The Hua-Dan Project

One of goals I'd set for myself before coming to INSEAD was gain more awareness about the Social Impact sector. And as expected, the opportunities INSEAD provided were plenty!  I attended social impact panels and met two Social Entrepreneurs in Residence (SEiR).

What was even better - one of those entrepreneurs actually provided me with an opportunity to support her with her new project!

Caroline Watson, founderof Hua Dan (a social enterprise that has changed millions of lives of immigrant women and children in China), was on campus for a presentation and for the Social Entrepreneur in Residence program.

I really wanted to understand the why, how and what of her story. That was my main motivation.So I strap my son in the stroller and off we went. I enter the amphi and see a few people (surprsingly mostly partners) already seated. I asked her if it was ok to attend the session with my son (who was asleep in his stroller) and she was more than happy with the idea :).

Her story was fascinating. Raised in the UK, lived in HK and moved to China to bring about change - wow!  She was particularly struck by a drama style used by a famous artist in Brazil and wanted to use that very technique to vocalize and mobile people around social issues faced by millions of migrant women workers in China. I was struck by the potential in the methodology used and of course the impact.

When she mentioned at the end of her presentation that she is looking for volunteers, I jumped at the opportunity!

I followed up with her after the presentation by email with my CV and soon we had a call to discuss what I could take on given my constraints and availability. After two discussions, we finalized on a project - "How to position and sell to corporate clients". The deliverables were a sales pitch deck and a sales proposal document.

What I enjoyed most is the process of actually crafting the final deliverables. It was stimulating and challenging.  I had great discussions with Caroline about the potential of her business. She gave me an insight into the new business model - I learnt about the business model canvas method of brainstorming new business ideas. We also met  a couple of times over few months at INSEAD to brainstorm ideas and make sure the project was on track.

I also reached out to my mentor at Cisco who helped me think about Sales processes, pitches and proposals. He is and has always been amazing. I learn so much from even a 15 minute discussion with him! So this project was a great opportunity to put my skills, knowledge, interest and experience to an area what was so new to me.

All in all, a wonderful stimulating experience; a great opportunity to keep my professional side alive and experiment in a safe environment during this major life transition of mine.

I would highly recommend anyone who has the time when at INSEAD to utilize such opportunities. You will surely learn something new and a whole lot about yourself,

New Year, New Friends

6-Jan-2015 : The official welcome for 15Ds (INSEAD’s December Intake). It just seemed like yesterday that I was in the audience listening to the 14Ds give us the office Partners’ Welcome presentation. And there we were, standing in front a new batch of Partners’ (from both 15Ds and 15Js from Singapore). It was so nice to see new faces and even better to catch up with them after the presentation.I personally was very excited – what a great opportunity to make new friends. Everyone seemed so nice and eager to participate, organise and stay active within the Partners’ group

.

After the presentation, we gave some of them a campus tour and soon headed to the family room to baby sit for the 15Ds so they could attend the official welcome ceremony with their partners. Keeping the tradition alive you see :). It was the first time I baby sat and it went better than I thought. We were about 5 of us baby sitting 5 kids ranging from 5 months old to 2.5 years old.  An experience I won’t forget J

We also organised a market visit and a walk around the chateau gardens for the new batch of Partners to give them a flavour of Fonty and well, also a good excuse to get together and get to know eachother. :) A LOT of them turned up for the market visit. We, am sure, annoyed quite a few locals at the market that day – such a large group, stopping often to check out local stuff at shops, asking so many questions and of course chatting away while others were there for some serious shopping. Lol. Anyway, after the visit, we went for a short stroll around the Chateau and sat down at a café for some crepes and coffee at the end of it all. I got to meet so many new people and had some really interesting conversations.

A few days later, a few of us went for a walk around the Chateau gardens and stopped for some afternoon coffee, crepes and sandwiches. Again, such lovely company! My favourite thing about being at INSEAD – the people you meet always have such interesting backgrounds and stories!

INSEAD organised more activities for the new batch of Partners as well like wine tasting and Chateau tour. Similar to what was done for our welcome week.

