Voila! J'ai gradué! And, best wishes to you!

Bonjour everybody!

I have graduated! I am now officially an MBA!

The HEC experience has been wonderful and, not only have I learnt a lot, I have also met some great people who will stay friends forever. This has been one gem of an experience with its own little twists and turns, and many memorable moments. It all started in the summer of 2006 in the back garden of our house in Middle England where, with my son on my lap, I prepared for my GMAT exam. Between mid-July and early-October that year, I had made the decision to pursue an MBA, chosen HEC as my school of choice, applied to the program taking the GMAT one day before the deadline, and then visited HEC for the first time for two rounds of interviews two days before the school's admission jury met!

Early in October, I received the admission offer and, immediately after that, I handed in my notice at work. A week after handing in my notice, I was at a reception at Buckingham Palace which led to the most unexpected turn of events - I ended up being sponsored for my MBA by a leading IOC. One of the reasons I joined HEC was to try and get on the double degree program with the Stern School of Business, to give one last shot at training in a US university having previously lost the opportunity to attend Yale in the post-9/11 complications. So, I was on the train to London to attend a presentation by NYU staff when my wife called to say she had been offered a really interesting position by an American pharma company based in Ile-de-France! Thus, we moved to Paris together as a family and put our English 'castle' up for sale, and even planning on moving to the US for a second degree no longer made sense.

I started the MBA program at HEC Paris in January 2007 and it has been brilliant. I could not have asked for a better school from the way things have turned out. The community spirit of the school, with intense and world-class academic rigour, and the bonds between the students enforced through 'forced' teams, club activities and the MBAT cannot be described in mere words; you have got to experience it! Having said that, I restricted myself from getting too involved in a lot of activities as I wanted to be at home with my family as well. Most club events took place in the evenings about the same time when I would have been putting my son to bed after dinner and I felt that he had priority!

Studying wasn't the only thing I did during the course of the program; my wife and I invested in an apartment in France, renovating which took up most of our spare hours, and in two further properties in a developing market. And, thanks to my sponsoring company, I also had the opportunity to travel and stay in some fantastic places; the Mirador Kempinski overlooking Lake Geneva in Switzerland, the Taj in Mumbai, and visits to Alaska, San Francisco and Chicago. Sometimes, the projects I worked on were extremely demanding and I questioned the rational of staying away from family over long periods of time but I believe it has all been worthwhile.

To add to the drama of this saga, my sponsoring company could not offer me the right placement and ended up releasing me, albeit with no obligations, and, thus, I went from being the first student to find a hiring company to potentially the last student standing unemployed after the MBA! This was not only depressing and disappointing but extremely embarrassing. And, it is during such times that one generally reassesses the situation and I did exactly that. To make up for the time that I spent living in a different country, roughly 40% of the MBA duration, I decided to stay at home for a few months and slowly explore the job market. Besides that, our daughter was born soon after I completed my IPP so it made good sense and timing. But then, who are we to know the future and what's around the corner. God always has a plan, and I have faith in that. Interestingly, I now have an opportunity to work for a global giant, an American diversified company, in a beautiful Mediterranean setting. Pending a few minor issues that need ironing out, my wife and I are seriously considering this option. The hassle of relocating to a new home for the seventh time in eight years will be worth the experience we will gain by living in a totally new country, hopefully by the sea and in the sun! :-)

Finally, this is my last post on this blog. It was always meant to reflect and highlight my personal journey through the HEC Paris MBA program and I think I have satisfied that condition. If you found my blog looking for information on HEC Paris, I hope you have found the site useful. If you are thinking of joining HEC, what are you waiting for?! All I can say as a parting thought is that the journey of life is never for one to accurately plan and map out but we can define the direction in which it should go. Things happen, expectedly and unexpectedly, for good or for worse, with or without reason, and one can never be too sure of what surprises lay around the corner. It is for us to take each and every development in our strides, move forward, and enjoy doing so. All things eventually come to a fair conclusion. Farewell, my readers, and I wish you the very best!

Below are some pictures from the HEC Paris journey:

Update (September 2008):

In the week I went to visit the Mediterranean setting where I was to be based as an expat following a short stint in London, I got an offer from a leading Anglo-Swiss company to get on their career development program for MBAs starting with an assignment in Switzerland. This provided an interesting career path as well as better career opportunities for my wife, who is in the pharma sector, so, after much deliberation, I decided to accept this new offer. Of all the offers I got, this one was the best when looked at holistically.

HEC Paris: A Journey in Pictures

For all of the time I was posting messages on this blog, I never posted personal photos which showed me, my friends or my family. But, now that I am done, I thought I should at least allow my readers to join me in my journey through 16 months at HEC by looking at some of the pictures I took and collected from friends. I hope you like them and I will add a few more in due course.

