IE & Asia-Pacific

Deep Mehta

My name is Deep Mehta and I am a current student of the International MBA (November 2012 intake) at IE. As some of you must have guessed, I am an Indian and an engineer (that’s almost obvious) by qualification; but a polymer engineer (we are a rare species) and not an IT guy. Post that I have also done a short course from India’s premier institute Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad and a diploma in Marketing Management. After graduation I worked for a Dutch Multinational as Business Development Executive (for engineering plastics) for around 3 years. However, at the back of my head I always knew that I wanted to be an entrepreneur and be my own boss. After a lot of introspection and networking trying to find out what my true calling is, I quit my job in March 2012 to co-found Bombay Clothing Company. Bombay Clothing Company is a clothing company which has its own brand name TYGR (www.tygr.in) and also caters to corporate orders.

Choosing the right MBA program which caters to one’s specific career needs can be one of the most difficult tasks – I know it was for me. I remember spending hours researching, reading and talking to alumni from various schools to find out which school fits my needs.

When choosing a school my top three priorities were –

a)      Focus on Entrepreneurship – I fell in love with IE the moment I read “a school built by entrepreneurs for entrepreneurs”. Coming from an entrepreneurial background and always wanting to build my own company, I wanted to go to a school that would help me do just that. The courses, the venture lab (an accelerator/incubator), and the venture network (every Thursday 7pm there are three or more start-up who pitch to Venture Capitalists on campus) are amongst the things that attracted me to the school.

b)      Diversity – IE’s focus on diversity is one of the best facets of the IMBA program. In the November 2012 intake we have 68 nationalities – it’s a little odd when you meet someone and don’t know where that country is or you don’t know anything beyond “oh ya I have heard of it”. IT ADDS MANIFOLDS TO THE LEARNING. Also, IE during its launch program and the study groups ensures that you don’t have more than one person from one nationality in one study group. This means that you learn from people from different educational backgrounds, work experiences and cultures.

c)      Course Flexibility – For me it’s amazing to see how IE has miraculously fitted in a whole bunch of options in its 13 months program. In term 4 and 5 I could either do a long exchange at one of the most revered universities in the world, I could put my project into the Venture Lab and get a dedicated mentor for 4 months while taking some elective subjects, or I could choose from a whole bunch of electives and tailor everything to my requirements, which is especially interesting for people looking for a career change, or I could do an internship among other options. The things to do are numerous but everything depends on what YOUR SPECIFIC REQUIREMENTS ARE.

The above mentioned points were my top 3 reasons for selecting IE as my school. However, I forgot to mention that “it has been RANKED EUROPES #1 BUSINESS SCHOOL” and “RANKED #11 for its MBA PROGRAM in the world by the Financial Times in 2013”…

This post was first published on the International MBA Blog.

Leading global organizations have to compete 24 hours a day, in both established and emerging markets, and in highly dynamic sectors.  Effective virtual collaboration is the key to ensuring these organizations can more effectively use their human talent to manage across borders, and attain both stakeholder expectations and growth objectives.  During this Master Class participants will learn about how to effectively collaborate virtually and the challenges of leading a virtual team.

Join the upcoming event in Singapore:

Date: February 23, 2013
Time: 11:00 – 12:30
Venue: Parkroyal on Pickering, 3 Upper Pickering St, 058289 Singapore
Registration: IE Event Page

Virtual collaboration is only one skill you are learning during the IE blended programs. Explore during these session what else are critical skills you are getting exposed to.

IE University hosted at the end of January the kick off  of the third interuniversity LawWithoutWalls course  organized by University of Miami School of Law, with students and professors from eighteen international centers. Two students from IE University’s Bachelor of Laws, accompanied by Professor Pedro Letai, represented IE University during the course.

IE University’s Segovia campus is set to receive over a hundred professors and students from eighteen of the world’s top international law schools to explore the state of law education in universities and provide an innovative response to the changes in education and lawyering practice worldwide.

Organized by Miami University, the LawWithoutWalls course will take place in Segovia on January 19 and 20. It will bring together legal professionals, entrepreneurs, professors and students from leading international law schools that include Harvard, Stanford, University College London and IE University.

The meeting is the first of the activities that will comprise the interactive LawWithoutWalls course, led by University of Miami School of Law professors Michele DeStefano and Michael Bossone. This third edition offers a virtual course in which law students will be divided into teams and supervised by mentors from academic and professional fields to tackle a series of online case studies focused on innovative legal issues. IE University will be represented by Pedro Letai and law degree students Marta Ottogalli and IkerRomero.

