Tag Archives: Campus Living

Blog, Clubs

Women in Business: An Entrepreneur's Story – "From Networking to Business Alliances"

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Blog by: Kwa Hwee Lay, Clarie & Filda Citra Yusgiantoro, Singaporean and Indonesian, respectively; Nanyang MBA participants, Intake 2011

The NANYANG MBA Women in Business (WIB) Club held a talk cum workshop “An Entrepreneur’s Story”. We had the honor of welcoming one of Indonesia’s distinguished female entrepreneurs, founder and CEO of Mobiliari Media Group, Ms Millie Stephanie. Mobiliari (PT Mobiliari Stephindo) is a media company that counts Indonesia Tatler and Forbes Indonesia among its many publications. Ms Millie fostered a lively discussion of her experiences as an entrepreneur with a group 10 WIB club members, and the only thorn among the roses, our German colleague, Justus Kaiser (in picture below, 5th from left).

 

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Blog, Cultural Events

A taste of Korea – BBQ, kimchi and happy faces…

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The NANYANG MBA Ex-co organizes BBQ for the AY 2011/2012
By Charles Chua, Singaporean, Nanyang MBA participant intake 2011, VP for Socials Student Ex-Co

No matter where you come from, sharing a good meal in the midst of like-minded company is a great way to spend a weekend especially if it is after a rigorous week in school. It is not a hidden fact that having a delicious meal is one of the many things our cohort enjoys most. With a very diverse cohort that we have, we thought – why not have a BBQ, with an Asian twist? And so, the first BBQ was organized by the Student Ex-Co 2011/12 at one of our classmates abode (and gracious hosts for the night) in a condominium in the Western part of Singapore.

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Blog, Corporate Social Responsibility

The NANYANG MBA Olympics – Collaboration Through Competition for a Cause

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By: Eric Oandasan, Filipino, Nanyang MBA Intake 2011
Club Co-Chair, Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR)

The vaguely bright Sunday early morning of 18th March at the NTU Sports & Recreation Center came in with a flurry of activity: banners being hung, tables carefully unfolded, balls being rigorously pumped with air, heaps of goodie bags and canned drinks unloaded. At 9:00 AM, groups of participants from various Singapore MBA schools came in droves to register, collect goodie bags and start stretching exercises in preparation for the long day of sports. The morning was filled with anticipation, excitement, and a sense of hopefulness that the typically unpredictable Singapore weather will keep the athletes dry and cool.

The NANYANG MBA organizers
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Blog, Clubs

Understanding the financial and banking industry

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Talk organized by Banking and Finance (B&F) Club

By Akhil Mehta and Raghav Sharma, Indians, Nanyang MBA Participants, Intake 2011

 

The 2011-2012 Banking & Finance Club kicked off its first event in the last quarter of 2011 with a seminar on an overview of the Banking industry.

As it was a Tuesday night, and to make it more apt for our topic in ‘banking’, we had the event held right in the middle of the financial district of Singapore, Raffles Place, at a cozy coffee shop.  Ms. Anita Sim, the Executive Director of Euro Group, a leading top tier organization providing services in the property development, marketing and search business areas was the guest speaker for the day.  A dynamic and highly experienced industry veteran, Ms. Sim gave the fourteen (14) club members who attended a crash course on the various aspects of the banking industry, and the career choices available.

Throughout the course of the night, Ms Sim touched on many aspects of the banking industry, sparing no efforts to explain acronyms, warned us of pitfalls and shared precious insights on how to get a foot in the door in this buoyant industry. Aware that some of us have no prior experience in this field, Ms. Sim was thorough yet concise to bring her points across, to let us understand the job nature of various positions, and which of the top banks in the field to look for in different areas.

After the short but sweet session, all of us quickly introduced ourselves to Ms Sim so that she can know each of us better and give more tailored advice individually.

It was a wonderful and eye-opening experience for most of us as we look forward to meet Ms. Sim in the near future for more tips and insights to prepare us in our job search, and getting our dream jobs in the industry.

About The Banking and Finance (B&F) Club: The B&F Club serves its members to equip them with the necessary information to make informed decisions to pursue a career in this industry. It aspires to bring updated information about this ever changing landscape of the industry and needs of future financial professionals to ensure that its members will have the necessary skills to compete. For more information about the club, click here.