Some other activities that were kicked-off / restarted:

• Cooking Classes: Yes! The most popular activity before the holiday season is back. The Partners' met for a Moroccan cooking class. Perfectly coordinated and very well organised. Everyone seemed to have had a lovely time. Those who are waitlisted am sure can't wait for the next one.
• Playgroup : One of the 15D partners has created a playgroup for mums and babies to meet every week at her home. A great way to connect with other mums over coffee and cakes whilst the little ones explore, play and do their thing :) I love the idea and definitely plan on being a regular.
• Restaurant of the week: Last week we went to Le Mediterranee . The food was SO good and flavourful. The Mezze range is fantastic and so is the menu overall. The staff does speak a bit of English and they have an English menu as well. I would highly recommend it for anyone – even vegetarians. This week, we went to Meatlovers (Don't be fooled by the name dear vegetarians - they have an amazing veggie burger). I am enjoying meeting the ladies every week.. it's great to catch-up with almost the same group every week. I feel like otherwise, I would barely get to hang out with them. 

Oh by the way, how can I forget! For the first time after my son was born (more than a year), I left him late evening with my husband to go out for a ladies night!! My husband actually pushed me to go for it when I was in two minds even as I was leaving.. was a tough decision (Motherhood has totally redefined what qualifies as a "tough decision". lol).. Well, I guess there always is a first time. So I went for about an hour and glad I did! I met such nice people and had a lovely time. All thanks to my dear hubby!! :)

And that reminds me, he has also been so supportive and kind to baby sit my son in the family room thrice in the last two weeks despite his crazy schedule so I can do some work. So thanks to him, I ended up having a pretty a productive week. Made some good progress on the marketing work I am doing for Hua-Dan, I am about 80% done with it and I am already thinking about what next. Btw, once I complete my work with Hua Dan, I will write a separate post about it. 

Also, I finally got to meet the president of the INSEAD Entrepreneurship Club. Super nice guy. He was very supportive and appreciative of my ideas and has given me the go-ahead for them. So quite excited. 

This week I got to be a part of a market research for a new business venture of some students. It was a 45 minute interview and I really enjoyed sharing insights. At the end of it, I couldn't help but wonder... well more like dream about their success..that someday I may see their products on the shelves of some great stores and have a big smile on my face, thinking back to the time when I was interviewed by these super successful guys :) Lol.

Last night, one of my friends organised a welcome party at her home fore the desi partners (and their partners ;)). Loved it!She is such a wonderful host!!!

At the end of the evening I realized how much I love being a 15Jpartner, because Js get to spend so much more time with Ds (And get to know more Ds) than the Ds would get to spend with the next batch of Js. We are so lucky!! :)

With this, I guess I’ve got you all up to speed with all the happenings here at Fonty.

Stay tuned for more!

The Backlog - November & December

I can’t believe that I haven’t blogged since end October. But before I dive into the last few months, here’s wishing everyone a very very happy and prosperous 2015! Hope you had an amazing year filled with cherished memories. Wishing you a year that is even better than the last J

As you know from my last post, P2 (Period 2) at INSEAD began the last week of October and let me tell you – it hits you like storm and goes by in a flash.

For the students, it’s six subjects crammed into one and half months of classes plus two national weeks, national week bidding day and of course crazy INSEAD parties (more reasons than usual because it marks the end to their very first section and very first group… everything changes here on.. well not as dramatic as that really but the students party like it is the end of an era.. lol)

For Partners, it was a crazy one and half months as well because we went from just being acquaintances to friends which meant more get togethers and in addition, we organised various activities – one almost every week! So yes – a packed P2 for Partners as well.

I wish I could blog in detail about every event but because of the backlog, I am just going to give a summary ( (which by itself seems long enough) of the events during the two months. In case you want to know more about anything in specific, feel free to write to me or leave a comment below.

It's going to be a long post...So here I go:

Oct 31 - Halloween Party at INSEAD
This was organised at Tavers and man! They did some serious Halloween décor. It was fantastic. Everyone and I mean EVERYONE (about 200 people) dressed up and it was a CRAZY party.

