giovedì 19 febbraio 2009

Learning at INSEAD

Each of us came here to INSEAD with different priorities. Some lucky guys have been sponsored by their company, and for them it is simply a to-do step for the next move in their carrer. Other came here just because they wanted to go to a particular job and knew that it would have been impossible for them to get there without an MBA.
Other people came here simply to take one year off. And I can assure you, there are a lot! Most of them used to work really a lot before... maybe they were uncertain about what to do in the future, they were not satisfied from their jobs.. and wanted to take their time to decide.
Some people came here just because it is cool, because their friends did it, or because they like the brand name of INSEAD.
Other came here to find fun, love.... or sex!
Finally there are the people who came here with the main objective to learn. Now, everybody wants to learn something, but for most of the people this is not their primary objective. For me instead it is. And after these first couple of months I have to say that there are fewer people in this category than I expected.
So, how much can INSEAD make us learn? Well, I am learning, but less than how much I expected. The school organizes you things in particular ways and it expects you to learn in that way. Most of the time the best learning happens in ways that you figure it out, from contacting a professor to speak with him about a business idea, in a conversation with alumni, in events organized by INSEAd clubs, at talks at lunch with current students, at the Entrepreneurship Speed-Dating, from the questions that you make during lesson.
Learning is really up to you. If it is your priority, I believe that you can end this year with really new things that you have learned. But if you do not care so much about it, do not expect that things will be implanted in your brain.
An entrepreneurship professor was speaking about INSEAD network: and it is really great. If you call an Alumnus to ask him about his start-up, chances are that he will provide you all the information that you need, will give a feedback on your ideas, and you will learn a lot from him.
But this is completely up to you. And I see here most people for who the priority is to not miss all the parties OR to do all the finance exercises because they are scared by the exames.
It is a matter of choice, I am not saying that this is good or bad. But if your primary objective is LEARNING, then you should ask yourself, at least once a day, if you are doing the right things for your personal growth. And if the answer is no, it is better for you to change something in your plans.

1 commento:

  1. Hey!

    This is a nice blog post.. hope you post more!

    How can I get in touch with you?

    Keep blogging,

    Uma Abraham

    uma@graduatetutor.com
    http://graduatetutor.com/

    RispondiElimina