Africa Club

Week 1 (Akin Oladapo)

The first week was orientation week. It started on the 28 August, a Monday and a bank holiday. The Notting Hill Festival was ending on that day and I wondered if the school was sending a subtle message that there would be no time for fun during the term. I got to the campus quite early and started meeting my future class mates. The school promised us
international diversity, and we certainly got that. I met my study group members, the guys
I’d be seeing a lot of over the next year. Jan is from the Czech Republic and used to work
in retail banking, Linda from China, Warrick a physiotherapist from Australia, Ahmed a
consultant from England and Vijay used to work in the oil sector and is from India. Anu wasn't present but I found out that she owns a wine bar in India. With my background as an accountant/auditor, I thought: What a group!
Registration literally took all of one minute and then we went on to take the class picture.
Initially thought it was impossible to cram 300 people on the platform but somehow it
happened; looking forward to seeing the picture (I fear my eyes were closed).
Day 2 was also interesting. Dean Laura Tyson addressed us, then we were divided into regional groups and each group made a presentation to the rest of the students about
their region of the world. I certainly learnt more about the culture of the Chinese, Indians
and Aussies from the presentations than I knew before. We also had presentations from the
Head of the School's faculty, an investment banker and from an ex P&G General Manager
Mohan Mohan Mohan (yeah, his first, middle and last names).
On days 3 and 4, we moved to the Lord's Cricket Ground and the Royal College of Obstetricians and Gynaecologists where we got to see some of the MBA alumni, got an introduction to case studies, and some more Mohan Mohan Mohan.
Day 5 was Volunteer's Day. Unfortunately, I can't tell you what happened because I went
house hunting. But I can tell you this: it was an interesting week that promised more interesting (and possibly more stressful) months to come.

My move to London (Akin Oladapo)

Despite the fact that I was accepted into the MBA program as far back as December 2005, my move to London did not work out as well as I would have wanted. I stopped work two weeks before the program commenced and arrived in London 10 days before orientation. I had to start the house hunt immediately and I am yet to really enjoy the sights and sounds of London!
As this is my first time outside of Africa, I found it quite an awesome task to adjust to London life. The weather for one had me confused: cold in morning, hot in the afternoon and very chilly at night. I was told it was late summer and that I should enjoy the warm spells before autumn kicked in. What about the food you might ask? I’m still trying hard to adjust to the Englishman’s idea of lunch: cold sandwiches, chocolate bars and tea. How I crave eba, beans and pounded yam. I would advise traditional Nigerians coming next year, bring as much Naija food as you can, I was warned but I didn’t listen.
I didn’t find a place immediately and I had to stay with friends in Stanmore and Dagenham. For those of you who know the town well, you’ll know that these are two extreme ends of London and quite a commute. Eventually found a place relatively close to school and trying hard to settle in.
The admissions office was very helpful. The fact that I was London Business School student certainly made things happen. I opened a bank account in a day (wouldn't have been possible though if I had not brought my bank statements from Nigeria) and got into a mobile phone contract that makes Nigerian GSM service providers look exploitative.
For me, the move was full of ups and downs. My advice to people coming in next year is to arrive in London with at least 3 weeks to spare. It really makes a lot of difference.

My first month (Richard Hasson)

Now that it's early October, I've been at school for over a month. In truth, it feels more like 6 months, but hey - time goes by when you're having fun! :-) Lectures started in week 2! It took me some time to get used to a class of 77 people having a single discussion. As expected, some people love hearing their own voices, but it is clear that the lecturers are fully aware of that. I found the lecturers very impressive in terms of giving the lectures as well as controlling the class discussion. It really has taken some getting used to (the talking in class), but I'm slowly getting used to it. Some of the courses I did in the first month were:

1. GLAM (Global Leadership Assessment for Managers)
2. UGM (Understanding General Management)
3. GLDP (Global Leadership Development Programme)

These courses were a great introduction to the course and were excellent in terms of explaining general management. In GLAM, we received feedback from our previous managers, which we analysed, and then prepared personal development programmes to work on weaknesses which we maybe didn't know we had, ie: in the eyes of others! Softer skills, but really helpful!

The first month was also time to decided whether to learn a new language or not, and to decide whether to waiver any courses (there are only 2 options, being stats and accounts). I wrote a diagnostic test for Afrikaans and got a level 2 grade, so i can now "officially" talk 2 languages. I had decided to take French as an elective, but have now decided against it. I would have to use a credit for each level I want to do. Given that there are only 12 credits in 2nd year, I decided that I could learn French another time. Also, there's not much point in only doing 1 level...! I also decided to waiver Financial Accounting. I am a qualified Accountant, so decided to rather focus my energies else where...!

Most important thing about the first month, I think, has been the people I have met. My study group has been working really well together - not always 100% smooth sailing (as expected!), but definitely productive! Also, I've met lots of other people through the clubs (rugby club and Africa club being the 2 main clubs I've been attending), as well as Sundowners - every Thursday night, there are drinks at the bar!!! Great evenings! And also just meeting other people around campus!

So, the foundations have been firmly laid, and I am prepared for a great 2 years ahead! Till next time...

Week 1, and my study group (Richard Hasson)

The first week was a lot less scary, and a whole lot more exciting and interesting than I had thought it would be. Day 1 far exceeded expectations. Everyone was really friendly, and the atmosphere on the day was definitely one of massive excitement. We had our class photo (well done to the camera man for arranging over 300 people!), and were then free to meet our future class mates. We were also introduced to our study groups, which really confirmed the variety of students at the School. A brief introduction to the people in my group:

Guy - British, worked for Andersen for many years, and has been working at his family company in Italy more recently
Liam - American, spent 4 years as a US Marine, and has been working at GE for the last 2
Khizar - Pakistani, been designing computer chips in the US Bay Area for the last 8 years
Anton - Russian, studied in Russia, but has been working in Iran for the last 4 years, including working on the reconstruction of Iraq
Sonja - German, but been living in UK for a while, working as a Consultant
Hillary - American, been working in the marketing department of UBS for the last few years

So, yes, a wide variety of Nationalities and backgrounds, as promised! Fortunately, we seem to be getting on pretty well, and seem to be working well together. Hopefully, it remains like that!

The rest of Week 1 was at Lords Cricket Ground, where we were formally introduced to the School. We met lots more of our fellow students and listened to some excellent talks!

All in all, a great week that prepared us, and made us even more excited about what lay ahead!

The move to London... (Richard Hasson)

The Move
Prior to coming to London, I was quite nervous about the move. Not only was I going to a new school, but I was moving to a new city, in a new country! I know - many people have done it before, but hey, it's always different when you're the one doing it! Before I moved to London, I had spent 4 months working in the US, and 3 months travelling, so that made the move a little bit easier... If my move to London had been the first time I was leaving South Africa, it would've definitely been a whole lot harder!

Before coming to London, I signed a lease for 12 months - BIG mistake! Not knowing London, I agreed to live in an area, which apparently, wasn't far from school. Anyhow, it is! Advice for students in the future: live close to school! If I could move closer to school, I would!

I arrived in London 10 days before class started, and did a few of the more administrative issues -- got a cell phone contract, signed up with the health services, and opened a bank account! The school was very helpful with all of this, and it proved much easier than I had thought!

So, in summary, the move over (other than my accommodation, which I am now used to) was a lot easier than I thought, and by the time Day 1 came around, I felt ready to start!