NBS Career Day

by | Apr 17, 2017 | MSc Accountancy, Nanyang Fellows MBA, Nanyang MBA

Graduate Studies Blog

MSC ACCOUNTANCY, NANYANG EXECUTIVE MBA, NANYANG FELLOWS MBA, NANYANG MBA

NBS Career Day

Article written by Venkatsubrmaniam , Nanyang Fellows MBA

Nanyang Business School conducted its annual NBS Career Day on 24th Jan 2017. Typically, it was a half day event, scheduled between 12:30pm to 4:30pm. This is a joint event for both the NBS Undergraduate and NBS Graduate students and was held at the Nanyang Auditorium.

This event was split into 2 phases.

Phase 1, between 12:30pm and 2:30pm, was primarily focused on the Undergraduate (UG) students. For the UG students, the event was organized like a job fair layout, where NBS students can walk to each stall and chat with prospective employers. My apologies, I don’t recall the exact number of companies that participated in this event and if I must take an educated guess, I would say, roughly 40+ employers participated in this fair for UG students.

Phase 2, between 2:30pm and 4:30pm, was targeted at the NBS graduate (MBA, Fellows MBA, etc.) students. This slot was exclusively for NBS graduate students, where a tea session was conducted to allow the students to meet up with prospective employers. A total of 30 corporates participated in this event including BIG names like Apple, Adidas, Axa Insurance, Changi, EY, PWC, Grab, Kraft Heinz, Lego, Microsoft, Nomura, SAP, IRC, Dell, DHL Consulting, Maersk Consulting and many more…

Typically for Graduate Students, the career office maintains a resume book, where the profiles of all the students, both present and past, who are seeking jobs included and shared to the participating companies, at-least a week prior to the actual event. Basis this resume book, the corporates perform the initial screening and invite some students for a job discussion. Alternatively, students may also check for current openings, from the list of registered companies and reach out to the recruiters on career day, to initiate first level discussion.

For my fellow students back home in India, placements are a different ball game in the international B-schools, unlike in India, where placements are almost guaranteed. In short, placements outside India could be directly attributed to the student’s networking ability.

Personally speaking, the biggest take away from this career day event, was to network with recruitment team from desired companies. Often, while applying for roles in the career page of MNCs, the built-in algorithm filters out most of CVs (this is done basis specific keywords and other logics) and the candidate receives an automated reject email, even without the HR viewing the CVs. This event, enables the candidate to bypass this algorithm and connect with the recruiting HRs, thereby increasing the chances of being called for the interview.

Overall, NBS Career day was a very well planned and executed event by the NBS GSCDO office. Three cheers to the NBS GSCDO office for putting their best foot forward, in providing their candidates with an ideal platform to connect with the corporate giants.

Academic Experience

Career Advice

Fellows MBA – Orientation

by | Mar 29, 2017 | Nanyang MBA

Graduate Studies Blog

NANYANG FELLOWS MBA

Fellows MBA – Orientation

Article written by Venkatsubrmaniam Wuppuluru, Class of 2017

11th July 2016 – First day of Nanyang Fellows MBA program. Personally, for someone who is going back to school after 9 long years, there were mixed emotions. There were some, in our cohort, who were coming back to school after 25 long years. A lot depended on the orientation week, which I believed would ultimately set the tone for the rest of the year.

Day 1 of orientation: The first half dedicated towards completing joining formalities. Post which, we were treated to an enticing lunch, followed by the welcome & introduction session, presided over by the Associate Dean and senior leadership of the Nanyang Fellows MBA program. We were also given briefings on the programs

A team building activity was scheduled for the second half of the day. The venue for this event was Cookyn Inc. The required the entire cohort to be split into multiple teams, roll up our sleeved and test our culinary skills. Thankfully, we had experienced chefs, who were guiding us in our humble efforts to make dishes, which eventually had to consumed by the ones who made it. The thought of having to eat the food prepared by ourselves meant, the cohort gave it their best shot. In the retrospect, I strongly believe the effort, put in by the cohort to study the finance module, would be a fraction of the efforts they put in to make those yummy dishes.

This event was the perfect start to get the ball rolling and paved the way for the students to get to know each other.

