Pre-MBA

Today is the official start of the Cranfield Pre-MBA programme. And I am sitting here, at my home with my laptop on a corrugated carton box, reading about all the great fun that my fellow classmates are already having at Cranfield.



I do live outside of the UK and have never before lived in the UK. But the number of places for the pre-MBA is limited and priority is given to those who do not have prior experience working/living in a western culture. I guess working and living in Germany for 8 years does count as having sufficient experience with western culture and ensures your disqualification for the pre-MBA programme.

My own pre-MBA programme is turning out to be anything but fun. I have been boxing up our belongings, selling off the furniture and getting all set for the move to Cranfield next week. It's just amazing how much stuff one can accumulate in a span of 8 years. I will have the final carton count in two days but I can already guestimate the number to be around 50! Am I the only one shipping so much stuff to the campus? Well, my excuse is that I am closing shop here in Germany for the next one year and moving with my wife and my 2-year old daughter to Cranfield. No address here in Germany means all the stuff moves to our new address in the UK!

The full-time MBA course kicks off with the Orientation week starting 27th of September 2010. So, why am I flying to the UK next week itself? I do hope to participate in the Pre-maths course, which runs for two days on the 23rd and 24th of September. I am still awaiting a confirmation on my participation. For me, attending the pre-maths course is less about gaining quantitative skills and more about getting to Cranfield at the earliest and getting to know my classmates.

So, here is a short overview of how it all began - my "pre-MBA" professional life, that is. Turn the clock back to 1994. My first class at my University. I was asked as to why I took up the Bachelor of Engineering (B.E) course? (Sounds familiar isn't it? How many times haven't we replied why we want an MBA?). I replied something to the extent that my goal/dream was to do my MBA and that the B.E would help me build a good engineering foundation before I embarked on my MBA.

That was 16 years ago. I finished my B.E in 1998 and I have been in the industry for close to 12 years now. My professional life has been very satisfying but its time for me to live that MBA dream. It has taken a long time for me to get here but certain other professional/personal goals took precedence before I could shift my entire focus to my MBA.

The great thing about the Cranfield MBA is that most people in the class will have an average of 8-10 years of work experience. Right now, I can only imagine being in an MBA classroom filled with an aggregate work experience of a thousand man years! And in such a classroom, I can only imagine appreciating and thanking even more all those years spent in the industry before the MBA!

So, here I come, Cranfield. Just 7 more days to go!