Back To School, Back to Work

OK, no studies without exams, I guess.

Urban Legend has it that for such expensive educations, you pay for your diploma. There’s a lot to say for it, except that in the case of INSEAD, it’s not true J

Let there be no doubt, it is pure Darwinism. Selection happens on a number of grounds. Mostly before starting the programme: you need to pay the darn money and scholarschips nor bank loans don’t grow from trees, unfortunately. So yes there is some social pre-selection done. From rags to MBA to riches – not quite. Then, somewhat more honourable, is the intellectual pre-selection. You score a good GMAT, you write some interesting essays to motivate your application, you have something to contribute to the School, you’re in.

In = out? Mwah, almost.

There exist some graduation criteria:

-         1. Satisfactory professional conduct. You mustn’t misbehave (this includes putting the school’s reputation to shame in the local community, plagiarism, and probably second-degree murder too). Easy.

-         2. Be on good financial standing with the School. Basically, pay your bills. Well, not SO easy!

-         3. Meet the academic requirements; cut short: master 3 languages, choose a sufficient number of courses, and do well on those courses.

Do well? Actually, rather ‘don’t do too badly’. Here’s why & how.

Scoring of papers, assignments, class participation, and exams is not done based on absolute performance, yet on RELATIVE performance. Relative to your peers – the people sitting next to you, with whom you go for drinks, whose culture you just learnt to appreciate.

Tough exam & everyone gets a 10/100, except you with 11/100 => you’ll get the maximum score. Everyone gets a 90/100, except you with ‘only’ 89 => you’re the loser!

Basically they score all exams first in absolute terms, and then rescale it to a ‘standard normal distribution’ (i.e. subtract the mean & divide by standard deviation) => that way all exams become comparable and scores are calibrated 'z-scores'.

INSEAD has a ‘non-disclosure of grades’ policy. Everyone with an MBA from INSEAD is equal. Still, because of the fact that many of us are alpha-competitors, there is some stress about the exams. Which led our Finance prof – a Darwinist pur sang – to advise us to kill our peers. To call them up repeatedly in the middle of the night. To strongly advise them to go out the night before the exam.

2 exceptions to this equality: the top 10% on that normal distribution are on the “Dean’s list” and become known as such; and the Ford Prize winner: the student with the VERY BEST overall grade – not sure whether that’s a Detroit car but in any case much harder than winning a beauty contest and receiving that very same vehicle! Those who aspire to it are the people who asked the Finance professors whether it was permitted to bring 2 calculators to the exam – i kid you not.

At the other side of the spectrum, you cannot be more than 3 standard deviations (sigma – think 6-Sigma) below the mean. Sounds complicated but basically we speak about less than 1% - usually 1, maybe 2 people who need ‘corrective action’. They’d need to re-take courses with the next promotion, write an additional assignment, solve another case…to prove that they truly are not here by mistake.

So in reality…as far as my knowledge & understanding goes…yes, everyone who gets in, graduates.

Paradoxically to some extent, in order to be fair, exams therefore are designed to be really tough. Too easy exams are solved equally easily by all, and the one unlucky person who, say, mistypes a comma on his/her calculator would end up at the very left tail of the distribution – unfair because unrepresentative of true understanding. A wide ‘spread’ is therefore designed into the exams, in order to truly capture the individual differences in understanding. This is done in two ways: exams are tough, and they’re fucking long. The first questions typically tend to be fairly easy, but as you go on, the questions become harder. And it is virtually impossible to finish the exam – only the fastest students who don’t make mistakes along the road can finish in time – and each exam is 3 hours handwritten. Result: you’re exhausted after each exam. Having 16 hours of exam in 2.5 days is therefore as much a physical as a mental effort.

Which deserves a 2-day break, before starting P2 – the second 2-month period with nothing but core courses, ending mid December with…exams!

A la prochaine,

Tom

It has been a while since my last post. Partly because P1 was just going along, like a long fleuve pas vraiment tranquille, partly because we have had exams. More on those in a next post.