November 3 - Kids Halloween Parade & Desi Week Amphi Storming
INSEAD organises a Halloween party for kids - a day when all the baby INSEADers dress in adorable costumes and parade the galleries for trick or treats followed by a small get together at the restaurant.

The same evening was the Desi Week “amphi storming”. It was the first day of Desi Week and as a tradition, some students storm the amphi, do their thing  (for desis it was of course dance to an awesome Bollywood number), showcase what’s to come for the week and finish off with a bang. The Desi amphi storming was FANTASTIC. My husband was a part of it and he went absolutely crazy. Yes! I mean every word of it. He got up on the desk and danced… Never seen that side to him.. I guess INSEAD brings out the BESTEST in people. Lol.

November 4 – Visit to the Farmer’s Market

As a part of the French Immersion activity, we decided to visit the local market to check out the local produce, food, cheeses etc. One of the French partners decided to share with us some local insights. We also learnt some useful phrases :) Nice day but it was starting to get so so cold in Fonty.

November 5 - Desi Dinner

Mid-week of any national week is a dinner with a traditional fare. The desi dinner was very well organised. The décor was so pretty, people dressed in their best Indian wear, there was a Desi IQ quiz, Fashion Show, Dance performances and finally a dance party. Everything was so lively and everyone seemed to have the time of their lives. This set a huge expectation for the end of the week Bollywood party (Which sadly wasn’t as good as people thought it would be… Nevertheless, they still had a good time)

November 6 - Colombian Breakfast
One of my friends, a Colombian, invited few friends for a traditional Colombian breakfast. There were Arepas, some other traditional breakfast items – like a dough ball filled with savoury cheese and eggs. The highlight of course was the banana walnut cake she had baked. It was SO good!

November 7 - Birthday and Ukrainian Cooking Class
Yes! Happy birthday to me!! J Was a very special and memorable day indeed. My husband organised a surprise get together and had put together a video montage of 15J Partners’ birthday wishes (which they had sent in their native language). It was so so sweet. A lovely cosy birthday celebration!

The same afternoon, a group of Partners met for a Ukrainian cooking class. On the agenda were all vegetarian dishes - a salad, a pumpkin porridge and cheese filled ravioli/dumplings. I couldn't make it to the session, so waiting for round 2 which, hopefully will be soon. :)

November 10 - Day Out at Vaux Le Vicomte

A few partners decided to spend an afternoon (turned out as a whole day trip) at the Chateau – Vaux Le Vicomte. It’s a beautiful place, lovely gardens. Once a year there is chocolate exhibition at the Chateau and lucky us, the day we chose to visit happened to be “that day of the year”. A nice day out from Fonty and would definitely recommend it.

November 12 – Birthdays of the month

We had decided to start a tradition of celebrating birthdays of the month and had a small get together at the family room. It was a fun evening – there was cake, games and best of all – a lot of fun! Unfortunately, we haven't been able to keep up the momentum. We hope not to miss Feb birthdays. Have to put it on my calendar.

November 14 - National Week Bidding 

This is something you definitely do not want to miss at INSEAD. It’s the day teams bid for the National Week and it’s absolutely crazy. It’s the day when the teams showcase their local culture and it’s so much fun. The day ends with a presentation which is “must-see” when at INSEAD. The teams bring out the best of best and it’s packed with so much energy and surprises! Highly recommend that you attend it.

November 17 - Baby Shower

A few of us threw a surprise baby shower for one the 15J Partners who was soon leaving for Singy. Was a lovely evening. Most of all, was so nice to see how much she enjoyed it.

November 19 – Social Impact Week Panel

I have always been really interested in anything and everything around Social Impact and so I decided to attend the panel organised by INDEVOR (INSEAD’s social impact club) during the Social Impact Week. The panel was on “Impact Economy” and the panellists consisted of some amazing people from Impact Investing, Venture Philanthropy to Incubators. I couldn't stay for the whole panel but I would highly recommend anyone interested in this area to attend events like these. You get to meet and hear from some brilliant minds.

