I would like to use this blog post to set the record straight about a common misconception about the Irish. Despite what you may have heard, read, or seen; the Emerald Isle’s beverage of choice is in fact coffee. As a new MBA student you are told that you’ll be drinking lots of coffee to get through the year. What they neglect to mention is that they try to get you hooked on it from the start.
The UCD Smurfit MBA Foundation Week started early last Monday morning with all the new students, both full-time and part-time, gathered in the Main Hall mingling and making small talk. Everyone was exchanging names and nationalities and work histories over cups of coffee, generously provided by the university.
There were speakers and info sessions and team building activities throughout the week. And the whole time coffee was never more than two hours away. The unspoken question on everyone’s mind was, “How long until the next break?” Not because everybody needed a fix (although for some that’s exactly why) but the coffee break became something more. It was chance to speak with your classmates and bond with new people over something familiar. Despite our diverse backgrounds it was the simple, shared experience that brought us together.
Perhaps that is the Irish way: coming together for a chat and getting to know each other. The coffee is just an excuse to get together.
The foundation has been laid. The relationships are growing. And the coffee is still flowing.
Tony Downs,
FT MBA 2014.