Alexis, all things to do with mba and life beyond

Assessment of Professional Values in Education System

2009-06-09T15:19:00.010Z

I was recently asked for my views on the introduction of an appraisal of 'Professional Value' within university computing degrees. This to support part of a academic paper by a research group at the University of Southampton.

[Alas, the research team rather foolishly made the survey as a MS Word document - rather than a SurveyMonkey, or indeed a GoogleDoc web-form. This would not only have allowed easier community-sharing, but also would have made collating the results a lot easier!]

Back to the survey and my response. The academic work is "part of a wider study of the attitudes of computing professionals, academics and students to the assessment of professional values in Computing degrees". The particular emphasis was made on both the feasibility and the acceptability of assessing professional attitudes and values within a university degree programme.

Perhaps I should add a disclaimer... - as a chartered member of several professional institutions (BCS, EurIng, ...), I have signed a code of conduct. Indeed, the BCS have published their Code of Conduct online (together with the Code of Good Practice). My current employer also has a set of Business Conduct Guidelines, which extend into blogging and virtual worlds... - this might introduce an element of bias in my comments. That said (written), whilst accepting to adhere to these guidelines was a condition on being accepted as a chartered member (for BCS, EurIng) and a condition of my employment; I was quite happy to accept these terms - indeed, I might suggest that I adhere to even stronger (and constantly updated) values than those described in such documents...

Back to my feedback to the research team:

The judgement of character or professionalism is not at the heart of modern education systems. If it were, it might create a conflict between the morale upstanding of the teacher/academic and that ‘imposed’ by the Education Board. Yet, it is through the influence of the academic staff that students might be set on a pathway to professional conduct – and the education environment offers an excellent opportunity to debate professional standards and conduct (link to 70kB MS PowerPoint file, Virginia Tech). It is likely that the institutions, such as the British Computer Society, would lend their support to such a scheme - as it is very much in their interest to enhance the credibility and social standing of their professional members.

An approach that might be seen as a compromise would be to complement the education/syllabus with industrial placements, such that the student can function within a structured professional environment and thus bring back their experiences to discuss/debate with the learning environment AND commence to instil best practices and a professional conduct from an early stage. Mentoring scheme can also offer superb insight into professional dilemmas (for the conspiracy-theory activists, this might be seen to also serve as an early warning system for renegade students).

It might be noted that many great advances have been made in science, technology, and engineering (and indeed Medicine) by individuals and groups who have pushed what might have been deemed unethical or at least questionable research. To take but one example: Charles Robert Darwin and his theory on National Selection - his work was very much at odds with the ethical beliefs in the early 19th century. For this reason alone it would be foolish to impose a particular conduct on young people. Instead, reasonable direction and open discussion could serve a better pattern so as to enhance the professional conduct of those working in the industry.

Perhaps a strong impact could be had by allocating an academic supervisor (mentor) for the whole of the university degree, to serve as a sounding-board for idea sharing and personal development during the students' academic years. Instilling 'mentoring behaviour' into the academics then becomes the task, as not all staff are inclined to allocate effort outside of the domain of their research; it might also be a character attribute (and skill) that they are lacking. Why would they if their employment contract does not specify this? Would a great mentor be well revered amongst their peers? How would this social contribution be evaluated versus research performance?

Donald Gotterbarn made the following distinction:
- Codes of Ethics are "aspirational," often serving as mission statements for the profession and thus can provide vision and objectives
- Codes of Conduct are oriented towards the professional and the professional's attitude and behaviour
- Codes of Practice relate to operational activities within a profession

Evaluating good or bad attributes will necessarily require objective values to be defined. Yet, a professional code is based on behavioural characteristics and on an attitude by which the individual works within a social environment. This might be seen to force a common approach on the collective. One advantage: a customer might receive a similar experience when working with different members of an external company. The quest for conformity should not be at the cost of individual excellence. Instilling a rapid learning loop could bring best practises into the group approach, whilst allowing individual creativity and innovation to flourish.