November 20 - Thanksgiving lunch/cooking class
As a part of the cooking class series(We'd had a Indian, French and Ukrainian classes so far), one of the Partners decided to cook us a traditional thanksgiving meal and even gave the group a demonstration of the famous pumpkin pie. She'd put in so much efforts and everything was so perfect. A big thank for such a lovely afternoon and a bigger thank you to my friend who has been so regular in organising these cooking classes. They have been super popular :)

Last week of November – A few friends got together for a fun filled evening on Thanksgiving and the same weekend, we visited Strasbourg for this Christmas Market. Oh yes – also Fonty light up this week. It was so so pretty!!! So Christmassy. I so love this season!! :)

And before I knew it, December was here. It was exam time again and it was also the last two weeks in Fonty for those leaving for Singy for P3 and beyond. So there were a lot of farewell dinners and parties amidst the exam craziness and not to forget a national week - Africa week. Some highlights for me were:

• I'd organised a Crepes and Galette afternoon for the Partners as a part of  the "French Immersion" events. Jeromine from INSEAD Student Relations helped make it all happen as her friend happens to be a chef at a lovely creperie  - La Poterme at Moret sur Loing. I fell sick and couldn't go but the Partners enjoyed a live demonstration and set-menu which includes an aperitif, galette (choice of 5), cidre, crêpe dessert and coffee!!! For 25 Euros per person.
• Dinner with Friends – We hosted a dinner for a few friends who were off to Singy. Such a fun night!
• Son's first birthday – This certainly was the greatest highlight! We celebrated it in the family room and had all our friends attend the party. A party I will never forget. Was so special.. will remain a cherished memory indeed./
• Friend’s baby shower and farewell dinner – Yes! We had another surprise baby shower this month. The ladies turned Salamander (house) into a pretty pretty place. So beautifully decorated and organised. Was so glad to be a part of it. The following day, one of my friends hosted a lovely dinner for us before we all of us left for the holiday season.

So there you go! A super long post.. but I guess this is what happens when I am not regular with my posts.

Hope you enjoyed going through it. 

Signing off :)

4 weeks in 1 post

I have been so behind in updating my blog and now I am sitting here racking my brains about first of all, what I've been up to for the last few weeks and then about where to start and how. Anyway, here I go.

29 September to 5th October : Week of Ideas and Imagination

The two main events of this week were - one, the Start-up Bootcamp Weekend that my husband attended and the other, a presentation I attended by Caroline Watson, a Social Entrepreneur, 2011 Young Global Leader (WEF) and owner of Hua-Dan. Both these re-fuelled my brain and got me thinking about my own goals - in life including career. There was a sudden burst of energy within and out came tonnes of ideas. I began imagining and visualizing a myriad of possibilities of how I could really make an impact, stay true and motivated to my purpose in life.

Here is a bit more about the two events. First, the Start-up Bootcamp Weekend. It's a 48 hour intensive Bootcamp organised by the INSEAD Centre for Entrepreneurship. People who are venturing into the world of Entrepreneurship with an idea or would like to get a feel of what it's like are the ones who mainly attend and I guess also benefit the most out of it. It starts out on a Friday evening when the participants who have an idea give a one-min elevator pitch following which teams are formed for ideas that generate most interest. Friday's session lasted till 11 PM. It was the same evening as the Iberian Week Party, so some brave souls, including my husband were off to the party after the session that night. Like any other party, it was absolutely crazy. Hats off to my better half who survived the crazy night and was off early next morning for the intense day that was ahead of him. Saturday and Sunday was all about building a business plan for the idea. The teams were guided by expert investors and Sunday evening was the grand finale during which the teams picthed their business in under 2 minutes to another panel of expert investors and a winner was chosen. Having seen my husband go through one of the most intense yet fulfilling experiences ever, I can say that this has been one of his highlights of P1 (First term at INSEAD).

Second event that I really liked was the Presentation on Hua-Dan - A social enterprise that aims to bring about Social Change through Theatre. Given I am not into theatre at all, I went to attend the presentation to understand the scale of impact something like this can have and of course, the business model.  To say the least - I am glad I went and I was so inspired. The company uses such a creative way to make an impact and at some level it struck a chord. I reached out to Caroline, the founder, after the event to look at potential volunteering opportunities and things got more exciting. More on that some other day. But I highly encourage Partners to attend these presentations (those that are open to Partners) - it's a great way to find something for you to do, get inspired, meet inspiring people or simply learn.

