The NANYANG MBA Blog!

One day old at work and it's party time!

Your DisplayName here! — Wed, 13 Apr 2011 06:43:18 GMT

Author: Ann Julaton, Marketing Manager, The NANYANG MBA

Don’t get me wrong about my job. It is serious and challenging, but I have to admit, one of the perks of being in a business school is that you get to attend mixers and networking receptions of students and alumni, not to mention at a spanking place at the heart of the central business district – Nueva Cuba at Customs House. Isn’t it exciting?

Approaching Nueva Cuba, where the alumni gathering was held

13th April 2011 was my first day at my new (or old) work place – Nanyang Business School. After a hiatus of more than a year, I came back with a fresh mind and all geared up to take on an entirely different challenge of doing marketing and admissions for the MBA programmes. Though one of my team’s main tasks is to bring in new students to the MBA, I felt the need to mingle and interact with current students and alumni – for the reason that it is a good induction to the kind of environment I will be in, sans the school setting. In a ‘let-your-hair-down’ environment, people at the reception would be more relaxed - breaking barriers and forging new friendships that could be a start of a strong network. Just like me, I am sure that the current students are taking advantage of this networking aspect, too.

Arriving at the venue slightly late (NTU is approximately an hour away from the hustle and bustle of city-life but you will not notice the distance as the campus is very much accessible by public transportation – Metro Rail Transit or MRT, buses, or cab; on the brighter side, because of its distance from the city, NTU is very conducive to learning – no distractions!), I chanced upon a gentleman who was scanning the crowd in front of him, looking lost. He must have noticed that I looked lost, too. A minute of silence between us, the gentleman decided to break the ice – “Are you here for the NBS event?” Right there and then, I finally found my first liaison to the current MBA students – David Tipton.

David Tipton, a full-time MBA student graduating this 2011, became an immediate acquaintance. We managed to find the NBS group, with the nametags worn by the attendees giving away the hint. We entertained people by telling our funny story of meeting by chance.

As the night progressed, current students, alumni and even a few of the NBS staff present exchanged stories and laughter over a glass of wine, a bottle of beer or even a glass of non-alcoholic drink. I was fortunate to have met alumni who graduated as early as 1996, Ms Gladys Ng, Senior Vice President for Emfore Capital, and Mr Johnnie Gan, class of 2010, who currently holds the post Business and Customer Manager for IBM Singapore. I listened to their animated stories when they were still students, and the challenge of their working environment. Moreover, current students like David Tipton and Mathieu Francois never failed to amuse the group they were in, with their endless anecdotes of student life. Banter and laughter filled the night.

Spectacular views outside of the venue that attendees of the alumni gathering took pleasure in.

I am glad that I made the effort to go, even on my first day. Not only did I learn more of my role in marketing and admissions within a non-work environment, but I was able to forge friendships among the attendees - students, alumni and even NBS staff. It was a first ‘extended day’ on the job that is definitely not wasted.

Breaking Barriers, Forging Friendships and Conceiving the Future - Singapore MBA Network organizes its first networking event

Your DisplayName here! — Sat, 09 Apr 2011 06:20:47 GMT

Author: Pramoj S/O Sankar, MBA Student 2011, Vice-President Cultural, Student Ex-Co,

On the 9th of April, I joined a gathering of over 200 MBA students from top business schools based in Singapore -Nanyang, NUS, SMU, Essec and Insead, in an evening filled with fun, laughter and networking. It was held at the Oosh bar and restaurant, located in Dempsey Hill and one of the hip places in Singapore for parties and dining. Oosh used to be a former army camp which turned into Singapore's largest alfresco bar and restaurant, tucked inside a natural habitat of trees - away from the hustle and bustle of buildings and city life. Yes, Singapore can surprise you with such lush places! That event was the very first initiative of the Singapore MBA Network, a newly created, and maybe the first formal group of MBAs based in Singapore, which counts both present students and alumni from the 5 schools. And this networking event was certainly the best way to kick start the formation of this group.

I found the excitement to be palpable as I met fellow young (and some very experienced) thought leaders of tomorrow from other schools and shared with one another our experiences from our respective programs, as well as our aspirations upon receiving our MBAs. Everyone was in high spirits, and I found the opportunity of meeting new people and of learning new ideas very refreshing and truly rewarding experience.

