A platter of learning experiences!

I just got back from the INSEAD foody dinner at a cantonese restaurant, as part of which we go to a new restaurant serving a unique cuisine on every friday...I'm tired and another week is gone by! Its been 2 full weeks of hectic work at school and I'm still breathing! Yeah...getting back to student life is harder than it seemed, definitely a lot of fun, but hard...i'm back to studying text books and doing homework! To add to that, in b-school, you are supposed to prepare before the class, be active and participate in the class and do more work after the class...so our motto is, "go-go-go-go"...no stops during the week!

Luckily the learning experience at INSEAD is great and you'll begin to enjoy the courses and the way it is taught...especially if you can forget the "grading ghost" for a moment!

There are many ways to learn at INSEAD, first and the most important is through the course work...the course material is very well organized and i'm enjoying the case-discussion kind of learning in class...i'm especially loving the basics of finance and the micro-economics part, makes you look at eggs and potatoes in very different light :)
Then comes learning from the class with diverse people...the arguments and discussions in class are very interesting and dynamic and the views and perceptions of people from so many cultures, countries and backgrounds makes u sit up and think! One of the courses i'm really enjoying is called "leading people and groups"...we all have been put in groups of 5 with great diversity for the next 2 periods and this is our mini laboratory to develop our leadership, team work and managerial skills...the course is giving way to a lot of open ended debate in class which i hope will help me build my leadership or managerial "style" and make me sensitive (tolerant?) to other styles!

Then there are clubs, I felt like a kid in a candy store in the first meeting of the entrepreneurship clubs...with so many options in front me...and the professors are very warm and welcoming of your ideas and ready to help you figure out what you can do at INSEAD. These clubs also provide you with an opportunity to meet a variety of businessmen and leaders from across the globe...last monday i met with a banker cum entrepreneur cum VC for half hour, dedicated, and will be meeting one more this monday...we also had a very insightful session with the CEO of DHL Express...which showed us that doing business can be very tough!

The most interesting and informal learning tool at INSEAD is your interactions with your fellow class mates outside the class, at the bar, in the cafeteria, playing soccer, by the pool, in the gym...its a continuous cycle of getting to know people, learning new things, discussing ideas and questioning theories and philosophies.

Last but not the least, there is much to learn from Singapore...not necessarily everything good or great, but learning nevertheless...i'll never forget our conversation we had with this cab driver on our way to Mustafa (a huge Mall in little india)...it was inspring and insightful..in his words, "society is a university, learn from it lah"

I'm enjoying the mixed platter of learning experiences available at INSEAD...and ofcourse the variety of cuisines too!