3 Things to Bring to INSEAD
The first five weeks at INSEAD have flown by so fast that I feel I need an Alcubierre drive to keep up. The Alcubierre drive was something I didn't even know existed before I talked with my classmate from NASA. In this lies one of my first realisations from the business school for the world; there is so much to be learned through the amazing peers one finds at INSEAD. And this comes on top of a spectacular faculty, personal coaching and career coaching. In order to make the most of it all there are three things you will benefit from bringing to your INSEAD experience;
1. Basic knowledge about courses in the first period
As you want to go to dinners, parties and take part in the weekend get-a-ways you want to brush up on the topics taught in the first period. I did an online introduction to accounting and found this very useful. If you haven't done corporate finance, statistics, microeconomics, strategy or organisational behaviour before, you might benefit from taking an online course to get a grasp of the basics. This is by no means required, but it makes the first two months a lot more pleasant.
2. Business and sports outfit
Although there is currently no strict dress code in the class, you will need your business attire for on-campus-recruitment. This starts during the very first weeks of your MBA and it gives you an exposure to a number of interesting companies in various industries. In addition to all the opportunities within career development, you will also get a lot of fun from bringing a sports outfit. Any sport goes as there are students doing all kinds of different ones. The past couple of weeks we have had a squash tournament organized by the students. This is a great opportunity to get to know even more new people every week.
3. A Time-Turner
Yes, I know that this is not an actual thing, but like the famous time-turner from Rowling's books, you will want to turn back time to be able to take part in all the fun things that are going on. And when you realise you can't, you'll have to make some hard choices. Treks (student-organised trips) to different cities visiting companies and learning about different industries and markets often collide with lectures and you will have to prioritise. In just one year at INSEAD, you will learn what other business schools spend two years teaching you. Get ready for lectures between 8.30 and 19.00 five days a week and optional tutorials for six to eight hours every Saturday. So if you can't find a Time-Turner, I encourage you to think through how you would like to spend your time at INSEAD before you go.
