Great expectations

The Hilary term started today (well not quite, we're still in week 0) with a session on this term's Entrepreneurship Project (the EP). It was great meeting all the new friends we've made after a gap of about 3 weeks, catching up, discussing Christmas break activities, etc.

Activity has already started, needless to say on the EP, but also on the term's timetable, course packs, electives, and study groups. This term promises to be even more exciting than the last one: on the one hand the strange classmates we had are now friends; on the other hand the EP, the electives (with different study groups for each), and the intensifying career preparations will make sure we have an extremely dynamic 10 weeks of Hilary.

Our experiences from Michaelmas term should help us handle the pressures of Hilary better; yet the unknown - the EP - will make it more interesting and challenging. For sure, though, the EP will give us more satisfaction than the rest of the academic learning put together, as we consolidate all that we've learnt in these two terms and see it come to fruition as a coherent whole. And that is incentive enough for all the hard hours of work I know we'll need to put in.

Now, the question is, will I be writing a similar post at the beginning of Trinity term as I am writing here? I guess time will tell. I'll be keeping my fingers tightly crossed!


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Oxford in pictures

Here are some images of Oxford (taken not in the best weather conditions, I am afraid), which highlight just how beautiful it is.



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Hilary - the beginning

Here we are, at the start of the 2nd term - Hilary (the first was called Michaelmas, the third, Trinity). Week 0 starts tomorrow. Actually week 0 is just designed to ease us into the academic term, which, because it is all of 10 weeks long, picks up and maintains momentum from day 1. Another 10 weeks, then, of new subjects and courses: Marketing and Operations Management, which are mandatory modules, and Financial Management, Global Strategy and Technology & Innovation Strategy, which are my electives.

Week 0, then, starts with a free Monday, followed by 'Entrepreneurship Project' presentations on Tuesday, and Elective presentations for Trinity term on Wednesday and Thursday. On Friday we have a careers fair in the business school, with about 12-15 companies attending.

Week 1 then begins with a bang on the following Monday, and I'm sure will leave us with no breathing space for the next ten weeks.

New class sections this term, which along with the electives means four different study groups, too. It should be fun mingling with a new set of people, many of whom will now share similar interests (true for the electives). And then we have the EP - the Entrepreneurship Project which is in a fifth group. Group work, therefore, will take on a completely new meaning this term, with our having to adjust, and readjust, to different group dynamics for different modules.

Exciting stuff!


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Oxford MBA - Studying at Oxford

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Oxford MBA - Studying at the Said Business School

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Of missing bikes and drunk mates...

As I moved into Oxford and bought a bicycle, the one advice I was repeatedly given was, "Secure it! Do not leave it in suspect areas overnight, secure or not. Use at least two locks to secure it..." Cycle theft in Oxford is rampant, and accordingly I invested in two locks, and make sure I use both whenever (and wherever) I leave my bike. The locks cost about half as much as the bike did, but then the insurance and peace of mind was perhaps necessary. I know of at least a couple of my classmates whose bikes have been stolen in the last couple of months.

This morning Seb and I decided to cycle into town to take care of a couple of things, and as we walked down into the basement to collect our bicycles, we found Seb's was missing. He couldn't recollect where his bike was, and thought it may be at school, though he couldn't remember putting it there. After some thought about when he had cycled last, he realised it may have been Thursday.

Now Thursday was a wild day (and night - see this)...though I indulged myself for sixteen straight hours, Seb had to leave for London the next morning and so headed home at about six. He cycled home, but stopped at a nearby Pizzeria on the way. He was apparently too drunk to remember he had cycled in and not walked, left his bike locked to a lamp post, and walked the rest of the way home.

Nearly five days later, we were not optimistic at all about finding his bike. We walked towards the Pizzeria anyway, and surprise surprise, his bike was still there - falling over and on one wheel, but very much there. Still secure on one lock, it had not been vandalised, either.

I guess stranger things have happened...


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Sixteen straight hours...

Ah, first term exams end - and we head off to The Turf Tavern, an MBA favourite (apparently it is several hundred years old, with the foundations of the building dating to the 14th century). It's 11 AM and still early, so I start with a couple of glasses of mulled wine. Some lunch at The King's Arms later, we head back to the Turf for some afternoon whisky, until they kick us out for a private party at 4.



