What We Have Done - October 2011 Edition

My New Beginning

Is there anything in common amongst Chinese, Korean, Indian, American and Singaporean? You bet there is with the 2011 batch of the S3 Asia MBA. We all are coursemates on a 2-year journey away from home and family, a course in which we would sweat it out to learn new skills and knowledge, hone our technical expertise and most importantly, make new friends.

I am glad to be in a class as unique and diverse as the S3 Asia MBA program offers: 3 world-class cities, 3 distinct cultures and languages, 3 set of life experiences. In my opinion, this course is one of the most unique MBA programs offered currently, the most 'bang-for-buck' as some would describe it.

Diversity is good. We all come from different nations, each with individualistic skills, backgrounds and personalities. And being away from home has made my learning all the more exponential, as I grapple with the influx of new things coming my way every single day. From day-to-day conversations with the professors and students, to settling into a foreign environment amid all the hustle and bustle, I savour each experience and learn from it, as these are the intangibles that the S3 Asia MBA program brings to the table.

I feel young as I walked from my apartment to school daily. Fudan University is a campus that is full of youth and energy, with nice greenary, the legendary twin-towers and a beautiful heritage. Being back in school definitely brings back memories, not to mention all the homework, assignments and projects that are always on a tight deadline.

However, 'all work and no play makes Jack a dull boy'. Fortunately for me, there are a host of activities ranging from students' clubs to 'crab-eating' tours in Fudan University, which gives students a well-oiled work-life balance.

I shall end off here, as there is a pile of work that is sitting on my desk as I am writing this. I just want to let you readers out there know that the S3 Asia MBA program is truely special, and you have to experience it yourself in order to appreciate all that it could bring to you.

Edwin Kheng (Singaporean)

S3 Asia MBA - 4th Batch, Class of 2013

Pls Pardon The Excessive Use of Superlatives!

It’s truly fascinating to watch a diverse set of individuals who have had no previous connection with each other collaborate and come up with a solution to a strange problem. Imagine a Korean taxation expert, a Chinese entrepreneur, a Singaporean government employee, an American credit card industry expert and an Indian Pranic healer trying to consensually arrive at a solution to a problem. Superficially, one may be fooled into thinking that all of them have nothing in common with each other and that they will find it difficult to collaborate.



Group discussion



S3 Asia MBA students from different nationalities

However, all of them have many things that link them to each other. Each one of them has an immense willingness and drive to learn from the other. Each one of them possesses the mental strength and agility to appreciate the distinct viewpoints that the other expresses and has an even greater respect for the other’s individuality. Each one of them has dedicated a significant portion of their life and has made many personal sacrifices in the effort to learn about business in three different countries – China, South Korea and Singapore. Each one of them is a sincere professional. And finally, they are all students of the current S3 Asia MBA batch. (2011 intake)

Every individual in this batch of 34 students has an equally fascinating and unique background. I feel very proud and privileged to say that I am a part of this batch. When signing up for the program I was keenly aware that the S3 Asia MBA is very different from any other MBA program – but I don’t think there is anything in world that could have prepared me for what was in store.



Orientation


There is a huge sense of rush when moving to a new city and country. I am sure you understand when I write that there are not enough words in my vocabulary that can help me explain the first rush of moving to a city like Shanghai as a student. The bright lights, superb infrastructure, really tall buildings and fast cars are surely impressive. Any S3 Asia MBA student should get used to this feeling as within a span of 2 years we will be moving be living and studying in three of biggest cities in Asia –Shanghai, Seoul and Singapore - as the course progresses.




For the time being, I am only equipped to write about my experiences in Shanghai at Fudan University, where I am currently studying for the first semester of the course. I was almost awestruck when I first got to the campus of Fudan University. The two imposing Guaunghua Towers, surrounded by lush green lawns and boulevards on which thousands of students from all nationalities hurry to their respective classes on their bi-cycles is a sight that would welcome any student. I have never come across an environment which is so conducive to studying and learning. Coming to Fudan University truly made me feel like a student for the first time in nearly 8 years, after I graduated from college. I warmed up to the prospect of studying the first semester at Fudan University immediately after I saw the campus.