Summer beckons!

The birds have flown, the flowers have wilted and the place is beginning to eerily haunt! Metaphorically speaking, of course! Summer is here and everyone is eagerly waiting for the exams to be over. Many are going to intern this summer whilst many others will follow the tracks of their dream holidays. So, as some head off on a tour of Europe, or Asia, and other exotic sounding places, I wish I had a few weeks off too. But then, there is money to be made, experiences to be gained, new colleagues to be acquainted with, new friends to be made, and new places to travel to. Sometimes, I look back in amazement at how fast things have moved from when we first arrived on the HEC campus, shaking hands and introducing each other, to today, when we can reflect back on the many events, and exams. Just like what I am briefly doing right now. Perhaps, it is the fact that so many things were happening concurrently. To give you a sense of what I am trying to explain here, let me present to you an oversimplified timetable of activities with extracts from the minds of many of my classmates:

January - Arrive on campus. If you want to do the double degree (with NYU, ESADE, etc.) Feb is the deadline. And, btw, how did your group do in NegoSim?

Feb - Have you started thinking about which clubs you are going to join/head? And, yes, are you doing anything during MBAT? Hold on, what is MBAT? Ah yes, that one...I thought it was in May!

March - Exams are just around the corner...no, no, no, they are in April. And, it was only last week when we had our mid-term exams!

April - Yeeeeeeeeahhhhh! The break is here...but let me first send out this internship application form. For those working in banks, it is already past the deadline...too late, sorry; early birds from the September intake got the worm!

May - Phew, the results are out! And, did you say we had Project Management last month? Dude, we only had a week off not three! Oh yes, MBAT is next week! Mr. Coordinator, have I paid my entry fee? Note to self: Wear smart suit and perform well at the Career Fair tomorrow in London. Deadline for exchange is fast approaching, I must make sure I finish the essays.

June - June already! You know what that means, more mid-term exams! Good news! I got an interview call to go on an exchange program at NYU/UCLA/Melbourne/LBS/etc. And, I am not sure why I have not heard anything from XYZ company about this summer's internship. I mean, they interviewed me three weeks ago!

July - Here we go again....exams. God, I so want to get over with these exams and run from here. Have I booked my ticket? Exchange results are out. Many are pleased but some are disappointed in this circle of life. Sorry folks, but I am sure something better will come along. Here I am...wow, nice office! Good morning, madam/sir, my name is John Smith, HEC Paris MBA student, and your intern for this summer!

So, there you go! Times flies in the life of an MBA student. I now have just one exam left and then I am done with the Core phase of my HEC Paris MBA. I was intially planning to leave on Sunday to start my internship in London from Monday onwards but, a paper I submitted on my group's marketing project got accepted for an oral presentation at an international conference in London. So, I need to head there earlier than planned, three days to be precise. Immediately after my last exam tomorrow, I am going on a long drive to pick up my son from his cousin's place and we will spend some time together before I depart. If you have been following my blog, remember that I tried to potty train him during my spring break in April and it didn't work. Well, we are now told that he has learned the fine art of you know what....perhaps, seeing other kids in the act helped! I am still in a hotel as the renovation is not complete yet and I need to start packing for London and Alaska; I am excited in anticipation of a great summer, sad as I don't like saying goodbyes, content because I am through the first phase of my MBA and delighted that summer is finally here! When I come back in September, I will be taking up my Strategy track knowing fully well that my MBA will be done by the end of December 2007...what a journey I am having. I am loving it!

Srawberry picking over job/process costing!

The sun is shining, the weather is great, and priorities keep changing. What a wonderful life! For those of you who did not know, there is a farm less than a mile from HEC where one can go and pick fruits, dig for carrots and radish, and visit the farm shop to buy fresh dairy and agricultural products. Apart from knowing that we are getting fresh fruits and vegetables, this provides a great opportunity for children to learn about farming, see the animals, and just run around in the fields...and that is just what our boy did when we visited the farm yesterday and he has not stopped running since! They had a BBQ feast going on too so we also stayed for lunch. Yes, I had a tinge of guilt sitting, relaxing, in the sun enjoying the BBQ with a cold drink in hand while I could have been indoors, job costing and all, but I figured a day in the sun like yesterday was worth the investment. More so since we are leaving Jouy-en-Josas at the end of this month and may not be able to find time to visit the farm again. And, as we were out already, we also decided to go watch the show jumping competition going on at HEC by the name of JUMP HEC, a competition between all grande ecoles in France.