I was the emcee of the event - hugging the microphone most of the time, and maybe I tried my best to make the event as enjoyable as possible, by telling anecdotes or simple jokes to break the ice. I was thrilled to have worked with the other MBA participants to organize the event, and was especially pleased to have the opportunity to play games and interact with almost everyone.

Pram hosting the night

On a more serious note, student leaders of each school also gave brief speeches to rally their peers towards forming a cohesive and influential network of Singapore MBAs. I personally felt honoured to be part of this network, with so many brilliant minds and by just being at this event, I could already feel the immense potential and value this alliance could give me and other aspiring young business individuals. It is, indeed, a start of something big!

I felt everyone enjoyed the networking session - hundreds of name-cards, including my own, were exchanged, ideas for future collaborations were conceived and most importantly, new circles of valuable friendship had been forged. This unprecedented event had truly added a new dimension to my MBA experience in Singapore. We all look forward to the next event, as this first networking event paved the way to more occasions of similar nature.

Posing for the camera while enjoying drinks and company – Singapore MBA Students at the networking event
(Photos courtesy of Singapore MBA Network organizer)

The CSR Asia Forum on Sustainability Disclosure 2011

Your DisplayName here! — Thu, 07 Apr 2011 01:47:14 GMT

Author: Mandar Gori, Vice President (Sustainability), Student Executive Committee, The Nanyang MBA

As the Student Executive Committee member representing the CSR and other clubs at The Nanyang MBA, I have been associated with the CSR and sustainability related activities for the past 8 months. The CSR Asia Forum on Sustainability Disclosure 2011 introduced me to this very interesting topic of sustainability reporting.

I truly believe that the event was very well organized by CSR Asia.

CSR Asia is a provider of information, training, research and consultancy services on sustainable business practices in Asia. I’m proud that The Nanyang Business School is actually the academic partner for The CSR Asia Forum.

The welcome address was given by Jenny Costelloe, Director at CSR Asia, and who is also an alumnus of The Nanyang MBA. The presentation by Simon Lord on a business case on sustainability reporting at his company New Britain Palm Oil was very informational.

Six different workshops were arranged for the second half of the day out of which I could attend the one on GRI – The international reporting framework by Sean Gilbert from Global Reporting Initiative (GRI). I know that Dr. Patricia Tan, our school’s Associate Professor in Accounting also shared her insights into recent developments in sustainability reporting, trying to raise awareness of this new international trend as well as to promote such practice in Singapore.

This event has definitely opened my eyes to the future of public reporting of sustainability initiatives in the corporate world and its importance to the business. Cheers and congratulations to the CSR Asia team for such a successful event!

Scoring in the 2nd Asian MBA Football Cup

Your DisplayName here! — Sat, 02 Apr 2011 03:59:09 GMT

Author: Esmond Yan, MBA Student

Looking at this photograph will probably always succeed in making me smile. After all, we made it to the semi-finals as a team this year!

HKUST hosted other football teams from INSEAD, CEIBS, HKU, HKCU in this rough but thoroughly enjoyable one-day tournament. Our team was drawn in a group with HKUST Team 2, HKUST Alumni and HKU where our very own Italian stallion Henri Allegra scored 2 goals to take us into the semi-finals.

However, having the smallest team of only 9 players took its toll on us. Henri, Alexander, Gabriel, Andrew, Vincent, Benny, John and Rob – we all just had each other to lean on against some very skilled players. We really were at a disadvantage.

We lost to match the eventual champions, INSEAD. Still, we don’t walk away from this experience disheartened. We’re far from that, actually. The team showed great sportsmanship despite injuries and the rain. There really wasn’t room for defeat anyway, because at the after-party, everyone felt like a winner. We went to Republic, a posh club in Hong Kong’s Lan Kwai Fung district, a generous treat by the host!

After all that hard work and good play, we were sore everywhere by the end of the trip. We still find the experience worth it though. It was great fun to compete and at the same time, we got to network with other MBA students of different nationalities.

The best part was getting to bond with each other and functioning as a team. I really feel like we did win a great prize and we’re walking away with it. This prize, to me, is invaluable. This event led me to meeting some great individuals indeed, and I relished every step of the way.

