I chose INSEAD for two simple reasons. The first is that it’s the top business school in the world! And the second is that I came to the information session before applying! There I had a chance to meet the faculty and the PhD students, my future colleagues. The faculty were very approachable, the PhD students were super-friendly and they all gave me lots of good advice.
I’m now in my third year of the programme. I’m working with a professor who is actually based in Fontainebleau. I have weekly meetings scheduled with him – but not often face to face! We’re also working with a collaborator in another university. This type of communication via video link is definitely helping to train my spoken and written precision. I think too, in the future of our profession, our collaborators will increasingly be based in different parts of the world, so this process prepares me for that as well.
The dual campus structure strengthens communication skills
My research is related to supply-chain sourcing. We’re looking at the very specific settings of automobile companies, such as Volkswagen, who want to source components from their suppliers. Traditionally supply-chain sourcing has been looked at through the lens of the auction. By looking at the setting, we’re seeing it via a completely new mechanism and from a different perspective, which is actually closer to reality. So, hopefully, our results will be used by these companies for their sourcing strategies in the future.
Singapore is a small campus, so most of the PhD students sit together. It’s so easy to bump into each other in the corridor, go for lunch together, go for coffee together. What I find valuable in these interactions is that I hear my colleagues sharing their research and I have the opportunity to share mine as well. I hear many different perspectives, which give me greater clarity on my own research. There could be something I’ve never thought about in another area, for example strategy, which enables me to add small, colourful elements to my research or even to strengthen my focus. This process is something that I’ve found very beneficial.