Barely did we settle into the new environment and meet our classmates and we were thrown into the most memorable experience of our life – the famous orientation. The orientation at Fudan University is a three day, intense, extremely well managed, well planned and large event that is meant to “break ice” with your classmates. It works wonders, as we are not just classmates - we are all very good friends. I now understand the meaning of the phrase by the famous Greek philosopher, Pluto - “You can discover more about a person in an hour of play than in a year of conversation.”

The orientation is an outbound event in which, over a course of three days, all the participants are split in smaller groups and are given numerous tasks. All the tasks require you to work closely with and depend heavily on your group members. Nearly 500 students of all the programs offered by Fudan University School of Management converge on the campus for this event. Planning for this event starts nearly six months before. And the reaction from all the participants after it is over is one big WOW!


Orientation - Getting together



After such a welcome, we all looked forward to the prospect of starting our classes. Fudan University certainly manages to exceed expectations in every aspect. And classes were no exception. One of the classes that left an impression on me was conducted by Professor James Yuann for a course – Business in China. Apart from his cool swagger and calm disposition, I was completely impressed by his long and rich experience of doing business in the Asia- Pacific region. He was able to articulate and explain many of the subtle nuances of doing business in the different cultural environments of the region. I feverishly took notes every time he spoke because I was sure that I will learn things from his experience that no text book will teach me.

Meanwhile, we have other subjects like Managerial Economics, Financial Accounting, Data Models and Decisions, Managerial Communications and Organizational Behavior. All the professors have ensured that we are kept very busy. For all our subjects we have group assignments and individual assignments. We have so many groups meetings for so many assignments that it gets tough to keep track of all the meetings we have scheduled to discuss the assignments.

Despite this, our class works like a well -oiled machine. It’s one of the mysteries that I would like to solve - how do so people of different ages, experiences, cultural backgrounds, educational backgrounds work so effectively and efficiently with each other?

However, this mystery will remain unsolved for now as I now need to ponder on another mystery thrown at me by our Data, Models and Decisions (DMD) professor. We all love the subject so much that we have nicknamed it Death, Murder and Destruction.

But before I go, I would like to apologize for the excessive use of superlatives in this entire blog. It’s just that my classmates are outstanding, incredible and simply superb and the S3 Asia MBA experience is awesome, fantastic and amazing.



Yogesh Thakkar (Indian)

S3 Asia MBA - 4th Batch, Class of 2013

The first S3 Asians Graduate!

KUBS held the first graduation ceremony in Seoul on Feb 25, 2010. Some of the S3 Asia Alumni who are in Seoul were present for the ceremony.

Prof Bae, former KUBS S3 Asia MBA Program Director, giving a speech to mark the momentous occasion



Left to Right: Chuel Hyo Park, Dae Young Lee, Bae Hyun Lee and Heon Nam Lim

 

Chuel Hyo Park

Bae Hyun Lee

Heon Nam Lim

These robes have a unique meaning for Korea University graduates - the Brown Collar around the robe implies 'Master's or Upper Degree of Social Sciences and Philosophy'.


Dae Kyun Kim (Andrew)
S3 Asia MBA, Class of 2010

The Journey...

This video was created specially for the closing dinner of the first cohort on Dec 2, 2009 in Singapore. The family consists of 31 members representing 6 nationalities. Our unity and affection for each other have been the cause of envy in each of the three universities we studied in. We spent an awesome 463 days - living, studying, playing, traveling and, of course, partying together!

The first part of the video talks of the things we did to overcome all our apprehensions before embarking on the journey - new countries, new cultures and most of all new people! But, we did survive!

The second part introduces the family members that had the time of their lives!

Lets see what makes the pioneering batch of the S3 Asia MBA so special and unique...!

Memories - Vivid...Timeless...

My desire to be part of the yearbook publishing team was simple – to give the best graduation gift to the 30 most beautiful people I have met. A gift that would allow each S³ Asian to preserve the days we have lived together not as classmates but as a family.