We definitely scored, if you ask me.

The 2011 Asia Venture Challenge

Your DisplayName here! — Sat, 26 Mar 2011 06:13:38 GMT

Author: Sheetal Nanwani, MBA Student

The Asia Venture Challenge [formerly known as Asian Moot Competition] was a thoroughly enjoyable experience this year, and my team and I are proud to have been part of such an event! Bangkok, Thailand is such a lovely place.

While we were not able to bring home any awards from the event, presenting to venture capitalists (VCs) and senior executive judges within a competition setting was an invaluable experience.

We are aware of the things we’ve gained through this ordeal – experience, networking opportunities and contacts from an international pool of talents, many from the top-ranked schools in Asia.

We spent a lot of time preparing for these three-days and to me, it’s definitely worth the time and effort. On our first day, we had fun setting up a booth to advertise our business venture.

After setting up the booth, we launched into The Rocket Pitch competition, which is a minute-long pitch to potential investors. Last year, Nanyang's Philip Buchan won the equivalent elevator pitch. Vincent Teo, Malaysian, took the reigns on this one, and though he didn’t win the pitch, he found that he learned a lot from the experience.

The second day was the busiest. We had four activities planned: The Divisional Round, Group Lunch, Playoff Round, and Cocktail Reception. During the Divisional Round, we were to pitch our business idea as a team, and though we ran a little short on time during the actual presentation, we did handle ourselves well during the Q&A session. We also watched other teams’ presentations and were impressed by some of the ones we saw.

Relaxation came after. The cocktail reception was great!

During the reception, we mingled with the other participants. In particular, the team spent a lot of time mingling with members of HKU and HKUST, and it’s a joy to know them.

The final day came fast! We participated in the Challenge Round, which was such a thrill, I must say. Our presentation went smoothly, and was a unique experience given the format is different than the typical MBA presentation of a 100% scripted presentation followed by questions.

The teams presenting in the finals impressed us, and we learned from them as well. The day flew by and before we knew it, it was already time for the Closing Ceremony. It was our final chance to network and to have fun with the others. It really was a nice end to such an exciting week.

I was really fortunate to work with the team, and it was a great opportunity I’m glad we took together.

Nanyang, a worthy exchange: starting with a glance, but leaving with amazing perspectives ; exchange students from New Zealand and Israel share their experiences.

Your DisplayName here! — Sat, 19 Mar 2011 06:08:11 GMT

Authors: Chung Nee Ping Stephanie, Victoria University of Wellington and Rafael Mazuz Tel Aviv University.

Choosing where to go is one big step for those considering going on an exchange programme. It’s imperative to think carefully while choosing because it’s going to be a few months worth of experiences.

I thought about it and in the end, I chose Singapore for my student exchange because it is located in the very heart of Southeast Asia and it is a known financial hub. I’m really glad with the decision.

The Nanyang Technological University (NTU) is reputed for being one of the top schools in Southeast Asia as well as Asia- the MBA students are from different backgrounds and approximately from 30 countries, I had the opportunity to meet people with diversified cultures and experiences. The courses offered at Nanyang are challenging and practical. The lecturers are knowledgeable, and they offer invaluable information and real life examples in class.

Apart from the studies, I also find Singapore a lively city with lots of things to do such as shopping and entertainment. Even the nights are lovely there. Public transportation is very convenient, everything is accessible and food is quite cheap. I am very proud to be a part of them. A rock star chose Nanyang!

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Choosing Nanyang definitely left me with good memories. Due to its unique position as an economic, cultural, and geographic gateway to Asia-Pacific, I chose to study in Singapore for my semester exchange. Singapore’s really vibrant. I even made it to the National Day Parade.

After doing research on the different universities, it was clear that Nanyang offered the best Asian business perspective, with courses like Chinese Language, Chinese Classics Applications for Business, as well as International Business Law courses with an emphasis on Asia-Pacific issues. I found those options really interesting. At the end of it all, I am happy to report that all of my expectations were exceeded.

Exchange students at Nanyang are allowed and even encouraged to utilize the wide range of networking events and extracurricular activities available on campus. I joined the water polo and biathlon teams and trained with them during the semester. In addition to being a great workout, this was an opportunity to make many friends even outside of the business school.

