Source 2010 T1 Issue 4 v1

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In This Source...Note from the Editor; SRC Update; What’s On; MBS Ball Photos; More Exchange Stories...

from students to students 2010 term 1, 4th edition

SOURCE

the SOURCEfrom students to students

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Note From the EditorEnd of Week 12!!After weeks of agonising over the mountains

of unread emails I imagined piling up in the

Source inbox, access to the email address

was finally realised. Expecting a flood of

correspondence, I was sadly disappointed

with 3 emails. Thanks to (in chronological

order) Ray Doody, Mathew Galt and Dianne

Sinclair for actually sending an email to the

Source email address. Ray – I hoped you

claimed your prize at the MBS Ball on

Saturday night.

Hoping for plenty of material to include in

this, the final edition of the SouRCe for this

term (and for this editor) I have now had to

resort to the tried and trusted trick of filling

all the blank space with a rambling editorial

and bucket-loads of photos. Enjoy.

So, with the realisation that nobody actually

reads this editorial, I thought I might as well

get philosophical and channel a mash of

Ritson, Einstein and Gates….

“Life is not divided into semesters. You don't

get summers off and very few employers are

interested in helping you find yourself.” - Bill

Gates

As many of us at MBS, both part-time and

full-time, prepare for our final weeks at school

and graduation on May 22, it is useful to

reflect on our MBA experience in whatever

form it has taken and look forward to our

future as MBS alumni.

Time at MBS no doubt meant forming strong

friendships with colleagues at the school

through a shared experience that was

hopefully equal parts fun, challenging, eye-

opening and possibly a little stressful.

There are things we won’t miss, such as the

turkey and cranberry sandwiches on

Wednesday night, the stress of finals or

syndicate meetings at 8am on a Saturday. We

will miss many of our lecturers and hanging

out with MBS colleagues – whether at WNDC,

in class or through the clubs. We will enjoy

getting our social lives back and, for full-

timers re-entering the realities of paid

employment, finally seeing the bank account

back in accumulation mode rather than being

permanently set to “drain”.

"It is every man's obligation to put back into

the world at least the equivalent of what he

takes out of it." - Albert Einstein

While we will be leaving some of these things

behind and setting off on a new chapter, one

thing that will always be with us is our role as

representatives of the MBS brand. As Alumni

of MBS this responsibility is possibly our most

important role. Through the choices we make

and as our careers develop, we not only

continue to develop our own “brand” but we

are also continually upholding and reinforcing

the MBS brand. As outstanding Brand

Representatives for MBS, we not only benefit

ourselves but the MBS community as a whole,

including current and prospective students.

Giving back to the school community in a

more direct form is another way that we can

fulfil our role as MBS alums. Class Gifts have

been a feature of the graduating classes’

activities at MBS since 2003 and have ranged

from education facilities and equipment for

poorly resourced business schools overseas,

scholarships to funding of speakers series at

the school. The 2009 Graduating Class Gift

supports two initiatives - The Student

Leadership Lunch and Scholarships for

selected not-for-profit leaders.

Individual support may come in the form of

helping a student with job prospects or

career choices, assisting with case interview

practice or responding to requests clubs to

talk about our post-MBA experience.

Maintaining Alumni relations is not just the

responsibility of the school but of all

graduates who are hopefully willing to give

something back to the student body that they

were so recently a part of.

Congratulations to everyone graduating this

term and setting out on a new chapter, but

don’t forget those of us still slaving away at

MBS and remember what it is like to be a

(time) poor student trying to make the most

of this amazing opportunity.

Ed

May

201

0

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SRC UpdateChanges at the SRC

With T1 coming to a close, there are some changes at the SRC. As we farewell Ursula, Kunal and the team and thank them for their time and effort over the last couple of terms. Heading into Term 2 we welcome some new members to the SRC. The new SRC Crew continuing into T2 2010 is:

James Mugodo, Danijela Mirosa, Vanessa Landry, Jill Tang, Rosemary O’Brien, Steve Stewart and Tania Zivkovic.

The executive team at the SRC from Term 2 will be:

James Mugodo (President)

Danijela Mirosa (Vice President)

Rosemary O’Brien (Secretary)

Steve Stewart (Treasurer)

Look out for some more for mal introductions of your new SRC in the SouRCe early in Term 2.

