On 12 May, MBA classes from 2022, 2018, 2013, 2008, and 2003 gathered at the IMD campus. Some alumni flew over 10 hours from Japan and China to Switzerland for the reunion event. I had the privilege to meet some of them.
I started to bond with alumni before I even applied to IMD and they shared their experiences openly with me. In December 2022, when I was packing for the trip to Switzerland and the MBA class were busy with job searching, the Chinese cohort Litong (Brad) Zhang, Yu Lin, Ruoyu Zhang, Zhenkun Guo, Wei Shi, and Jingwei (Joy) Xu initiated an online Q&A session for the incoming MBA Chinese students, including me. That session not only gave me a glimpse of life at IMD, but also marked the start of friendship and mentorship.
When I reached out to one of the 2021 MBA alumni, Cheryl Wang, for career advice, she coordinated a career chat for me and my Chinese classmates with her cohort of different industries and functions – Yiwen Chen (consulting in Europe), Dai (Times) Shi (Product marketing in Europe), and XiaoYang Wu (consulting /business development in Asia) – and shared her own area of expertise (development in the US). As Cheryl said, she had received a similar career-sharing session from the previous cohort before she started her MBA.
These are just a few examples in which I have experienced deep bonding and connection within the IMD community and how the bonding has been passed on. I very much appreciate the support and help from the alumni I have encountered and will pass on their kindness and give back to the community.
We’re about four months into the MBA and will be working full-time on ICP (International Consulting Projects) at the end of September. There is not much time left together as a cohort, so our social time together is valuable too. As we finish every Friday, before saying goodbye, we go to White Horse or The Lacustre, or to one of the Chinese restaurants to have tasty food.
Take care, until next time!