There is most likely a far larger debate to be had on what might be the attributes of our education establishments in the future.
SmarterUniversities anyone?

Sunrise Sunset 2009 - Windsurfing 4 Cancer Research

2009-04-21T17:00:00.005Z

My friend Andy Gibbs is surfing to raise money for Cancer Research (W4CR): on behalf of a friend lost to cancer in 2008 and also for the founder of the event itself. Please consider contributing...

http://www.justgiving.co.uk/andygibbs

My family has also lost loved ones to cancer, and for this reason alone I am very willing to sponsor Andy in this activity; - he is also a great individual with a strong passion for those he holds dear and for causes close to his heart.

- - -

"Eddie would go, when no else would or could. Only Eddie dared."
- Eddie Aikau

my variant...

Undoubtedly Eddie would go; & you guys care

- in tribute to Eddie Aikau, to those who have suffered greatly with Cancer, and to those showing their willing spirit by surfing from Sunrise to Sunset!

Crowd sourcing for self-publicity

2009-04-06T14:21:00.016Z

Cunning idea by Scott Bourne, offering a single prize for people to link, twitter or follow his podcast, blog postings, or his tweets...

(as I protect my twitter entries, it would be foolish for me to even think of re-tweeting other comments about this marketing stunt ... that is if I wanted to be in with a chance to win! *)

This differs considerably to the home-brew marketing that has helped propel Coca-Cola to the top of the Facebook tree (ft.com). Indeed, in the spirit of collaboration this company opted to joint ownership so as to comply with trademark rules (i.e. facebook t&c) and thanked the duo creators by flying them to 'Coke HQ' for some filming!

Corporate or personal, the use of social spaces has certainly opened new avenues for influencing where we spend out online time, and perhaps how we do it too.
It remains to be seen if this can also influence our $£¥€¢₣ spending habits!

- - - -

* ... not that long ago I won an intriguing book by being 'participatory' when I commented on everydotconnects.com "why don't they get it" book competition - and as a result I received a free copy of: The Age of Conversation 2: Why Don't They Get It?. The book offers a collection of short articles that provide insight into the challenges of becoming a listening and open organisation - a participatory corporation. This is a sequel to The Age of Conversation - by Gavin Heaton, et al. Following the competition I received sweet messages from Sheila Scarborough - one of the contributors to the book... and who cheerfully dispatched the book to a pal in Belgium -

Which goes to show that immersing in web2.0 can offer all sorts of rewards... ;o)

Joan Woodward, a lady of the future

2009-03-24T23:57:00.005Z

Joan Woodward (1917-1971) is perhaps remembered mostly for her social studies - indeed it is in this field that Imperial College offers an annual undergraduate & post-graduate thesis prize, together with a series of memorial lectures. However, Joan Woodward also stood out for her pioneering research into how technology was influencing the behaviour and performance of organisations. At Imperial College she might also be remember for having been only the second lady to be made Professor (Professor of Industrial Sociology), which took place in 1970.

"...the most ambitious and stimulating comparative study using technology as an independent variable is Joan Woodward's survey of 100 industrial organizations" - Charles Perrow

In testament to her contributions to knowledge, her work continues to be referenced in renowned journals.

related links:
- en.wikipedia.org/Joan_Woodward (todo)
- Resource Centre for Women in SET (Science, Engineering & Technology)

Mesmerising collaboration

2009-03-09T14:27:00.002Z

beautiful... now to find a way to emulate just a little bit of this in homecamp/currentcost projects! ;o)

Microsoft Office Labs view 2019 from antares500 on Vimeo.

Innocent vs Coke : The start of the Carbon Wars

2009-03-09T13:00:00.003Z

Which has a higher Carbon Footprint: Innocent or Coca-Cola?