Someone rightly said that a picture speaks a thousand words. Then imagine what happens when u have thousands of pictures speaking a million words! Each picture was special, as it conveyed a certain aspect of the life we’ve shared so far! But I hope that the few hundred pictures that we finally printed give a glimpse of our very own Asia MBA experience – an insight into the unlimited memories we have gathered over the past 15 months.

As we move on, from being one single family to becoming individuals moving forward to pursue our own dreams and aspirations, I wish all my dear classmates the very best! You guys deserve each and every bit of your future success. And when you think of your MBA days, I hope that those vivid and timeless memories are sitting right on top of your bookshelf!

- Contributed by Pragnya Kashinath, Class of 2010

Synergy of Three Prominent Business Schools

Asia’s rapid development results in an increase in the complexity of doing business in a region with substantial economic, business, cultural, institutional and socio-political differences.

Sharing a vision of global competitiveness, three of Asia’s prominent business schools established the S³ Asia MBA program for meeting the need in today’s global business education.

S³ Asia MBA is the only tri-country and tri-university collaborative double degree program. The students are able to leverage on the strengths of 3 universities – the deep understanding of Asian economies; the global standard of MBA education, the faculty team trained from top business schools around the world and global networks. Its Asia-specialized curriculum will facilitate the students to be the true future global leaders with expertise in Asian business context.

In addition, the students start their first semester in Shanghai and spend their second semester in Seoul, and finish the last semester in Singapore. This unique structure of the program exposes the students to different cultures and lifestyles. Having 2/3 of the classmates from different countries with various educational and professional backgrounds require the student to engage in teamwork and increase their cultural awareness.

Looking back at my experience as the program manager, S³ Asia MBA has faced new challenges and more complexities than any other collaborative programs due to the uniqueness of its structure. Thus, one of the most critical points in its management is to identify challenges and find solutions, so the program progresses favorably for the students.

School administration is definitely a unique experience for me because I work with people full of passion and commitment and be part of their personal growth. Throughout the journey, we learned to cherish the differences and by giving. Their enthusiasm and diversity made the experience even more rewarding.

I hope for great success and an ever-bight future for the S³ Asia MBA students.


Contributed by Ms. Bina Ok, Program Manager, Korea University Business School

S3 Asia MBA를 시작한지 벌써 1년이 지나고 3학기 중간을 지난 지금 드는 생각..

탁월한 선택이었다고 생각한다.


먼저 기존에 널리 알려진 미국의 일류 MBA의 장점을 생각해보면.. 여러 분야에서의 다양한 경험을 가진 100~200명의 동기생의 볼륨. 졸업 후의 깔끔한 연봉 상승률 & 강력한 동기 네트워크.. 정도?
조금 더 면밀히 살펴보면.. (지극히 주관적인 생각임을 미리 밝힘)보통 MBAer들의 평균 직장경력이 4~7년정도일 것인데.. 이 정도는 어느 MBA과정이나 비슷할 것이라 생각한다.두번째.. 네트워크 측면에서.. 과연 내가 1~2년 안에 몇명이나 나의 진정한 네트웍으로 끌어안을 수 있을까? 같은 학교 졸업생이면 별 관계가 없어도 네트웍으로 할 수 있다는 지극히 한국적인 사고방식은 통하지 않을 것이다. 많아봐야.. 20~30명일 것이다.

연봉 상승률.. 요즘 미국 MBAer중 미국인 너그러이 더 고려해서 유럽인(서)까지는 그런대로 직장구하는 것이 어렵지는 않을 것이지만.. 아시아인은 여전히.. Second-Tier인 것이다.그리고.. 쉽게 말해서.. 1~1년 MBA공부하면 그 사람 능력이 연봉상승률만큼 두배 혹은 세배로 뛰어오르는가? 스스로 알 것이다.

