But it's been a fun-filled 10 weeks. It's unimaginable how much we got things done together as individuals, as a team and as a stream. 1 individual report, 2 WAC reports, 4 group reports, a simulation exercise and 2 group presentations. Plus the sports, socializing, listening to guest speakers, representative the stream for the entrepreneurship activities and a bit of career-planning. And in between doing some justice to your loved ones who have joined you on this roller-coaster ride.
It doesn't come as a surprise, of course. Many of my friends who had already experienced this had told me that it is going to be just one hectic year and that the year is going to fly by even before you notice it. Hectic it was, but what truly shocked me is the pace at which the first term got over. At this rate, it won't be long before its 9th of September 2011, the day my MBA year ends at Cranfield!
The learning has been excellent until now. It felt wonderful studying certain subjects which I always had a liking for but which I could not pursue in my career so far. On that note, the subjects next term are even more exciting.
The team work wasn't all that easy - a bunch of 5 strangers put together and expected to work 5-6 hours together on a daily basis. It's rather different in a professional environment where there is generally more time to build bonds (except in consulting where the team lifetime is rather short) or the option to keep things purely at a professional level. The Organizational Behavior (OB) exercises forces you to be very open to your team whether you like it or not. But at the end of the day this is all learning at its best. Every exercise teaches you to see through and interpret all the subtleties that make or break a team.
Personally, I think the one-year MBA boils down to one single fact - the more you put in, the more you get out of it. (Isn't it true for life in general??) I must admit that in this regard I could have done a lot more in the first term. But I hope to concentrate on a couple of important things in the second term. I plan to focus more on the entrepreneurship front, start exploring ideas and participate in the planned competitions. Focus on career planning will definitely take the lead from now on. I am also interested in pursuing an external project but I need to see how practical it is. In any case, I need to start planning for my 3rd term project. It is also the time to start putting together the electives to take in the 3rd and 4th term and select those that are best aligned with my career goals.
Well, the winter vacation starts today but it's not going to last long. School reopens on 10th of Jan and will again last just 10 weeks. The case packs for the second term are already being issued!
But it's still a good 3 weeks of vacation and I plan to make the most of it (in spite of the expected cold and snow) with my family here at Cranfield.
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