the English in the cup of nations tournament – I’m from the US, studying in Ireland for the year, and right now I’m having the best Paddy’s day of my life in Beijing surrounded by loads of new friends from all over the world.

I tip my hat to the Smurfit MBA.

- Patrick Hillis

Here are a few pictures from the trip…

River cruise in Shanghai

Tour of Forbidden City