Who says study has to be mundane? We at ESMT definitely do not think so. After classes, we organised football matches among ourselves and with the faculty members. Once a month, we have “Bergfest”, a time to socialise and meet alumni and other faculty members in non-classroom setting. So, we don’t just study and party.

We have now added Tango to our list. Do you know that outside of Argentina, Berlin has the largest congregation of tango enthusiasts? That was what our Tango Professor told us. So, we took some time off on Fridays to learn tango from him. While the tango steps may look easy, they really make you sweat. Overall, it was a fun time for the few of us. And, we are looking forward to our first Milonga session where we can practise our tango with others.

We are finally back from our break. We started the week with the Intopia (International Operations) business simulation game.  The class were divided into 10 teams and with 20million Swiss Franc (I wish it was real), we were given a free hand to develop the chips and PC businesses in US, Europe or Brazil. Now, that did not sound so difficult, right? Well, it was! Everyone had a clean piece of sheet and 20million Swiss Francs. How each team developed and plans to carry out their business is entire up to them. It’s a free-for-all world.

The challenges came in developing and agreeing on the strategies and how to work together. Anyway, I shall not delve into the details and spoil the fun for the future ESMT MBA classes. I am sure my classmates and alumni will understand how this Intopia world works. The real test was getting started in an intense 5 days of planning, discussions, negotiations, anything you name it especially when you came back from a good 3-week summer break. Most of us stayed up late into the the night or even up to early morning to plan and discuss for the next decision submission. At one point, my CEO and I were still emailing and SMSing each other at 3AM! In such an intense period, anything can happen and did happened. For me, I definitely enjoyed the game and the role that I played – as the CFO and supported the team. We all put on our experiences and learning from the last 6 modules into action. We all worn many hats – marketing, production, operations, HR, finance, manufacturing, IT, etc. But, it all ended up nicely in a well-executed strategy.

In the end, we were all winner – in a way of another or another. If you thought (if you have been following my ESMT blog) that the last 8 months were the test, you’re wrong. THIS, the Intopia, is the REAL endurance test. The interactions between classmates and teams were really put to the test. For our alliance team (see pic), we working pretty well, I must say. We put aside our differences, if there were even any to start with, and worked towards a common goal. If you’re curious about this game, join ESMT and experience this real excitement.

Next week, we begin our Module 7 – the elective module. How time passes us by. 8 and a half months gone. I need to sleep now; most of us slept less than 4 hours each day for this whole week

Jimmy

While the ESMT MBA class enjoys a well earned three-week summer break, some positive economic indicators are emerging to greet them when they come back.

With unemployment across the Eurozone now hovering just over 10%, more and more business school graduates in Europe are having a tough time re-entering the job market. But a closer look at the figures reveals striking differences in rates of recovery across individual Eurozone countries and must surely be creating headaches for policy makers at the European Central Bank how to set interest rates in the future. Take Germany, for instance.
While the unemployment rate in the Eurozone overall has increased from the record low of 7.2% set in January 2008 to over 10%, the German unemployment rate has actually decreased during this period (from 7.8% to 7.6%, equalling an almost two decade low). “There is a very high demand for highly qualified managers in Germany these days, and this trend is likely to continue and even intensify”, according to Professor Joerg Rocholl, Ernst and Young Chaired Professor of Finance at ESMT.

In an article on July 28th in the Wall Street Journal’s “The Source” Blog, David Cottle comments that the rise in July of another major indicator, BNP Paribas’s euro-zone ‘flash’ manufacturing Purchasing Managers Index, was led by Germany. “This supports our long-held view that we will continue to see a two-speed euro area, with notable outperformance by countries like Germany, which continues to benefit from the strength of its manufacturing sector,” said BNP. This latest data shows that Germany is again assuming its traditional role of being the “locomotive” of economic growth in Europe.

All in all, this is great news for business school students and graduates who are looking to study or work in Germany. At present the job market for highly qualified workforce seems to be very tight, working in favour of business school graduates with solid professional experience.

At ESMT European School of Management and Technology in Berlin, over 90% of MBA students who graduated in December 2009 were in employment by March 2010. Over 60% of these graduates found employment in Germany.

The graduates also benefited from ESMT`s powerful company network, in particular among the 25 major German global players who constitute the “Founders”.

The next MBA Program starts in January 2011, and applications are now open. More info on www.esmt.org/mba.

All the best

Nick

Nick Barniville,

MBA Director, ESMT

Scorching heat, unlimited desire to drink water, though it is sunny and beautiful outside, you want to go out only in the morning or evening and endless wait for rains…..I had almost forgotten these emotions as I spent last few summers outside India, but summer of this year brought me back those memories.  Currently I am in my summer break, which is already half way through. Weather outside reminds me of my summer breaks in IIT, where I spent couple of those long summer breaks. This one is not that long, though I would have loved one considering the things I want to do. These days,  I am improving my German language skills and learning in more details about some more interesting topics like Financial derivatives and Strategies for bottom of pyramid markets.

