The latest 2009 rankings are out! We have moved up one place to #5 while Harvard also moves up to #4. Stanford moves down to #6. However, LBS is now joint 1st with Wharton! Bah.
A small piece of good news in the midst of a really crazy schedule this week. I just wanted to let you know.
Back to work!
This ia a very quick post as I am very tired.
Last Friday I spoke at the Open House event for prospective students. I met 2 readers of my blog, which was nice, and I talked a lot. Hopefully I did not scare any people. I simply wanted to paint an accurate picture and share things that I myself did not know before joining INSEAD.
I spent the entire Saturday, Sunday and Monday having Negotiation lessons. Thank God that Prof Falcao is one of the best kickass professors ever. He is up there, in my books, with Prof Saraniti for Microecons. They make learning so engaging! However we can’t reveal the actual details of our negotiation work because that would spoil the effect for future INSEAD students. Let’s just say it was SO good, I strongly recommend you take this elective when you come to INSEAD. You will need this skill in all aspects in your life, not just at work.
The only bad news is that we didn’t finish in time. So we also have a final class this Tue evening! There goes my entire 2 days of Chinese New Year (public holiday). Such is life at a crash course top business school that is so international, we don’t recognise any national holidays!
I am so friggin’ tired and still have Marketing homework not done and due soon. Argh!!!
If you don’t hear from me in a while, assume that I am still very busy and exhausted because of schoolwork. Which in itself will give you some insights on life at INSEAD.
I passed my Delf A2 exam with flying colours. Woohoo!!!
Thanks to all the intensive French lessons I had with classmate HT. There we were, hoping to just pass everything by 50%… and I exceeded my own hopes and expectations by a mile. Had nearly full marks for written comprehension and oral comprehension.
This is a great relief. I have now officially cleared INSEAD’s third language requirement for graduation.
If you’re in Singapore and are also thinking of learning French as your third language, you may only know of Alliance Francaise. However if you have limited time, you may prefer a much more flexible course which focuses on particular areas you’d like to improve. Also, as you need to pass an exam, you may prefer getting more attention from the teacher (individual or small groups of 2-3).
As a former student at Alliance Francaise I felt the classes were too big for the professor to have time to fix your pronunciation individually. Then, if you want individual tuition at Alliance Francaise it is quite expensive.
So instead, I strongly recommend another school called French Faster, which has more personal attention at a more reasonable price. You’re made to understand why things are done in a certain way and not just because “that’s French, that’s how it is”, which is more the attitude I got from my professors at AF. This is just my personal take; I prefer to understand things then remember them, rather than just memorising for the sake of memorising.
Now, I need to keep practising my French so I can speak with the locals when I’m over at Fonty… and for all those visits to Paris ;-)
Day 2 was more quiet, after an energetic Day 1. Today, we had to make a group presentation on a chosen topic, within a time limit. So we rehearsed this morning and made a decent presentation. We all took turns to critique other teams. Then after lunch we were supposed to go back and improve our presentation based on the feedback.
There were funny moments. My team was sleepy after lunch, and at one point I was the only person in the breakout room with eyes open, still working on the slides. One guy fell asleep and snored, and we caught him on video. Later we played a trick by setting back our clocks and telling him an hour had passed and we had to make our presentation now!
All in all it was an interesting course, but when we’re of a certain standard and still are asked to critique each other, it felt like nitpicking. The entire team had to sit on stage during the presentation, so our body language, even while NOT presenting, was critiqued. I suppose this is fair game, because in business settings you also need to project a professional image off stage. But I think it could get a litttttle out of hand…
For instance, we had comments like:
“P, while your teammate was presenting, I saw you clutching both sides of your arms, like this…?”
P: I was cold.
“J, I saw you looking at your phone. Please don’t tell me you were sending an SMS while your teammate was speaking…”
J: I wasn’t sending an SMS! I was checking how we were doing for time.
I escaped that round, but received some valid feedback during my 2 presentations. One comment for me was, “I noticed you looking back at the screen and pausing…”
I replied that the remote controller’s reception was weak and when I clicked, the presentation didn’t move to the next slide. So I looked back at the screen and clicked another time. Of course I could simply have looked at the laptop in front of me and clicked again, so point noted.