Surprising perhaps, the answer is Innocent! - a Carbon Trust study has shown that 330ml can of Coke is equivalent to 170g of carbon dioxide, and the same sized Diet Coke or Coke Zero 150g; 250ml bottle of mango & passion fruit smoothie has a carbon footprint of 209g, and small bottle of crushed strawberries & bananas has 230g (guardian.co.uk). There are other aspects which can be considered, but this is quite a shocking statement for a company that prides itself on its ecological and social contributions... and I mean Innocent!

It might not yet be the start of a "Carbon War", but has already resulted in an exchange of words/marketing... It makes financial sense to reel-in many of the ecological costs, smaller and more efficient packaging means less storage space required, less transport costs, and less packaging material! both companies also get involved in various community activities, although it is not evident if this is primarily done as a marketing channel, or if it is meant mostly for social good.

In other news, it would also seem that Coke could obtain a minor stake in Innocent (brandrepublic.com)

MBA meets IBM ePredator in SL

2009-02-21T10:44:00.000Z

A personal account from second-life meeting with Ian Hughes, on leadership and evangelism in the metaverses by @abelniak, current MBA student at Babson

Topics covered: personal branding, "doing the right thing", leadership & evangelism

Thumbs up to Babson for getting the conversation started!

Bumping into Avatars in our daily life : Coca-Cola

2009-02-03T09:22:00.000Z

Whilst the SuperBowl might be over for 2009, the novelty advertising remains on youtube for our pleasure... and maybe a new experience... [Thanks to ePredator and Roo]

- together with a recognition that, in our different walks of life - we are already deploying different personas & avatars, and perhaps also hiding (from real-world) within our virtual environments

...it also serves to remind us not to judge people on appearance, whether in virtual worlds or real-life.

- - -

"open happiness" : how many get engrossed in their digital activities - to such an extent that they fail to recognise the people in their immediate environment? feeling as a person amongst people; vs feeling as the person amongst objects.

...anyone care for some augmented refreshment? courtesy of coca-cola once again

New Home, Slow Home

2009-02-01T16:05:00.005Z

This weekend I shifted into a new flat... it is a curious set-up, as it is really a B&B with a few long-term letting arrangements.

It was great to quickly tweet a twitpic using the free wifi, with reasonable security (WPA) even if the passphrase is a touch weak... Alas, when I came to testing the ADSL speed - it would seem that I will not enjoy the pleasure of 'blistering pace'. Will repeat the test several more times, so as to get a better idea of transfer rates + gain insight into local contention.

A second test, a short while later achieved 416 kbps down,
85 kbps up, whereas thinkbroadband.com reports 550 Kbps down, 185 Kbps up. I was hoping for more than 0.5 Mbps ...

Might seek to influence a change... local search via www.adslguide.com/uk/ or www.thinkbroadband.com

London from Above

2009-01-29T13:05:00.000Z

...click on the photo to see more

[re-posting from imperialftmba2006-7.blogspot.com/]

Getting Smarter : Ceres vs Ceres Power

2008-12-30T12:36:00.013Z

Having spotted a little mention on Andy Piper's blog, it got me thinking beyond the 'tech green' recognition on Ceres.org to IBM (survey "Corporate Governance and Climate Change for Consumer and Technology Companies").

Whilst Ceres.org is a coalition formed around sustainability - it reminded me of another group contributing to the quest for smarter energy use : CeresPower.com - fuel cell technology.

I was impressed by this company, having attended two presentations at Imperial College - the first several years ago, when it was still a fledgling venture with entrepreneurial pretensions; the second in early 2008, now with impressive content. Ceres Power has benefited from Design Council resources...