 

Day 2, the first of the day was slotted to give the fellows cohort, a feel for the case studies (which would eventually command most our time at NBS). Professor Vijay Sethi (named Business Professor of the year, 2013, by the Economist Intelligence Unit – EIU for being the world’s best educator) presided over the session and needless to say, it was one of the most enthralling sessions.

Post lunch, “Getting to know our campus” event was planned for the latter half of the day. Again, the fellows class was split into multiple smaller groups and the event was based along the lines Amazing race, where we were given maps and tasks to perform. The purpose of this event, was to give a first-hand understanding of the campus & facilities to the students, in the shortest possible time and in a most engaging manner.

Day 3, again was dedicated to check the logistics aspect of the program. However, the highlight event of the day was the Photoshoot, where our future LinkedIn pictures (format pictures) were clicked. The entire experience was fun and yes, we did try out best to distract the students while clicking pictures and did out bit to try and make the life of the photographer, a little miserable. All in good humor and we are glad, the photographer saw the lighter side of our mischiefs.
Detailed sessions were also conducted by the library staffs, to give us complete information on the facilities available at the library and the journal subscriptions that we were entitled for.

Day 4, little did we know that the “Getting to know our campus” event was indeed a pre-prep event to ready us for the actual Singapore Amazing Race event – a full day event. The team were split to ensuring optimum mix of local Singapore & International students in each team. The purpose of this task was to give the International students a feel for the culture of Singapore, give the international students a feel for the public transport system, cuisines and covering some of the important landmarks of Singapore. The entire event was planned well and its objective was to FastTrack the international students understanding of the new country and make them feel at home.

Day 5, if the previous orientation activities were fun, this day was ADVENTURE. The agenda for the day was team building activity at Focus Adventure @Sentosa. The day began with our instructor – Albert King, pushing us out of our comfort zone, making us dance (first time ever in my life, where I had no choice but to dance), team tasks, reflect and eventually set the tone for the rest of the year.

It was followed by a raft building session. The class was split into two teams, we were few plastic rods, inflated tubes and ropes, to build rafts. The goal was to each the other side of the water body on the raft first. Although there was a twist, in the task, the entire event was fun. We got to swim in the beaches of Singapore and the task was a memorable one.

Post this task, we took a break for lunch. Delicious food under a shed with rains pouring down, typical of Singapore weather. Once the rain receded, we were again split into group and this task was the mother of all tasks, we had come across during the orientation week.

We were given safe equipment and the task for us, was to climb up a 24m tall majestic tower, in groups of 4’s, lead, motivate and guide our team members to complete the walk on the top of the tower, overcoming our fears. If one person falls, the entire team not only fails, but also falls (we would be hanging by the safety equipment). The challenge was to push the team mates to overcome their fear and complete the task.

Overall, a BIG thank you to NBS team and Albert King for coming up with an amazing plan for the orientation week and making our journey back to school, an enjoyable one.

Life in a week of Fellows MBA

by | Mar 3, 2017 | Nanyang MBA

Graduate Studies Blog

NANYANG FELLOWS MBA

Life in a week of Fellows MBA

Article written by Venkatsubrmaniam Wuppuluru
Nanyang Fellows MBA 

College life is FUN! But then, how is life for a Fellows MBA student, studying at Nanyang Business School? Read on to find out, how a typical week looks like for a Fellows MBA student.

Mondays: We usually have one class, in the mornings between 9:30 am and 12:45pm. However, Trimester 2 (T-2) was an unusual case, where we had regular full day finance classes, barring a lunch break (typically lasting 1 hr and 15 mins). It tends to get tedious, specially for someone returning from the corporate world, to concentrate for 7 hours straight. Post lunch, despite the best efforts of our professors, our minds do tend to wander away from class. We do have some exceptional students, who have mastered the art of dozing off with eyes open.

After a long day at class, in the evening, I take a stroll around the campus and walk back to my accommodation. The greenery and pleasant weather, charges me up and by the time I reach my accommodation, it’s time to work on the following days case studies or assignments. T-2, on Tuesdays we had our East Asian Culture and Management Policies classes, which meant lots of readings.