“You gave extra information in your summary which wasn’t mentioned earlier. You showed [name of Opposition member in Zimbabwe] …”
Actually my classmate A had mentioned the opposition member about 5 times a few minutes before. Fortunately A spoke up to clarify this, and then the critique was that A shouldn’t gloss over the name the next time. So in our 2nd round he made it clear to pronounce the person’s name.
I think I’d be speaking for most of us if I said we felt a bit jaded. This was because the topics were the same, even if we improved on the content and delivery. Anyway, we lasted till 6+pm. On a Sunday!
Throughout both rounds, my slide design skills received a lot of praise, though I also didn’t want it to distract from anything else I did well. Also I believe that content comes first, and design should facilitate it. Since we agreed on our content early on, we wanted to make the slides look good as well. Now, the professor wants to use my slides as examples in future classes, which I take as an honour, considering he’s taught so many other business schools before ;-)
I was grateful that we got along as a team and that we didn’t impose our own thoughts on each other but had a logical discussion. We also ensured our points gelled and from the start we wanted a consistent story and slide design, down to using short bullet points instead of lengthy text (Hallelujah!). My teammates were a Lebanese, a Frenchman, a Whartonite from Benin, and a Brit-Belgian. I’m glad we had fun for the past 2 days and I dare say we’ve become friends.
Content-wise, I would’ve preferred a topic I was more familiar on, especially as I was doing the summary and couldn’t memorise all the points until I knew what the rest were going to say in their slides. However 2 teammates were very passionate and knowledgeable about the topic, and it also moved other teams to ask more questions than planned, so I feel we achieved our objective.
For today’s presentations, I looked too often at the big screen behind me. The second time round I had improved, but still could cut down on it. Everything else I did was apparently good. Maybe I could’ve just shot from the hip / presented from the heart so I wouldn’t forget about the overall stage presence I needed to build. I had better eye contact on Day 1 when I was sharing a personal story which I knew well, without slides; on Day 2 I focused too much on the screen. I’m a perfectionist when it comes to presentations, so knowing that I wasn’t perfect today made me disappointed.
However the feedback from classmates and the professor was, overall, invaluable. This course isn’t about people blindly cheering you, whatever you do - it’s designed to help us improve. As INSEAD students we were generally 98-99% there already, and so the remaining 1-2% had to be critiqued even though it sounded fussy sometimes.
We had an interesting session with Steve Knight (formerly from the BBC). There were just 30 of us, so it was cosy. We were divided into 6 groups of 5, with exactly 1 girl per group. Apparently the turnout for females is typically low. Then again, I thought that was the rough proportion of females in INSEAD’s MBA programme.
Why choose a communication elective? Because presentation skills are ranked #2 by employers, after business knowledge. And besides, I love this kind of work. Sure, we have to give up a weekend as the 2-day course runs only on Saturday and Sunday, but that’s 0.5 credits wrapped up.
For day 1, we each had to prepare a 1 minute speech on something not related to work. So I told everyone about the time my hair caught fire - at my best friend’s wedding. I had mostly positive feedback, with Steve asking if I had professional experience. It was nice to hear the word ‘fantastic’ from a guy who’s worked at the Beeb. However after reviewing my video I think there are some areas to improve and I was also grateful to my classmates who gave specific feedback on things I could do more or less of.
Good points:
Areas for improvement:
But generally, I like presenting and hope to keep getting better at it. My other classmates are not bad at all, either. What amazes me at INSEAD is the generally high standard of performance, considering the relatively little time we have to prepare our work, compared to normal business schools. And remember that most classmates are not even working in their mother tongue.
Day two will be tougher because we’re presenting in a group on a business-related topic. Which means we need coordination, sufficient knowledge and passion for the subject. I’ve had fun designing the slides and we hope to move the audience to action.
I am proud to unveil my masterpiece, the INSEAD Dash video:
At INSEAD, you can do two types of clubbing.