Last weeks before summer break have been the fastest, busiest and one of the most interesting ones of the program. Trip to China was undoubtedly one of the best experience. China is certainly on the way to become the economic power of world and it can be clearly observed in the confidence of the business leaders of local as well as MNCs in china. Though importance of China for businesses can’t be overstated, there are challenges in terms of government regulations and local imitations, which give one uneasy feelings about it. After China, we had our consulting week, where focus was more on the importance of communication part of the job. Communication of solution is often underrated and deserves more attention and was given. Problem solving part is equally important and learned throughout the year, though it is the communication part, where many people fail to deliver. Other exciting part of this week was extended discussion with consultants from Mckinsey and BCG, who gave us insider view on the industry as well as on the daily work.

Now as the MBA program is approaching its climax, everyone of us is preparing for the jobs and challenges outside the world of ESMT. As I am in the mid of finalizing these thoughts, I would post them here hopefully by the end of next week, when the summer break would end.

Geez, one-and-a-half week of summer break gone just like that. Things seems to fly by fast when you’re having fun. But, it was a good break for me so far. Took the opportunity to visit London and York. Why York? Well, I am a huge train fan and York is the site of the National Railway Museum, the largest collection of trains in UK. Makes me feel like a kid again. It was amazing the collection of locomotives – steam, diesel and electric, and from the early days of UK railway (George Stephenson’s Rocket) to the Eurostar. Of course, not forgetting Thomas and Friends.

As I wandered through the maze of trains parked in a large shed, I admired the British’s sense of preservation of history. They kept every thing and any thing for the next generation to see. I could find old railway tracks from the first Liverpool-Manchester railway to the boardroom table of the GNER (Great North Eastern Railways). How I wish our Malayan Railways would do the same – to preserve all the old railway equipment and paraphernalia as the railway authority starts modernizing its network. Gone are the good old days of clickey-clacks. But, I felt proud that railway fans like myself still get to see a piece of history maintained in good state of condition (looking forward to German’s Deutsche Bahn Museum in Nuremberg as they celebrates 175 years of railway in Germany).

Another one-and-a-half week to go before the summer break ends and another 5 more months to graduation. My classmates and I will be busy with business simulation after this break followed by elective courses and then practice projects and master thesis. It will be a busy time for all us and less time to have fun. Nonetheless, I had a wonderful experience in Berlin thus far; I knew I made the right choice to be there. Not just about studying but also to make new friends, acquire new knowledge and most important of all, experiencing life after 35!

Jimmy

It is bright, sunny and admittedly not my favorite time of the year. I prefer cloudy days. My subcontinental upbringing has made me suffer enough sun to last a lifetime. But here I am in Berlin, reeling under the merciless heat without any air conditioning in my apartment. Some things are good though, we have a break for the next 3 weeks. I finally have some time to plan ahead and get my life along with my messy apartment in order. I hope I am able to motivate myself enough to do these things. This week we gained some insights into the world of consulting. Was quite interesting as we learned how to adapt the visuals and tone of presentations according to the target audience. We also gave an online test called HDBI, which gave us more insights into what we supposedly want to be like. The broad categories were emotional, planners, logical thinkers, and creatively inclined. To my surprise, I am a combination of emotional and creative. I thought I should be more logical than emotional but apparently I want to walk down sappy street. Anyways, I don’t read too much into these tests, as I believe that most of the time these reflect your thoughts at one small interval of time.And thoughts are inconsistent and easily influenced most of the time. Its only when we have to take concrete actions that we depict thinking which may be closer to rationality. I shall spend most of my summer in Berlin with a few trips around Germany. Its been hardly 10 days since we got back from that awesome International Study Trip to China and my mind continues to think about the wonderful time we had there. We saw the great wall, Shanghai expo, other historical monuments, cheered Germany on in the word cup (thankfully they were winning until then), stayed at the Ritz Carlton and also visited highly interesting companies. Although we were there for 10 days it felt so short that I feel like it was incomplete. I hope I manage to revisit China sometime but for now I am looking forward to the summer break  and visiting Hamburg tomorrow. I hope the heat wave will reduce and the summer time will be great too.

The last four weeks have been extraordinary. My second son was born on
the same day as the opening of the world cup in my home country. A
frantic two weeks of trying to juggle the newly extended family and a
very heavy MBA workload was immediately followed by the international
field seminar in China. It was an incredible trip, filled with rich
experiences and insights into both the culture and business
environment of an economic powerhouse. Our return to the sweltering
Berlin summer coupled with Germany´s exit was a rather dramatic return
to reality. Rejoining my family, I also realised that I had been away
for half of my son´s life so far, which I find disturbing. Readjusting
to the MBA schedule and trying to establish the new routines at home
has its challenging moments, and I am very grateful that in two days
time we start our 3 week summer vacation. If all goes according to
plan, we should all be rested enough to tackle the second half of the
program, which will focus more on integrative leadership than on the
core competencies we have been working on so far.