Indeed, their pitch is ever more compelling. The company is now able to articulate their offering in terms of a shared vision of deployment, which starts with the visual comparison with a standard domestic boiler - helping the 'user' comprehend the usage and benefits. This story draws good attention to the technology, before extending this with a wow-factor through modifications to suit different lifestyles. It makes the technology both accessible - yet also brings an element of fun {wish I could link to a public promotional video...}

The DesignLondon resources have been well deployed, this is a great example where British Engineering and Entrepreneurship is benefiting from British Design know-how. It won a Carbon Trust award (see Google Tech Talks for Carbon Trust - via youtube.com). It gave me pleasure to observe the evolution of this entrepreneurial enterprise, and I hope to trace their developments as they progress the R&D to fruition -

Career goals...

2008-09-08T12:52:00.007Z

Following an article about Michael Diekmann, CEO of Allianz, I am now tempted to add a new one to my list...

- to take leadership responsibilities on each continent

...ok, I might forego the option in the deepest South of the Globe - although that is not to suggest that I do not wish to explore the region!

Why? the exploration of new cultural, the learning that will result - together with the application of experiences from one zone into another, with all the necessary twists and modifications... This is what I do with technology problems already -

All about perspectives...

2008-09-08T10:17:00.004Z

mindblowing 3d image interaction... with consideration of user interaction.

I was most interested in the elements of collaboration to achieve 3d rendering, and then also the application of their 'stable planar' tool for viewing a photographed object (seen in the last section of the video). Smart, useful and usable.

...for those wanting a simple solution to improve the quality of your DIY videos? using high quality static images to complement video footage of the same area.
For who are tempted, here is a download location

Other interesting tools:
- VideoTrace: scene modelling from video source
- Unwrap Mosaics: video editing

x5 French Driving Habits I won't miss...

2008-08-31T23:17:00.007Z

Observations formed after a lifetime on the roads: either as a kid passenger as we wore down the tyres across European motorways - or as a licensed road-hazard in the making. Naturally, it would be wrong to stereotype a whole nation based on biased observations. Equally, I recognise that I am no road-angel - although I do try to learn from my wicked ways...

1. indicators (any) : is it just laziness or arrogance? it seems many French drivers think we can read their minds and fail to indicate their intentions on roundabouts, motorway exits, and other junctions

2. joining a motorway: you clearly were granted a birth right to join a fast-flowing major road, without a care in the World for whoever else is present - just like your other compatriots. Oh, the give-way sign was not intended for you...?

3. exiting a motorway: if you are going to indicate after you have started to move off the motorway (onto the exit gangway), then to be honest I would prefer you do not indicate at all. Your mind is evidently not focused on driving correctly, so I would rather whatever part of your mind is aware that your are driving be focused on road safety. Indicators serve to communicate your driving intentions, it helps the other drivers accommodate your change of speed and/or change of lane/position. On some roads you can use your position in the road to communicate this - but on a motorway, with the higher speeds, it is generally a better habit to indicate some 300 metres before you actually make a move.

4. indicators (overtaking) : ok, you want to overtake - I saw you a long way off and already 'read' your driving style, save yourself the 'tick-tick-tick' sound of your constant indicator. I am at the maximum speed (more, rather than less) and already overtaking, you just have to wait your turn.

5. overtaking (bis) : no, driving up the edge of my bumper will not make me shift out of your way any faster (if anything it might tempt the opposite). I understand very well why your Citroen, Peugeot, and Renault vehicles have so many damaged front wings + why a few drivers might be tempted to touch their brakes (so as to show their brake lights) to frighten you into receding to a safer distance... {such driving habits should not to be condoned, just a shame the road-cops are focused on speeding tickets rather than overall road safely}

...and I am not suggesting for a moment that these driving habits only exist in France. There are different tendencies that can be observed on the roads across Europe, some better than others... some comical, many downright dangerous.

(I should perhaps add that I am a member of the Institute of Advanced Motorists, which includes a minimum 90 minute road exam, in the company of an advanced traffic cop examiner...)

Minimum Power - Please

2008-08-28T08:52:00.005Z

a new home can only mean new projects...