Segovia will host the face-to-face part of the course, known as KickOff, inwhich participants spend the weekend at IE University exchanging knowledge and experiences to improve lawyering practice and education. The event will afford teams the opportunity to get to know each other and their mentors in person, as well as participate in a range of practical teamwork exercises to generate ideas. Previous courses were held at University College London (UCL) in 2011 and last year in the University of St. Gallenin Switzerland.

Participating schools include Fordham Law, Harvard Law, IE Business School, Indiana University School of Law, Miami Law, New York Law School, Peking University School of Transnational Law, Stanford Law School, Sydney Law School, University of the Andes Law School, University College London Laws, University of St. Gallen Law School, National Law School of India University, Pontifical Catholic University of Chile, Tel Aviv University, Buchmann Faculty of Law, University of Montreal Faculty of Law, University ofSão Paulo Faculty of Law, the Wharton School of the University of Pennsylvania, and IE University.

After making contact in Segovia, the teams have to solve an extensive case study over the following four months and will attend weekly online workshops led by experts. They will also take part in additional case resolutions and will round off the course in April in a closing session called ConPosium, held at Miami University (US) where they will present their projects to a judges panel made up of professors and investors.

More information at http://www.lawwithoutwalls.org/

Since Yasmine, Master in Mangement graduate 2012, was six years old, she wanted to change the world. There were problems that she wanted to help solve. She got involved in community initiatives and by time she was in high school, she already raised 15,000 dollars for Children with Cancer. At 18, she was the youngest winner of the Annual Business Plan Competition by Entrepreneurs Society for her social enterprise idea supporting women in Egypt. That’s when she realized she wanted to do more.

She joined AIESEC, the world´s largest youth organization, to become Middle East North Africa Regional Program Manager, where her programs empowered thousands of young people. Her passion to empower women led to the launch of Gone Cyclin, her first social enterprise. In its first year, the initiative raised over $50,000 to fund 400 women entrepreneurs in East Timor’s rural towns and during the process, she cycled 420 kms along East Timor’s rugged roads. In order to support other social entrepreneurs she developed and launched of a global initiative called the Social Impact finance Forum to explore various ways to find financing.

Yasmine is the co-founder of Transpiral, a leading online coaching institute that equips women with the right tools to launch their own businesses. She is also working on a book and launching a network to encourage women in the MENA to become entrepreneurs. Please check out the video below to hear what Yasmine has to say:

See what is happening on the IE campus today: Contact Singapore is promoting to work in Singapore!

Let’s face it – at least one of the reasons you attend business school is to enhance your career prospects. At IE, we will provide you with the competitive edge to succeed in the job market by helping you to take charge and drive your career in the right direction. The tools you will be able to acquire during your Master in Management program will not only enable you to increase your own value proposition based on an excellent education but also your marketability. Some of the resources we provide to help you to kick-start your career are:

The Career Strategy Personal and Professional Development Workshop Series to develop skills in areas such as networking, interviewing, résumé and cover letter writing, as well as negotiations

Access to trained career counselors, the IE Job Bank and the yearly IE Careers Fair that hosts more than 100 international companies

The Careers Immersion Week and Executive Insights Series

The opportunity to gain practical experience during the Corporate Immersion Week

Please check out also the video below for more detailed information on how IE can help you to achieve your career goals.

Post first published on the Master in Management Blog.

This is an audiovisual class project for the course Creative Industries and New Audiovisual Formats with the professor María Rodríguez-Rabadánin the year 4 of the IE University Bachelor of Communication. It is an A Cappella version of Robbie William’s “Candy”, performed by very talented IE students. Enjoy and have a nice day!

IE wishes a Happy Chinese New Year – Gong Xi Fa Cai! May prosperity, success and health be
your partner during the Year of the Snake.

Work hard, play hard and have fun – this is probably a statement every MBA student can sign. After long sessions of case discussions, presentations, negotiations, there is always time to enjoy. Watch the video from one of the sections of the MBA which graduated literally one year ago in December 2011.

Internships are one of those parts of your university experience which definitely shapes you. You gain your first impression on your future profession – and hopefully you´ll like it!

At IE University internships are encouraged during your studies and are embedded in the study plan of all degrees offered. Listen to Jaime, IE University Bachelor in Architecture student when he talks on how his internships at Zaha Hadid London and AEDES Berlin changed his views on architecture.