Pre-MBA Begins
The Pre-MBA started today and it was both a sneak peek at the MBA program and a typical day of an AIM MBA student. It also gave me the chance to see my classmates for the first time (well, at least almost all of them.)
The session started promptly at 8 o'clock in the morning and Prof. Ricardo Lim gave a brief intro to the MBA freshies. His deadpan humor and quick wit was able to get the class laughing early on, but it was all business after that. Prof. Lim turned the floor over to Prof. Hilario Tan, the designated instructor for financial accounting.
Prof. Tan started his version of "Accounting for Dummies" as the class was comprised primarily of zero accounting background students. (Well, I heard there were auditors and business analysts in the class, which made me scratch my head.). There were some good questions and some "Duh!" questions that flew around, but it was really evident that the class was like encountering a new animal-- quizzed looks, raised eyebrows and heavy note-taking was abound.
On a personal note, I really learned a lot today. Financial Statements, Balance sheets, COSO, IASB, AICPA and a roster of other nuggets of info I happily took note of. I also had a better idea what happened to Enron, from an accounting perspective.
During a break, I got a chance to hang out with the folks I met during my Group Discussion & Interview session. We were all pleasantly surprised we all went ahead with the MBA program and we even had lunch. That really made getting friendly with the other people in the class much easier.
The afternoon session became more of a mad scramble. We already had assignments and got our temporary CAN groupings. (CAN Groups are smaller cell groups of 7-8 in which students discuss the problem sets and cases with during the duration of a class). Since the majority of the Pre-MBA class were Indian students, our CAN Group was no different. The problem set and assignment wasn't that hard so we breezed through what was in our plate.
My key learning for today is that apart from the knowledge from the classes, it it also important to learn how to deal with people, on all levels. To be honest, I had my share of nice folks and people I'd rather forget temporarily this day. I also seem to have trouble remembering Indian names. I'm optimistic my brain will adjust to the rigors of the MBA program.
The session started promptly at 8 o'clock in the morning and Prof. Ricardo Lim gave a brief intro to the MBA freshies. His deadpan humor and quick wit was able to get the class laughing early on, but it was all business after that. Prof. Lim turned the floor over to Prof. Hilario Tan, the designated instructor for financial accounting.
Prof. Tan started his version of "Accounting for Dummies" as the class was comprised primarily of zero accounting background students. (Well, I heard there were auditors and business analysts in the class, which made me scratch my head.). There were some good questions and some "Duh!" questions that flew around, but it was really evident that the class was like encountering a new animal-- quizzed looks, raised eyebrows and heavy note-taking was abound.
On a personal note, I really learned a lot today. Financial Statements, Balance sheets, COSO, IASB, AICPA and a roster of other nuggets of info I happily took note of. I also had a better idea what happened to Enron, from an accounting perspective.
During a break, I got a chance to hang out with the folks I met during my Group Discussion & Interview session. We were all pleasantly surprised we all went ahead with the MBA program and we even had lunch. That really made getting friendly with the other people in the class much easier.
The afternoon session became more of a mad scramble. We already had assignments and got our temporary CAN groupings. (CAN Groups are smaller cell groups of 7-8 in which students discuss the problem sets and cases with during the duration of a class). Since the majority of the Pre-MBA class were Indian students, our CAN Group was no different. The problem set and assignment wasn't that hard so we breezed through what was in our plate.
My key learning for today is that apart from the knowledge from the classes, it it also important to learn how to deal with people, on all levels. To be honest, I had my share of nice folks and people I'd rather forget temporarily this day. I also seem to have trouble remembering Indian names. I'm optimistic my brain will adjust to the rigors of the MBA program.
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