This blog begins to reflect on one of my favourite memories from the MBA, the 2012 World MBA Rugby Tournament. I am humbled to offer my thoughts and perspectives from the trip as an international student at UCD Smurfit with no previous rugby experience just along for the ride. As a quick recap, this is an annual tournament hosted by Duke University for the last 30 years in Danville, Va. which attracts over 700 players representing the top business schools across the globe to compete in the prestigious rugby championship. There is a men’s tackle tournament and a separate women’s touch league. UCD fielded both a men’s and women’s team in the 2012 tournament. Somehow I found myself on the team (see my previous blog) and the stories review the beginning of the trip while still maintaining the Rugby player credo of “what happens on the rugby tour stays on the rugby tour”.
North Carolina Arrival
The MBA had its stressful moments but I never experienced a sleepless night like the one before leaving for the rugby tournament. I recorded a brief video before the trip espousing my excitement for our rugby fundraising website, but as I collapsed in bed after packing my gear, the weight of the moment suddenly hit me like a vicious rugby tackle. I was about to travel back to the States to participate in a sport I still knew little about with teammates I hardly knew. What was I doing? Would I injure myself or worst yet embarrass the team? Throughout the year I had overcome questions around how to motivate employees, calculating required break-even units produced, and evaluating industry attractiveness; however I was left grappling with the upcoming rugby challenges.
After a restless night I woke up at 6am (local time) in Ireland and soon found myself arriving in the Raleigh-Durham Airport in North Carolina around 5:30pm ET. I was joined with approximately 40 of my rugby teammates with bags all accounted for and everyone in good form. The excitement resonated with all the players having made the sacrifice to take time off from their studies at UCD Smurfit and participate in the 2012 MBA World Rugby tournament. However, I can confidently state that no one enjoyed being in North Carolina more than me as I was welcomed by my lovely wife and our friends from the area. As I walked off the plane I soon noticed a large “Welcome UCD Banner” held up by my friends and even a hand drawn poster from one of their 2-year-old daughters to sweeten the welcome. The scene was simply wonderful and I was delighted that my Irish teammates were exposed to Southern Hospitality so early in our adventure.
Our Greeting Party!
We then hopped in a bio-diesel powered van with our friendly driver Mark who drove us to Danville for our first team dinner. With about 40 total people on the trip it can be challenging to remember all the names and faces, but the night out allowed us all to bond and relax after a full day of travel. After stuffing myself with a plate full of ribs and sirloin steak, I smiled knowing I was back in the South sharing the moment with new teammates and friends. Now the only thing left to do was to start playing…
I’m sitting on the couch at home wondering where the last 9 months went and how I ever survived. Year 1 on the EMBA has been one amazing whirlwind involving countless projects, presentations and cases. In fact I’m so exhausted, all I can say is that 1) It was totally worth it 2) I laughed out loud a lot more than I expected 3) I’ve met and worked with some really interesting and clever people who I hope to know all my life.
I sign off this term with some photo highlights of a dream just realised – President Michael D Higgins’ visit to our Habitat homes in Inchicore as the keys are handed over to their new occupants….
One of the really pleasing aspects of this year was the involvement of so many MBA colleagues in the work of the MBA Charity Club. We started our first meeting with ten volunteers and I am delighted to say that the same people are as committed now as they were at the start. And even better, we have added more volunteers to the ranks.
For the club this year our aim has been to try and identify some opportunities where we could bring some of our combined experience coupled with our MBA training to help some charities. While fundraising is really important we felt it would be more valuable to combine some charitable fundraising with raising awareness of a number of issues.
In the MBA class this year are some very talented, dedicated and creative people, none more so than Gerry Quinn and Rob Power (who enlisted the help of Art Director Adrian O’Sullivan) who have started working with Arc Cancer Support. They started off with a brainstorming session on the Saturday morning before our final exams. The aim of this session was to work with volunteers and staff of the charity to formulate an online strategy and help with some branding. The guys have continued this work with Arc Cancer Support and are currently helping put together a new website (launching in August with the help of Kooba Web Design and some PR experts). I have to say though that there were more volunteers from the MBA class than the Arc Cancer Support Project could cater for, including some lecturers!
ARC Cancer Support
Rob & Gerry in action
Arc Cancer Support operates two drop-in centres for cancer sufferers and their families in Dublin. Their centres are staffed by wonderful people who greet guests with a big heart and a smile. If you have the need you should check out their services.
This year has been an eventful one for the MBA Charity Club under the stewardship of Garrett Dorrian. Garrett has brought some great enthusiasm and leadership to our activities over the past nine months. He has kept everyone motivated, involved and has been a pleasure to work with.
