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Nadjeschda - current MIM student

We recently caught up with Nadjeschda, current MIM student for a brief chat on life at IE. 

Hi Nadja! Please tell us a little about yourself.

Hello everyone! My name is Nadjeschda and I’m a girl who grew up in Germany, but as you can probably tell from my name, I have Estonian and Russian roots. I moved to Sweden when I was 16 and after receiving my high school degree, I moved back to study International Business for my Bachelor in Stuttgart. I was lucky to have the opportunity of studying abroad in beautiful California in the United States, and of doing internships in Switzerland. I fell in love with Spain in the summer of 2007, when I lived in Valencia for three months to study Spanish. Now I am finally back and am enjoying the culture, food, language and of course the education at IE in Madrid!

Wow! And what would be an interesting fact about yourself then…?

I travelled around the world for 6 months before starting the program. It was one of the best and most intense experiences I have ever had and would recommend it to anyone!

What’s your favorite quote and why?

“Failure is success if we learn from it” – Malcolm Forbes. I like this quote because I certainly couldn’t agree with it more. I believe whatever doesn’t kill you makes you stronger, so whenever things go in a way you don’t want them to go, you need to ask yourself why and learn from it. If I’m honest, I have probably learned more from my mistakes than from my successes. The difficult part is to admit to yourself that something has gone wrong.

What’s it like living in Madrid?

Madrid is amazing! We always joke that whoever says New York is the city that never sleeps hasn’t been to Madrid ;) The food, the culture, the nightlife, the people… It never gets boring, there is always something to do. There couldn’t be a more fun environment for students to live in.

What are some of the interesting things you’ve been up to on the program this past week?

Last week we had a really interesting executive insight event where the speaker talked about various political and environmental issues around the world. Also, we did a fun simulation on Organizational Behaviour where the goal was to persuade your employees to a new strategy as the CEO of the company.

What specialization are you planning on doing and why?

I chose the International Business specialization because I believe that it fits with my future career goals (being a consultant) the most. That specialization offers a very broad education in strategy, project and talent management which is perfect for me as I would like to go into management & strategy consulting.

What do you want to do after the Master?

After the Master I want to pursue my passion, which is consulting. I already have work experience in the area and can’t wait to go back. The difficult question is where to go geographically! IE opens so many doors and I don’t know yet whether I want to stay in Europe, go back to the US, or maybe try Asia… ;)

Pleasure speaking to you Nadja!

Where are you from?

Wen Ding - Current MIM Student

I am from Shanghai, China.

Tell us something interesting about yourself.

I am an INFJ (introversion, intuition, feeling, judging) ever since high school. How can an INFJ appear in a business school?

Why did you choose the Master in International Management at IE Business School? What do you find to be the most attractive component of the program?

I chose the Master in International Management because it covers all kinds of business courses which will facilitate me to work in a multinational environment. Why IE? Top school, great location, good timing, and nice people!

Diversity is the word. The program is composed of people of 48 nationalities. I have talked with my friends in other top business schools in Europe or in the States, and I’m pretty sure none of those schools have a class profile as diverse as IE has. When I am in the classroom, I feel like being in the United Nations. Obviously, I can learn a lot from people with different cultural and academic backgrounds.

What new things have you been learning the past month?

Learning to be awake until 3am or even 7am! For those who are thinking of applying to IE, you should ask to yourselves whether you’re ready for the heavy workload, or the better term is “work hard, party hard”. Madrid is a cool place to live, but it’s a dangerous place to study. Imagine working on Financial Accounting all day along and then going to Pacha for the MIM welcome party till morning! Time management is an additional course at IE.

You have only just started the program, what is your overall impression so far?

IE might be the best fit business school for me. I would not consider IE an aggressive b-school. The students are smart, the faculty is really strong, and yet they are overall nice human-beings. IE takes pride in its emphasis on entrepreneurship and Cooperate Social Responsibility, which are key factors in today’s business success from a long-term perspective.

Ambitions? To tell the truth, I don’t know. I am open to any possibilities though I would prefer to work in my hometown Shanghai, which is a most dynamic city with increasing opportunities. The most practical ambition may be to help IE establish a high reputation in China either by building strong alumni network or by organizing more activities/events between IE and China.

Lilian Lopez, current student in the Master in International Management program

1.       Where are you from?

I was born in Mexico City, Mexico. Spent 11 years in Mexico and 12 in the United States.

2.       Tell us something interesting about yourself.

I have experienced almost every natural disaster (Hurricane, Tornado & Earthquake)

3.       Why did you choose the Master in International Management at IE Business School? What do you find to be the most attractive component of the program?

In this current competitive job market I wanted to something to differentiate myself from others and at the same time keep developing myself professionally and personally. I am also extremely interested in working for a multinational company and MIM seemed the best way to help me achieve that goal.

The most attractive component of the program is the diversity of its students and staff. I wanted to get a unique experience that I knew I could not get somewhere else. Meeting people from at least 30 different countries in one day is a once in a lifetime experience.

4.      What is the START module?

The start module is a 2-week module to ensure that all the students feel prepared and comfortable with the program and group before starting the actual periods. I thought it was a great opportunity for those who do not have a business background or that have been out of school for a while to get on the same page as everyone else. The most valuable part for me was that fact that it also taught us what to expect from the program, what IE’s values are, and how to work well with others in different situations. This way, when we start the program we can jump right into the learning objectives with our professors and not waste time on logistics and administration. It also gave us an idea of what classes are like and a sneak peak of how professors like to perform their classes.

5.       What new things did you learn?

The most important thing I learned was to submerge into the IE mindset of being innovative, entrepreneurial, and open minded. Due to the fact that our program is extremely diverse with more than 40 different nationalities, we were able to explore tools that would help us work with members that may have dissimilar ways of working.  It also taught us how to implement those tools within different cultural situations.

In addition, we were exposed to all the different tools and resources IE offers such as the MIM Tool Box; which makes it easier to organize and coordinate different things such as courses information, groups, calendars, etc. The MIM starter package was another helpful resource that included introductions to several courses such as accounting, entrepreneurship, and the case method, in order to get prepared before starting the actual module.

6.       What things do you have coming up?

We have just started our first period and I am looking forward to class discussions and group projects. Students and staff come from so many different backgrounds that the ideas and thoughts people bring to the table are extraordinary. We also have the career fair coming soon, which will be a great way to network face-to-face with a plethora of businesses from all over the world. I am also looking into joining some clubs and start attending speaker events to learn about different industries and opportunities available.