-----------------------------------

이 시점에서 S3 Asia MBA 얘기를 해보자.원 계획은 Class Size를 60명으로 하는 것이었지만 내실을 다져야한다는 학교들(고려대, 싱가폴 국립대, 복단대)의 의견조율에 따라 현재 30명으로 엄선운영되고 있다. 30명? 작은 볼륨인만큼 경쟁이 엄청 치열하다. 그런 경쟁속에 서로 견인하는 효과를 내고 있다.

하지만 30명이 다가 아니다. 복단대, 고려대, 싱가폴 국립대를 다니며 엄청난 네트웍의 숫자를 가질 수 있다. 오히려 각 학교에서 머무는 시간이 짧은만큼.. Intensive하게 네트웍을 다지게 된다.

연봉상승률.. 올해 말에 졸업생이 배출되기 때문에 섣불리 말하기는 어렵다. 하지만 Facts를 봤을 때 아시아 경제의 상승과 아시아 경제 전문가의 수요등의 요인이 전망을 밝게 하고 있다. 단, 조건이 있다. 영어 + 중국어의 조합이 필요하다는 것이다.마지막으로 다양한 경험이다. MBA에 온 목적이 무엇인가? 공부하러 왔는가? 물론 공부해야 한다. 하지만 다양한 현장경험과 문화적 차이를 더 경험 할 수 있다면 더할 나위 없는 것 아닌가? 중국-상해, 한국-서울, 싱가폴을 한 클래스 전체가 같이 경험하며 서로간의 Insights를 공유하고 서로 적응해가는 커리큘럼이야 말로 지금까지 시도된 바 없고 가치있는 것이라 생각한다.

S3 Asian이라는 말로 시작했는데..

개인적으로는 이런 과정을 통해 아시아 경제에 대한 전문가가 많이 나올 수 있었으면 좋겠다. 무엇이 아시아 경제 전문가인가?각 나라의 독특한 경제상황과 문화적인 요인들에 대한 노출이 많은 사람이 전문가일 것이다.

MBA에 온 목적을 다시한번 고찰해보자..
이대영

Contributed by Lee Dae Young, Class of 2010.

Journey's End!

It is indeed hard to believe that I am making this final entry with a sudden tinge of sadness as my S3 Asia MBA journey is soon coming to an end this December. At one moment we were having regular get-togethers and traveling to nearby countries and the next moment all our priorities have now shifted to securing jobs since this is the last semester in our unique MBA journey. I miss the lengthy and tiring journeys on bicycle from our Fudan School of Management Campus back to our dormitories and the beautiful campus of Korea University. The experience of winter in Seoul and Shanghai was really cold and yet amazing compared to Singapore, where we are blessed with eternal summer all year round.

I must say that life has changed for me since I started this unique MBA program. It created an opportunity for me to meet people from all over the globe and also to study in three different universities: Fudan (Shanghai), KUBS (Seoul) and NUS (Singapore). Moreover, I have made an immense number of friends through various inter-school activities and outings. I've had the opportunity to study, work and play with the most extraordinary group of diverse, talented, intelligent, humorous and most importantly well-rounded individuals. The relationships that I have formed are the most valuable thing I will take away from this S3 Asia MBA program which I consider more important than any other academic pursuit.

The culture at each of these three different universities was unique and gave me an insight into how nations behave, think and work. We overcame differences in language and cultural norms in order to interact and form deep relationships. The numerous intercultural exchanges enabled me to gain a deep insight into the workings of businesses and people in the cities of Shanghai and Seoul. I also had the amazing opportunity to do my internship with SK Energy in Ulsan, South Korea. All these opportunities enabled me to grow, understand people better and gain a valuable perspective of life out of Singapore.

For the last one year, I have had the opportunity to meet and network with business leaders during our MBA field trips and have had the opportunity to travel to cities such as Beijing, Guangzhou, Hong Kong and Macau while I was studying in Shanghai, China. From Seoul in South Korea, I traveled to the cities of Busan, Daegu and Ulsan. In Singapore, I also got to do things that I never expected to do such as participating in Outward Bound School as part of our orientation at NUS Business School and which I thoroughly enjoyed very much.