One of the big events over the last few weeks has been the re-designed process to organize campus exchange.

A little background. When you get accepted to INSEAD you need to indicate your starting campus, which is then your homebase for P1 and P2. In these 4 months, across both campuses, all students receive the same 'core' courses in business fundamentals such as Finance, Accounting, Strategy, Marketing, Logistics, Statistics etc. As mentioned, INSEAD has two campuses (soon a 3^rd is about to open in Abu Dhabi, UAE,  if my understanding is correct, focusing more on executive education), one in Fontainebleau where it all started exactly 50 years ago, the other in Singapore open since 2000. It makes the school quite unique in its league, in that the MBA programme can be followed on either campus. Course offering is the same, and most faculty teach on both campuses. Then there's also an alliance with Wharton in Pennsylvania, U.S., renowned for its strong financial courses, with which campus exchange for one period (2 months) is made possible. Such campus exchange is strongly encouraged and is part of INSEAD's core positioning on the market of Business Schools, as the "Business School for the World". With 69 nationalities in our promotion and no nationality group allowed to exceed 10% of the student body, it is actually not just a hollow slogan - jokingly the Dean always says that unless you go and work for the UN, it's quite unlikely you'll ever be in such a multinational environment again. One of INSEAD's nicknames is actually the 'United Nations of Business Schools'.

Two important things kick off in P3 (January for the July classes like mine, May for the December classes): Campus Exchange, and Elective Courses. The former gives you the unique chance to study on a different continent, the latter to tailor your MBA to your personal needs & wants. As most Electives have a limited number of seats, a bidding system has been introduced long time ago. If you really want it, put the money where your mouth is. Well, not money. Let's play Monopoly. Everybody gets 200 'credits' with which you can bid. For Electives for which there are fewer bidders than seats, the price is zero. Yet if there's, say, 60 seats for an Elective and more candidates, the 60 highest bidders get that Elective, and the 60^th–ranked student's bid is the 'cut-off price', which gets deducted from the 60 winners' credit balances. The 'losers' don't lose their bid - they just don't get the Elective. The result is often an 'inflationary' system where people who very badly want an Elective place ridiculously high bids, knowing they won't lose the excess part of their bid over the cut-off price anyway. A nice real-life example of game theory…with suboptimal results as prices are driven up.

So far so good, right? Here comes the tricky part. The school seems to be falling victim to its own success when it comes to Campus Exchange. Too many Fontainebleau-based students are wanting to go to Singapore. Small problem: the SGP campus is smaller, and there's not enough seats to accommodate for all. So how to select? Right, make them bid for it! Since this year, the 200 credits are no longer only to bid for Electives, but ALSO for Campus Exchange! The bidding for Campus Exchange took place 2 weeks ago. Online bidding…eat your heart out, eBay!

Result:

(1) emotions running high, mental age reduced to 12;

(2) many have bid ALL their points 'just to make sure'…and the price for an exchange to SGP in P3 is now..140 points (out of your 200 credits!). Same to be in Fontainebleau in P5;

(3) Students de facto need to trade off between a Campus Exchange and the Electives of their dreams.

(4) Angry students, letters to the dean, mails from the poor MBA programme managers keeping us posted about just exactly how many extra seats they can reasonably cram into an amphitheatre in SGP…

In se, the bidding system makes sense, the major frustration comes from the fact that we were only told after being admitted to School.

Personally, as I'm a Fontainebleau 'lifer', staying all my five Periods in France, I didn’t have to bid anything. So I'm left with 200 credits for the Electives of my dreams. Bidding starts on Nov 20^th 8a.m. I’ll be there, driving up the price…

Soon more on the P1 exams.

4 days mental break.

Tomorrow P2 starts.

