As a Chinese student, I looked forward to INSEAD Chinese Cultural Week as an opportunity to showcase the highlights and joy of my culture with classmates from all around the world. After an intensive week full of cultural and educational activities, genuine discussion and much fun and laughter, I realised that the experience helped me to connect deeper with my Chinese roots and see my own culture from a new perspective.

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National weeks have always been an INSEAD tradition, and we were honoured to have been selected to host the cultural week this year. During the week of May 17th, we hosted Chinese Culture Week and presented the diverse elements that China has to offer, including food, dance, calligraphy, costume, travel, business culture, and society.

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When I started my Executive MBA, I knew that my final project would focus on Blue Ocean strategy. I read the book, co-authored by two INSEAD professors, back in 2005. Doing an EMBA fifteen years later, in the place where the framework was first developed, had a special meaning to me. However, I did not simply want to apply the framework to a company.

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As a former Chinese business journalist, I’m pleasantly surprised by how realistic the INSEAD Capstone simulation captured the subtle culture of the Chinese business world. This intensive three-day project has taken me on a reflective journey, putting my former on-the-ground observations into context and deriving new inspirations on where Chinese culture meets the global scene.

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During my MBA at INSEAD, one of my favourite courses was “Your First 100 Days”, a pretty realistic simulation of managing a growing company during, well, your first 100 days in a new leadership role. The course did not leave me disappointed.

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A few weeks ago I attended a Process and Operations Management lecture, where Professor Florin Ciocan depicted the Inditex operating model and honored its founder,

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When I look back on my adult life so far, there is one moment that marks the beginning of a journey that brought me to INSEAD.

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In December 2019, when I was packing my bags to start my MBA at INSEAD and COVID-19 was still mostly unheard of, I would have never contemplated that by the following year, I would be starting a new role, in a new industry, and in a new geography after such an eventful and uncertain year. After graduating and obtaining my MBA in December 2020, I ultimately switched from Consulting in Brazil, to starting a new exciting chapter of my career in Investment Banking in London.

• Read more about The 5 Things I Learned by Doing a Multi-dimensional Career Switch After My INSEAD MBA

1. Keep it short. Most people are busy. They would watch Netflix, rather than read emails. Brevity = Gold; use the subject line effectively. 2. KISS (Keep it simple, silly) People would read your email once (that's it). If they understand it, great, else they would move on. Don't become a living embodiment of the Oxford dictionary. 3. Structure

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1. Reading/absorbing knowledge - If you are well read, you would have a ton of stuff to talk about on a range of topics. - This makes you interesting; others would enjoy your company more.2. Smiling - If you genuinely smile, people connect with you better. - This acts as a wonderful ice breaker and makes people comfortable instantly.3. Speaking at a slower pace - Most of us tend to speak very fast. - If you can slow down your pace, people would understand you better.

• Read more about 5 Simple Habits That Can Make You Great at Networking