6th October to 12th October: Week of consolidation and calm.

Given that my brain went into hyper active mode and all over the place with some crazy ideas of what I want to do in life, I had to really pause and take a breath. That is exactly what I did that week. Took a deep breath, thought more calmly about the ideas that were really feasible and finally narrowed down to two things I'd want to do - one in the near term and one in the long term. Because things are still in the nascent stage, will share more once I've completed certain milestones I've set myself.

Meanwhile, the same week,  we had another Partner's meeting to schedule activities for the month. Oh and yes, we finally got our residence permit card that week! Very smooth and straightforward process. Took us less than 2 hours if I recollect right.

The highlight of the week though was our trip down to Biarritz. Given I had hardly seen my husband the last weekend and the week, we decided to go on a short break to Biarritz. It's less than one and half hour flight from Paris and is absolutely gorgeous. Highly recommended for a short break.

13th October to 20st October : Week of Action and Activities.

 After the relaxing weekend came an action packed week. The Partners' activities finally kicked off and we had three events that week.

The first, a presentation on "Basics of Brand Marketing - How to market a brand". One of the Partners was a brand manager at P&G, one of the best marketing machines and she took us through the process P&G follows for a brand marketing campaign. This included a case study on Olay's Christmas campaign and was very interesting to learn what happens behind the scenes.

The second, a lunch gathering at La Grand Café followed by a walk in the Chateau Gardens. The plan was to visit Paris initially but because of the weather, we settled for this option. I couldn't join the ladies for lunch but met them for a walk after. I still can't get over the fact that such beautiful gardens are just a mere fifteen minutes walk from home. This is something I will surely miss once I leave Fonty.

And finally, the week concluded with an Indian Cooking Class hosted by two partners. I couldn't attend as my little boy decided to nap then, but the turn out was amazing. They had a fabulous time learning and tasting. They also had a "roti" (Indian bread) making competition in the end and the whole event was a super hit.

21st October to Today : Exams, Holiday and Back to the INSEAD Bubble

Following the exams, majority of the 15J batch were off on a holiday. Italy seemed a popular choice but so was Turkey, Georgia, Morrocco and Greece. It was a much need break after the busy exam week for the students and we chose to unwind in Capri. What can I say about the place. So beautiful, serene and perfect for relaxing with family. It felt good to take a break from the INSEAD bubble. But time flew and we were back early this week.

This week has been a quite one but next week promises to compensate for it. It's Desi National Week and is totally action packed. I will blog about the event in detail the week after. Other than that, Partners' cooking classes continue to be a hit with the next one being "Learn to make Tart Tatin" - yummy french apple tart, hosted by a French Partner and a Ukrainian one scheduled for next Friday. Will blog about these as well in more detail in the following weeks.

That's it for now.

Enjoy the rest of the week and weekend!

Let's Talk Food!

A picture is worth a thousand words they say. A picture of food is worth a million words I think. J

You know where I am getting at with this. I am going to let the food photos do most of the talking this time around.

INDIAN MEAL SERVICE:  God Sent!

It’s not just the students of INSEAD but the partners too – smart, entrepreneurial and excellent in what they do.

How does an authentic home cooked Indian meal sound to you? For some it’s a first time experience, for some a unique one. For some it’s the convenience factor and for some it’s the craving. For some it’s a combination of all.

To me it’s so much more than a meal service. These women are doing a phenomenal job of providing all of the above and more. I am sure that they will be remembered fondly by many students of 15J.

Sneha and Krati – You have surely made a huge  ( and of course,continue to) difference to this student community. Cannot praise you ladies enough! Great job and I look forward to more yumminess here at Fonty. :)

Dal Makhani

 

Pav Bhaji

 

Palak Paneer - with homemade paneer!

 

Veg Kofta

 

INEAT Club : Foodies of INSEAD gather for the first time at Le Bistro du Broc.