My home university has a very international MBA class, with 21 countries represented. Still, I was even more pleased to find that Nanyang has 27 countries represented, and most of those are from Asian countries! That gave me a chance to expand my understanding and network even more!

Additionally, being in this region made it very convenient to travel to countries like China, Thailand, Vietnam, and Cambodia, which is definitely an advantage of studying in this part of the world.

My experience this past semester was priceless, both personally and professionally. I strongly encourage others to consider Nanyang as a worthwhile option for taking a semester abroad. I’m very happy to have been a part of this.

The first Singapore MBA Olympics for a cause- an experience to remember and treasure

Your DisplayName here! — Tue, 15 Mar 2011 06:00:42 GMT

Authors: Jaiganesh Pasupathy, Snigdha Nandan Co-Chairpersons, The Nanyang MBA CSR Club, Mandar Gori, VP Sustainability, The Nanyang MBA Student EXCO

From its inception to the final handing over of the cheque to The Cambodia Trust, the first MBA Olympics among Singapore MBA students has been a journey involving fun, teamwork and positive spirit. We’re so glad to announce that the event was a success! As the event was inaugural or the first of its kind, we had a lot to plan and organise. We’re truly thankful to those who made this happen, our classmates from The Nanyang MBA for volunteering their services and also to our sponsors, especially the major sponsor, City Development Limited (CDL) , and the other sponsors (CDC, SPH, GNC, DHL, MacDonald’s and Frolick) that understood the impact this event can bring.

There were five business schools involved: INSEAD, SMU, NUS, S.P. Jain and Nanyang itself. There were over 90 participants, and though the competition were intense, there were good sportsmanship demonstrated throughout the day, and we all had a lot of fun! We competed in four sports, namely Basketball, Badminton, Futsal and Table Tennis.

Our team did our best in the CDL MBA Olympics and Nanyang eventually emerged victorious for both Futsal and Basketball!

Through this event, we managed to raise a total of $5,342 for The Cambodia Trust. The cheque was officially handed over to Michael Scott, the Country Director of The Cambodia Trust. It wasn’t his first time being around Nanyang MBA students here in Singapore, and we do hope it won’t be his last.

After the ceremony, Michael told us more about the various initiatives taken on by The Cambodia Trust. The new information only intrigued us further in the cause and in fact, we’re continuing to support The Cambodia Trust. This June, we’re geared up for more action. The CSR Club is exploring time to visit Cambodia! It’s only a few months away, and we cannot wait.

At the end of the sporting events, we had a short gathering to celebrate the various obstacles we’d overcome and the victories that were achieved.

It’s truly been a challenge but an extremely worthwhile experience for all of us, a journey we’re not likely to forget. The three of us were really honoured to work with such a capable group of people and for such a worthy cause. This heralds a new beginning for Nanyang Business School’s CSR club and we are sure it will continue to create awareness about CSR and make a difference in the society we live in.

The VCIC–surviving the intensity of the competition and investing time in a simulated investment environment

Your DisplayName here! — Thu, 10 Mar 2011 04:15:48 GMT

Author: Kelvin Tey, Singapore, Nanyang MBA Student

The exams at Nanyang had just ended and here we were ready to hop onto the next big thing: preparations for the regional Venture capital Investment Competition or VCIC in short [investments] held in Hyderabad!

When we arrived in Hyderabad, we were greeted by our host, Ashutosh Singh, a representative from the Indian School of Business (ISB). Both teams set off to the beautiful ISB campus, located just about half an hour from the airport. We were definitely looking forward to our two-day stay there since we met with such a dynamic campus upon first glance.

It was past midnight when we arrived but the campus was vibrant with life and loud music! Ashutosh explained that since the students would be graduating in May, and they were just enjoying the time they had left in the school.

We had only five hours of rest before the team met at 8am for our authentic Indian breakfast. The canteen and scenery was great, and the spread was mouth-watering. If you're a fan of vegetarian Indian food, you definitely should try the food at ISB! Here’s a peak of the campus:

Following the extremely satisfying breakfast, we headed to Irfan’s room for a discussion. We had an intense group discussion, with questions, answers and rebuttals all thrown in the open. We drilled each other on the merits and weaknesses of the different companies. We really had to push ourselves since we were only to be given 15 minutes to decide on the actual day. Time completely flew by and it was suddenly already 7pm, time to go for the scheduled cocktail.