Type one involves lots of loud music, sweaty bodies on the dancefloor, and alcohol. You may get pissed drunk, have a hangover and feel really tired the next day. You will come late for class (if you actually make it at all) and get a Champagne Fine.
Type two involves hours of a different kind of labour, also dancing around many people around you, but without music and alcohol. You may want to get pissed drunk but don’t have the time; and you may feel exhausted too.
Working for an INSEAD club, that is.
I’ve spent the last two days just preparing for club stuff. This afternoon at the Club Fair, I was stationed at a desk for hours, welcoming P1s and answering their queries. It was great meeting new people, actually.
This evening I was working on more PPT slides for our meeting tomorrow. This is all partly because I didn’t delegate enough, as I feel bad that other people are busy, and when it come to inserting local content, I’d be the best person for it. However, other committee members offered to help, and I should also ask for their help more often. So I’m very openly calling for new P1s to provide new ideas, leads and help run the club.
To make things move faster and to let members have more say, I propose that those who are interested in running a new program, event, trek or anything else can do it independently once the club in general approves of it. Neither I nor the rest of the committee will be a bottleneck… just go with it! I’ll be around to provide local support if members need a Singaporean to speak to someone, but otherwise I’m happy for a little extra time for myself ;-)
Our P2 grades are out! I did much better than P1, doubling my previous GPA. As regular readers know, I was very sick in P1 when I took my exams, so this is highly encouraging news to me. It means there is HOPE…
Beyond simply staying healthy during the P2 exams, there were other factors which helped me improve:
Amazingly, my best subject this term was not Leading Organisations (as I had hoped), despite getting close to full marks for my individual essay. My best subject was …. Managerial Accounting!! How did that happen?!? :P It is one of life’s great mysteries. Maybe quantitative stuff isn’t so bad after all.
This has put a stride back in my step. Now I just need to focus, continue doing what I did in P2, doing it better and doing more of it.
Onwards and upwards!!!
I’ve been invited as part of a student panel to speak about my experience at INSEAD so far.
Considering I’ve been pretty open about things (good and bad), and how staff are aware of what I’ve been writing, I was glad to be considered. I’ll be speaking in a couple weeks’ time at the Auditorium.
Previously the information sessions were held at smaller amphis, so I’m wondering if there’s a much larger turnout now, especially with the economic downturn. I wouldn’t be surprised.
The good news is that I would have completed the Art of Communication elective a few days before, so I should be adequately prepared for my latest round of public speaking.
If you’re a prospective applicant and are reading this blog, do say hi at the networking and drinks session right after our panel!
I arrived late at the KM8 party sponsored by Bain. To get a free drink, P3s were supposed to go to the bar with a P1. However the organisers had run out of drink coupons. Darn!
Before I could do much about it, my old groupmates RB and ES appeared. And before I knew it, they and other guys hauled me to the pool. Fortunately I gave up my electronic gear (iPhone, camera, electronic car key) before I hit the water. Many other people followed. Some guys were thrown in wearing shirts and trousers. A few girls wearing evening dresses were thrown in. There was no mercy. In the land of KM8, everyone is fair game.
In the pool, a guy came up and asked if I’m Vanessa Tan. I said yes. He said he was one of the guys who responded to my blog. I said it was great to meet my readers in person. And he’s a P1!
After some water fights I eventually emerged from the pool and started looking for the kind person who had kept my belongings. I was also still looking for classmates who had drink coupons!
In the semi-darkness and among masses of people, I bumped into a guy whom I thought was S, a Chinese-American who sits in front of me. Then I realised it wasn’t S but a P1. He was holding a drink coupon. I told him that drink coupons had run out, and he kindly offered me his coupon (despite my insistence that he should keep it for himself) and bought himself a drink instead! I think his name was ‘Yong’ and he’s from California … A big thank you for this chivalrous act!
He raised a question which I will answer on this blog: “It seems that the locals I’ve spoken to don’t know of this place. Is that true? Where do the locals really party in Singapore?” My answer was yes; locals go to Zouk, which is probably the longest-surviving club that is still quite popular, and more recently, St James’ Powerstation. Clarke Quay has a mix of locals and expats.
