June - July 2013 - Association of Dutch Businessmen

Extra
INSEAD Facts & Figures
Why Singapore?
During the time I spent in China, I was amazed by the pace
at which Asia is developing. Urbanization, infrastructure,
economic growth, decision making - everything seems
to go so much faster in Asia compared to Europe. The
people are truly driven and motivated to work hard to
reach their goals and improve their lives, a drive that I see
less often back home in Europe. I always knew I wanted
to go back to Asia at some point out of admiration for this
can-do attitude and drive, a professional interest in growth
strategy, and the opportunities that this growth presents.
Singapore’s function as a hub for the region, where a lot of
growth is coordinated, made it a logical choice.
Why ADB?
After arriving in Singapore on New Year’s Eve, our first
introduction with the Dutch community in Singapore was
the ADB New Year’s reception the Ambassador’s residence.
The openness of the ADB members in the Dutch community
made it a very welcoming experience where we met a
lot of interesting people and made friends immediately.
The combination of professional relevance and a very
strong social character makes ADB the default network in
Singapore, and it just felt like a natural community to join.
Life at INSEAD
The program is structured as five periods of two months
each (P1-5). The first two periods are made up of the core
curriculum, and the remainder can be tailored to individual
ambitions from a wide range of elective courses across all
business topics. I started P1 and P2 in France and moved to
Singapore for the last three periods. Some people do it the
other way around, switching campus for only one or two
periods, or spending the entire year on one campus. Many
variations are possible. Differences between the campuses
are huge. In France people live in villas, townhouses and
chateaus in the villages in the Fontainebleau forest. They
get around by rented cars and they cook and eat at home.
In Singapore most INSEADers live in shared apartments
in two condos near Buona Vista MRT (Heritage View and
Dover Parkview), travel by MRT or taxi and eat downtown
or at ‘yellow chairs’, the nickname of the Dover road
hawker center.
Classes are lively and interactive, and the variety of
cultures and professional backgrounds makes discussions
very interesting. For example, discussions on Chinese/
Japanese territory conflicts (Senkaku islands) or business
practices in India are a lot more interesting with people
who are actually from those countries and have worked for
the respective governments.
While being academically engaging, INSEAD also has
a work hard, play hard culture, so people often have
to juggle their time between coursework, job hunting,
traveling/social activities and sleeping. The latter is,
therefore, often reduced to a bare minimum.
Life after INSEAD
A lot of people use their MBA as a pivot point in their
career, switching from industry to consulting or vice versa,
and then continue to work in a different country after
graduation. My personal goal is to move from Amsterdam
to Singapore and from consulting to a regional strategy
or business development role in industry, for which I’m
actively exploring opportunities.
Please feel free to contact me if you would like to know
more about INSEAD or my professional ambitions. I look
forward to seeing you at the next ADB event!
*
Autohuur tarieven vanaf € 23,- per dag
all-in
Laagste eigen risico - Geen extra verzekeringen bij aankomst - No nonsense voorwaarden
www.bblcarrental.nl
*28+ dagen tarief categorie A, excl. Schipholfee
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