Thanks to the outgoing team and best of luck with everything in the future.

S t u d e n t E x p e r i e n c e AwardsAt the MBS Ball on Saturday night, the inaugural Student Experience Awards recognised those who had contributed significantly to the student experience at MBS over the past year.

Congratulations to the Ryan, Ronjon, Jen and Jason who were recognised for their activities and contribution to the MBS community.

Ronjon Bhattacharya and Ryan Gunasekera were recognised for their work on developing the Consulting Club into a very active club with events and case interview practice that went a long way to improving the awareness of consulting careers amongst the student body and honing their case interview skills.

Jen Babaian, Everybody’s favourite MBS socialite, was recognised for the huge effort she put into organising events throughout her time at MBS. Look out for another Babaian production at the End Of Term Party....

Jason Chuei was recognised for lots of stuff, including working with STA Travel to get discounted fares for MBS students, being part of the Class Gift group and for organising the upcoming Charity Poker Tournament.

The recognition of student’s contributions will happen annually at the MBS Ball.

Talk to the SourceWe would like to hear anything you have to say. Particularly now that we can actually access the email address, you can be assured that your voice will be heard. Give it a shot. Photos from the ball, quotes, funny anecdotes or just scurrilous rumour. [email protected]

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SRC Update MBS-AGSM Sports CupTo make up for the fact that we didn’t win the debate, MBS decided (and AGSM agreed) that it was time to have a Cup specifically for the sporting events as part of the MBS-AGSM Cup events. So we lost the debate.... big deal. This is Australia and all the really matters is coming away with bragging rights in sport!!!

Tim Rostrup and Matthew Schwantes were asked to accept the MBS-AGSM Sports Cup at the MBS Ball held (fittingly) at Etihad Stadium on behalf of the teams. Congratulations to everyone who was involved in the MBS-AGSM Cup weekend. Let’s see if MBS can make it a clean sweep in 2011.

Debate practice anyone???

Changes to Career ServicesAs Jane Prior outlined in the Student News last week, there are some changes to Career Services that will be implemented over May and come into effect in Term 2.

Career Development will provide additional student counselling and advising services, and an array of world-leading online development tools.

The Industry Consultants will be located within the Marketing and Communications team. They will continue to support student job searches and continue to develop relationships with organisations which, in turn, will support enrolment, student employment and internship growth.

As students, particularly as part of the industry Clubs, we can work with Career Services to help deepen connections with employers, organise events and educate students about different career options open to them post-MBA.

The Keep an eye on the Student News and the SouRCe and information sessions to be held early on in Term 2 for more details about the new structure.

Strategic ReviewAs part of a review that the school is currently undertaking, a survey will be coming around to students to understand how students view the MBS value proposition.

This is an important process that will help focus the efforts MBS take to improve the offering to students and the market as a whole.

Farewell to Exchange StudentsMany of the International Exchange students will be leaving the corridors of MBS after the exam week. Hopefully we will be able to share a farewell drink with them at the End Of Term Party.

Of course, members of the South American Mafia will be gracing us with their presence for another term, so lets make sure we continue to make them feel at home in Melbourne.

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What’s OnExams!!OK. We all know. Necessary evil. Has to be done. etc. etc. As much as our lecturers like to empathise with us and say that they would rather not have to worry about putting us all through the stress of exams and other forms of assessment... But really, apart from the fact that they have to mark whatever we end up handing in (and let’s face it - after three hours and however many practice exams, our handwriting probably isn’t really all that legible) do we believe them?

Good luck to everyone next week.

Let’s move on.

End Of Term Paaaarty!With exams, there comes an excuse to let the hair down and forget about study for a little while. The Mistress of Ceremonies has organised another big night for us to mark the end of Term 1 and/or the end of an exchange at MBS and/or the end of the MBA!!

MBS students will be converging on the Apartment on Friday night to celebrate/commiserate and it is sure to be another hallmark event of your MBA experience. Don’t miss it.

Where: The Apartment, 401 Little Bourke St, Melbourne (Near Queen St)

When: 8:30pm, Friday May 7

Who: Everyone

Why: You need a reason?

