IMD’s famed Module 1 comes to a close
Before joining IMD, alumni had told me about the rigors of IMD’s famed Module 1 which so far has included two sets of exams, industry, company and country analyses, the start-up project, and the notorious Integrative Exercise among other assignments.
As Module 1 draws to a close with our final start-up presentations, I can truly say that these activities lived up to, and even surpassed, expectations. IMD promised a transformative experience, in and out of the classroom, and so far, it has delivered.
Academic rigors aside, our cohort cannot be accused of not seeing the forest for the trees so that even as we deal with forty-eight-hour deadlines, we are still mindful of the different purposes that led us to Lausanne. By now, we all know each other by name and have gotten a sense of our individual motivations. We all took different paths to get here and although we have mostly different goals post-MBA, we still share some things in common.
Making the Dream Work – Career Clubs
Teamwork is a strong feature of the IMD program, beginning from the assessment day. Leveraging each other’s strengths, MBAs work together to achieve a common task. More than the learnings we receive from the professors are the learnings we exchange as we draw from each other’s unique experiences and perspectives. These are the lessons we also hope to collectively draw on as we begin mapping out our future roles.
Two weeks ago, we formally started this year’s career clubs (which used to be called clusters). These self-selecting, student-led groups consist of candidates who have expressed interest in one (or more) sectors. The 2022 career clubs are:
- Consulting Club
- Start-ups Ecosystem Club
- Finance Club
- Tech Club
- Healthcare Club
- Energy Club
- FMCG Club
- Luxury Goods Club
- Sustainability Club and,
- Manufacturing Club
Work hard, play hard
The class has also formed groups around common interests and hobbies ranging from futurism to skiing to gaming. In late March, the Sports Committee organized a trip to Verbier for some time on the slopes and relaxation ahead of the Integrative Exercise, a forty-eight-hour intensive case analysis which would draw from all we had learned in the classroom so far.
For others, our sense of adventure is limited to the indoors tackling the new PS5 in the nap room.
Last weekend, my roommate, Sarah Ndegwa, and I hosted some classmates and partners for a board games night. Games Night had always been a highlight in Lagos, and I had been looking forward to finding kindred spirits in Lausanne.
A random conversation with two other classmates at the White Horse made me realize I was not alone and prompted Juan Perlas to set up a WhatsApp group for other enthusiasts. To my surprise, thirty-six classmates joined – roughly one-third of the class. Talk about finding your tribe!
The night started at 6 pm and ended reluctantly at 1 am and for a night that is now etched in memory as one of my favorite nights of the year so far. Here’s to many more!