My husband, for obvious reasons, wouldn’t miss this for anything. A fancy French meal at a cosy restaurant just outside of Fonty. I so wish I could’ve joined him as well but well, I had a better reason to stay back – fun with my son J

Here are some photos from that evening.

 

 

 

 

 

NATURALIA: My favourite store

A store that stocks a huge range of organic foods, teas, chocolates and lots more. I absolutely love it. I discovered this amazing chocolate – lovechock . I so love it! My new found favourite.  So good!!

 

 

Stay tuned for a lot more on food.

 

Have a wonderful week!!

It's Friday Already?

Hope you've had a great week!

In my last post, I think I mentioned about working on a survey to capture the expectations, goals and ideas for activities from fellow partners. So my week started with creating that survey. Almost after a year and half, I was working on building a survey again. Took me back to one of my favourite projects at Cisco. I really enjoyed putting the survey together and I thought a lot about Denise, one of the most amazing women I met during my days at Cisco, and what I'd learnt from her.

Anyway, end of Monday, off the survey goes to partners' community. By end of Thursday, we had received an overwhelming response and a lot of positive feedback about the survey itself.  It felt great and very reassuring to know that we are on the right track with this. I can't wait to analyse the results, share it with all the respondents and work on plan for the year. It feels like being back at work again, a bit more relaxed however and I am loving it. What makes it even more exciting is that I am getting to do all of this with some really amazing, very driven women. Strong personalities. Diverse in every sense. Similar goals. Very motivating!

But it was not all work. On Tuesday, a group of us met to plan a baby shower for one of our new friends who is due anytime now. We decided on a picnic on Thursday at the Chateau gardens, get a delicious cake, buy some cute gifts and play some fun games.

She is from Brazil and so her Brazilian friends suggested a game that is kind of a tradition in Brazil. The mom-to-be has to guess the gift items that her friends bring to the party and every time she gets it wrong, her friends draw something funny on her bump! :) We modified the game a bit - instead of gifts, we put a bunch of baby stuff in a bag, blind folded her and asked her to guess. And as you can imagine, at the end of the game, she had a cute little face with lots of hearts and stars drawn on her bump! Yes - she couldn't guess a lot of things - well, rather, we made sure she didn't get them right! :) We played two other games, both for everyone to take part - one, guess how big is her belly and a quiz on baby trivia. Was so much fun. Lot of laughs and jokes. 

Oh by the way, I was the worst at the guessing game. My estimate was just way off - what was I even thinking!! ;)

This was my first ever baby shower experience and surely not the last - we have two other showers coming up before the end of this year! Yay!! Can't wait.

The same day, I attended, partly, the information session on the INSEAD Entrepreneurship Club (IEC) by a professor of entrepreneurship. It was mainly targeted at students, so decided to leave mid-way - also because my little son was getting restless in the sling. So a friend of mine  and I spent about half hour in the family room with our little ones before we went back to meet the professor to share some ideas to help support the IEC. Just as we approached the professor and were next in line to talk to him, my friend's six month old daughter gets super excited and screams. This scared my little son and he starts crying. Can you imagine. Two women with babies in slings. One baby screaming. The other crying. And a bunch of MBA students waiting in line to talk to the professor. Two students very seriously chatting with the professor. 

A scene I'll never forget :)

I walk around trying to calm my baby boy as we await our turn. As he settles down, it's our turn. I introduce myself and so does my friend. We start talking about the idea and right then, it happens again. Action - a scream. Reaction - a cry. 

And here is another scene I'll remember for years to come. Both my friend and I, swaying, trying to calm our babies whilst talking to the professor about the idea. I'd never seen such a sight and of course, never imagined that I'd actually do something like that. :)

Anyway, as you can imagine, the discussion lasted less than a few minutes. 

But I must say - I feel so grateful to that professor who listened to us so patiently irrespective of all that was happening. Not just that, he seemed really positive about the ideas and even responded to our follow-up email next morning. How nice! We were chuffed and can't wait to discuss more about our proposal next week. Will keep you posted on how we get on!

Friday was mostly at home, spending some quality time with my dear son. However, in the evening, we went to campus for about half hour to see the Global Insead Day celebrations. There was a live band, students and professors jamming along, lots of balloons and of course lots of people. A bit too noisy for my little one. So didn't stay for too long. Chatted with a few friends and made our way back home.