The field and the landmark water tower around HEC

Plenty of strawberries to pick


The farm shop

JUMP HEC

HEC Paris Open Day (Portes Ouvertes)

Today was the annual HEC Paris Open Day during which we had prospective students, mostly resident in France, visit HEC for half a day of lectures, tours and interactive sessions. I was one of the many volunteer ambassadors who had agreed to spend a Saturday shepherding potential colleagues around campus rather than enjoy a lie in. I enjoyed it and had good long conversations about HEC and MBA with a few French guys, a Japanese girl de Londres and a Franco-Swiss couple (so keen were we that some of us even continued this exchange of ideas in a cafe in Jouy!). And, for my bachelor classmates who were also ambassadors, I was the point of reference for anyone who wanted to know about how to balance an MBA with being a father/parent! My advice was to find a good nanny or a garderie for the child to attend if the husband or wife is also a full-time worker. And, to surely let the Academic Affairs officers know that you have a family and that you are not going to be able to attend all the evening lectures and activities. This is true in my case and I have no choice but to miss some of the 'important' lectures. Otherwise, it will be all work and no life. Most importantly, wish that your group members would be understanding enough to schedule group discussions and exercises during the normal day. In my case, this turned out to be a fairly easy proposition as one other member has a family with an infant daughter. So, today turned out to be a much longer and interesting day than I had anticipated. All this for just one HEC polo shirt as a reward! :-) C'est pas grave!

Marketing Exams Over, and is Negotiation an Art?

We had our last Marketing exam this week and so we have one more subject down! The only thing left for this course is the project on which we are currently working.

Things are also beginning to churn regarding the MBA student council elections. A good friend wants to run for it and we have thought about putting in a team together but it does not help that another good friend wants to run too! I think it would be a fun thing to do to work in the council and I think HEC has a lot to show to the world about why it is a great school to go to. The course is hard, tough and demanding but it is also very flexible which suits a student looking for change. Moreover, people are generally very cooperative and HEC needs to do more to advertise all these good qualities. Also, the career service group is evolving rapidly and we should see the fruits of their labour in a year or so. But, I still say that career is self-driven. The question is, what can the student council do to proactively promote HEC...I wonder!

Last week, just when I was beginning to think that all of my groups are working as fluidly as water meandering on its own course with great ease, a situation that reminded me of a book I had read a while ago popped up. I guess such a situation, where one diasagrees strongly with what has been suggested or, in this case, I felt imposed, is bound to come up at least once when one is working with a diverse set of individuals and in so many groups. I believe HEC does this on purpose so that we all learn something about working in teams. Coming back to the book, it is called "Getting to Yes: Negotiating Agreement Without Giving In" and, as the aforementioned situation was developing, I was desperately trying to remember one point from this book which was not to take a stand and stay glued to it - the solution is to be understanding, logical, and to come up with an agreement that is a winner for both sides. But, when pushed to a corner, especially when one is running out of time, it is very hard to not take a stand to get things going. And, this can be bitter! At least, we seem to have come out of it wiser and I bet the group will benefit from this in the long run. Time to have a drink together, I think! And, you ask why we have not been to the bar already!?!?!?! :-) If you have not read the book, do read as it is not only interesting but also useful.

Today is Friday and the last day of the week. And, there are no classes as everyone was supposed to be in London for a career fair which got postponed so, for those of us not going to London for a tour of the city, it is a day off. Actually, some students are going to visit BCG on a day-long fact finding mission. As for me, I am going to take my son on a tour of HEC and for lunch in our fabulous student canteen. Take this last part of the sentence with a pince of salt! :-) I am also going to meet my friend who wants to be 'El Presidente'! ;-)

NPISim or is it also called LegoSim?

On Monday, we played a game called NPISim which is played in groups of four or five with individuals assigned certain tasks. I was a project manager in round one and an observer (as I had worked so hard as a project manager or so the prof said!) in round two. The idea was to simulate a project aimed at making a new product (in our case, a flying object - not telling you more) whilst continuing the production of the traditional product, i.e. a lego vehicle. My role as project manager was to ensure that we functioned efficiently and made the new product on time and without loss. We came a close second as we forgot to put the engine! Surprising though that our customer approved the prototype. :-)

As for today and tomorrow, we have Steve Knight, a broadcaster from England teaching us presentation skills via the use of video and audio recording tools (yupe, it includes our iPods). We had to do one-minute presentation each this morning on which we got critical feedbacks and my group (this time including a French, American, Argentinian, and Chinese) has a 15 min presentation to do tomorrow.