I had the privilege of coaching the leaders of tomorrow at UCD Smurfit and have been asked to reflect on the experience during the past year. The one-to one coaching experiences started a little earlier with the Exec (2-year) MBA students in November. As coaches we each met our coachees for this first coaching session at this stage. Most of them had a pretty clear idea of what they would like to achieve from the experience, although many were unsure of the process (as is the case for anyone who has not experienced coaching before). The topics broadly related to specific business challenges, leadership style and career. This first session allowed us to gain a common understanding of the end goal as well as raising awareness of the challenge they faced. Most walked away with areas to reflect on before we would meet again.
By the time the 2nd coaching session came around (late January/ February), there had been a noticeable shift in perspectives. Due to the increased gap between the coaching sessions this year and the time available over the Christmas break, it was obvious that ample time had been available to the MBA students to consider their challenge. At the beginning of each coaching session I have a tendency to reflect back on where we left off so that the coachee can bring me up to date. At these coaching sessions I was invariably met with ‘Goodness at lot has changed since we last spoke’. At this point a path was emerging and during this coaching session we would continue to thrash out the situation and options that emerged.
Between session 2 and 3, my coachees went on their International Trip to either Brazil or China. They returned fulfilled by the trip albeit a little overwhelmed by virtue of the fact that so many things were now coming together. They were trying to keep the day job going, assignments were kicking in en-masse and the end of the MBA loomed. There was a mixture of relief (in terms of the juggling this necessitated) and also sadness at the prospect. These guys have juggled for two years now and many described the camaraderie in the class and the ‘hole’ they would feel in their lives which they wanted to fill with something else constructive. We continued our coaching conversations reflecting back on the initial goals which were set. Broadly speaking we stayed very much on course and in the main, MBA students achieved what they had wanted from the process.
What strikes me from the experience is the concept of the coaching process being akin to stepping on ‘the balcony’. The Executive MBAs are endeavouring to juggle work, MBA programme and their personal lives for 2 years and the coaching process allows them a little time to step out of all this and reflect on a challenge which is important to them. For the coaches it is rewarding to see this journey and support them in the challenges which they face.
– Eadine Hickey, Executive Coach on the UCD Smurfit MBA
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.
From left: Fergus O’Dea, Nihar Panda, Nicole Blair, Prof. Pat Gibbons, Dr. Brian McGrath, Phillip O’Sullivan and Donnchadh Casey
One of the most challenging and fulfilling parts of the MBA is the significant element of group work required by the majority of our subjects. Learning to manage the different styles, cultures and timekeeping habits of our colleagues has been the source of more than one disagreement this year! But I have seen how team diversity, if properly managed, can drive a team to be greater than the sum of its parts.
I have been extremely fortunate to be part of two great work teams this year and that trend continued as I joined my friends Donnchadh, Nicole, Nihar and Philip on a team for the MBA case study competition. The process began with stiff competition from my fellow full time colleagues, and then the winner would take on a team of UCD Executive MBA students. The eventual winner would then represent UCD at the annual MBA case competition this summer in Dublin.
It is a testament to the ambition and dedication of our class that 15 students, comprising three teams (somehow) found time to dedicate themselves to this competition. We met early in the morning to be presented with a case study, and were then given 4 hours to analyse the case and prepare a presentation of our findings for a discerning panel of judges; Michael McDonnell, Prof. Pat Gibbons, and Dr. Brian McGrath.
We retired to a syndicate room when a brief period of calm while we read the case was quickly followed by a flurry of debate as we tried to corral the stampede of ideas into a coherent presentation. After the quickest four hours I can remember, we were slightly dazed, but ready to present. The MBA class of 2012 have become adept at preparing slick presentations, and the level of preparation has included an incredible adaptation of Toy Story 3, and some trademark guerrilla film making from Stephen Smith. The case study competition was excellent in forcing us to get back to basics and to present without the same level of preparation that we would usually put in. I was very impressed by all three presentations each of which dissected the case from a different perspective and offered various solutions for the company in question to move forward.
The Competition!
All of the teams would have done the full-time class proud, but I’m delighted to report the judges favoured our presentation, and we were awarded first prize and the right, along with the second placed team, to face the Executive MBA team in the next round.
From my experience of the Exec’s they will no doubt raise the bar further and it is up to us to match them if we are to go on to face the other MBA’s from across the country and live up to the achievements of last year’s team.
It’s that time again… it’s the time that companies start opening their doors to MBA students and recent grads.
Internships are popular with MBAs, particularly those who are considering changing career paths. There are two types, (1) internships for students who have graduated, and (2) internships for students who are in the middle of a two year program. Whatever your situation, now is the time that those doors open and now is the time to get those applications in.
The majority of internships with multinationals are located inside the US. There are exceptions, and for those of you who would like to have an experience in another country while performing your internship. As there are many US multinationals that have internships on offer, I have chosen the following because they offer internships outside of the States. Here are some details on them:
Location:Melbourne, Hong Kong and Singapore close 28 June 2012. Sydney internships close 26 Jul 2012.