...the shower curtain is installed (it was strange to realise that it was the first time I had installed wall-plugs - a widget that I found rather smart when a little kid)
...get to drill more holes to put up pictures, including our little pleasure from Kenya (await image link)...

surprisingly, we are still awaiting our first bill!
these have tended to be amongst the first items to arrive in the post in previous residences - but not this time, we have a post-redirect service in place - so the first items were actually from our old address. Guess there is still time for the first directly addressed item to be a bill!

Anyway, bills to services - and in particular energy. We only have electricity to pay for in our new home - this is a good thing in light of all the price increases. The budgeted monthly cost for electricity alone is 45 Euros. We will see if we can sustain a lower usage rate...

Now to the gadget/tech part! a few months ago some friends at Hursley included me in a collective initiative to deploy a monitoring tool: Current Cost. Eventually data may be published online (and form part of a wider home automation project), but for now we wish to see if the accurate recording and displaying of usage can influence our behaviour in our use of electronic devices at home.

A few initial remarks. The monitor has two parts, a display and a current meter. The data exchange between the two is achieved via wireless communication. Configuration is simple, and we soon had the device displaying Euro/cent values (instead of Pounds Sterling/pence), plus had entered peak/off-peak values. The meter itself was a little more tricky to install, but only because the electrician who set-up the mains electricity box (and mains meter unit) had protected the cables - and the space to introduce the clip/jaw was rather limited. Perhaps there will be a need to review this 'jaw point' : as it does not quite surround the live wire (this explains the slightly erratic data feed). It would seem that our energy supplier permits us to select the hours we wish as our designated '8 hours of off-peak use' (yet more info here). Perhaps this will be more obvious once I spend more time on the EDF.fr website!

...we have already changed the light bulbs for ones which are more energy efficient. We don't have a TV, but do have a small washing machine - the usage will most likely be timed to coincide with the off-peak hours. The hot water also needs to be configured to match the off-peak hours. The end game: reduce our energy cost - both financial and our personal footprint.

Time to open up...

2008-08-01T18:28:00.004Z

...and let the tide rush in

Well, for a number of months I have been a 'blogger in hiding' - allowing only authorised readership. There was a justification for this. Indeed, at first I used the entries to record private&confidential TODO lists! these lists have been re-written or removed, together with other incriminating data, so that I now wish to liberate access - and return to the way it should be... just me, and whoever cares to pop by

I seem to recall that when I last had 'open access', the track map feature indicated that within a few hours people in Holland, Thailand - and two well known corporate locations in the USA, had viewed the site. From a message received the next day, it was clear that one of those hits was from a bot - which did an impressively fast job at context assessment. Now to see what happens...

...and to also allow comments from OpenID users

YouTube : the ones you should not miss

2008-08-01T18:11:00.000Z

Top spot for YoutTube views, plus top spot for being marked as 'favourite'...

#1 - The Evolution of Dance, by comedian Judson Laipply

#2 and #3 are professional productions for singers, you can find out about them here - I don't care to offer more publicity for them...

#4 - great guitar work... with Queen-like moments

Good on you William : of LBS credentials

2008-07-26T11:28:00.004Z

Sometimes it is good to hear from 'the London competition'
Valuable lessons outside the classroom (ft.com)

William McKenzie has expressed sentiments that I not only strongly agree with, but which also reflect my experience, albeit from my 1-year MBA at Imperial College (Tanaka)...

Yes, the course did deplete my financial resources; it took over my waking & sleeping hours; and it tickled my brain cells into activity. Although, to be honest - the real physical and mental drain took place in the months leading up to starting the course, when I was working 18 hour days for BigBlue (sometimes more) to complete a project on time... and allow me to head off to business school with a feeling of satisfaction of a job completed as requested