Furthermore, now that exams are over and holidays are here, I seem to have caught a viral fever of some sort. Just what I needed before going to Barcelona on Thursday. As promised a long time ago, I have started a slide show of HEC Paris pictures and I will continue to upload more pictures as I get the time to take more of them.

Half a century of messages...

With this post, I have reached half a century of posting messages on my blog and I hope I am continuing to give some insight into life at HEC Paris. If you are planning on attending HEC, pay us a visit. There are many positive things to talk about HEC Paris: good ranking, ever growing global positioning and branding, good team environment, very thorough in its approach to overall growth, and strong focus on keeping us busy and engaged. As with everything, there are also some downsides such as HEC Paris not being exactly in Paris so it is good to have a car if you live off-campus, and my colleagues often seem worried about job prospects. But, I think this is more an MBA thing than a school factor especially if you are trying to switch career streams - which many seem to want to do. And, remember that your job search can only be driven by you, not by the school. The career service department can only help you move in the right direction and provide you with the right training, guidance, and networking potentials but you are the driver. I took this approach and I think I have not done too bad. They also seem to send out a lot of emails with potential jobs and internships for MBAs. Also, remember that even studying at HEC, a top quality brand within France, cannot guarantee you a job in France or the EU if you do not have the right work permit and linguistic skills - but being at HEC will definitely increase your chances of getting a job.

So, what have I been doing recently? We have been busy with a lot of assignments (including the 'famous' Boeing 777 Case Study), and mid-term exams start next week so it is time to start burying one's head in the course materials. I have also taken up golf with a bit more seriousness than before and try my best to play every Thursday afternoon, when we have time off to practice for MBAT, the MBA Tournament. Talking about MBAT, we had an election recently to elect the MBAT coordinator from my batch and you can watch the campaign video of the winning candidate below.

I have also been busy scouring for a marketing project for next semester and I think we have found one. It will involve working with one of the largest, if not the largest, social networking sites in the world that wants to establish itself as a top player in France. My team - yes another team besides the two others I already have (HEC Paris truly believes in creating a 'coopetitive' environment) - is just as diverse and multi-national as the other two so it should be really good fun to work on the project. I have only been here for six weeks and I have already worked in a group with a French (used to this), American (this one too), Canadian, Chinese, Chilean, English (used to this one as well) , Israeli, and a Nepali French!

And, today, I went for a full day of 'intégration civique' during which I had to learn about French society, history, the legal system, democracy, et autre chose. I believe this is compulsory for all immigrants who want to work/live in France on a longer term basis. So, if you are a student Carte de Sejour holder and want to work in France after your MBA, you may have to change your status and go through this day-long session in French (though I was assured the teacher would speak English!). I also got some info on how foreign degress can be recognised in France but I don't think I need this - click here for more info on la reconnaissance des diplômes. The thing that touched me most during the session today was a conversation I had with a gentleman who fled Iraq about a year ago. I was not happy that we had such a long break for lunch and that the whole thing could easily be squeezed into a few hours so that I could go back to my classes when he told me his story. In fluent English, he explained he had a construction business in Iraq and had built over a thousand buildings - including homes and galleries - and, now, he didn't even have a room to settle in! He smiled and advised me to relax and not be too concerned and to take things as they come along...which I felt was very poignant coming from someone with his experience. I will remember it!

Right, I better go study for my mid-term exams now. Bonne Nuit

The video below is the MBAT campaign video I mentioned earlier on:

Bill Gates at HEC Paris

Mr Bill Gates, Chairman of Microsoft Corp., was at HEC today to participate in a conference and was also honoured with the title of "HEC d'Honneur". So, in a way, he is an HEC Paris alumnus now - or so we would like to claim! So would HBS... :-) He he he... It was great to see this greatest entrepreneur of our times. But, I had to wait for more than an hour at the gate to enter the auditorium and, that too, after much pleading and debating with the security guards. It was all worth it though! :-)

Did you see that...

...the FT 2007 MBA rankings have come out and HEC Paris has moved up 4 ranks? It is now ranked 18th worldwide and 7th in Europe. I can live with that! :-)

NegoSim over...and I need to pinch myself!

Hello world! I am a very happy man today! I think I am dreaming...I just can't believe how things have turned out. Not only did we successfully complete our business simulation today (with no losses and global domination firmly in sight!) but I also got news from the company I had discussions with a while ago for sponsorship. They have offered to pay the full cost of my MBA and I have an internship lined up for this summer and an Individual Professional Project in early 2008. And, it is all in central London...the company is one of the biggest in the world with a turnover of $262 billion! I am so chuffed! I want to sing and dance and jump!!! :-) :-) :-) I am so happy today!

iPod, Apple and HEC Paris!!!