Back to The King's Arms, then, and some more whisky. And then some more. And more. Anyways, before we know it, it's 9 PM, so we all head out towards The Jericho Tavern for some more whisky (to be honest, I was perhaps the only one downing whisky). Finally, at around midnight, we say goodbye to the Jericho Tavern and head off towards High Street and Escape, a bar/nightclub. Some 40-50 of us (who the heck was sober enough for a head count?) descend on the dance floor, prompting access to an entire floor for us. Whisky again, and then switch-over to Vodka-Red Bulls. We dance (well, some did - I just shook my body) until 3 AM, before deciding to call it a night. By the time I get home it is 3.30 AM. A full sixteen hours of drinking, which, when you're not sixteen any more, can be a lot.

Wild day? You can say that again.




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The disappearing car door...

Neat! Check out www.disappearing-car-door.com.




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Done with Michaelmas

Finally, we've finished with our first term - Michaelmas. The last few weeks were intense to say the least, with at least two papers - Financial reporting and Finance I - that were difficult enough to make loads of people start think resits.

Anyways, it's done now, and it's time to relax and take it easy for a while before the madness starts again in Hilary. With 2 core subjects, 3 electives and an Entrepreneurship Project (and the intensifying job search process), it sure is going to be a busy term. We'll potentially have a different study group for each subject, and though we can choose our groups, juggling time between the various groups is likely to be a challenge. On the upside, we'll be doing subjects we like, rather than ones we don't understand.



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Brrr...

...it's getting colder now. Walked in this evening to a freezing apartment - the heating wasn't on, for some reason. And as I understand it, it is 2 degrees below zero outside, as I write this.

Anyway, four down...and two to go. Developing Effective Managers tomorrow - a three hour paper. My hand had started hurting 10 mins into today's Decision Science paper. How am I going to write the long essay expected tomorrow?

And why am I blogging the night before the exam, you may wonder. Well, I am wondering too , since I'm not too sure I'm on top of DEM yet. Well, perhaps another hour or so of studying and then off to bed.


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Through the first one...

Finished with the first paper - Managerial Economics. The paper was of just one hour duration, but long enough considering how long it's been since I've written continuously for an hour. Ten minutes into the paper and into just my second answer, my hand had begun to ache.

Now onto the second paper - Financial Reporting, which starts in approx two and a half hours. This one is longer (an hour and a half), but I think we will not have to write as much. I am dreading the Strategy and Developing Effective Managers papers - they are essay-type exams!

Tomorrow we've got Strategy and Decision Science - and there's still some preparation to do. It's going to be a long night tonight...


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Sub fusc!

Ah, just a reminder that we're going to be sitting for exams tomorrow in sub fusc. For those that may not know or remember what a sub fusc is, look here, and here for photographs...

...should be interesting, if nothing else.





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The night before Michaelmas exams

Well, here we are - the night before term-1 exams begin. It's been 14 years since I last appeared in an exam of any kind (GMAT excepting, of course), and by jove, have I felt it! Anyway, 12 hrs before the first paper and I feel like I've done all I could. Any more and it is going to be counter productive. What doesn't help is that we have two papers tomorrow - Managerial Economics at 9.00 AM, followed by Financial reporting at 2.30 PM.

How confident am I? I guess time will tell, but I feel confident I'll do reasonably well - by the standards I am setting myself! My aim is not distinction, but to pass comfortably, so it should be ok tomorrow. I have read selectiely, focusing on issues I think are important - my strategy will be tested tomorrow; hopefully I'll have no surprises. Fingers crossed!

I'm looking forward to a fairly relaxed night ahead - watch some TV, read a magazine or something...I'll try and post tomorrow with an update. And hopefully, I'll be reporting that all's well!

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The Said Business School, again..

A beautiful, cloudless evening (something of a rarity), camera in hand...and some nice pictures is the result.

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Mansfield College Library

For a small college by Oxford standards, Mansfield College has a beautiful library, one that's rather taken my fancy. It's a far cry from the really modern (and wonderfully equipped) Sainsburys Library in the Said Business School; it's a pity it doesn't really suit me to study there - I would really like to spend time in there. Here are some pictures...





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