I did not hold the MBA as a key to success. It was more about strengthening my existing thoughts and capabilities, and learning how to articulate ideas more succinctly. Most of all, to learn methods to understand and communicate risk. My career objectives are not financially motivated - I seek positions of responsibility which expose me to the front-end strategy, dialogue with the customers - for long term trust-forming, and (maybe) for hi-tech delivery. Upon completion of my MBA studies I was quite prepared to make a move into another industry, to continue to forge my competencies and to deploy & hone my business acumen. This is what I was expecting -

The delivered results did not match. At least not yet, as I continue to seek new deployment roles.
However, I did take away experiences in mentoring, leading and consulting around new business ventures - these are fantastic for me personally, but also valued by those I touched during the year. The most poignant moment of the year may well be when a MSci student approached me on graduation day - thanking me in front of all present, and asked if he could have his photo taken with me. It is amazing what a 'thank-you' can do to your spirit - I am still smiling as I write about this...

It would be great to think that these network forming activities might return to reward me at later times too. Indeed, it was only last month that I had the experience of someone offering to use their network of contacts to help me in my quest for a new job. Previously I had been the one to offer such help - so to receive this comment was a tonic to the soul -

William, I wish you well at your new post at Bechtel - enjoy the new environment, no doubt quite different to that which you experienced during your 2-year MBA studies!

Time : how do you value it?

2008-07-24T08:25:00.005Z

During my MBA year I came across a new venture that I deemed of interest: match-making service for short-term employment (per hour/per task). I offered my help as I had previously considered this field...

The team obtained a runner-up prize in an internal business school competition, they did a great job at portraying the business model. Whilst I did not get involved in their business plan, I see now that there is competition already out there: peopleperhour.com (amongst others). It will be interesting to keep track of how the team progresses their idea in the rather busy marketplace of recruitment!

To more fun. Do you know Clay Shirky?
well perhaps I can offer a brief introduction to you via his ideas of 'cognitive surplus' and 'collective bender'? take a peak at the recorded presentation at a Web2.0 conference.

- - -

as for hacker stuff, I think it is time I modded the Canon digital camera as per these instructions: The Canon Hacker's Development Kit, aka CHDK

Because Women Play too

2008-06-26T13:08:00.004Z

It is fantastic to see that this market segment is now being more dutifully addressed. Games is a fantastic platform from which to offer a ready audience with more targeted resources, including greater freedom of educational resources. There remain large groups of women, distributed throughout the World, who are not granted equal access to Education. It is well overdue to change this situation.

link: womengamers.com

...and whilst mentioning handy websites, take a peak at :
the Telegraph Top101 websites

smile, it is only a 'new paradigm'

2008-06-16T09:50:00.002Z

With a year of hearing this ever so frequently at b-school, it made me smile when I read the title of a Financial Times article: "When you hear ‘new paradigm’ head for the hills" (ft.com). The content was a little different, which lent onto the lending problems in the financial markets. The expression, though, has become one of those over-used "sentence-stretchers".
Back to basics please: KISS = Keep It Simple, Stupid!

Business School Businesses

2008-06-09T08:15:00.003Z

When it comes to one of the most prestigious public services, the railways often comes high on the list. It is also one that creates resentment in the user community (cost, poor service, delays...) which is particularly evident in the face of increased fuel costs and government gobbledygook about the need to become more green.

Additionally, following my London Underground experiences (mainly 1998-2002, 2006-2007), I often found myself contemplating a model to enhance the various functional and stakeholder requirements. For example, building additional track with a backup locomotive might ease problems when a train breaks down. The options should be quite feasible to model, taking into account resource deployment and costs.

So it was with considerable joy that I learned about a logistics project at RSM Erasmus University in Rotterdam, supervised by Professor Leo Kroon, a specialist in Quantitative Logistics. The project sought to offer an enhanced scheduling rota for the Dutch railways!

The results? Passenger demand up 15% on some lines. Passenger satisfaction up. More trains arrive on time. Netherlands Railways profits rose by €40m ($61.8m, £31.6m) in the first year of the timetable, with more profit growth expected down the line.