Bye,

Tom

This week is Lebanese Week. No idea whether this idea spreads to the outside world, yet here on campus it's all YALLA! that we hear. On a 5-digit budget (...) the bunch of Lebanese P1s and P4s have pulled together a 'get-to-know-our-culture' week. Thank God it is surprisingly easy to find sponsors for this type of events.

So outside the bar there's a shisha tent this week, ladies are taking bellydancing classes, we eat shwarma for lunch and will get a taste of Beirut party extravaganza tomorrow. With gorgeous weather, campus is more of a souk this week. Cool.

National weeks are cool, it's the good old Eurovision "Germany twelve points, Allemagne douze points" competitive national spirit that surfaces.
It works with bidding. There are more candidates usually than actual weeks available, so students need to vote which countries they want to get to know.

The question is now: will Holland & Belgium, just like for the Football World Cup in 2018, place a common bid somewhere early next year at next bidding? Maybe, as long as we Belgies can deliver the beer.

Yalla!

hello!

well since my last post I've basically settled in. What's striking is how everything, and I mean EVERY THING, is super well organised at School. Last week was Orientation Week, this week courses have started, and everything works, everything is right, a fantastic feeling of pampering that is. There is SO much info to absorb (luckily I was used to that at work) that you feel you're constantly walking on the critical path. No swine flu please!

So, Orientation Week. Time Management, Presentation Skills, IT set-up, Business Ethics, Intro to General Management with an elaborate case on Sabena and how a fresh INSEAD graduate arrived there back in 1992 and basically did a very good job. Established my brand awareness with my peers by announcing - true story - I had once taken a Sabena Brussels-Brussels flight.
We're 498 in our Promotion ('Class') of whom 314 here in FBL. Add to that 304 students from the previous Class (the "Dec'09" class, we're "July'10" - dates indicate month of graduation) on a totally different schedule, and you imagine some 600+ MBA students humming around campus quite frenetically. Average age 29. 31% women. 67 nationalities. No nationality more than 50 people. Big difference with US Schools like Harvard where some 70% are Americans and the rest is, well, 'ROW'.
7 Belgies, of whom 2 in Singapore. Nice people.
What's your name?
Where are you from?
Where are you staying?
What's your background?
What are you here for?
Stop staring at my tits! Oh it's my badge you're looking at.

Because 314 people is too large a group to teach to in an interactive way, we're divided into 4 'Sections', and until xmas I'll have courses always with those same 80ish people. Within that Section there's about 15 'Groups' of 5-6 people, and those individuals will be the people I see most until xmas! All Group Assignments are to be done in that Group. One Italian girl from the World Bank, a French banker working in Argentina from BNP, a Lebanese-American consultant from IBM, a London marketing boy from Diageo, and myself. And guess what? (quoi?) La mayonnaise commence à prendre! Last week Friday we were out on a teambuilding all day in the marvellous FBL forest, and I think we'll function quite well.

I didn't know it's possible for people to have more than 2 nationalities. It is.

Lectures on Saturday are not cool. Especially cuz shops are very closed on Sundays and so you forget to do groceries.

This week the real start. Though the schedule is not identical every week, courses regularly start at 8.30am. Every course lasts 1h30 and usually you don't have more than 3 courses per day. But then there's group work, company presentations, student club presentations, alumni presentations, career services presentations, career questionnaires to fill out, food to be eaten (canteen food is really good - and cheap!), language exams to be taken and succeeded with 91% - time flies. Literally had time for one party and one small drink.

All the info is on their website, but in brief: the MBA at INSEAD is structured as follows. You basically get 10 months (vs the 2y in most other and especially US Schools) in which you see 80% of the amount of what those others get. 5 Periods of 2 months each (this is P1) and the first two are identical for all students be they in SGP or FBL. Those P1 and P2 cover all the Business Fundamentals, the 'Core Courses'. Then as from P3 all the way through P5 you start having Electives that basically allow you to completely tailor your MBA according to your development and/or career aspirations. Haven't fully made up my mind as to what direction to take. In P3 you still also have 2 core courses that give you some context, International Political Analysis, and Macro-Economics.