“The event was very helpful as we not only talked about various aspects of Investment Banking and Asset Management industry but also discussed the implications of current economic scenario. Ms Sim also took time to discuss in brief, the basic profile of each member, which we found very useful when we search for jobs soon.”  – Raghav Sharma, one of the authors, 3rd from left, together with his classmates from Mexico (Manuel), Japan (Harutaka-san), and India (Kabeer) [left to right], during the pre-term activities of The NANYANG MBA.

Blog, Clubs

Consulting as a Profession – Are you up for it?

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Derrick Tee, Malaysian, The NANYANG MBA Participant, Intake 2011

It has been a while yet the date, 16th December 2011, still lingers in my head. It was on that day that I officially became a ‘full time’ MBA candidate in Nanyang Business School. I was a part time MBA participant when I started my MBA studies, but decided to switch to full time due to various reasons, specifically to complete the programme faster. I have taken the plunge to leave my current employer and focus on my business studies.

Derrick_Tee As I was considering to make a career in management consulting,  I attended the talk ‘Consulting as a Profession’ by Right Management, global leader in talent and career management workforce solutions within ManpowerGroup – and the talk came at a better time. Frank Ribuot the Asia Pacific Senior Vice President for Right Management was the guest speaker for the day. Many of us in the 2011 cohort aspire to make a career in the consulting industry. However, according to Frank, “the glamour, the hype and most importantly, the hard work that comes with it may not be everyone’s cup of tea.” Continue reading Consulting as a Profession – Are you up for it? →

Blog, Cultural Events

A festival of lights – Celebrating Diwali The NANYANG MBA Style

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By Joseph M. Kainady, Indian, The NANYANG MBA Participant, Intake 2011

Being a part of an international cohort of MBA students, one will always have an opportunity to learn a new culture or share your own to your classmates and this is exactly what happened during the last quarter of last year – my  fellow Indian classmates and I had the opportunity to share a part of our culture – The Diwali or known as Festival of Lights.

As the festival fell on a very busy period for us (exams week and trimester 1 break), we celebrated Diwali in November. Diwali is one of the most important festival in India – it is important for Hindus, Sikhs and Jains but it is celebrated by everyone.

Gathering at the MBA lounge, my classmates were welcomed with Indian folk art pattern or Rangoli and diyas (oil lamps), which set the festive mood. The celebration started off with a Pooja ceremony, a religious ritual performed by the Hindus as an offering to various deities, distinguished persons or special guests. It lasted around 15 minutes and was conducted by an NTU PhD student. Our classmates were amazed by the ritual, as Cheng Zeng, from China, puts it, “I was amazed to see the versatility in the PhD student conducting the Pooja in such a professional manner.”

Rangoli or Indian folk art pattern welcoming my classmates upon entering the MBA lounge

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Blog, Cultural Events

Spending my first Christmas in Singapore with fellow Nanyang MBAs but we still have the hangover

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By Kabeer Chaudhary, Indian, Nanyang MBA Intake 2011, Student ExCo VP Cultural

Seeing some photos taken during Christmas season brings back fun memories of my first Christmas in Singapore, celebrated together with my Nanyang MBA peers. The fun and laughter we had that night still resound in my head.

Nanyang MBA peers and friends enjoying the Christmas Party

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Blog, Corporate Social Responsibility

Visiting nature – Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) Club goes biking in Pulau Ubin

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by Eric Oandasan, Filipino, CSR Club Co-Chair, Nanyang MBA participant, Intake 2011

A few months into the program, being stuck inside the air-conditioned, sometimes freezing confines of the classroom, can sure take its toll on our ‘sanity’. Offering a refreshing escape from the city, the CSR Club held its first event at Pulau Ubin, an island off Singapore’s main island, one of the few reserved spots in Singapore untouched by urban development. Already a popular tourist destination, the small island brought 15 of us, mostly city-dwellers, to a brief experience back to nature. Coming from various cultural backgrounds, from Europe to Asia, and having experienced nature treks in our own countries, we were looking forward to this common yet different experience from our rather predictable city life.

One of the many mangroves dotting Pulau Ubin

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Blog, Living in Singapore

"Moon Festival" – Celebrating Chinese traditions

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by Kabeer Chaudhary, Indian, Nanyang MBA Participant, Intake 2011

Diversity is key to create a great and memorable experience and we are fortunate that The NANYANG MBA fosters this and strive to have such for its students – we have 18 nationalities in our cohort! This diversity in nationalities gives us the opportunity to learn about other people’s culture without having to go that far. And we did – right here in Singapore!

