Starting INSEAD the Intensive Way…

Coming from jobs that got us to INSEAD - M&A investment banking for me -, I wanted to spend time travelling, meeting family and friends, or just relaxing before all the excitement started. But the exit language is a strict graduation requirement! Options were to study French (my choice of exit language) in London while I worked either at Alliance Française or on my own, take classes at INSEAD in P1-P3 or attend the intensive language programme prior to the start of P1 in either campus.

You Got the Call. What Happens Now?

From the moment you get that call from INSEAD, you are already an INSEADer. When I had the excellent problem of choosing my B-school, I went for the school that I felt, had the ‘right kind of vibe’. And INSEAD did not disappoint. First, the Round 1 admits got that Facebook group going, then came the WhatsApp group, then telegram and slack channels. Waking up to 169 messages every morning, I soon began to feel like the most social butterfly ever, only to realise that I was incapable of keeping up with it all but I still wanted to be part of it all, because well… FOMO.

Start of a New Journey!

Hello Everyone, My name is Shruti and I’m really excited to write my first post. I’m an Indian based out of Singapore and I have been working as a Design Entrepreneur for the past two years. During my education, I learnt to design graphics and researched on Spatial Psychology which later helped me as an artist while designing large scale art installations, and as an interior designer while designing hotels, bars and restaurants. After gaining experience in India and Singapore, I started my own consultancy which operated in hospitality, retail and residential space.  

My Stopover Decisions

It was a summery night in Miami in April, and I knew that once again I was going to make another turn in my life path. On that day, I decided to tell my manager that I was leaving for INSEAD in a month. My departure, unlike many others, was an already anticipated leave. I had been working in the same company for nearly five years and everyone was already aware that I was leaving, they just didn’t know when. Ever since I heard the news I was accepted into INSEAD, it felt a little unreal.

Why I Chose INSEAD Over US Schools

That's it, you've completed the GMAT, spent hours on submitting applications, got excited from each interview invitation and now, after all this exciting long journey - you are holding offers from multiple B schools. Good job! I thought I would be the happiest man alive had I gotten only one offer out of the plethora of schools I've applied to, but I had no idea that holding three offers would give me such a headache and about a month of practically sleepless nights.  

The culture of feedback

Over the last weekend of February, three other classmates and I were in Barcelona for a three-day case competition hosted by IESE and sponsored by Roland Berger. Less than two months into the MBA and there we were: our first competition facing teams of MBA students of five other world-class institutions in the US, Europe and Asia. It was a humbling experience to exchange with brilliant people, and it was thrilling to practice solving a complex case under such a short time constraint.

First Impressions

“A stunning first impression was not the same thing as love at first sight. But surely it was an invitation to consider the matter. “ - Lois McMaster Bujold, American author   My first impressions of my INSEAD MBA course, as I hurtle towards the end of P1 after fifty days and nights with barely a moment to think, is of a whirlwind. A stunning, life changing, life-affirming whirlwind, a relentless storm of opportunity and challenge, taking place as if life is a dream viewed on fast forward.  
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