Hola - Perspectives in Spanish from an International MBA Student

Entrada escrita por:
Juan J Estrada
International MBA 2011

Hoy hace un buen día, por lo menos mucho mejor que en los días anteriores. Y mejor aun siendo viernes, tras una semana de clima lluvioso y de mucho trabajo. Todavía mejor como antesala a un fin de semana de tres días.

Soy un estudiante del programa de MBA Internacional de la Universidad de Boston. Lo de internacional es porque cursamos nuestro primer semestre en China, empezando el primero de mayo y terminando la última semana de Julio. Yo llegue a China directamente desde Colombia, después de un largo viaje de dos días. El primer mes lo pasamos en Pekín, que es una ciudad inmensa en la que lo primero que llamo mi atención fue lo colosal y moderno de su infraestructura. Ahora me arrepiento un poco de haberme dedicado tanto al estudio durante ese primer mes. Una vez nos mudamos a Shanghái para el segundo y tercer mes del viaje, fue que supe en realidad lo que significaba un verano ocupado. En Shanghái nuestras clases cambiaron, ya no eran tan cualitativas sino que tenían más números. Soy ingeniero por formación, pero aun así mercado, contabilidad y estas clases, tenían tareas que tomaban mucho tiempo. La experiencia en Shanghái también fue distinta de la de Pekín porque Shanghái es una ciudad más internacional, su infraestructura es aun más grande e impresionante y te da una sensación de que el mundo de los negocios se mueve allí a un paso increíblemente rápido. Empezando la década del 2000 viví a las afueras de Nueva York por un par de años y no pude evitar percatarme de cuanto se parecen ambas ciudades. Los rascacielos, su diversidad, lo extenso de la ciudad y el afán o apuro de la gente me dieron un déjà vu. Esa sensación de familiaridad me gusto en Shanghái pero al mismo tiempo me percate que Pekín ofrecía una experiencia china mas autentica. Sus Hutongs, la menor concentración de extranjeros y sus monumentos históricos me hicieron sentir en un mundo diferente. Era una sensación similar a la que se genera cuando uno se siente perdido y me abrió un interés personal por Asia, por lo grande y diferente que es ese lado del mundo del nuestro.

Tras China me vine directamente a Estados Unidos para descansar y prepárame para la semana de Orientación en Boston, que se lleva cabo a mediados de Agosto. Había escuchado muchas buenas cosas sobre Boston pero no espere que en realidad me gustase tanto como me gusta. Hay estudiantes por todas partes, la ciudad es lo suficientemente compacta como para poder ir en mi bicicleta a cualquier lugar. El transporte público funciona muy bien (a veces demasiado bien porque sientes que para en cada esquina) y la arquitectura y el diseño urbano de la ciudad son esplendidos. Estoy realmente ocupado, mi programa de MBA termina en Mayo y la cantidad de clases o asignaturas que estoy cursando es bastante alta. También estoy involucrándome con clubes estudiantiles, el de estudiantes latinoamericanos-LAMBA y el de negocios Bio-business (negocios en la industria farmacéutica, biotecnológica, dispositivos médicos, diagnósticos etc.), además de que asisto regularmente a eventos de networking y soy embajador de este programa (lo que explica porqué ponen mi entrada de blog aquí). Esto quiere decir que el tiempo que tengo para disfrutar esta ciudad es limitado y tengo que mantenerme enfocado si quiero tiempo libre los fines de semana, pero por lo menos si me da la sensación de que estoy sacando lo mejor de este programa.

Es hora de irme, ya volveré a escribir pronto por aquí, tengo más cosas para contar.

Sobre el Autor:

Juan es un estudiante del programa de MBA internacional. Antes de venir a la Universidad de Boston trabajo en la coordinación de un proyecto para el desarrollo de un dispositivo medico en Madrid, España. A través de este proyecto, patrocinado por la Comisión Europea, Juan tuvo la oportunidad de sumergirse en varias culturas Europeas, tanto en términos profesionales/organizacionales como en términos sociales. Previamente Juan se graduó con honores de Georgia Institute of Technology en Atlanta como Ingeniero Biomédico. Juan nació y creció en Cali, Colombia, razón por la cual le gustan los ingredientes tropicales en la cocina, la salsa y la música latina en general y mantenerse al tanto de lo que ocurre en otras partes del mundo.

Perspectives from an International MBA Student

Post by:
Juan J Estrada
International MBA 2011

It’s a really nice day out today. Much better than the past days at least. It’s great to have a nice Friday after a week of gloomy weather and a very intense schedule, especially as the starter of a three day weekend.

