Time has flown by and we are 8 months into the program. This is also the time of the year when the batch splits into three and we head off to different corners of the world trying to get a flavour of the cultural and socio-economic elements of different economies. Yes !! It is time for the Discovery Trip- touted to be the most fun element of the program! So over the next few days you will be hearing from the blog team about the experiences of the batch from different corners of the world.
Landing into Singapore struck me with a wave of nostalgia and some vivid memories of my previous trips. Yet, as we left the airport to reach the hotel, I felt amazed yet again with the order, cleanliness and efficiency with which Singapore operates. Coming from the serenity of Lausanne to the hustle bustle of Singapore is a stark transition and a reminder of the fact that IMD gives us a bubble in which we live and work in for a year and life is what lies beyond school!
Coming back to the trip, the first two days have been super exciting. We had the chance to meet companies in different industries from oil and gas to medical devices and financial services between yesterday and today. Moreover, we met the Urban Development Authority of Singapore and learnt about the roots and heritage of the country. This visit in particular provided an interesting perspective of the vision for long term development of the founders of this country. This clearly reflects in how the country has transformed over the last many years and evolved to its current form today.
No trip is complete without exploring the food and culture of the city. Hence yesterday evening we were exposed to culinary delights ranging from ethnic Chinese to Malay and Indian cuisine. There is an interesting line up of company visits along with gastronomic and cultural tours lined up in the week ahead so more posts will follow shortly. We will also be presenting the NTF in Singapore this week and in Dubai the week after.
Please pardon the brevity of this post. I am jetlagged and extremely exhausted. But I promise to post more about our adventures shortly. Meanwhile I leave you with some pictures from our first day in Singapore. Ironically no pictures of the Merlion 🙂
