Second Week of Term 3

There were some significant events last week, I should not have left it till Tuesday, but here we are, late but since the next week has not yet started due to a really long weekend, I guess its fine.

The first event of importance last week was the meeting with an entrepreneur about my independent project.  This alumni has been running a traditional cardboard based games company for some time (20 years) and wants to start off a tech version, i.e. mobile apps for the same games.  The idea is so exciting that I can see a real possibility of a career in this area soon after my MBA.  Me and my colleague working on this idea have been wanting to work on a project together for some time now and the entrepreneur selected us both, so things seem to be falling in place.

The SOAR report completion deadline was also on Thursday, I completed it on Thursday, this report was very useful in terms of re-focussing on why we came here and taking on some specific goals for the rest of the MBA and beyond.  Even though I personally felt that the need to refer back to OBPPD learning aids like Qoits to be a bit restrictive, I think these are needed to provide some guidelines regarding the structure of the report.

We have formed our teams for Entrepreneurship, I am still looking to form a team for my Implementing change elective, may be next week this would be finalised as well.  Forming teams informally does not seem to be as good an idea as it seemed, being popular is important :).

Another development last week was my involvement in the cricket team, even though I initially thought the chances of me playing to be slim, I have just decided to give it a try, put in my best efforts and play in the team if I am performing well by the time MCL (MBA cricket league - a tournament organised by Cranfield MBAs every year of MBA teams around UK) happens.

Third Term Begins

Well, if you consider the midpoint of the MBA in terms of calendar, it is certainly behind us. 

Classes for the first week were very busy with all the electives (almost all, but certainly all that I attend) having a session, I have chosen Entrepreneurship and Implementing Change, which are really both to do with soft skills.  International Strategy is something I have chosen to Audit (a term used to just sit in class and not take the exam in Cranfield), however if my project plans go normally, then I will take exams in IST and do an audit of Leadership in term 4, these are plans. 

This week we had a very interesting lecture on Politics as part of Implementing change, this lecture I think is one of the best that I have had in this course, an orchestration of the opinions in the class in such fine fashion that we never realised that it was a taught lecture.  I am looking forward to more of these.

We also got a rank list :) even with a dismal second term performance, I am still in the top 1/3rd (at the bottom of the top 1/3 list though), which somehow made me happy, even though I am not chasing any top ranks.  I think with my commitment for term 3 and 4, this rank can only go higher.  

We also had Entrepreneurship which has started in a fine fashion and International strategy kicking off this week on a fine note.  The next few weeks would be a bit more free, looking forward to spending that time usefully as well. 

The Second Term Break

This is the first post that I am delaying by a week, in fact this is the first post that covers two weeks.

The gist of this post is a trip to Turkey.  It was a wonderful experience of a mixed culture, a perfect (or is it) mixture of Arabic and European culture.  I also discovered a few key parts of my personality, which some may say is very late.  I enjoyed visiting natural beauty much much more than architectural grandeur.  At-least this gave me a theme for future trips if not anything else.  However earlier, when I had visited Paris, I also enjoyed the Eiffel tower and Louvre Museum, so may be the fact that Turkish beauty has largely been damaged...

Other than that the trip had its own share of issues and problems, which taught me a few facts about my personality and team work.  I also feel that my personal mental capability is no longer as good as it was in the past.  I need to factor in this when I take up any new activities, starting may be with the term 3, when I will be much more attentive in class, not believing on my mental ability and also in future learning and entrepreneurial activities.

Played cricket in Cranfield after a long time and again felt the same about my physical abilities.  I have to restart my yoga practises to get some lost confidence back.

I think this post would be filled with personal thoughts if I keep writing, so let me finish by saying, all these would lead to a hard-working term 3.