Tuesdays: The day begins with East Asian Culture and Management policies class between 9:30am and 12:45pm. Post which, the class disperses for lunch break (typically in pockets of 3 or 4). Our professor, is a very well read and experienced individual, who incidentally was also the past Dean of Nanyang Business School. His vast experience, background and research, helped us immensely to understand, how business is typically transacted in this part of the world (read South-East & East Asia).

Tuesdays are also reserved to our weekly badminton challenges, wherein 6 of us (Russian, German, Chinese, Japanese, Pakistani & Indian) typically test our limits. While the German & Pakistani are supremely fit, others are fast catching up. Strangely, there is also a brewing rivalry between the German & Indian, although must say, German is winning hands down – for now. Badminton is usually a 2-hour affair.

Post badminton, 4 of us (Indian, Nigerian & Pakistani) head for our usual evening swim. Especially after 2 hours of physically exhausting badminton, a swim in the Olympic sized pool is the best way to relax and re-charge.

Post dinner, again, we head retire to our rooms to prepare for the following days pre-readings/assignments. In T-2, on Wednesdays, we had Change Management & Negotiation sessions.

Wednesdays: Personally, I look forward to our Negotiation classes on Wednesdays. The first half of the class is reserved for theory and the second half, usually the fun part, where we simulate negotiation scenarios. The consensus in the class is to have more time allocated for these simulations, which, at times can really get interesting. We push each other to the core, at times, waiting to settle scores, in good spirit, however at the end of the day, the focus is always on the learnings. This is one of those classes, where, we are as fresh post ending the session, as we were, when we began it.

Post class, we again break for lunch. Usually, I take a bit of rest in the afternoons and head for a swim. Post swim & dinner, I get back to my pre-reading sessions for the following day. Since, Thursdays are usually slotted for Talent Management, the readings can get exhaustive.

Thursdays: Personally speaking, Talent Management classes have been an interesting mix of case studies and theories. Specially, the project where we had to analyze one aspect of HR related task for a company of our choice. While it tends to get theory heavy, our professor’s sense of humor really cracked it up for us. And the case studies were always discussed in the most interesting manner. This is one class, where our cohort usually stayed awake, because the professor has this brutal habit of picking on students, who were mentally absent from the class.

Again, the usual routine of lunch and swimming followed. Sometimes, we also had a session of Squash, to compliment badminton. Fridays were generally off days in T-2 and hence, our group usually discussed our consulting project on this day.

Fridays & Weekends: Depending on individual’s choice, the weekend could either be adventurous or slow paced. We had an interesting mix of students, who had a special class on weekends – termed as Beer class. Being a tee-totaler was a brilliant excuse to not enroll in the Beer class, however the students of this class had fantastic stories to tell. This Beer class students were also culturally most active, since they always chose the venue basis some cultural significance.

Coming from India and being the cricket fanatic that I am, Friday evenings were reserved for swimming and a session of cricket. We have a group of 30 odd people, who play cricket on a makeshift hockey court, under flood lights.

Taking a stroll in the late evenings, when the breeze flows gently is also another way to unwind a long week. Saturday and Sundays, we head out of the campus to enjoy food and explore the city. Also, we plan for the week ahead, case submissions and quizzes.

Whosoever said COLLEGE LIFE IS FUN, well yes, it is fun, but also can push you to your limits with assignments. Apart from the usual classes, this is how MBA trains us on TIME MANAGEMENT & MULTI-TASKING.

Academic Experience

Student Life

Nanyang Fellows Business Study Mission 2016

Nanyang Fellows Business Study Mission 2016

by | Feb 13, 2017 | Nanyang MBA

Graduate Studies Blog

NANYANG FELLOWS MBA

Nanyang Fellows Business Study Mission 2016

Article written by Venkatsubrmaniam Wuppuluru 

Nanyang Fellows MBA, Class of 2017 

Barcelona, Spain, was chosen as the location for Business Study Mission (BSM) trip for Nanyang Fellows MBA 2016-17 cohort. The school makes it a point to ensure that BSM is NOT all work and no play. The objective of the BSM is to provide the students with a comprehensive platform to understand the economy of the country, understand their business culture, liaise with key authorities from the government/ or government appointed agencies as well as understand the local culture and visit places of importance.

