Individuals choose a business school for many different reasons. Through your research, what attributes or characteristics of The Duke MBA program have most resonated with you and why? How do you plan to contribute to the strengthening and enhancement of those attributes and characteristics during your time at Duke and beyond?
The Duke MBA program resonates with me due to a range of attributes that will ensure an optimal mix of learning and self-development. I also foresee various venues for adding value during the MBA and in the years beyond.
A WINNING COMBINATION OF BREADTH AND DEPTH
One of the key benefits of the Duke MBA is the flexible and focused approach followed during the daytime (full-time) program. With six-week terms, the flexibility makes it possible to take more courses and thus optimize on the interaction with world-renowned faculty. The arrangement of a minimum of 5 electives in the first year itself with an impressive choice of more than 100 electives makes it possible to strengthen my foundation in core areas of expertise (corporate finance) and complement it with other synergistic areas (Venture Capital and Private Equity, Entrepreneurial Finance, Valuation & Fundamental Analysis) I also intend to focus on and earn the Certificate of Academic Excellence in Finance and boost professional credibility.
With a background in innovating and commercializing complex financial services/products and leading more than 1200 personnel towards a business turnaround (at ABC), I will contribute to subject matter and case study discussions through my rich understanding of conceiving and implementing innovation across various enterprise functions in an emerging market. As I enhance the depth of my competencies from transaction banking to Private Equity during the MBA program, I will contribute to the university’s culture of creating value: My tenure with international private equity firms will enable me to pioneer the scaling of promising businesses in emerging markets, thereby bringing in success to various stakeholders in such organizations. Post-MBA, I also hope to stay in close connection with the School’s Global Consulting Practicum (GCP) to seek consultation on mid-term/long-term projects/research requirements of my employing organization. Since knowledge only increases as it is shared, I also hope stay further connected with the Fuqua School of Business as a Speaker/Visiting Lecturer.
HANDS-ON LEARNING
The School’s Global Consulting Practicum (GCP) is of very significant value for my learning objectives at the current stage. A recent release on the homepage of the Center for International Business Education and Research (C.I.B.E.R, Duke University) is a clear indicator of the school’s active interest in the area of social entrepreneurship. Such directed study projects will bring in the hands-on opportunity to be closely guided by globally renowned faculty and collaborate on solving real-time business problems – and more so in perfect alignment with my career objectives. It also provides the ideal platform for me to learn and contribute through my earlier successes in aiding the growth of Small to Medium Enterprises (SMEs) across various industries.