“The game had just started! A game of patience and strategy with the highest mountain in the world. We had already reached Camp 2, (6400m), and in the following days we would climb Lhotse Face, touch Camp 3 (7300m), and then descend. We were so close to concluding our third and last acclimatisation rotation, when we received a radio call by dinnertime. Our expedition leader, Mike Hamill, informed us that the forecast had changed dramatically and strong winds were expected for the following days.

• Read more about Stress and Self-sabotage on the Way up to the Top of the World

Master Strategy Day is a highlight for INSEAD students. One of our core courses is Introduction to Strategy, where we compete in teams to design a creative yet feasible strategy for a client within 24 hours. The challenges, learning, teamwork, excitement and intellectual fulfilment all made the experience incredible.

• Read more about Learning About Strategy Through French Social Enterprise

Joining the INSEAD Executive Masters in Finance (EMFin) programme marks a significant milestone for me. Despite embarking on my EMFin journey under the shadows of a global pandemic, the experience for Module 1 still turned out to be thoroughly enriching and satisfying.

• Read more about INSEAD EMFin Module 1: Turning the Black Swan White

By the third year of my undergraduate degree in Engineering, I knew I wanted to do business. I didn’t know what exactly business meant, but I did know that I found my internships in commercial and business development teams absolutely fascinating. So how would I make a switch from Mechanical Engineering to Business?

• Read more about Engineering My Way to Business – An INSEAD Story

The INSEAD classroom is a safe space for lively discussions, insight sharing and asking out-of-the-box questions, whilst quickly coming up to speed with a diverse range of business fundamentals.

• Read more about Academic Learning: Fresh Perspectives and New Insights

I started my Executive MBA (EMBA) in a pre-COVID-19 world. During the months leading to our first day on campus, we created a WhatsApp group and we exchanged many messages before we met in person. But the communication was a pre-COVID-19 communication. We mingled and we joked, but it was a virtual 'icebreaker' in view of our first day on campus. You might ask yourself how this can be, in any way, different from the post-COVID-19 communication. Well, it is radically different.

• Read more about The Courage of Starting an EMBA During COVID-19

In spring of 2016, I created a folder in my personal files called “Project INSEAD” – which holds all what I need to know and do to apply for an MBA at INSEAD. With the momentum starting on building my application, it had to be halted mid-way for personal reasons, yet the idea of attaining my MBA never went away, in fact, it remained strong and engraved in my mind – as a component in a plan to achieve my career and personal aspirations.

• Read more about Persevering to the GEMBA – COVID Edition

Why would I pursue an Executive MBA during the COVID-19 crisis? Well, not only was I convinced that this is the best time for me to follow such a life-changing experience, but actually the pandemic was the catalyst of my decision.

• Read more about The Opportunities Behind Every Crisis

A month into my MBA programme as a new '21J student, I sit here during a rare moment to reflect. What a weird year it has been. The world has been reshaped by the events that have transpired in 2020. Despite all the uncertainty that has been thrown our way with the COVID-19 pandemic, INSEAD has emerged as a role model in dealing with current circumstances and I want to commend the school for its efforts thus far.

• Read more about INSEAD's Leadership During COVID-19

My INSEAD dream was a like a seed planted two years ago in 2018 by one of my former managers who was himself part of the Executive MBA (EMBA) Class of 2018.  The seed he planted was watered by a personal desire to acquire knowledge to fix complex situations in life; nurtured by a passion to make an impact in a world full of challenges. It was later fertilised by an unusual COVID-19 pandemic and now turned into a fruit of admission and I am thoroughly excited about it.  How did the INSEAD dream start? 

• Read more about My Adventure, My Dream and the INSEAD Seed