If you are an MBA aspirant and have been researching the top schools in Europe, you would have probably come across the news of Apple's partnership with HEC Paris. This involves the distribution of iPods to all incoming students to be used as a pedagogical tool. And, we got ours today...and I am right now in the process of filling all 30Gb of it with my collection of songs! :-) I think I should leave some room for pedagogical use too...

Recap of the first couple of weeks...

This week is business simulation week and we are playing a game called 'NegoSim' which I believe stands for Negotiation Simulation. We have to work in small groups and there is a lot of energy and excitement in each group at the prospect of running a business! My group is pretty dynamic and comprises of a Chilean, a French Canadian, a Chinese, a French and moi! :-) I also have a study group and that one is also very diverse with a Morrocan, Israeli, French, Nepali, and an Indian all thrown into one. As you can see, the groups are very international and we are learning quite a bit from each other. And, we are learning not just about finance and accountancy but also about each other's culture and sense of humor. We had a class the other day on communication skills (taught brilliantly by the Associate Dean) and, upon being advised by the class to not give a presentation with his left hand is his pocket, our Latin American friend responded immediately by saying that's where he kept his money! We could not help but laugh and clap in appreciation of his humor. This is what I like about our program - diverse, fun, dynamic, and smart! Now, I better go and have a look at the results of my group's business simulation as we seem to have gone from very profitable to terribly in the red following a few radical moves! Au revoir!

The Ball Has Started Rolling - A New Beginning!

I call this a new beginning as it all first began when I decided to go for an MBA. But, the real thing - the courses, the learning, the networking, the job hunting - starts next week. Friday, I went to HEC to have a look around and also to collect my welcome pack. I also took my son along and we were shown around campus by a friendly French American, currently on a Master's program at HEC, who I had met the previous day. I now have my email id and also know exactly what to expect in the next couple of weeks. The first week, i.e. next week, being orientation week, seems fairly light with the week being used for sessions on cultural integration, cost discussions, French tests, a presentation of the MBA curriculum, etc. Interestingly, surfing the FT's website today, I came across an article on the launch of the revamped HEC MBA curriculum. The article can be found here and let's hope we all benefit from this revamping and that this will strengthen HEC Paris's position on the global MBA ladder. Also, opening my inbox for the first time, I found a few ads for internships at a very reputable firm in London, "an innovator in global finance".

Real classes start on the 15th and seem to stretch between 8:30 am and 7:30 pm depending on what's happening - with homework and a few rounds of socialising drinks added to this, I guess daily routine will end early, I mean early the next day! :-) Finally, the weekend of the 19th is Intergration Weekend and I am eager to find out what it involves. It all sounds like great fun for now until, I guess, I am snowed under with course work.

Au revoir pour maintenant.

Pictures of Jouy en Josas

As promised, below are some pictures of Jouy en Josas...of places I have visited so far. The 'project' is ongoing so expect to see more pictures in the future.

If you want to see Graduation Day photos of HEC Paris students, go to this blog by FishWok.

HEC Paris is the TOP Graduate European Business School of 2006

"A meta ranking of European business schools based on their results in the five other FT rankings for the year" shows that HEC Paris is number one! Faaaaantaastic news...I knew I had made the right decision by applying to HEC Paris only. I hope we can climb higher in the international rankings next year.

FT European Business School Ranking 2006

Aerial View of HEC Paris

We were looking for a location in Paris when the thought struck me to have a look at HEC Paris from the air, courtesy of Google. So, here we go.

Below is the picture of the entrance to the HEC Paris campus and you can see the round MBA building and the tiny blue rectangle of a swimming pool (which I want to crash next summer :-)). Click here for further navigation. I have also added a picture I took featuring the water tower - the challenge for you is to find it on the Google map! :-)



Find the water tower shown in the picture below on the Google map.

The end of the beginning: Paris, here I come!

"There are two mistakes one can make along the road to truth...not going all the way, and not starting." - Buddha

“Every new beginning comes from some other beginning's end.” - Seneca

Good news, world! I am in! I am through! I have passed that last hurdle and now, I am bound for Paris, to take on the world! Hah...that's probably too much to claim (I blame the excitement of hearing the good news!) but I am in! I am so excited! I know it was a risky move applying to just one school but I was quietly confident I could do it! And, I am so glad I have been selected. That's a huge burden off my shoulders. Well, wait until I start the course and we will see which is heavier! :-) Whatever the case, the journey ahead is indeed going to be an MBA! :-)

Now, time to play with the boy...and celebrate with champagne! :-)

"Tamaso ma jyotir gamaya - Lead me from darkness to light."