I was right from the start. S3 Asia MBA has given me the edge, experiences and knowledge that I really needed in order to sharpen my skills, personality and business acumen. From the moment, I first set foot on the Fudan campus in August 2008 during the inaugural launch of this program, I was changed for the better. I have learnt more during the past one year than I could have in a decade. I genuinely and completely miss the people and the universities where I studied. On this journey, I have forged a number of genuine friendships and had the company of a group of people dedicated to enjoying all of life in a well-rounded manner. This journey has been long and arduous and yet meaningful and memorable. These experiences will remain in my memory forever.

Contributed by Thiruvarsu Damodharan, Class of 2010.

永远的S3AsiaMBA,永远的我们（第一篇,序言篇）

已经很久没有写过文章了，不是因为不想写，而是因为要写的实在太多，不知从哪里写起。今天看到我们崭新的Blog，鲜活的照片，想到我们大家已经在一起走过了整整一年的时间，我的心海开始跌宕起伏。我不是一个喜欢回忆的人，因为对于我来说只有未来没有过去，只有不断向前，向前还是向前。但是我还是决定把这一年的经历和感受写成文字，因为它承载了太多的回忆，太多的压力，太多的欢笑，太多的进步，太多的徘徊，太多的太多，但是没有眼泪，因为我从来不相信眼泪。不是为了回忆，而是为了更好地向前。

一年前的今天，我从很多人都为之羡慕的工作岗位上辞职，领导的挽留，朋友的劝说，女朋友的支持，在那时如同烟雾一般弥漫在我的周围。但是我没有丝毫的彷徨，因为我已经做出了决定，所以只有向前看，没有退路。当时我不断跟自己说：“给自己两年的时间，你要改变，彻底的改变，虽然并不知道前面等待着你的是什么，但是如果不尝试，你永远也体会不到。Try your best, chase the dream!”

一年后的今天，我还在征途上，虽然身上多了不少伤痕，但是脚步已经踏得更加坚实，AsiaMBA带给我的太多，这不单是语言能力和知识上的提高，更是对人生态度，目标，和精神上的洗礼。这个过程是痛苦的，这个过程是激昂的，这个过程是乏味的，这个过程犹如蝉蛹作茧，但是我要说我很享受，因为我期待破茧的时刻。

我感谢上苍让我做出了这个明智的选择，我感谢我的同学们，我感谢我的老师们，感谢我的女朋友,当然还要感激自己的坚持。

在这个特殊的日子里，祝福我的同学们，祝福我们的AsiaMBA，祝福我们的复旦，高丽大学和NUS。

祝大家一路走好，心想事成！

(第二篇 复旦篇 is coming soon! ）

Contributed by He Zhengwei, Class of 2010.

写在S3一岁的这天

2009年9月1日，中午的时候新加坡下了一场瓢泼大雨。
2008年9月1日，我们在上海正式踏上了S3的旅程。我已经记不得上海那时候的天气，但依稀也是下雨。阴雨绵绵，不如新加坡的雨那样干脆痛快。
韩国却很少下雨。难得阳春四五月的天气，稀稀落落地下一场，一扫冬天的萧瑟，让人越发体会春雨的珍贵。
这一年来，我们辗转三地，淋过不同的雨，爬过不同的山，看过不同的风景；进过不同的教室、泡过不同的图书馆、为不同的考试皱过眉头。但是，S3一直在一起。
31个不同国家、不同地区的人聚在一起。不同的背景、不同的文化、带着不同的目的，却在同一段旅程当中相扶相持。世界上各地的雨不尽相同，但总是逃不出水的形态。当雨落在地上，只要接纳、包容，雨滴就会汇成无尽的河流。
在今天这个特殊的日子，想对S3说：生日快乐；想对其他的30个人说：认识你真高兴。

Contributed by Chen Ming (Rolina), Class of 2010.

Lessons from without the cube – Perspective

Ask my friends what my favorite word is. If they tell you “Perspective”, it is likely they have been subject to my torturous ranting more than once. It is a word that I hold close to my heart and my stint with this class has only brought it closer. So what about perspective?

