Flashback: Exams

It had been more than a decade since I'd walked into an examination hall, but seeing the long rows of numbered desks quickly awoke memories of BSc degree finals way back in 1996. On July 15th 2011 I joined my cohort at Cranfield to sit the first wave of MBA exams - armed with the obligatory calculator, Lucozade and (hopefully) some requisite knowledge.

Covering subjects from Accounting to Strategic Decision Science, Economics to Marketing, there was a fair volume of content to get to grips with before the examinations and, as always, the biggest challenge was finding the time to do this. I found weekday pre work coffee with several dozen old-fashioned hand drawn mind maps worked best for me (modernised slightly by reviewing them on my iPad), as did spot quizzes from my team at work on the bewildering array of financial ratios needing memorised. Time will tell if the mind maps worked well enough, with results due in the next month or so.

What was most different from sitting degree finals all those years ago is what happened at the end of the last exam at 12.30 on a gloriously sunny Monday. There was no afternoon picnic in the sunshine. No celebratory lunch at Cranfield's legendary pub, 'The Social'. Within the hour we were straight into a four day warehouse project management simulation knee deep in post its. Times have indeed changed....

Update 2013: The exams were fine. If you put the hours in with revision, you generally got the results out.

Top tip: get in the habit of writing by pen. Six hours of writing in one day is enough to make your arm fall off.

Sunday Papers

The evidence that the MBA is having impact is accumulating. I no longer ditch the business sections from the Sunday papers (although the sports section still hits the floor).

Take today for example. I'm just into the revision zone between the recently completed third residential MBA module and exams (five 2-3 hour degree 'final' style exams looming in mid-July). I'm on a long train journey from Scotland to London, and have spent the last couple of hours practising 'flexing budgets' in preparation for the inevitable exam question. I pick up a paper to relax, and find myself reading about revaluation of the yuan. And enjoying it.

 

It's not as if I actively avoided economics until now; it's just there wasn't much call for it during a neuroscience PhD. But I am really interested in how economic models could apply to the Third Sector. Clearly you handle profit differently if you are a firm compared to a not-for-profit organisation investing funds raised into good causes.

So I'm adding charity economics to my summer, post-exam reading list. If you have any good examples of books/papers/blogs on the subject I'd love to hear them.

Reading Reading Reading

One of the things I enjoy most about the course so far is the range of concepts and ideas that you come across. In turn this has led to a flurry of book purchases (Amazon, always) and a problem; when to read them.

From 'The Goal' to 'Right First Time' - course related texts are fast taking over my bedside table & desk at work. And when 'Introduction to Accounting' draws a few smirks from my colleagues I dazzle them with new found knowledge of shares & dividends. Well, almost.

Finding the time to read everything is my biggest challenge at the moment. Thankfully my EMBA work team have divided up the preparation for the third module in May, which is a huge burden shared. Between seven of us there's a managable amount to crack on with. Which is just as well as I'm really not sure I could persuade my better half that 'Applied Statistics' was good reading for our forthcoming holiday....

Spring & Week 2

In the weeks after the first week of my modular EMBA at Cranfield I've been experimenting with ways to 'find' extra study hours in days and weekends that don't consume all of my free time and energy. Following the sound advice from others who recently completed the course, I've tried a few different tactics. I've found the best rhythm for my life has been getting into the office especially early each week day to take advantage of the quiet work space with a good coffee and iPod to hand. 

So, with a little more preparation and knowing what to expect, coming back to Cranfield for week two is not half as daunting as the first week was. It's been great to see my team mates again - and sharing our experiences of balancing work/life/study over a glass of wine or two.

After arriving on Friday morning and two days of solid lectures covering everything from group accounts to economies of scale , we get a Sunday off lectures. We rewarded ourselves with a two hour morning trek around the impressive grounds of nearby Woburn Abbey (below), a hearty Sunday lunch and a decent pint of ale.  Although the rest of Sunday I've been immersed in report writing and presentation prep, even at midnight, the benefits of a hefty dose of fresh air and spring sunshine still linger.

The Beginning

After a 2010 winter whirlwind of revision, application forms, examinations and interviews, I've taken the plunge into a Cranfield Executive MBA.

For the 2011 EMBA intake, the course began in January 2011 with a packed orientation weekend run by recent course graduates, including an introduction to a truly formidable pack of course notes for the first term (below).

I met my 'learning team' - a group of around 7 people who you work with for the first year. With a range of backgrounds, experience and nationalities, I was relieved that the group got on pretty instantaneously  - and pleased that I think we'll have fun working together. The orienteers downloaded their experiences, advice, anecdotes and good luck and left us eager to get into the course. I'm joining around half of the EMBA students to do the course in a modular format  - meaning we're at Cranfield for several week blocks a year - each densely packed with course content.

So the first week began. Packed with lectures, preparation, reading, questions and a fair few social moments - I found the experience both intense and brilliant. Even though people said it would be tough, the sheer density of the volume of work still took me by surprise. Thankfully the combination of learning and working alongside great people more than made up for the lost sleep. 

By the end of the week I was already looking forward to coming back in March a little more prepared for the experience. In the meantime we've got plenty of homework and preparation to do - with virtual weekly team meetings set up for the months ahead and our first assignment deadline in February.

On the train back to London, I'm overwhelmingly relieved to have 'survived' week one but more certain than ever that I've made the right choice to do an EMBA.