Student Council Retreat

When my husband heard that the new student council was going on a two day retreat he wouldn’t stop grumbling as I would be away from home for the entire weekend. But I for one always enjoy outings and was looking forward to the retreat. On Saturday afternoon, we all gathered at school with our little backpacks……Vikram was given the additional responsibility of carrying the first aid tool kit which later proved helpful when Shekhar took a tumble down the stairs….but that’s another story! ;)

Back to Saturday afternoon we all got onto a bus full of energy for the day……in like ten minutes time the bus stopped and Caleb was announcing that we’d reached the spot……it was a little funny because some people especially Karla who lived a bus stop away from that location had actually lugged all the way to school to realise she could have easily walked to this spot. :) The place was called NACLI - National Community Leadership Institute. It was very green like most places in Singapore and the rooms we were given were really cute. Ours was called Cave Lodge and it had caveman like drawings on the wall and wooden floors. We were five girls bunking in a room so we had a lot of late night chit chatting and giggling! :) The boys' rooms were quite plain and boring, and I think they tried to make up for it by creating a complete racket till 3 am!

Talking of work, first day’s agenda was to finalise on the vision and new logo for the club and agree on the respective activity plans of all the clubs. I think we spent almost seven hours in that one room debating over issues and trying to finalise dates. Towards the end the room felt suffocating and I wished Dr. Lalit would go easy on his questioning…..anyone who knows the doc would know he asks tough questions and he is relentless…..I must say I admire his resilience. At times the room was something akin to a fish bazaar with everyone talking at the same time. First day was draining but fruitful and we did manage to align the event calendar of 5 different clubs, finalise the mission / vision statements, the logo and well, the list goes on. At the end of it some people still had energy to go out for some food and drinks.

Second day was all about team building exercises and it was more fun. We had two gentlemen from NACLI as our facilitators – Mr. Dubey and Mr. Darren. They engaged the crowd well and had lined up some fun activities for the day. We were running around in the sun trying to accomplish our tasks and at times being bitten by mosquitoes despite the liberal application of mosquito repellent. After each activity we reflected on our accomplishments and what we had to do to work better as a team. I really enjoyed the last game which had us identifying numbers written in three different languages – Tamil, Malay and Chinese. We won that game probably because we had strength from diversity…..Nan identified the Chinese numbers and Pavitra the Tamil…….since we didn’t have anyone who spoke Malay among us we called Jin Wei (our Malaysian friend) for help.
All in all it was a good two days spent and end of the retreat I went home with a little sunburn, some gifts and loads of stories to tell about the experiential learning :)

- Ruhaini Fatema Islam

Class of 2010

NUS MBA Fair '09

The first NUS MBA Fair for the year 2009 was held on 17th January at top-notch Hyatt Hotel, strategically located along Scotts Road. The NUS MBA office staff and student helpers arrived before 9 am to set up the area. With more than 200 registered visitors, everyone in the team was prepared to put in his/her best to make the day’s event a success.

The morning started off on the right note, with some visitors arriving punctually at 10 am, seeking information on the NUS MBA. The visitors to this fair had varied educational backgrounds and industry experiences. While many were corporate executives seeking to obtain a degree to complement their current skills, we also had enthusiastic undergraduates and even PhD students coming to find more information about our courses.

There was a series of talks conducted throughout the day, aimed to provide potential students with all the information they would need to decide on which program was most suited for them, and to convince them that NUS Business School is THE business school to be a part of. The first talk of the day was a general information session about the NUS MBA program, followed by other more program-specific talks throughout the rest of the day. There was also an interesting panel discussion on the current financial crisis, which was coupled with the book-launch of “Financial Crisis 2008”, a collection of papers written by the NUS Business School faculty, giving some perspective on the current financial crisis.

We had different booths representing the different programs which are being run in NUS Business School. (For example, Double degree programs with Peking University, HEC Paris and Lee Kuan Yew School of Public Policy, the S3 Asia MBA program, and Executive MBA programs). These booths were manned by current students and staff, putting on their best smile to welcome potential NUS MBA students. There were about 15 student volunteers who acted as student ambassadors at this fair. They were there to assist the visitors with any questions or doubts they might have about the NUS MBA programs. Most visitors asked questions revolving around preparations for NUS MBA application, the MBA program structure, the work-load of the modules, school life and activities. In these uncertain times, the Career Services Office booth was also an important part of the fair, as many visitors had questions with regards to the employability of MBA graduates in the current economic instability.

It would be incomplete to not talk about the food provided at the fair. All participants of the fair were provided with a free-flow of aromatic coffee and delicious pastries. Student helpers and staff were treated to a delectable buffet lunch at the renowned Straits Kitchen (with excellent variety of local dishes) and Pete’s place (Italian cuisine).This might just be one of the reasons for you to support the NUS MBA Fairs in the future ;) So step up, and volunteer to be one of the student ambassadors for the next NUS MBA Fair!