Read the article on ft.com

Talking of smart business school activities. I pleaded with Tanaka Business School (Imperial College, London) to establish a consulting arm of their MBA activities, with idea of creating a pipeline of projects on which students could contribute but also one which they could, in turn, use to obtain (cheaper) consulting when alumni establish their own businesses.

One particular idea was quite different. To create a company that the students would run, not just to learn the theory in the MBA classes - but to apply it and act as custodians of a real operating business. This might be a fund management, or even a niche management consulting group. At Imperial College there already exists an external company for knowledge transfer for start-up companies and licensing (Imperial Innovations), and there is a project management/resource hiring company too (Imperial Consultants); so a distinction would be needed between this MBA-student activity and that which already exists.

...so again, it was not a surprise to read that the School of Finance and Management in Frankfurt, Germany, has established a novel financial company spun out of academia. It is positioning itself as a niche player in "the esoteric but growing world of microfinance to speed economic development in eastern Europe". So it is benefiting from the opening up of eastern Europe, together with access to special funds for East and South-East Europe. Smart people: they get funded research, train their paying students, deploy the students to manage assets, prepare the students to take on roles in developing zones... and the cycle might continue through re-investment options. Smart people - yes, I already wrote that. Shame Tanaka could not stomach the concept.

again, their exists an Ft.com article for you to read

...then again, there exists the loan system "by Alumni for Alumni" : prodigy finance
Insead showing how to instil alumni networking and profit sharing!
They claim to have methods of determining risk associated with future income, perhaps significantly influenced by the data collection from the rather large volume of students who pass through the Insead system each year... something that works in their favour, but is still remains an easily replicated venture - particularly when coupled with an institution with a risk management research group (such as Tanaka, hint hint - perhaps protègé-finance will be coming to a business school establishment near you...)

Noise Maps

2008-06-06T09:01:00.003Z

Thanks to one of those EU decisions (EU Directive on Environmental Noise) you can now get a visual view of the noise in your neighbourhood : http://noisemapping.defra.gov.uk

Nb: UK only

Technology brought to you by IBM - who else?
...using Service Oriented Architecture (SOA) - what else?
...delivered in line with the Common Architectural Approach (CARA) infrastructure - what?

CARA is a Defra methodology for sharing common components to achieve economies of scale

- - -

Desire something different?
Wimbledon starts soon. The relationship between IBM and All England Lawn Tennis Club dates back to 1990. Take a peak at the official website, www.wimbledon.org
There is a little application you can install on your computer to help you keep track of live scores, this year it comes with an interactive map widget...

No regrets, but IESE strikes a chord once more

2008-06-01T21:51:00.004Z

Why is it that there are interesting events going on at IESE, seemingly all the time?

most recently I read of their Entrepreneurship discussion with well-presented attendees, each reinforced my perspective that I do not strike to make money - indeed my MBA was not intended to be point for salary negotiations. Far from it! instead I am seeking the roles and responsibilities that engage me on my personality and capabilities. It may well be the case that such roles will be remunerated well - but it is not my focal point.

New Entrepreneurship Forum, in Evian ?

2008-05-27T20:48:00.005Z

To contend with the World Economic Forum in Davos, Switzerland - it would appear that some smart alecs in Lyon business school (EMLyon) have tabled a new annual meeting, this time taking place in the French Alps...

To be honest what I like about this idea is the coupling with the Junior World Entrepreneurship Forum earlier in the year (location: Shanghai, in July) - this offers the opportunity for fledgling new thinking to be percolated up the younger group before being thrown at the elders!

...what I don't like is that their website is in French and US ENGLISH!
(on the positive, the US English version is still being developed)

www.world-entrepreneurship-forum.com

- - -

For those seeking a special mix of entrepreneurial MBA education:
I bring you the tripartate of EM Lyon in France, Babson College in the US and Zhejiang University in China. Starts Fall 2008 for a Masters in Global Entrepreneurship.

read about it here