If you are going into this MBA looking forward to learn business concepts, make friends and go places, good for you. But you know what would make it all worthless: If you go into this program with a closed mind and a chauvinistic attitude.

Over the course of your study, you will come across a myriad of people with very many opinions. Sometimes these opinions will conflict with your own. And how much you learn from this course will depend on how you handle these conflicts. I will talk about conflicts in another post but for now, it would suffice to say that in a bigger frame, conflicts are irrelevant.

Let us now flip this perspective. You will also come across people who will make you feel uncomfortable about beliefs that are close to your heart. Again, the future course of your life will depend on how you handle these encounters. If you spend a lot of time in another country, the peer pressure to conform to their way of things can be great. You are probably there to learn about them and not to become one of them. However, this said, there is nothing wrong if you choose to become one of them. Just remember to make a conscious choice and not succumb to the pressure.

The following quote has been the guiding force for me for quite a long time now. Hope it can help you get where you want to go.

“If you had been born where they were born, if you had been taught what they were taught and if you had been where they were, you would have believed what they believed.”

Aham Brahmasmi

Contributed by Govind Pandey (govind.pndy@live.com), Class of 2010

生日快乐：这是我们的纪念日

清晨收到Abhi的邀请信时，我并没有很快意识到今天是这么重大的日子。其实我从来都不是一个词藻丰沛的人，可当他说：“用中文写点什么”的时候，我却感到义不容辞。因为在我看来，这不是一个邀请，而是一种责任。

一年期满，这是我们的纪念日，我们应该回头看看，那些还没有远去的曾经的自己，和经过的风景。

很多人问我，S3对你意味着什么。是一场华丽的冒险，还是一次惬意的旅途。我说，都是，也都不是。 一年前的今天，当我重回复旦课堂的时候，坦诚地说，更多的是忐忑。4年的工作经验之后，我很清楚，这两年的学习，不是涂脂上粉，不是旅途驿站，而是另一个战场，另一段征程，是厚积薄发的“厚积”，更演绎着“薄发”的序曲。

作为第一批“吃螃蟹”的人，我们不知道我们将要面临的是什么，就在这样的忐忑和期待中，我们上路了。

没有办法忘记Orientation里，我们独树一帜的队歌拉唱，国际会计学院如画风景中的汗水和鼓励；没有办法忘记12天的集中会计课程，早9点到晚9点的魔鬼训练集中营，不仅是对智力的考验，更是对体力的锻炼；没有办法忘记在密集的课程中还要备考Gmat的背水一战，730分的认可和快乐；没有办法忘记春寒料峭的首尔，第一次在异国生活时的孤单和突如其来的软弱，是对梦想的期望和你们的鼓励让我坚持；没有办法忘记高丽大学商学院军队般的入盟仪式，在大碗米酒前奋力吼出的誓言；没有办法忘记中国同学们每周五的聚餐，红烧排骨、回锅肉，酸辣土豆丝……每个人都俨然成了大厨；更没有办法忘记离开首尔时每个人脸上的疲惫，却是不虚此行的满足……

过去的一年中，我们有太多的回忆，一起笑，一起哭，为了心中的梦想，奔跑在路上。

如果不是因为选择了S3，我可能永远不会如此深切地感受到文化差异不仅仅只是一个名词，它如此深远地影响着我们做事的方法和态度，告诉我们在MNC里如何保持相互理解和心态平衡；如果不是因为选择了S3，我不可能对自己的梦想做出切实的考量和评估，明白调整改变不是放弃，而是为了更踏实地走更远的路； 如果不是因为选择了S3，我们更不可能在这么短的时间内就积累起兄弟姐妹般的情谊：我永远都不会忘记在独自一人在SK培训中心实习的那段时间，大方善良的秦芹如何和我分享小小蜗居，让每个周末都成了我快乐的节日；我不会忘记终于结束实习，拖着大箱行李从京畿道回首尔的深夜，是David横穿首尔到地铁站接我；我也不会忘记如果为我一次次纠正语法，指出我每一个错误，会主动帮我寻找资料，提高英语的印度同学……是的，我不会忘记你们对我的每一次鼓励和微笑。