Courses this term:

- Financial Markets & Valuation (FMV). Learn how to value/evaluate a project or a company taking into account the associated risks. NPV, IRR, WACC that kind of stuff. Taught by one of the school's legends, a Belgian. Quite provocative.

- Financial Accounting (FA). When a Canadian 40y-old powerdressed lady tells you with her most sincere smile that "Accounting is the language of Business", you feel like learning her language. I swear! Very good teacher, despite the not-so-sexy topic.

- Prices&Markets (P&M). Basically micro-economics. The prof is younger than I am - OMG! First class, to establish the concept of demand & supply, he had us simulate an open outcry trading room (something like this) and so you get a hang of the kind of teaching. Not too much theory, get up on your feet and do it. On the intro page of his website don't be surprised by the link bottom-of-page...  Still, the most boring subject I'm afraid.

- Uncertainty, Data & Judgment (UDJ). Commedia dell'Arte by a great Italian professor. Frankly, to bring the drama into applied statistics - go for it! What's the probability that in a classroom like ours (80 people) at least 2 people have the same birthday? We were surprised...

- Leading People & Groups (LPG). Starting tomorrow. Leadership by doing. Group work and analysis of those group dynamics. Experimenting with styles. MBTI profiles, yippee!

We're diving into the rhythm now, but until now things are quite manageable. Just no time for yourself, for wasting time, but frankly the things that keep you busy are kinda supercool. I can assure you, measured per active hour, an MBA is CHEAP!

Talking of money, bank loan STILL not OK! Well, everything is (in the process of being) approved, but living hell, still not a bank card or money in my account! And a French mobile number...depends on the bank account! It's been 5 weeks non-stop running around for a loan - Frenchies are just SLOW and not caring about customer service - despite what they might claim. Orange makes great radio ads saying "C'est bon de pouvoir compter sur quelqu'un", advertising that they send out technicians to help you out. What they forget to say is that such a visit costs you a whopping 100 euros! Just to fix what they should have made user-friendly out of the box straightaway?
A letter sent with La Poste from my parents in the South of France to here: 5 days!

Anyway...culture shock I guess.

Was wondering how to cope with Facebook 'friends' invitations coming from classmates i hardly met and who just want to boost their status by adding perfect strangers. We don't need to be 'friends' to share info on FB, as we're all on our own Class' FB Group. So? Decided I 'll ignore by default and only accept/search for the people I've personally met and approved. Nah! Choices, choices...and yes you can call me old-fashioned.

Next weekend will be the first to spend it with the kids. Looking forward! Managed, by explaining to the Student Life folks that one Friday out of two I'll travel to Brussels and hence would be missing classes, to have my schedule slightly reshuffled - joining other Sections for those particular slots - and as a result for the entire P1 (2 months) I'll miss just ONE 1h30 Class. Great Success!

Voilà! As always, if you want more or less about specific topics - let me know.

Bye!

Tom

Hello!

Here I am, on Day One. It's been quite a journey.

Since my last post, things moved very slowly. French banks seem much less efficient than I imagined, a nice start of culture shock - so close, far away. I'm now in finalising talks with LCL (in 2 branches I went, I met competent people) and the whole paperwork lot just takes time. Credit to the French though: whereas the Belgian banks are nowhere, here a common system of 'Prêt Etudiant' exists where you just need a (solid) Caution so in case you become a post-MBA beggar they can still claim your Caution's 3rd house. Still, it allows me to borrow at 2.4%, fixed, with a grace period during which I don't yet need to reimburse the principal. 
Anyway, let's see whether this afternoon at Registration I'll get all the freebies - I haven't really quite paid yet!

