Audencia's alumni keep the connection going!

In April and May, alumni from all horizons and continents kept the conversation rolling with Audencia's full-time MBA students.

Since the beginning of lockdown, the students are #SFH (studying from home) with all the advantages of a permanent supply of coffee but also with all the difficulties of being isolated due to the current global situation. Preparing the end of their MBA, writing and defending a thesis, planning the next career move are just some of the current challenges facing the 30-strong MBA class of 2020. 

Our alumni responded warmly and quickly to the School's call to join the conversation by pairing up for several one-hour sessions with the current MBA class who were able to ask as many questions as they wanted and garner insight from alumni with regard to their experiences.

Over the weeks, the insights and advice from alumni to students built up an inspiringly varied yet coherent picture: 

• The Venezuelan about working in the USA: to blend with the culture you're working in, hang out with people from that country!
• The finance professional about the current crisis: I graduated during the global financial crisis and finding a job in my field took time and energy but I got there
• The musican who never stops learning (fingers crossed for your PhD): everything you do will pay off sooner or later
• The director on working outside your cultural comfort zone: sometimes it feels like running a 100m race with ski boots on
• The CEO: it's not the title but being in a situation to lead projects and the freedom to orient strategic choices
• The American who has only worked outside the USA: you can sell your atypical profile if you target the right companies
• The Indian on moving to Canada: I networked hard before leaving my home country and had 12 meetings set up before I arrived in Canada

An immense "merci" to the star-studded cast of Audencians who joined the discussions: 
Daniela Aguilera (MBA 11), Siddharth Akolkar (IMM 10), ​Karen Barrozzi (MBA 08), Jerome Beilvert (MBA 10), Florent Besnard (MBA 14), Maita Malilong (MBA 07), Hasnae Niang (MBA 14), Laurent Pataillot (EuroMBA 19), Zachary Stokes (MBA 14), Vincent Usache (MBA 12)