-Sri Esti Widiastuti

Class of 2010

MBA Fried Noodles

Typical Singapore evening, temperature between 25C and 29C, clear sky and relaxed Sunday evening feel; this is how the BBQ party started. Ten, fifteen, twenty-five and before we knew it, there were more than 40 people that showed up. One could only try to count all the nationalities that were represented at the party, covering most Asian regions, part of Europe, but North and South America as well. This is the type of diversity that a visiting student finds at NUS.

Because of this diversity, it is common to have vegetarian and non-vegetarian food as well, generally kept separately on two different grills; giving both vegetarians and carnivores their privacy. The MBA Student Council, in charge of putting this event together, took care of everything very well before we arrived there. By the time guests started to come over, all the food was there, together with a punch (yeah, no alcohol one might say, but we were on campus!), coals and all the requirements for a good barbecue, including human capital ;) As MBAs with impressive resumes, the NUS students cooked a very good dinner as well; an additional qualification to put on their resumes perhaps! Specialties included NUS style chicken wings, MBA fried noodles [sounds cooler than just fried noodles ;) ] and hot potato bombs in aluminum wrap; imported chicken, mutton (nothing is made in Singapore, right? Haven't seen any sheep or chicken in the CBD area lately :D ) and a type of crazy fish in bamboo wrap, probably sent from a competitor MBA school in Singapore, who wanted to do a market research project…just kidding!!

It was a great opportunity for the students to catch up with each other on their classes, work, likes and dislikes, take lots of pictures or advertise their latest travel plans in South East Asia. No projects, school papers or any official business was conducted, leaving the crowd relaxed and happy to have had a good meal with good friends.

This event came to enhance yet again the good care that the NUS MBA gives to all the exchange students every semester. So, my question to the NUS MBA is why don't we make this a once a week event? Can, can lah… :)

- Adrian Rusu

MBA Exchange Student

University of South Carolina

Class of 2009

NUS MBA Alumni Dinner

"Submitted, just in time," informing Winson and Jin Wei about the report, I rushed for the annual NUS MBA Alumni Dinner as it was almost 2:00 pm. Even though it was Sunday, there were a number of students on campus engaging in different activities. By the time I arrived at the university hall, it was five minutes past two. It was such a relief that Claire and Nan had told Florence about the report that was

due for my business plan that day. In no time, I was informed that I had to do registration for seminar 3, "Regulatory Responses to the Credit Crisis" . Shipra arrived soon after with a smile, mentioning that she was caught in the rain. She was assigned for “Personal Effectiveness: The Human Factor in Management”, with the highest number of registrants. We all just gave her a warm smile to encourage. Outside, it was no longer raining, but was just good enough for people to commute.

‘’Seminar room 2 is on the third floor. Please take this lift and turn left. Seminar will start at 4 and in the mean while, high tea is served on the 4th floor’’, Nan told the guest while handing her a towel and information sheet for stress relief workshop. We all were busy helping each other during the peak hour between three and four, with about 80% registrations. Florence was kind enough to let us go attend the seminar by taking over the rest of registration. Without hesitation, Claire and I went to Finance talk by UBS chairman after grabbing a cup of coffee each. An aromatic cup of coffee and insightful discussions about investment portfolios during financial crisis made me forget the time. It was almost six.

When we came down, the team had already moved to the right wing of university hall where the dinner party was being held. Enjoyable jazz music welcomed us when we entered the hall. A sweet Chinese girl offered us drinks and snacks. Noticing the lavish dinner, I just took a meat pie with salsa sauce and a glass of coke. We thanked Nan and Shipra for doing all the work during our absence. We took over the registration counter for dinner party. “Only those who didn’t attend the seminars need to register for dinner”…. ‘’ Please be true, in other words, I love you’’. Our polite greetings got lost in the beautiful voice of the singer that spread around the hall.



After an engaging welcome speech by Malcom, the President of the NUS MBA Alumni Association, the night became livelier. More of our batch mates poured in to help out with receiving the guests. We mingled around the room, introducing and greeting the alumni. We chit chatted here and there for a while until my empty stomach dragged me to the buffet tables. I took some garden salad with thousand island sauce and sautéed mushroom as appetizer. A stack of smoked salmon was so tempting and I couldn’t wait to have some. Seeing me queue second time for smoked salmon, the kind chef smiled at me and put a couple more slices in my plate. Just as smoked salmon was my favorite dish, so was grilled beef, Claire’s. I saw her queuing for grilled beef the third time! We winked at each other and took some pastas and desserts before we anchored at a table. The night was full of fun. In memories of the fashion show that we performed during marketing presentation, Dr Vikrim led Karla and me to the stage to take some snapshots together. Pictures of the night were shown on the project behind the stage. I saw Malcom smiling and Florence laughing amidst the guests on the projector. Of course, they looked happy. The soulful music was still flowing around and I wished the night would not end.