I hit the beach, found my stuff and started snapping photos of other people getting dunked. They will be posted on Facebook, and some photos will not be tagged. Some of you will thank me for this ;-)
I bumped into a P3’er from Fonty who was Israeli and I asked him a question I’ve been wanting to ask Jews for a while: “Do you know which tribe you come from?” He said 10 of the 12 tribes were no more, but he himself didn’t have records of which tribe he came from. I had thought if they were still records, it would be quite cool to say “I’m from Judah, from the line of King David”. I am sure there are some of his genes around. I also asked if his family was safe in Israel, and learnt that different parts of Israel are in danger at different times, while other regions are relatively safe.
On my way back to the car, I bumped into a group of P3ers from Fonty who had to wait an hour for the next bus. I gave them all a lift to St James so they could catch a cab instead. One of my passengers was MZ who has his own blog (we’ve been linking to each other for a while but had yet to meet in person).
Now it’s time to sleep, and after church I had really better finish some work!
This post is especially for the P1s who read this blog. As you know, INSEAD has a number of clubs catering to different sectors and interests. I am the president of the INSEAD High Tech and Telecom Club (IHTC) in Singapore. Previously we were simply the High Tech Club but after discussions with the Fonty side we have expanded our scope on both campuses.
We will liaise closely with the Fonty side for consistent messaging and pooling of resources such as job postings. We will also launch a new club website and keep an active mailing list for members.
As president, my focus for this club will be on careers. This involves getting interesting speakers to share industry insights, going on career treks, networking with speakers, mentors and alumni and getting your CVs to prospective employers, via a special High-Tech and Telecom CV book. I will also call on the new generation of P1s who wish to play a more dedicated role in this club. More ideas and suggestions welcome.
So if you’re interested, do check us out at the Club Fair this coming Tuesday!
I recently wrote about how I’m now meeting Fontysiders who have already read my blog and/or experienced my hyperactive Facebook presence. It’s nice as this means we start off on more familiar terms. And I don’t have to introduce myself a lot to them, since they’ve already read about me!
Today I learned that staff in another INSEAD department are reading my blog as well. I was introduced to their Director today and she mentioned my latest post! That’s amazing and I was impressed at their interest. Over the years, though I didn’t plan it as such, blogging has gotten me some publicity, including interviews with the press and a number of job offers. But blogging also comes with a responsibility. The information I put up is read by a number of people who could - in the case of this INSEAD blog - choose to apply or not to apply. I don’t think one little blog will change an important decision but I hope it can fill in the gaps on the fun and frenetic sides of INSEAD that corporate brochures won’t provide.
Today, a classmate asked me and another INSEAD blogger how we could spend so much time blogging, and we simultaneously replied that for us, it doesn’t take much time! We’re so well practised already that it just takes minutes to write something. I wish my homework could be done as fast.
As a blogger I should also know what can be published and what is off limits. Any P1 reading this should know very well their responsibilities too ;-) I hope everyone had a great Friday evening. See you at the Bain party!
It seems that a number of Fontysiders now in Singapore have heard of me before meeting me in person, thanks to Facebook and this blog. I’ve just been told that this is one of the more interesting and active INSEAD blogs around … thank you! Also it is nice getting emails from people on various posts including the last one. It’s great to see I have nearly 40 feed subscribers already, which could mean even more people are reading the blog directly.
School-wise, things are good so far. I already have one Markstrat assignment involving groupwork. I will be working entirely with Fonty people for this, and 3 out of 4 of us are females, so it will be quite different. But I am also nostalgic for my old groupmates. Likewise wth my new P3 group for core subjects who are mostly from Fonty. The phrase that comes to mind is “Same same but different”.
Another 8.30am class tomorrow. 3 classes tomorrow in fact. It will be a long day…
Aiyoh, some of my classmates ah, si beh jialat!
They think every part of Singapore I also know. They expect me to be countrywide ATM locator, and of course I must know every single place in Singapore that has alcohol, including the tempolaly watering hole, what they call it, Aqua (like tranny issit?) at Riverside Point where we had our party tonight.