What: Poison of choice.

C h a r i t y P o k e r TournamentNet Impact and the SRC invite all MBS students, alumni and staff to take part in the first annual MBA Charity Poker Tournament.

The buy in is $100 per person and all money raised will go to the Koorie Heritage Trust.

The tournament will kick off on Saturday 8th May from 1.30pm onwards and will be held in the Gadsden Dining Hall at MBS. Don’t forget your sunglasses and poker face.

Not to fear Turkish, this is not a round with Hatchet Harry in “Lock, Stock, and Two Smoking Barrels” - all the money goes to charity and Jason won’t be sending Ryan around to your door, resplendent in his leather trench coat to collect on your unpaid debs.

For further details, please email Jason Chuei or register online.

Around MelbourneFor those not heading off home, going on an exotic surfing trip to Bali or spending the month of May sleeping there will be plenty going on around Melbourne over the next few weeks. This city never really takes a break. A few of the events worthy of mention include:

2010 Melbourne International Jazz Festival The Festival officially kicks off this Saturday 1 May with THE BIG JAM featuring James Morrison (2pm). Bring you voice, a drum, a tin can, anything that makes a sound! There is plenty on the program to keep your head bouncing. Dig it until May 8.

The 13th Spanish Film Festival

Kicking off again on May 12, in 2009 The Spanish Film Festival was recognised as the most important Spanish cultural event in this country.

In its 13th year, the festival sees an increase in films from Latin American countries, where both an older and younger generation of talented filmmakers are bringing new voices and unique stories to the big screen, often to great acclaim on the world stage where they are collecting major awards.

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Random Pics: MBS Ball @ Etihad

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Random Pics: MBS Ball @ Etihad

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Exchange Stories - Chicago Booth, ILSometimes things just work out. The opportunity to study at the University of Chicago’s Booth School of Business was one of those things.

Chicago is one of those places I always had an affinity for - friendly locals, amazing architecture, great bars and a bloody big lake. Don’t worry about the “windy city” moniker. It isn’t for the wind.

Training for and then running in the Chicago marathon was a great way to get to know the city, not to mention a few other nut cases who were planning the same. The support the city showed to all the runners on what was a truly miserable day (-1C and drizzle at the start of the race) was testament to how passionate they are about just about anything that the city hosts.

Soon after arriving, I signed up to a Mix-It-Up dinner, which are dinners for new first year students hosted by 2nd years to help with the integration process. Straight away I felt part of the Booth community.

The student body is impressive in numbers alone (580 in the full time intake), not to mention the breadth of cultures, backgrounds and experiences that the students bring to the classroom.

The school itself has a proud history in academics, particularly economics. It is strange to see people with the reputation of Eugene Fama wandering the lecture halls of Booth. The man still strikes fear in the hearts of MBAs who were foolish enough to turn up to class without preparing appropriately.

Of the weekly rituals, including Coffee with the Dean on Wednesday evening and LPF (Liquidity Preference Function) on Friday afternoons, the Thursday Night Drinking Club was certainly the most popular and routinely attended event. It was a fantastic way to meet the Booth students outside of the classroom. Fortunately, my Friday mornings were devoid of classes and syndicate meetings.

It wasn’t all fun and games. Some of the subjects required a huge amount of effort simply to prepare for each class, however this was rewarded with a tremendous learning experience in the classroom.

Highlights of my term at Chicago included trips to see the Cubs (Baseball), Blackhawks (Ice Hockey) and the Bulls (Basketball), Thanksgiving Dinner with fellow students, the Chicago Symphony Orchestra, running the marathon, TNDC, getting to know a great bunch of exchange students and the Booth Wine Club dinner at the end of term.

For anyone considering a term on exchange, I can only suggest that you first figure out what you want from the experience and then do your research to make sure the school and location will be able to deliver. Once you have sorted that out, grab the opportunity with both hands and enjoy the ride!!

Adrian Coates

Share Your ExperienceGetting off the beaten path or maybe just visiting home.... Whether it is just around the corner or in some remote corner of the globe, share your experiences with your fellow students and send us a note, send us your photos, tell us where you’ve been, the places you stayed, the food you ate. We will publish it in the next Source!