HBSTimes… but now even bigger and better!

Posted on May 25, 2016 | Leave a comment

Accepted! - Getting in and Fitting in at Harvard Business School - Book cover

ACCEPTED!

Getting in and Fitting in at Harvard Business School

 

HBSTimes has been home to my stories on life as a student at Harvard Business School. After graduation, I continued to pen down my experiences of what were probably the 2 most enriching years of my life.

Loyal to my quirky style, I bundled my stories in a must-read book for prospective students, alumni or those interested in knowing more about life at the School.

Get your own copy on Amazon today!

Amazon US: HERE
Amazon UK: HERE

Find out more on GoodReads: HERE

Accepted! - Getting in and fitting in at Harvard Business School. An International Student Reporting on Life at HBSAccepted! – Getting in and fitting in at Harvard Business School. An International Student Reporting on Life at HBS by Frederic D Mahieu
My rating: 5 of 5 stars

Interesting read! 🙂

View all my reviews

 

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Posted in The HBS experience, The road to HBS

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LSE or the London School of Exploitation – time to question our schooling system?

Posted on July 7, 2015 | Leave a comment

The London School of Exploitation – part of one of the many “occupy” events seen in the world in recent years - should we rethink education as well?

The London School of Exploitation – part of one of the many “occupy” events seen in the world in recent years – should we rethink education as well?

LSE usually stands for the London School of Economics – earlier this year, its students were protesting what they call the London School of Exploitation. The LSE students were lobbying the school administration for cheaper tuition, better support for workers, and divestment from unethical businesses. While I never saw any protests like that at HBS, it does call me to reflect on some of the ethical issues related to our schooling system. Continue reading →

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Life as an alumn – one year out…

Posted on June 11, 2015 | Leave a comment

One year out - time to celebrate?

One year out – time to celebrate?

It was the high amount of pictures of people wearing graduation gowns that suddenly populated my facebook account that alerted me of the fact that I have been out of school for a year now. Indeed, it’s this time of the year again when students at HBS (and many other schools for that matter) graduate. And about a year ago, on Friday May 29th 2014, I was one of them. I figured that now, one year out, would be a good time to reflect on what happened in my life since receiving my HBS dipl0ma. Continue reading →

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HBS relics from a HBS relic

Posted on December 27, 2014 | Leave a comment

A HBS relic I wasn't able to take with me...

A HBS relic I wasn’t able to take with me…

Some people throw it all out – I like to keep stuff. Served by the rather large basement at my old folks’ place, I have been holding on to the most random stuff I put my hands on. And while I am far from being a compulsive hoarder, I did collect quite a range of ‘random relics’ over the years. As I am ‘home’ at my parents’ place for the holidays, I took the opportunity to go dig into my favorite basement in the whole world. Find some of the HBS relics I found below. Continue reading →

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HBS commencement – a jump into a new life… and into the river Charles

Posted on June 13, 2014 | 1 comment

The footbridge in Cambridge over the river Charles - higher than one thinks...

The footbridge in Cambridge over the river Charles – higher than one thinks…

Graduating at the Harvard Business School is all about putting on a toga, listening to speeches and jumping into a new part of life… as well as jumping into the river Charles. It is a tradition for students graduating at one of the Harvard schools to jump into this river in  Cambridge. Only when I was standing on top of the footbridge in the middle of the night did I realize how high this bridge is, and how scary it is to take this big jump. But I did it. And there is probably not a more symbolic jump to take than this one. Continue reading →

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Posted in Life in the USA, The HBS experience

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Second year at HBS – last but not least?

Posted on May 1, 2014 | Leave a comment

The old versus the new - EC versus RC students

The new (life at HBS in the first year) versus the old (HBS in second year) – but which one is the best!?!

I have survived both RC (Required Curriculum – the first year at HBS) and EC year (Elective Curriculum – the second year at HBS). I am about to finish my HBS MBA and am thus (choose for yourself) – old / graduated / spoiled for life / happy / super excited to go back to work / broke. But most of all, I have become a real specialist that can shed a light on all aspects of the HBS MBA program. And today,  I will be comparing the two years at HBS – RC and EC year!

Continue reading →

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HBS talents – more than just brainpower!?!

Posted on April 13, 2014 | Leave a comment

HBS Show 2014 at Burden Auditorium

You just missed it this year, but there’s always next year!

What does it take to be famous among the HBS student body? Well, being a star professor at HBS sure helps – think Dean Nohria, Youngme Moon and Clay Christensen. But it turns out that one doesn’t have to be a professor to be notorious among the HBS student body. Tim Butler is one of these non-academics that is a well-known person at HBS. According to his bio, Tim Butler is the Director of Career Development Programs. In practice, he chairs a couple of sessions during RC-year (Required Curriculum – the first year at HBS) during which he invites students to think about their career choices. He advises all students to ‘follow their heart’ when making professional choices. His fame has reached such a level that he has joined the star professors in being caricatured during the yearly HBS show. Indeed, once a year, HBS students present a show that is a great parody on life at HBS – and this year wasn’t any different. And if you ask me, Tim Butler (or at least the student that played his role) was the star of this year’s show!

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Social Media at HBS – Facebook stalkers rule!

Posted on April 3, 2014 | Leave a comment

Do you know who is watching you on facebook?

Do you know who is watching you on Facebook?

One of my courses at HBS this year is called Competing with Social Networks. I took this course because I frankly don’t know all that much about social media. I check my Facebook account once a month, I have an occasional look on Yelp before booking a restaurant and while I have heard about the newer tools such as Instagram and Vine I have never used them. I realize that my limited use of social media is not quite the norm at HBS. But with businesses from all over the world making tons of money through the use of social media, I figured it wouldn’t hurt to get some understanding of what social media are really all about. Hence my decision to enroll in this class. I meanwhile learned some interesting stuff, for example that much of Facebook’s initial success could be allocated to the fact that it allows for people to secretively stalk on one another. Crazy no? Continue reading →

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Key lessons from MBA – Sell Tesla stock!?!

Posted on March 30, 2014 | 3 comments

The stuff that HBS loaded into my brain matrix-style...

The stuff that HBS loaded into my brain matrix-style…

I am now 60 days away from graduation. Time has come to look at what I have actually learned during the hundreds of class sessions I had over the last 2 years. Below summary does not intend to be an exhaustive overview of what is being taught at HBS – rather it is a listing of some stuff that got stuck with me. Find your free 2-year HBS MBA program summarized in a 5 minute read below. Enjoy! Continue reading →

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HBS clothing – Dress to impress

Posted on March 7, 2014 | Leave a comment

This is what students at HBS used to wear in class - the ties are definitely gone today. (harvardmagazine.com/2013/07/the-girls-of-hbs)

This is what students at HBS used to wear in class – the ties are definitely gone today. (harvardmagazine.com/2013/07/the-girls-of-hbs)

On my first day at HBS, now more than a year ago, our HBS section coordinator gave a typical start-of-the-year speech. His introductory talk to our HBS experience was followed by a Q&A session, during which one of my brave section mates asked if there was a dress-code for HBS classes. The HBS coordinator, a tenured professor at HBS, dressed himself in an impeccable tailor-made suit, replied that while he was very much so in favor of a dress-code for HBS students (preferably enforcing suits and ties in the process), unfortunately most of the HBS faculty did not share his point of view. There was no formal dress-code at HBS, though he politely asked us to show up for class being dressed in a decent way. Continue reading →

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