First of all, olganisers give instructions must give zai zai one! Tell us Clarke Quay, of course I go to Clarke Quay lor! Acherly at Riverside Point, must cross river, dun talk cock lah! Make me walk all over the place until my feet red red, very pain!
I know we are all in INSEAD, very crever one, but I also very atas hor. I also very guai, hardly go out since I studied in Engrand where I also drank a lot cos all these ang mohs ah, very crever to drink. Then I stopped partying cos got to work very hard in Singapore. Then I go to INSEAD then I start drinking all over again.
Tonight very good already hor, me and Sim the only P3 Singaporeans around OK! We very happening sia! Anyway like other times we all drink drink talk talk laugh laugh and den when we see someone we know, we muah muah kiss kiss also … barely know people also kiss… If we do that at work in Singapore, everybody will stare at us! They will call us Siao! Shake hand greet people already very good hor…
So you see what we go through. You treat us like walking dictionary - no - street directory! Hello ah… if we know so much why would we be in school??? You think my head got GPS issit? Also ah, most of us quite conservative one. Maybe dinner we go out, but we don’t drink so much lah! We go beach party but maybe we dun wear bikini lor … or our swimsuit dun look like postage stamps, like yours.
Also in crass today, some of you say our Gahmen not democratic one but never exprain why you say so … I also dunno what to say liao. Maybe our biggest party can have more competition but we can still vote what (even if I never got chance to vote before). Next time I will ask you all to exprain why. We are not a regime hor.
Anyway I also got crass again early in the morning, tabuleh tahan, dun argue with you all anymore. Got to koon.
But next time you kachow me … I hantam you then you know!!!
First day of P3’s been going well so far. I had Organising for Strategy Execution at 8.30am, and not too surprisingly the class was only about half full. Then most of the P3s from Fonty left halfway to attend the integration talk (for Fontysiders to learn more about the Singapore campus) so that made the class even smaller.
As a result it was just me, JM, MB and a few others sharing our views on what should be done to help the ailing company in our case study.
After lunch I met most of my other groupmates who are all from Fonty. It is a little strange returning to INSEAD as a senior, and also with so many new faces from Fonty. Those of us from the Singapore campus are simply happy to see each other and catch up, and the Fontysiders are doing the same thing too.
There is a party tonight and I hope my health permits me to attend…
Hi everyone,
I’m sure the new P1s are excited at starting term. Some of you have already had a taste of it at Business Foundations. And the P3s newly arrived in Singapore should be busy setting up their new homes and exploring Singapore.
Before I forget, may I say WELCOME to Singapore!
I have a couple of things in store for you guys (pending approval), which will be revealed on this blog and also in a mass-email to everyone in the Singapore campus. Look out for it!
In the meantime, some quick tips:
Here’s a glossary for ordering local coffee and tea, taken from Wikipedia’s article on Singapore cuisine:
At kopi tiams, coffee and tea are usually ordered using their local names.
Coffee
* Kopi, coffee
* Kopi-gau, coffee (strong brew - "gau" is "厚" in Hokkien)
* Kopi-po, coffee (weak brew - "po" is "薄" in Hokkien)
* Kopi-C, coffee with evaporated milk
* Kopi-C-kosong, coffee with evaporated milk and no sugar ('kosong" means empty in Malay)
* Kopi-O, coffee with sugar only
* Kopi-O-kosong, coffee without sugar or milk
* Kopi-O-kosong-gau, a strong brew of coffee without sugar or milk
* Kopi-bing or Kopi-ice, coffee with milk, sugar and ice
* Kopi-xiu-dai, coffee with less sugar
* Kopi-gah-dai, coffee with extra sweetened milk
Tea
* Teh, tea with milk and sugar
* Teh-C, tea with evaporated milk
* Teh-C-kosong, tea with evaporated milk and no sugar
* Teh-O, tea with sugar only
* Teh-O-kosong, plain tea without milk or sugar
* Teh tarik, the Malay tea described above
* Teh-halia, tea with ginger water
* Teh-bing, tea with ice, also known as Teh-ice
* Teh-xiu-dai, tea with less sugar
* Teh-gah-dai, tea with extra sweetened milk
