As semester one reaches its half-way point for the FTMBA class, it’s an appropriate time to take stock and reflect on the last few weeks. As a portion of the class prepares to immerse themselves in a week long module at various locations across the globe, it’s time to take a ‘balcony’ moment. A mere four weeks ago, all the focus was very much on the academic workload: could the study group cope, what ‘tactics’, if any, were to be used to complete all the assignments and so on. Now, there are growing time pressures from elsewhere.
From a personal perspective, my wife has finally arrived back in Ireland after completing her contract in Chicago. That has a considerable impact on my time. From a more general point of view, club activity is starting to pick up. As I have found myself in a senior role within the Smurfit rugby club, there is a certain amount of pressure. Not for the feint of heart is the prospect of following up 11 MBA Rugby World Cup victories. Fortunately, we have an extremely capable committee and it has, so far, been a pleasure working with them all. It’s also a great opportunity to work more closely with members of the class who are not in my study group. The club activities are a great release (some may say excuse) from some of the academic rigours of the MBA.
Beyond the ‘on-campus’ goings on, the ultimate goal of getting gainful employment on graduation is starting to shift into focus. There has been an entrepreneur event in Google this week, which was a great exposition of the start-up landscape in Dublin. As a taste of what‘s to come, it was tantalising. The opportunity to get out and about and start networking is both exciting and daunting in equal measure.
Now, back to that Financial Reporting assignment…
Jim Radmore
FTMBA 2014