Why do an MBA? That is the question my peers, former colleagues and friends regularly leveled at me leading up to the start date of the course, here at Cambridge Judge Business School. It’s common to be asked regardless of your industry – but in my case, as a journalist, the question was asked with […]
From structural engineer to MBA
Even now, almost two months into the programme, it is only just starting to hit home quite where I am and what I’m doing. The life I left behind in Canada just a few months ago seems years in the past, with working-life happily paused for the time being. As an engineer, and self-professed geek, […]
One month in- matriculated and project ready!
I am now one month into my Cambridge MBA experience but it feels like so much longer (in a good way!). Every day is so full of information, networking, practical sessions and fun that I’m already starting to feel like a member of this society, like I truly belong here. There’s been a lot happening […]
Kick starting the MBA year with the EAP (English for Academic Purposes Programme)
“MBA”–though a seemingly short acronym holds a profound significance for students about to embark on the programme this autumn. For me, the Cambridge MBA programme will be another highly valuable chapter of my life, in helping me to transition from a local fund manager role to a management position in the banking industry. How to […]
On the fantastic MBA journey about to start
People regard the MBA as an important threshold, and hope to widen their horizons by crossing it. Be this a promotion in their current career, a great opportunity in a new industry, developing a start-up, or even taking a period off to explore and consider their next step. For me, the most important factor in […]
Thoughts before the MBA year ahead
As I write, I am six weeks away from starting my MBA journey, a journey that I knew for quite a while that I wanted to take. All along the application process, the MBA felt like some far off adventure, not quite in the material present. Even as the interview session passed, the acceptance letter […]
My MBA year-in-review: part 3
In the final part of her year-in-review Jacqui gives us the lowdown on the summer phase of the Cambridge MBA year and her plans for the post-MBA future. Term 3: Summer May Ball – A quintessential Cambridge experience, we donned ball-gowns and tuxes and entered into a world of decadence and true glamour. […]
My MBA year-in-review: part 2
The new academic year saw an increasing amount of global travel for Cambridge MBA, Jacqui Gilbert. It was the season for competitions: both business-centered challenges and sports tournaments. The term also saw Jacqui become a ‘googler’ for her Global Consulting Project, the flagship practical project undertaken during the Cambridge MBA year. Term 2: Lent Global […]
My MBA year-in-review: part 1
Transformative is a word often used to describe the experience of a world-class MBA. The changes to the way you think are subtle. It is impossible to pin the shifts in your thinking to a particular moment; rather I found the MBA was a series of small nudges. The cumulative effect of these nudges creating […]
Finding “My Antarctic” on a brompton
On 22nd September 2014 I will cycle a fold-up Brompton bicycle from London to Geneva. I expect the journey to be around 700 miles and should (bearing minor mishaps and misfortunes) take less than ten days. Just one issue-I don’t have much experience in long bike rides and I’m a near-awful navigator. I am […]
Biomedicine, Biobusiness and Biodollars
Learning more about the healthcare sector was the main reason I chose the Cambridge MBA and I have not been disappointed. Having worked with pharmaceutical companies, governments, health insurance firms (public and private), and multilateral aid agencies, I expected my learning to be only incremental–but I could not have been more wrong. The Pharmaceuticals and […]
4 Crazy Things You Won’t Believe About Organising the TEDxOxbridge Conference
Obnoxious title aside, one can learn a lot more from organizing a big conference than event planning and project management. As Co-Director of Content for TEDxOxbridge 2014, I can say that an incredible amount of work went on behind the scenes leading up to the event. Here are some of the less obvious lessons […]
Social Impact Exchange Day: Uniting the social impact minds of three leading business schools
On Sunday 25th May 2014, students from Cambridge Judge Business School attended a Social Impact Exchange Day, alongside peers from Oxford Said Business School and London Business School. The day’s activities, organised by the co-chairs of the Social Impact Clubs at the three business schools respectively, offered students an insight into careers in the social impact […]
So you want to launch an app? Lessons from a wisened MBA…
Padel Tennis Pro was intended to be a cheap, three-month endeavor to build a new mobile game. With gameplay mechanics not totally dissimilar to the early 2000s classic ‘Curveball’ – how hard could it be? Nineteen months, five fired developers, one rushed Kickstarter campaign, one AppStore rejection, many sleepless nights and an international political […]
The Global Consulting Project Q&A: Lalit Peddakota, MBA.
Lalit Peddakota (MBA 2013-14) sums up his recent Global Consulting Project experience-consulting for Japan Tobacco International. The Global Consulting Project sees MBAs form high calibre teams to tackle real issues faced by global clients. Pre-MBA Role: Pharmaceutical Scientist/Engineer Global Consulting Project Title: Business strategy planning for JTI’s global cigar business Global Consulting Project Locations: Geneva, […]
The Global Consulting Project Q&A: Martin Banjo, MBA.
Martin Banjo (MBA 2013-14) sums up his recent Global Consulting Project experience-consulting for Twitter. The Global Consulting Project sees MBAs form high calibre teams to tackle real issues faced by global clients. Pre-MBA role: Management Consulting Global Consulting Project: Twitter Global Consulting Project location: Cambridge/London Sum up your Global Consulting Project aims in a sentence: A Brit, […]
A masterclass in “Googleyness”
One of the first case studies I read on the MBA programme was “Keeping Google “Googley”” and I thought to myself, this is the corporate equivalent of Alice in Wonderland! How could an organisation function so far removed from reality? But that was my reality-the world of banking and bureaucracy-in a time when the world was […]
An MBA Odyssey to New York City
Two weeks ago, my team (Abhinav, Andrew, João, Kristin, and I) embarked on a fantastic, business-school sponsored trip to New York City to take part in the “MBA Odyssey” competition. The “MBA Odyssey” is an annual event for the world’s top MBA providers that is hosted by Columbia Business School. This year’s illustrious participants included: […]
Global Consulting Project 2014: GOAL – Tongo and the VSL visit
The beginning of our second week in Sierra Leone has been spent out in the field again, speaking with local villagers in Tongo, Lower Bambarra. This has been an invaluable exercise for us all, and it has also enabled us to see a lot more of rural Sierra Leone than we thought we would. […]
Global Consulting Project 2014: GOAL on the road in the Kenema…
Our second day in Kenema has been spent in a Toyota 4×4 (an awesome vehicle if ever there was one) travelling cross-country via muddy, rocky, hilly roads and into small villages for site visits. The purpose of the site visits was for us to see who the customers of Alafia latrines are, and what the customer […]