It was a great experience, interacting with the hosts and other participants. We understood more about the different nationalities, as well as experiences and campus life in ISB. It's too bad I'm already in my final year, otherwise I definitely wouldn't pass up an opportunity to apply for an exchange program at ISB!

After the cocktail, we proceeded to the dining hall. We had several rounds of beer and then we were served the "Hyderabad Nasi Briyani". Our host had mentioned that a stay in Hyderabad wouldn't be complete without tasting this most famous local dish, and it truly was scrumptious!

The next thing should naturally be to wash up and head to bed but no, the team headed back to the library to solidify our analyses and arguments. Fortunately, none of us is tipsy so we managed a four-hour intensive discussion on our cases once more. Coffee was a constant drink for all of us, and finally at 4am, we finally headed back to our rooms. I told myself, “Kelvin, you better get some sleep.” I was still so anxious about the competition!

"The Big Event" day came, and this time, breakfast was much too quick. We gathered at the competition venue and met with the venture capitalists, the four start-up entrepreneurs.

We were tasked to make the choice to invest in only one company, and we were to choose between Sacona, United Mobile Apps, Quantama and Nuru.

During their presentations, you can really feel the dedication and determination of the entrepreneurs. It was so exciting to watch!

After the presentations, our belief in choosing to invest in Nuru, a start-up company that provides low power energy solutions to households in rural areas, was reaffirmed. During those intense ninety minutes, we were shuttling between different seminar rooms, as we posed our questions to the entrepreneurs, seeking to either clarify our doubts or strengthen our investment thesis. There was never a dull moment!

Subsequently, we 'locked' ourselves in a room to prepare our final investment thesis and to make our final investment decision. Our conclusion was still to go with Nuru, so we moved onto discussing our strategy and approach to the investment process.

We were too engrossed with our work that we completely forgot about lunch! Fortunately, and thankfully, our gracious host brought us some food.

By 3.30pm, we were led to a lecture theatre, where we were to propose our investment thesis to the panel of venture capitalists, as well as the entrepreneurs from Nuru.

Immediately after the presentation, we were given feedback on our approach and investment decisions. Receiving advise from a panel of seasoned venture capitalists was such a privilege as well as an honour. Personally, that was the biggest takeaway from the entire trip. Their advise and comments were highly insightful and gave us many more options to explore. It made us view our work in different angles, and it definitely broadened my scope of thought.

We were able to relax only when it was time to wait for the results. Unfortunately, we didn't win, and it was sad that we didn't manage to bring glory back to the Nanyang Business School. However, I don't think there was any loss at all. The trip was memorable and the experience is irreplaceable.

Regardless of the outcome, the hard work was worth it. I strongly encourage the incoming students to participate in the VCIC competition. It was such a rewarding journey, especially if they desire to get into the investment field.

John Molson Experience – getting a feel of a global business competition

Your DisplayName here! — Sun, 20 Feb 2011 17:29:25 GMT

Written by The NANYANG MBA 2011 Team to John Molson Alexander Pflock (Full time / Germany),
Joseph Arollado (Full time / Philippines) Irfan Khan (Full time / USA) Manu Muraleedharan (Full time
Double Degree Waseda / India Marcus Yan (Full time Double Degree Waseda / Singapore)

For the 3rd straight year, Nanyang is sending a team for the 30th John Molson Case Competition in
Canada, held from 3 to 8 Jan 2011. Our team is representing the Nanyang Business School, after beating
a few teams at Nanyang. The selection process for the NBS team was an in-class case competition among
aspiring teams, during the New Venture Practicum course. We were really excited when we heard about our
being chosen as the team and were proud to represent NTU at the competition.

On the first day, the committee organized a city chase in the morning to familiarize the participants with
the city and the neighborhood. After going through administrative procedures in the afternoon, we had the
opportunity to meet the other 35 competing schools at the cocktail lounge.

Our Team, comprised of Irfan , Alex , Marcus ,Manu and Joseph newly arrived at the competition center.