So, yes, that was my week. A good mix of work and fun. And a bunch of first time experiences - 

First time to be a part of a Brazilian baby shower tradition (sort of). 

First time to attend a information session with my baby strapped on to me. 

The most hilarious - First time to approach a professor to share my ideas whilst trying to soothe my baby.

Wish all of you a great weekend and a lovely week.

My next post will be in a week's time. Stay tuned! :)

I got a good feeling about this!

What a productive evening!

Picture this. A cosy apartment. A centre table with cakes, teas and a whole lot of post-its. Yes! Post-its.

The purpose of the evening was to come up with goals, ideas and activities for the partners’ community.

All of us, partners, have solid professional backgrounds, skills, competencies and most importantly zest to learn, share and make the most of the next 10 months. What we as a group thought was needed is a formal and structured way to harness that energy and translate into concrete actions. So that we, like our partners, feel a great sense of accomplishment at the end of the year. And we like our partners can say that this has been one of the most amazing 10 months of our lives! 

The structure of the meeting was simple. We wanted to understand the WHY, WHAT and the HOW. It was fascinating to see that within the first 15 minutes there were common themes emerging; networking, professional development and culture awareness/immersion were on top of everyone's list. We then drilled down a level further and gathered ideas for each of these themes. Got some fantastic feedback and ideas.

We are now in the process of prioritizing those ideas by getting the partners’ community to poll and trying to capture ideas from those who weren't present today. The outcome will help narrow the list and build a solid actionable plan for those that were most popular.

I feel so energised and excited by the very thought of how this might turn out. It was inspiring to learn that other partners share similar expectations and want to truly make the most of such a fantastic opportunity of being among the best, in an environment which is one of the best in the world of B-Schools.

At the end of it all, I couldn’t help but wonder how this might end given we have had such an amazing start. I couldn’t help but wonder how these ideas would come alive and bring us closer. I couldn’t help but wonder how much each one of us may grown through these experiences. I couldn’t help but wonder – Can the partners of the 15J batch leave a legacy behind?

Either way, it promises to be very very interesting :)

And the activities begin....

In my earlier post I mentioned that I had signed up for the chateau tour, which was a part of the partners activity for the orientation week. But unfortunately, I couldn’t do the tour. However I decided to join a group of ladies who'd stayed back after the tour for a small picnic by the canal in the chateau gardens.

A beautiful day to be out. Sunny with some clouds. Lovely smell of the fresh green grass. A group of fun, beautiful and interesting women. Lots of snacks. Perfect. I finally got to know some of them better. We chatted about our past professional lives, exchanged stories about how maternity and new motherhood is perceived in India and outside of India, about INSEAD and what this meant for all of us.  Two hours flew by just like that. We decided to meet the next day for a walk through the forest, just behind the INSEAD campus as we said good bye for the day.

The next day, I was all set, got my darling baby in the sling and was off for my walk. I met the others at the café and we were off. As we made our way, we couldn’t get over the fact that there are three trails leading into the Fonty forest from right behind the campus. How amazing. As we walked soaking up sunshine, we chatted about so many things. Spent close to two hours walking and honestly it didn’t seem that long at all. Great company, great outdoors, felt amazing. So alive!

A few days later, I attended the baby music class in the family room. Got there about half hour late ‘cos of my morning chores with my little boy. The room was packed with kids of all ages, ranging from 2 month old babies to 3 year old ones. My little boy loved it. The class was held by a wonderful woman, originally from England. She had brought along with her so many little rattles, tiny instruments, and lots of things for the kids and the kids absolutely loved it. She sang both French and English songs and we sang along to the tunes we knew. Was a lot of fun!

After class, we got a table outside to enjoy the lovely weather and have some yummy lunch. I got to meet few other partners. Some from the previous batch and some from the current.

It’s been almost two weeks since I’ve been here and a week since I’ve met the partners. I think it’s going to take more time for people to open up to each other. But I am very hopeful and am looking forward to more activities in the days to come J