The 2011 Student Executive Committee (Ex-Co) kick-started this year’s events for current students with the celebration of the ‘Mooncake Festival’ in September, also known as the ‘Mid-Autumn’ or ‘Moon Festival’ at the Chinese Gardens. The Chinese Gardens, also known as Jurong Gardens, is one of Singapore’s nature parks and is  built over 8 hectares in 1975 under the guidance of a well-known architect from Taiwan.  Twenty (20) of us, current MBA students, with our families and friends, walked through the gardens and were greeted by northern Chinese imperial style of architecture and landscaping. The place awed us with its colorful lanterns tied to ancient legends dotting the lake and the grounds and Chinese customs of the festival.

Mooncake or Moon Festival is a popular lunar harvest festival celebrated by the Chinese community all around the world. It falls on the 15th of the 8th month of the lunar calendar and it is one of the most important traditional events for the Chinese and even Vietnamese, just like Christmas and Thanksgiving for Westerners. There are many legends and folklore surrounding the festival from the Moon Goddess of Immortality to the overthrowing of Mongol Rule and to the Vietnamese legend of a wife who accidentally desecrated a sacred banyan tree and was transported to the heavens by the tree for doing so (the Vietnamese light lanterns to show her way down to earth)*. But it is also a favorable time to have a get together and enjoy one another’s company, eating mooncakes under a full moon (for us, we did at the Chinese Garden!). Of course, apart from the delicious mooncakes some of us brought, we were also delighted by mooncakes shared by gracious celebrants who were there to enjoy and celebrate the festivities.

Our Chinese classmates were excited and eager to share with us their culture specially that surround these festivities. Each of us was ‘welcomed’ with a traditional mooncake and our Chinese friends helped to differentiate between flavors such like walnut, lotus, pumpkin and red beans. , Dominic, our Swiss classmate, had a mooncake with a nut filling, and commented, “It was my first time at a Mooncake Festival. I’ve heard a lot about the famous mooncakes and I was excited to finally try them. After trying about every possible mooncake flavor, I can say that my favorite is the one with the nut filling.”

Mooncake Festival - Nanyang MBA
Some of our classmates from China (from left to right) – Zeng Cheng, Tan Yanning, Lu Zhongjie, and Wang Jie who were gracious to share with us their knowledge about the festival.

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Blog, Happenings

Karaoke – Singing our hearts, MBA style

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by Ralph Camus, Filipino, Nanyang MBA Participant, Intake 2011

Some 20 Nanyang MBA students organized an MBA Karaoke session at the lounge of ‘one of the last bastions of unspoilt nature in this largely cosmopolitan city-state of Singapore – Raffles Country Club, a 25 minute drive from the central business district and less than that driving time from NTU. The lounge where we were going to test our vocal chords overlooked part of the 146 hectares of luscious land with a tranquil lake and rolling green hills plus a glimpse of the club’s two 18-hole golf courses. It was the first Karaoke Night organized by the MBA Student Executive Committee (Ex-Co) where we experienced an enjoyable and fun night of musical expression.

Together with my peers from the MBA program, we were joined by part-time MBA students, as well as our exchange classmates from Spain, the United States and Israel where we gladly  belted out power ballads from Aerosmith, Greenday, and even Tom Jones! One of our male Japanese classmates even tested out his vocal prowess with Lady Gaga songs, much to the delight of everyone. There was even a showdown between the ladies and the men, but modesty aside – we, the male participants, dominated the microphone and thus, the night. We sung like there was no tomorrow and hogged the microphone until closing time.

Our exchange peers from the USA, Christine (left) and Israel, Olga (right) with our classmate Janina (center)
Our exchange peers from the USA, Christine (left) and Israel, Olga (right) with our classmate Janina (center)
The men of Nanyang MBA dominated the singing
The men of Nanyang MBA dominated the singing
The ladies showing us how to dance the almost forgotten – Macarena dance.
The ladies showing us how to dance the almost forgotten – Macarena dance.
Harutaka-san (holding the microphone) belted out Lady Gaga songs
Harutaka-san (holding the microphone) belted out Lady Gaga songs

What made that night more fun was that some members of the MBA Office shared laughter and musical notes with us as they added vocal power to the event.

The karaoke night turned an ordinary Tuesday night into a lively gathering of friends, acquaintances and good music. Now that we have discovered who has the powerful voices and the grooviest dance moves accompanying the singing, we are sure that this is definitely not the last karaoke night for our cohort.