Number of positions available: Not specified, but numerous
Note: The application process is quite long, and they will ask you for exam scores(remember SAT and GMAT?) Set aside some time before taking a stab at this one.
Location: Mostly UK and Germany, with some positions EU and worldwide.
Number of positions available: Four titles, several positions in each
Note: For internships in Europe use amazon.co.uk. For US opportunities, use Amazon.com. (I think you have to register twice). On the Amazon.co.uk site specific req numbers are: 168865, 154996, 132494, 170988
Remember, this is only a picking of companies that offer internships worldwide. If you choose to go to the States then the choices are virtually limitless.
So, there you go. Dust off your CV, add your most recent experience, and get it out there. Getting an internship at one of these companies is far from easy. You are competing against MBAs from around the world, so companies essentially have their picking of graduates. Whatever the outcome, make sure to send out, make contact, and follow-up. Best of luck!
At the Sunday dinner table, we’re debating investing in Apple shares (alternative pension if you will…). I begin discussing perceived value, intangible assets and heavy reliance on equity while having what feels like an outer body experience. Clearly some of this course is rubbing off on me after all; terms that seemed so alien not 5 months ago are now making a lot more sense.
Many companies in Ireland today have experienced a very different few years to Apple, implementing austerity measures across the board, struggling for investment and opportunity with cripplingly limited access to credit. Yet while I keep a measured line of caution I can’t help feeling that the country is turning a corner. It may just be the promise of spring, but the painful and difficult decisions implemented during the crisis; restructuring, refocusing, realigning etc should now be starting to bloom.
We move to slightly lighter topics but stick to optimism. April will see Michael D come to Inchicore to hand over the keys to our new Habitat homeowners. After more than a year of struggle with banks, cashflow and the grim reality of the economy, it looks like the cloud has parted. A family of four living in a one bed flat that the boom forgot, will finally move into their 3 bed home that they helped refurbish.
Maybe it’s just spring, maybe I’m a little too optimistic or maybe its these three great weeks of midterm, but I’m thinking it’s time that the corner was turned and perhaps it is a Reasonable Projection for the country, that thoughtful investments in the tough times can yield their benefits in the not too distant future…
Having just touched down in North Carolina, the beginning of this journey in September last year seems but a distant memory. Having previously played one game of rugby in my life I found myself volunteering to be President of the MBA Smurfit Rugby Football Club with the aim of getting a team to Duke University, North Carolina to defend our status as MBA Rugby World Cup Champions…and so the journey began.
Having signed up one of the largest membership numbers to date we commenced training in November with a small group that was to become the core of this years club. Enthuasiastically we set out to bring both mens and womens teams to the tournament- perhaps doing so with a bit of naïvety towards the mammoth task that lay ahead. Having spent the Christmas holidays drafting letters to potential sponsors it gradually dawned on me exactly how difficult raising the required funds was going to be to make this trip a reality. However, as a committee and through a lot of dedication, hard work and ingenuity over the next three months we managed to make what at often times had seemed impossible, a reality. Yes, our studies may have suffered as a result but the MBA is about more than what we are taught in class and organising this club is proof of just that. This trip was made possible in no small way by our most generous of sponsors and the tireless efforts of both teams in their fundraising efforts so here’s hoping everyone gets their just rewards when we bring back two World Championship trophies to Smurfit after the weekend!
Since I was always told that the International Trip is the highlight of the program, much expectation was projected long before going on the trip. Especially as being a native Chinese, feelings and emotions were mixed. On one side, I was very excited that my home land will be introduced to my MBA fellow colleagues in both formal and informal ways; on the other side, I was very nervous how they will view the nowadays ‘China. I believe most of my worries boil down to my very deeply embedded Chinese part of culture, which is “Mian Zi”, known as “Face” in English terms. In addition, I myself packed a lot of questions (and clothes) for this trip, and hoped to find answers to them all.
As expected, there were quite a few surprises to me as soon as I landed in China this time. I have to admit I was skeptical and unprepared for these surprises, such as different standard charge of taxi fare in Beijing and Shanghai; overpriced foreign brand luxury goods(Chinese Government impose certain percentage of tariff on foreign imported goods, luxury goods’ tariff are much higher than commodity goods). Apart from the surprises on the side of daily life, there were few points to highlight:
1. Multinational companies operating in major cities of China, such as Shanghai and Beijing created a very unique operating/communicating environment where international standard are established and updated as while Chinese culture is thoroughly penetrated
2. China’s focus of next decade has shifted to sustainability, which reflects the change in leadership style. It sounds more promising to Chinese and to the rest of world. In major cities, I saw rapid change in mentality concerning overall wellbeing of our earth.