Had one week between holidays and the move to France to arrange for everything and to say goodbye to the loved ones. The precious ones. The beerdrinking ones. The mojitodrinking ones. The sad ones. The moved ones. The I'llcomevisityou! ones. To all, and to those I missed: THANK YOU!
Under a bright Summer sun I said au revoir to my uniquely ugly but still beloved Brussels, and to the Belgacom/Proximus chapter in my life. Now I turn the page to become a student again. Regressive behaviour at my age, how cool. Amazing how many asked me whether I had my 'boekentas' ready.

OK so yesterday I moved. Trip fine, blabla, nothing special, just boring motorway. 370km and OMG I'll be doing that stretch more than I like, driving back one WE/two to spend it happily with the girls.

Despite having worked for 6 years in a hi-tech sector, what struck me however by moving was how technology has penetrated our life.

I mean.

I'm typing this on a laptop with WiFi all over the place
Brought my skype phone (tomvand2001)
Digital camera
2 mobiles, both equipped for email, radio, mp3, GPS...even calls
All equipped for PC-banking
Got addicted to Facebook
Digital photoframe
VPN digipass to remote access work emails (if I don't know what to do here)
Alarm clock with iPod docking station (cool pressie I got from the colleagues. Shit, if I go back to Belgacom, will I have to return it???)
A badge for campus that also holds the credit for my meals and photocopies

And here's the best: all of this in my 3x4m room...and I have 2 remote controls!!

Ayo, technology? I want you just in front of me.

This afternoon the programme officially starts with Registration, so I'll get to see some real people. Unless, of course, it's self check-in.

Bye!

hi there,

Plan. Everything now is part of a grand scheme of things. On holidays with my family in Canet, France, for two weeks, still every single day I'm here on my laptop on top of my lap (though feet r in da pool). The plan was and is to get a good final rest before Goodbye Week and setting off to Fontainebleau. In the meantime, loads of things to settle. Almost had my head around a loan from French bank Société Générale, but they backed off last minute, first saying I'd have to become French resident, then that they didn't do loans for Insead admits anymore...losers! Had to find another bank with similar rates & conditions, think I found it (BRED), but now things need to speed up as INSEAD is getting nervous that I'm a freeluncher while all the other admits have already dutifully paid their €30,000 dues some weeks ago. Exciting!

In the mean time car broke down (a bit), extra hassle, exactly what I needed.

Last day in the office was not cool. Had shitloads to finish before leaving for (at least) 10 1/2 months, and had no time for the people. When I finally left: tears on the dancefloor, while I was watching my watch having to go and pick up my car and kids. Can't wait to spend some more quality time with the precious ones on my Goodbye Drink on the 19th!

Secured a place to stay in Fontainebleau, which is cool. Same house as where my ex started HER MBA so I know the place and it's quality. Shitty thing is that she might actually still be there too...let's see. Taking carpooling to the next level?
Fortunately also found subtenants to rent my place in Brussels, which I'll keep to stay with the kids one weekend out of two, so as to relieve my budget a little.

Started constructing my calendar taking into account the MBA calendar and the one of me having the kids. Some cool breaks between P2/3, P3/4, and P4/5. Oh sorry, a P is a Period of appr. 2 months and the MBA in INSEAD takes 5 Periods or appr. 10 months in total. They claim to cover about 80% of the amount of courses traditionally given at US Schools in 2-year programmes. Add to that a shorter time of salary loss - a nice selling argument.
Unfortunately, combining kids & MBA calendars, I found out that for 3 out of 5 Periods I'll have the girls (in Brussels) the weekend right before my exams start. Tough shit, but OK at least I know. Adds spice to the challenge. It's all about planning...said Chaos Head.

Another thing I started was connecting into the INSEAD online community, a kind of über-intranet. Did a search on all the Belgies in my class, all blokes and unfamiliar faces. Also did a search on the female species of my Class based on Fontainbleau campus. Let the good times begin ;)

Voilà, enough for now. In case there's actually someone reading this, let me know what you'd like to hear more about. My life, the professional side of it, the academics, the social life...vox populi!

I'll be back.

Take care,

Tom