I am an international MBA student at BU. The international comes along because we do our first semester in China, from May 1^st until the last week of July. I arrived to China from Colombia, after a long trip that lasted two days. The first month or so we spent in Beijing. Beijing is a huge city where the first thing that impressed was the size and modernity of its infrastructure. I now regret that during that first month I put a bit too much time into my coursework without really having the need to do so. I didn’t go out as much because I thought I was too busy but it wasn’t until we moved to Shanghai, for the remaining two months of our stay in China, that I really got to know what a busy summer was. Shanghai was very different from Beijing. The courses we took in Shanghai where mostly quantitative, and although I’m an engineer, getting the homework done was very time consuming. Shanghai is also very different from Beijing in the sense that its more international, its infrastructure is even bigger and more impressive and you get a sense that the business world is moving at an incredible pace. Nine years ago I used to live an hour away from New York City, and I couldn’t help but relate both cities. The skyscrapers, the diversity, the size and the rush all gave a me a déjà vu. I liked that feeling in Shanghai but I also realized that Beijing offered a bit more of an authentic Chinese experience. Beijing’s hutongs, lower density of foreigners, and historic landmarks all made me feel I was in a very different place. It was similar to the sense one gets when getting lost and it opened up a personal interest for Asia, for how big and different that side of world is from ours.

After China, I came straight the US to get rest and prepare myself for Orientation in Boston, which takes place in mid-August. I had heard lots of good things about Boston but I didn’t expect to actually like it as much as I do. Students are everywhere and the city is compact enough so that I can use mi bike to get anywhere. Public transportation works very well (sometimes too well, because there are segments where the stops are pretty much next to each other) and the architecture and the urban design of the city are splendid. It’s really busy around here though, my iMBA ends in May and my course load is pretty heavy. I am also involved the BioBussiness and Latino MBA clubs, I attend networking events and I’m an MBA ambassador. This means the time I have to enjoy the city is limited and I’ve got keep focus if I want to get free time on the weekends, but I do get the feeling everyday that I made the best of it.

I have to get going now but I look forward to posting here again- I’ve got more to say. Alright, be good – and if you can’t be good, be careful!

About the author:

Juan is a first year International MBA student. Before coming to BU he worked coordinating a project on the development of a medical device in Madrid, Spain. Through this European Commission sponsored project, Juan had the opportunity to inmerse in a variety of European cultures both in professional/organizational and in social terms. Prior to his experience, Juan had obtained a Biomedical Engineering bachelors at Georgia Tech, in Atlanta. Having grown up in Colombia, Juan enjoys experimenting in the kitchen with tropical ingredients, dancing -specially latin music- and keeping up with the news and what is going on in the world.

Health Sector Management Program (HSMP) in Action!

Michelle He
MS.MBA in Health Sector Management
Class of 2011
Health Services Management Association, BioBusiness Club, MBA Ambassador

Health Sector Management Program (HSMP) in Action!

First of all, a new student club MBAid was established by a group of Cohort D students from last year after making a fantastic trip to Guatemala volunteering at a local clinic. This year, MBAid is organizing an even bigger event inviting both first and second year students from all cohorts to join. Check out MBAid website to see photos from last trip and read the blog! Secondly, with increasing number of MD/MBA students joining the program, great effort is taken to integrate the health sector MBA program with the student community and programs at Medical School. In collaboration with its Medicine & Business Association, the first event was taken place at Boston Medical Center, where the CEO of BMC gave a talk followed by an interesting dialogue among medical students reflecting the challenge and need of bridging the gap between medicine and business. A variety of social events are also being organized and getting on people’s calendar. Last Friday, a HSMP welcome party was successfully held at Andrea(HSMP Executive-in-Residence)’s beautiful house in Cambridge. Although it was a chilly Friday evening after the rainy week, everyone was instantly warmed up by delicious Indian food and had a great time!

Building on past years’ tradition and success, a few more exciting events are in planning to connect members opportunities to reach out to alumnus, local professional organizations and potential employers: Learn @ Lunch brings speakers to campus to help students learn more about what a day-to-day activities look like for them, what challenges they have and what they learned from their experiences; Speed Networking brings both first year and second year students together to increase their interactions and bounce off great ideas; Health Sector West Coast Trek is scheduled to happen in the Spring when students get to check out hospitals and bio/pharma companies in Cali.

As for me, after rolling out the HSMP student mentoring program, I’m moving on to start planning the Young Alumni Panel for the coming month. That’ll be a great opportunity for students to hear recent HSMP graduates’ experiences and insights, and for alumnus to get a chance to meet with current students and revisit the campus. It should be a great event and as I am writing this line, I realize that I am almost running late for the planning meeting – gotta go now but stay tuned for more!

About the author:

Michelle He is a second-year full time MBA student with a concentration in Health Sector Management. She is also pursuing an MS degree in Information Systems. Prior to MBA, she worked at CITGO petroleum corporation in Chicago, where she was responsible for managing a variety of projects to ensure successful implementation from inception to completion. Michelle misses the beautiful city of Chicago, but she starts to appreciate the change of seasons in the Northeast and the unique characteristics of Boston architecture. In her spare time, besides shopping Michelle likes watching movies with friends, power walking along Charles river, and exploring different cuisines in Boston.