Three weeks in, Foundation week’s all but a distant memory, those glorious sunny days manhandling our fellow classmates through “spider webs” all in the name of team-building, have now replaced by the shades of grey that is the world of financial reporting. Our days now revolve around the all-important individual group meetings, dividing up assignments and readings, and with the odd bit of filming thrown in to exercise our presentation and directorial skills. Despite mostly being filmed on iPhones, don’t let the low-fi production fool you, the performances were truly Oscar worthy.
Against the backdrop of this mounting workload, came the welcome break of the Aspire Scholarship reception. The intensity and volume of work on an MBA is well documented, and yes, this is can be a challenge to balance at times, but nothing great develops in the comfort zone. Walking through the doors of the Laurence Crowley Boardroom on Tuesday evening to meet my fellow Scholars and Alumni, was the beginning of a valuable and lasting relationship with the programme. Any nervous tension that I had rapidly dissipated. The only way I can describe the room was like one large welcoming extended family. With initial introductions and formalities complete, came the opportunity to get to know past awardees a little better.
While many scholarships only offer a financial reward, Aspire offers so much more. Over the course of the evening, it became quite evident that the network is the most valuable and enduring aspect of the scholarship. It is an honour to be awarded this scholarship and welcomed so graciously into this talented and successful group, this year reaching the one hundred mark. Throughout the year there are events organised, with key notes from business leaders and further networking opportunities.
I first heard of Aspire from a current scholar, shortly after receiving my place on the Smurfit MBA and I would strongly encourage any prospective MBA or masters student to consider applying. I know it is early days, but I can tell that applying is one of the best decisions I’ve made. I eluded to family earlier, and that is exactly what you get, from support and assistance to friendship. Having an external network to escape to the pressures of MBA life just for a casual chat or for support is a fantastic resource. We recently had a seminar on careers and how to network, detailing the importance of a large network in business, which absolutely holds merit, but I’d take the quality over quantity of Aspire any day.
David Dowling FT MBA 2018/19