On the second day, all the participants had their game faces on as they eagerly waited for the actual
competition to start. The schedule and mechanics of the competition were straight forward. The entire
competition lasts for a total of five days. Three and a half days were allocated for elimination, half a day for
semi-finals and the last day for the finals. 36 competing teams were segregated into 6 divisions. The
elimination round was a head-to-head, round-robin system where we would have to compete against the
other 5 teams in our division. The scoring system was a bit complicated. Judges would have to split a
total of 11 points between the competitors. The gap between the winner and loser can be as wide as 11 – 0,
or as close as 6 – 5. The actual mechanic for the case analysis and presentation was again pretty simple.
Groups were brought in to isolated rooms wherein they were given three hours to analyze a case. After three
hours, teams would have to proceed to the presentation room where they were given 25 minutes to present,
and 15 minutes to answer questions from the judges. The exceptions were the “live” case in which a team
is given only 2 hours to prepare and a “short” case wherein a team had only 15 minutes to present.
The analysis was all written down in transparencies and presented using an over-head projector.

Our Team, sitting relaxed in the presentation board room, while waiting for the competition.

The competition was very tough as most of the schools came in well prepared. Just like our school, many
schools had a special course designed specifically to prepare students for this competition. Though
the strategies or analysis were quite similar across the teams, the presentation styles were clearly different.
Some teams were really polished, in the sense that they already had a certain routine prepared. They were even
trained on using the transparencies which was evident with creation of on the fly templates on transparency.

Given the amount of lead time between selection and the competition and the number of relevant courses our
team members have done, we performed really well. We believe that some aspects of the competition,
specifically presentation, can be learned and further improved. On the other hand, we felt really proud of
ourselves, knowing that our ideas and creativity gave us an edge over our competitors. In fact, we were able
to beat Queen’s School of Business who were the runner-up at the end. All-in-all, the competition gave our team
valuable insights about our strengths, weaknesses and team dynamics. One lesson we learned is that our team
excelled in thinking out of the box. Furthermore, our team members complimented each other in terms of
knowledge and contributions. On the other hand, we realized that presenting collectively is a skill that we had
taken for granted. In addition, we understood the importance of composure in such competitions.

On the lighter side, the organizing committee made sure all the 36 schools got enough time to interact with each
other. To achieve this, they organized a networking event every evening - cocktail night, ball dance, hockey
night. They even had a learning session for ball dance. We also attended informal networking sessions
every night at the hotel, where we discussed the proceedings of the day and also discussed on the strategy
changes the next day. The best part about this competition was that not only we got to meet peers from schools
all around the world, but also the coaches of those schools were open to sharing where they thought our team
was going wrong and what should we focus on. So, the competitors during the day time became your friends and
teachers in the evening.

Our team, spending some light moments, trying out the cold outdoors, with some of the competing students.

Starting the year at high altitude

Your DisplayName here! — Mon, 07 Feb 2011 09:03:52 GMT

Author: Greg Edwards

Starting the year at high altitude

Last week we had a social event for The NANYANG MBA students sponsored by the MBA Student
Executive Committee, and organized by EXCO VP – Social and Sports, Andrew Humphreys (USA ).
The timing couldn’t have been better as we were also able to welcome EMBA students visiting
Singapore from the Norwegian School of Management, as well as a group of MBA students from
SungKyunKwan University (SKKU) of Korea. One of the SKKU students was recently at NTU as an
exchange students, and the EMBA from Norway were introduced by a visiting NTU professor
who also teaches at their university. Also on hand were students such as myself in the joint
Nanyang-Waseda Double MBA, and from the Nanyang-ESSEC (France) Double Masters program.

The event was held at Singapore’s 1-Altitude which features an open air patio 62 stories above
the city. The view is the best in Singapore. Although it was rainy all day prior to the event,
as people started to arrive the clouds cleared up and the weather couldn’t have been better.
This is definitely the best venue when you want to provide guests with a memorable experience.
As many of the Nanyang MBA students had not yet visited this patio, it was a great opportunity
for them as well!

We are planning additional events (coming up soon) and hope to continue to provide unique and
interesting experiences for all of the Nanyang MBA students and , yes for our guests too..