Typically, BSM lasts for a week and for 2016-17 cohort, the BSM was scheduled in the beginning of the 2nd trimester, between 7th and 13th November 2016. High level overview of the schedule of events are as follows:

7th Nov 2016

Following a quick catch up of the cohort, we had an appointment scheduled with Catalonia Investment Agency. Topic of presentation centred around Spain – From a model country to deep crisis and back. The cohort were educated about the highs and lows of the Spain business environment and how they are the currently attracting investments from Asia.

Post this, our next pit stop was with the leaders of Caixa Bank (Spanish Financial Services company)- it is Spain’s third largest lender by market value, has 6,631 branches, serving 13.2 million customers, confirming its status as the most extensive branch network in Spain (sourced from wiki). During this visit, we were given presentation on the management of a corporation in Catalonia, the current banking system, financial policies and the business strategy followed by Caixa Bank.

Evening was dedicated to explore the legendary tourist attractions of Catalonia, such as Plaza De Cataluna, Via Laietana, the Cathedral and its cloister, the Gothic Quarter, Generalitat and Town Hall. We also managed to squeeze in visits to Villa Olimpica, the Olympic harbor and Montjuïc Mountain, which offers a panoramic view of the city of Barcelona.

 

 

8th and 10th Nov 2016

These days were dedicated to conduct business. Although, the Fellows cohort, did connect with their respective client, prior to this trip, this was the first time, we connected with our clients in person. We interacted with the founders, Senior Management, business partners, as well had a chance to personally visit the business establishment. Further, these 2 days were spent primarily to understand their client business model, understand their requirements, draft consulting project goals, discuss and finalise the goals, to be completed by Feb 2017.

9th Nov 2016

Personally speaking, this was a day to remember. In the first half of the way, we had an appointment scheduled with Hard Rock Cafe – Barcelona (one of the direct establishments run by Hard Rock Cafe head quartered in Orlando, Florida, US). The topic of presentation was Adjusting Marketing Strategies – How to boost a descending demand. The Senior Sales & Marketing Manager of HRC Barcelona, led the session and gave us valuable insights on the functioning of the organisation, their business model, how they constantly innovate and thrive in trying market conditions and how they stay manage to remain both successful and consistently contribute to the society by incorporating their CSR in their business model. This was followed by a yummy lunch, at HRC.

In the second half of the day, we were privileged to meet up with the Strategy Director at the Port of Barcelona. The purpose of this visit, to get a first-hand information about how business is transacted at the Port of Barcelona, the primary challenges faced by the port authorities, labor issues encountered by Port authorities with the labourers and how they deal with them, frequent escalations faced from the customers, how they manage to plan their containers and prioritise storing, etc… This was followed by a boat cruise, to give us a first hand of account of how difference cruise ships are parked at the harbour, how various container lines have set up their loading and unloading spots within the port, look at the loading and unloading of the containers, witnessed how the vehicle manufacturing industry export the complete built up models, etc… As a bonus, we also were given a sneak peek at the most exotic yachts and speed boats owned by some of the who’s who of the world’s richest people.

11th Nov 2016

First half of the day was reserved for our final meeting with our clients and finalising the consulting projects

During the second half of the day, we visited local brewery – Grupo Damm. This purpose of this visit was to help us witness the end to end brewery making process and also get an understanding of the factory establishment. A small presentation was also arranged on the topic – Local product under the pressure of global competition. We finally rounded off the day, with generous serving of in-house manufactured beer for the cohort.

12th Nov 2016

The day began with a trip to the famous Montserrat (mountain). It is a multi-peaked rocky range located near Barcelona. The highest point of the peak stands at 1236 m and the weather was kind enough, allowing us to enjoy once in a lifetime opportunity to enjoy with our cohort.

Post which, we ventured on our cava tour. We visited the winery facility of Gramona – one of the oldest establishment still manufacturing cavas and wines. Not only were we given a royal tour of the facility, we were also given a comprehensive guide on the wine making procedure. The tour ended with the Fellows cohort given a taste of the different wines produced by Gramona.

The evening was dedicated for a team dinner, followed by a live performance of flamenco – an art form native to Spanish region.

13th Nov 2016

Team begins their journey back to campus in Singapore.

While, the above just provides a gist of our Barcelona BSM trip, what it also did, was to create a bond for life, amongst the Nanyang Fellows 2016-17 batch. This was a very well planned event, from the beginning till the end.