Walk alone, you go faster, walk together, you go farther. 我不是一个善于说感谢的人，可是这些都会永远放在我的心里，成为我最宝贵的回忆。

今天，在艳阳高照的新加坡，我们迎来了第一个周年纪念日。我心存感激，感激一年前的自己做了这样的选择，感激这一年和你们一起度过，更感激在面临下一个巨大的求职挑战的时候，我们还在一起。

生日快乐，S3 Asia MBA！

Contributed by Yan Shi (Jackie), Class of 2010

Happy Birthday, S3 Asia MBA!

While the second cohort starts its orientation ceremony today in Shanghai, the first cohort celebrates the program's First Birthday in Singapore!!

Exactly a year back, we stepped into the classroom for the first time of our MBA lives! We couldn't have asked for a better start - than a '12 day crash course' in Financial Accounting, taught by one of the best and the coolest  Professors till date - Prof. Yoo Yong Keun, who had travelled especially from Seoul to Shanghai for those 2 weeks.

Though I can't believe its been a year already, this has to be one of the best times of my life - a time well spent, in and out of the class - and has given me experiences and friendships that I shall cherish at least for a life time!

Here's wishing you a very Happy Birthday, S3 Asia MBA!

Contributed by Abhinav Charan, Class of 2010.

The year that simply flew by!

So where do I begin? A year has zipped past, and I know nothing of it! And yet, its this past year, when I saw life come alive. If this is a bit too philosophical, then allow me to explain :).

31 curious souls had taken a step that not many would dare (in fact many didn't dare and gave up on their choice). But these 31 stuck to their guns. None of us knew what to expect out of this program and were all skeptical to begin with. Some of us were even worried (the pangs of the global recession had hit us by then). But the die had been cast, the wheels were in motion, and there was no going back. And we did the only thing that seemed right to us at that time, we just jumped in!

The semester started with a big bang. Accounting in 10 days! Sounds like some learn-it-yourself kind of book picked up from the shelf :). But no, this is precisely what we did in our first 15 days in Shanghai, learned accounting. Things tempered down subsequently, at least on the studies front, only to be taken over by parties and night outs and lots of fun. The lukhha trips to Guanghua-lu in the night (the lukhha club can add a lot of details to this part, as I was not a member of it :)), the week long trip to Beijing during National holidays, weekend trip to Suzhou (I will never forget the orange farms of Suzhou, never eaten so many oranges in my life before!), field trip to Hangzhou, and so many class and team get togethers that I cant seem to remember any of them now! And all this happened while we pretended to study and work hard in our MBA...

4 months in Shanghai had gone by, and suddenly, it was time to move on... Some of us stayed on  looking for internships, some of us went back home to reminisce on our memories, others went on a hike into the himalayas :), perhaps an indication of how truly diverse people are and how much life has to offer to each one of us.

I hope by now you guys have an idea of how life can come alive. This is only the beginnig, I haven't even started talking about Seoul yet, and I still don't feel that I have talked enough about Shanghai! But got to end this here before it gets too entwined and tangled. Thats it for now folks. Cya soon
with another entry in the near future!

Cheers,

Avinash

Contributed by Avinash Muthuswamy, Class of 2010

Welcome!

Welcome to the official blog of the ‘S3 Asia MBA’ double degree MBA programme – an unique, exciting programme that is the outcome of an alliance between three universities – the National University of Singapore, Fudan University and Korea University. This programme gives the students an opportunity to spend one semester in each of these dynamic countries.

Through this blog, the 'S3 Asians' would like to share their experiences of doing an MBA in three locations Shanghai, Seoul and Singapore! Also, the blog is going to be multi-lingual with posts in Chinese, English and Korean to be able to truly capture the essence of each of these cultures...!

Request you to closely watch this space to learn more about the program and its students!