I think we are reaching the peak of summer. The temperature is now around 30C and expected to hit 36-38C throughout the week. It is hot by my standard but at least not as humid as in Shanghai, Beijing or Malaysia. We completed our China (and India for those who went there) presentations yesterday and a nice BBQ treat from the school, and a few games of volleyball. As we have completed half year of study, it is time to chill (in summer??) and have fun. Next week we will be having our consulting week where professionals from ESMT Consulting Group and McKinsey will be here to coach us on the art of consulting. And then we are off for our 3-week summer vacation. Some of us will be going back to our home country. As for me, I will hang around in Berlin and tour parts of Europe.

When I started blogging about ESMT Endurance Expedition, I quoted Emerson that it is going to be a long and tough journey. He was right. We had our ups and downs in the last 6 months but with them came the fun and camaraderie. In the end, we all survived the first half of the journey. I was told that the second half will be smoother but nonetheless, time will pass by quicker than we thought. How I wish that I could turn back the clock and start the journey again as I enjoyed the experience so much. One journey will end and another will begin. For me, it is just the start of experiencing life after 35

Jimmy Low

Beijing was a contrast from Shanghai. Less skyscrapers than Shanghai but the historical and cultural aspects of Beijing offers much more than you think.

The group visited Allianz Mondial and Baidu headquarters on our second day in Beijing. As Google pulled out of China, we wondered if Baidu gained from that. According to the people at Baidu, they did not see a significant increase in the users while their smaller rivals stood to gain from Google’s pull-out.

On the weekends, we visited the Badaling section of the Great Wall of China. Indeed, it WAS a great wall. The climb was a test of our endurance – befitting the Endurance Expedition this MBA Class 2010 is experiencing in bitter winter Berlin a few months ago. Most of us made it and it was a commanding view from the peak. The summer heat did not help as we were sweating profusely. No air-conditioning nor water could cool us down for the few hours. We also visited one of the thirteen Ming Dynasty emperors’ tomb. Tiananmen Square and its surrounding Forbidden City was not missed. The grandeur of the palace reminds us of the great of China then and its reclamation of the title in the 21st century. After Chairman Mao’s death, Deng Xiao Peng opened China to the world and the world to China. Everywhere you can see activities going on. And, the seas of people at every corner. It’s just amazing to be in China at this moment. You just got to be here to experience the dynamism.

On our last day, we visited Siemens and was introduced to their HR practices and their business and innovation strategy. Our last stop was Lenovo, a Chinese company that surprised the world by taking over the IBM PC division in 2005. We did a case study on Lenovo for our Global Marketing Strategy last term and here we were at their headquarters to experience the real “New World, New Thinking” experience. I must say, they are doing pretty well since taking over and the new gadgets that they are coming out – LePhone based on Google Android, Ideapad and many more which will appear in the market soon are worth checking out.

Finally, after 10 days in China – Shanghai and Beijing, it is an eye-opener for any foreigner and especially for an Overseas Chinese like myself, who for the first time step foot on my ancestral land. The amount of development going on around China is just beyond words especially when all these happened in a span of 30 years. Not only are big cities like Beijing and Shanghai enjoying the economic prosperity, so are second tier cities like Tianjin. My Malaysian friend, who is here for his MBA, took me on a 30-minute high-speed train ride (at 330km/hour) to Tianjin and experience the ride and the development there. It was an awesome experience for me. And the food. Lots of them at each sitting. From Chairman Mao’s favorite dish to Peking duck, each meal was tantalizing and sumptuous. And, any Chinese host will make sure his guests have plenty to eat

Well, 10 days are over now. Time to head back to Berlin tomorrow. See you again.

From Beijing with love,
Jimmy Low

 Let’s get down to business. We are all set to Infosys, the largest IT empire in India. Quite impressive. A huge campus with a big swimming pool, golf course, restaurants and even pyramid-designed buildings. Through the discussion with senior managers from the Corporate Planning Department, we come to understand the company’s diversification and geographical expansion strategy.

Then comes Biocon, the 7th largest biotech company in the world in terms of employees, founded by Ms. Kiran Mazumdar-shaw whom represents female leadership in India today.

Tuesday begins with Mindtree, the 10-year-old IT solutions company planning to become a billion dollar enterprise soon. The day ends with the meeting with Bosch, a totally-owned subsidiary of the Germany-based Robert Bosch GmbH. Quite an interesting example of how German efficiency comes hand in hand with Indian culture and working style.

 Goodbye to Bangalore, we head to Pune for Bharat Forge and Suzlon.