3. Communist party is more open today and they admit they make mistakes, they are more open to talk about sensitive topics such as human rights and how the party functions
The trip was very well prepared and tailored for MBA students. The organizer did an amazing job by fitting in many events within days aiming at expose as much aspects as possible to us which was very much appreciated. I found most of speakers related their presentations/talks to MBA students’ perspective, which made communication a lot of easier in a foreign country of a complete different culture and language. Most of events focused on cultural issues, seemed to me that to understand Chinese Culture is the key step to the success in doing business in China. Many of cultural dynamics have developed to international standard, such as the directness and openness in business communication style; while some of them remained the same, such as the famous terms of “Mianzi”, “Guanxi” and equation of “Baijiu + Table = Contract Signed”.
As being a native Chinese, it was first time for me to get a close look at the insight of modern Chinese styled international business operations. I was very much inspired by the level of modernization of how knowledge is shared, how information is managed, how operations are run and how modern their communication styles are. In addition, it is still astounding that Tier 1 cities, such as Beijing, Shanghai are as modern as international cities such as New York in developed countries. When we went to The Old Shanghai and Forbidden City in Beijing I discovered more familiar settings from my memories as a child growing in China. I realized it was my first time in Shanghai, the traditional Shanghai lay-out I was longing for was really from pictures and TV series. Somehow a picture came across my mind, which was the image of China Town in San Francisco, where I found most of traditional Chinese community culture lives and multiplies in the 21st century, regardless how modernized outside world San Francisco downtown is, which located 5 minutes away by cable car.
The Old Shanghai in its 80’s
Today’s Shanghai
China Town San Francisco
At the end of the trip, I got most of my questions answered. On top of that, I was very relieved that the feedback from my MBA fellow colleagues is very positive. I feel that now I can say it out loud as being a native Chinese “I am proud of my country.” And what the future holds for China.
– Christine Liu, Full-time MBA 2011/12
Since I was always told that the International Trip is the highlight of the program, much expectation was projected long before going on the trip. Especially as being a native Chinese, feelings and emotions were mixed. On one side, I was very excited that my home land will be introduced to my MBA fellow colleagues in both formal and informal ways; on the other side, I was very nervous how they will view the nowadays ‘China.I believe most of my worries boil down to my very deeply embedded Chinese part of culture, which is “Mian Zi”, known as “Face” in English terms. In addition, I myself packed a lot of questions (and clothes) for this trip, and hoped to find answers to them all.
As expected, there were quite a few surprises to me as soon as I landed in China this time. I have to admit I was skeptical and unprepared for these surprises, such as different standard charge of taxi fare in Beijing and Shanghai;overpriced foreign brand luxury goods(Chinese Government impose certain percentage of tariff on foreign imported goods, luxury goods’ tariff are much higher than commodity goods).Apart from the surprises on the side of daily life, there were few points to highlight:
1.Multinational companies operating in major cities of China, such as Shanghai and Beijing created a very unique operating/communicatingenvironmentwhere international standard are established and updated as while Chinese culture is thoroughly penetrated
2.China’s focus of next decade has shifted to sustainability, which reflects the change in leadership style. It sounds more promising to Chinese and to the rest of world. In major cities, I saw rapid change in mentality concerning overall wellbeing of our earth.
3.Communist party is more open today and they admit they make mistakes, they are more open to talk about sensitive topics such as human rights and how the party functions
The trip was very well prepared and tailored for MBA students. The organizer did an amazing job by fitting in many events within days aiming at expose as much aspects as possible to us which was very much appreciated. I found most of speakers related their presentations/talks to MBA students’ perspective, which made communication a lot of easier in a foreign country of a complete different culture and language. Most of events focused on cultural issues, seemed to me that to understand Chinese Culture is the key step to the success in doing business in China. Many of cultural dynamics have developed to international standard, such as the directness and openness in business communication style; while some of them remained the same, such as the famous terms of “Mianzi”, “Guanxi” and equation of “Baijiu + Table = Contract Signed”.
As being a native Chinese, it was first time for me to get a close look at the insight of modern Chinese styled international business operations. I was very much inspired by the level of modernization of how knowledge is shared, how information is managed, how operations are run and how modern their communication styles are.
In addition, it is still astounding that Tier 1 cities, such as Beijing, Shanghai are as modern as international cities such as New York in developed countries. When we went to The Old Shanghai and Forbidden City in Beijing I discovered more familiar settings from my memories as a child growing in China. I realized it was my first time in Shanghai, the traditional Shanghai lay-out I was longing for was really from pictures and TV series. Somehow a picture came across my mind, which was the imageof China Town in San Francisco, where I found most of traditional Chinese community culture lives and multiplies in the 21st century, regardless how modernized outside world San Francisco downtown is, which located 5 minutes away by cable car.
Our Greeting Party!
UCD MBA Rugby Team Lands in RDU
