3 Words to Describe the First Three Months

The Business School for the World.

What is business? What is the world? What can I learn at INSEAD?

I asked myself these questions over and again before I considered applying for INSEAD. I am Noriko - Japanese by birth and ethnicity and brought up in New York, London and Tokyo. I had spent five years in the financial services sector before I realised that I wanted to see more of the world and what I can do in it. Although my last role in capital markets was an interesting way to be involved with the latest happenings of the world, my gut feeling told me I was not getting the full picture.  I trust gut feelings. My decision to study at INSEAD has so far been one of the best (and adventurous) decisions I have made so far.

It has now been around three months since P1 (the first term) has started. I feel that there are three words to describe my experiences so far; people, culture and music. Through these, I have caught a small (yet interesting) glimpse of what business is, and what the world might really look like.

1. People

In the first few weeks of the MBA programme, amidst all the exciting buzz of a new environment, INSEAD allocates you into study groups - a five to six person group within your class that you will work with for the next four months. Like it or not, all in-class group discussions and group homework assignments have to be dealt with in this allocated group. The group dynamics are diverse - my group consists of people from Lebanon, Italy, Canada, Pakistan, Poland and Japan. The professional backgrounds we all come from are also diverse, ranging from banking to entrepreneurship, marketing, consulting and accounting. We all respect each others' differences and ... throw skittles at each other. Whatever the situation, whatever the background, who says business cannot be fun? The differences create friction at times, I will admit. However, it also creates one of the best environments for learning together. So far we have solved many macro-economic assignments, climbed Mt. Everest (only virtually!), and invented a safe-landing parachute for an egg (as seen in the picture). Sadly, the egg did not make the fall from the top of the INSEAD building, however, we learned the importance and difficulties of group work through this exercise in our Organisational Behaviour class. "Individually, we are one drop. Together, we are an ocean." - Ryunosuke Satoro.

2. Culture

Soon after the programme started, I realised how rich this school was in terms of the cultures it attracted globally. With no nationality dominating the demographics of the students, a day at school is like a dizzy trip around the world. Start the day off by kissing a Spaniard (twice!), or a Swiss (three times!) or hugging an American. Take Capoeira or Bollywood dancing classes in the gym after class or just party away the night for Diwali - the Indian festival of light. During class, the various backgrounds of the class enrich discussions in ways that I had not experienced at a school in Tokyo. When a person says 'OK', does he mean a yes or a no? Well, it really depends if that person is from Europe or Japan ... Hearing diverse, real-life situations of my classmates is certainly one aspect of the INSEAD experience I have been positively surprised about.

3. Music

I play the violin. It goes pretty much wherever I go. So of course, it came with me to Fontainebleau. However, I had no expectations as to finding any fellow musician to jam with or to perform with. Being a business school, INSEAD did not have a music club of any kind. It was only natural for me to assume that I would have my instrument tucked away at home for me to play every now and then when I felt a need to unwind. Of course, even in this aspect, I have been positively surprised. Since August, I have found some guitarists, pianists, violinists, vocalists, and other musical enthusiasts, again from various cultural backgrounds. We have jammed, planned and established the official music club for INSEAD! We are now working to establish on-campus rooms or sites that enable passionate musicians to jam their hearts out. Hopefully, future INSEADers will be able to experience this as well - cross-cultural music and jamming. In the LatAm week - one week of many where the whole week is themed to celebrating the culture of a country or region - we had our memorable first concert just outside the school bar.

Overall, the first three months have felt like sailing on new winds. I am very much looking forward to what the remaining months will bring!