As usual, nothing lasts forever. Taking the pictures that were printed straightaway, I said the night goodbye. ‘’Goodbye, Florence’’ , ‘’Good night, everyone.’’ The night was over, but the memories lingered :)

-Hnin Phyu Phyu Aung
Class of 2010

Chinese New Year - Reliving Memories

Big, orange & red crackers and golden fishes, my second Chinese New Year in NUS started with a prosperous omen. I didn’t feel lonely, even thousands of miles away from home. Sharing the happiness of 2009 Chinese New Year with the MBA cohorts made me feel at home.

I was amazed by the exciting shows prepared by MBA and IMBA students. It was very fresh when I saw a lot of overseas Chinese friends also participated in organizing the celebrations, Karla from Philippines, Esti from Indonesia, Claire from Singapore and Hnin from Myanmar. Not only girls from China, but also from many other regions, all dressed in Chinese traditional costumes, making the celebration colorful and shining. Thanks for the excellent shows from many exchange students from Zhejiang University and Xi’an Jiaotong University. Their performance and versatility radiated the whole venue. Some beautiful song performances by members of my junior batch added to the ambience.

But the show stealers were the "lucky-draw winner" announcements. With every announcement the winner was asked to come to stage and say “Happy New Year” in a foreign language. So we had a Filipino struggling with Korean at one hand and a Brazilian with Japanese on the other. Unlike any other luck draw I have ever witnessed, this one always left the losers cheering and the winners hesitant ;)

And just I was thinking this, the actual fun began! No Chinese New Year celebration is complete without mentioning the 12 zodiacs. And what best way to educate people about them other than asking them to find out which zodiac they belong to. And behold, then making 2 zodiacs compete! And so we had 2 girls blindfolded, standing close (ahem!) blowing flour at each other. And if this wasn’t enough, next appeared the Chinese dumpling eating contest! Oh and here’s the fun part…women had to pick the dumplings with chopsticks and feed them to the men! Needless to say women who couldn’t use dumplings were picked for this feat ;) Before I knew I was laughing so hard that my sides hurt!

I knew the preparation involved many efforts from the organizing team, especially from Cincia and Yang Guang. The whole team really deserved applause.

Time really flies. It was the second Chinese New Year I spent in NUS. In retrospect, the past one year, the curricula, student activities and exchange experience all helped widen my horizons and nourish my business talents. With our friends, Ishared so much happiness and so many tears. Hope our friendship will never vanish, like wines in the cellars. In the prosperous New Year, I wished the best of luck for my 2007 cohort mates with their job hunts, and the 2008 cohort with their studies. Wish our offers and CAP be as bullish as the OX, the Zodiac this year ;)

- Gao Xiang

Class of 2009

Welcome Lunch- Jan '09

The MBA welcome luncheon from the MBA Office at the beginning of the semester feels like a tradition to us now. Every semester, just as we are beginning to start school, paying our fees, downloading syllabus, figuring out books, bracing ourselves for the mayhem…a warm, friendly mail drops in from the MBA Office, inviting us to the Welcome lunch. It’s like homecoming. Having said that, attending this event this time was nothing like it had been the first semester.

Back then, all of us had been new, filled with anxiety and anticipation. Awe, wonder and excitement; the lunch last semester had been an affair of hesitant introductions and measured conversations interspersed with awkward silences. This lunch couldn’t have been more diametrically opposite. Free flowing conversations, resounding laughter, excited reunions of friends refreshed after holidays, vacation stories… these characterized the general atmosphere before the actual event began.

This semester the welcome luncheon took place at the new Kent ridge guild house, our new building that just opened last year. A brilliant structure, with its own outdoor café, a diners lounge and yes even its very own slot machines ;) , it added to the excitement in the air. The attendees included our current batch, full time, part time, and IMBA as well as the denary, some of the faculty such as Professor Brian Hwarng, staff from the MBA office and the GANO, and last but not the least, the just-arrived exchange students.

The program started around 12.30 PM and was emceed by Denitsa, Director for Media, Communication and PR, NUS MBA Students’ Council. She represented the Council, giving a warm welcome back speech to the current students and greeting our 52 exchange students from all over the world to NUS and to Singapore. We were honored to have Professor Kulwant Singh, the Deputy Dean as the opening speaker. After extending a hearty welcome to the students, he talked at length about the global economic crisis and assured the students of every help possible from the school. Then the lunch started. As always, it was served in a buffet style with all kinds of delicious food.

By the end of the program, we all had shared our stories with each other and introduced ourselves and the school to the new comers. We all felt that the student life was about to start again.

-Jeeranan Wongwanich

Class of 2010