East or West, AIM is Still the Best

Every year, selected MBA students of AIM get a chance to cross enroll in a university abroad under the International Student Exchange Program (ISEP) of the Institute. Kishore Daswani, Cohort 1 of MBA 16, shares his ISEP experience at a European Business School from September to December 2008.
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I paced through the cold winds with a pannini in hand and excitement in my heart. I entered a museum guarded by 2 lions, and decorated with paintings of unknown pizza makers. Distracted by the beautiful scenery, I finally found my way to the classroom conducted by Imhotep from ‘The Mummy’ series.

In line with the museum like beauty of the building itself, the classrooms were no less similar. There were numerous seats with the capacity of a 100 people, surround sound speakers, flat screen computer on the teachers desk, retractable canvas screen and a ceiling mounted projector. Very advanced, quite complete … with the exception of basic features, namely that of distributed outlets for our laptops. Considering the school has a good network of Internet services (I will get to this later on), and the professors provide us beforehand the PowerPoint materials before classes. It would be very productive if we could follow the lectures with our laptops and notes we have made therein prior to the class, well this was not the case as everyone’s laptop were on the brink of shutting down due to exertion.

The beauty of the classroom did not amaze me really, nor did the diversity of women in the classroom (Spanish, Serbian, French, Moldovan … need I go on?). What truly amazed me was the learning method in the university itself. I was informed that this was by far one of the most interactive teaching methods in Italy. For their standards probably it is, however coming from the Asian teaching method it fails in comparison. Let me elaborate… in class the teachers are well prepared and are open to discussions regarding the lesson, the PowerPoint materials are complete and you learn thoroughly … however the students themselves don’t question the teachers (unless they are ISEP and come from a CP based learning system like I was accustomed to) I remember one instance where an Italian classmate of mine answered a question poised by the professor, and I quickly rebutted proving his argument wrong, rather than try to prove my argument wrong, he just looked at me in a stern way (kind of hinting that any further transgressions would result in me sleeping with the fishes if you know what I mean!).

This kind of behavior in the learning process baffled me, they only study for the last 2 weeks prior to the examination, they have different options in the studying method (basically if you attend class or not, at the end of the day it all boils down on the final examination anyways). The competitive spirit was boiled down on your exam grades and your grades were based on a ranking wherein your rank in relation to the class curve would determine your grades rather than your absolute performance … it was difficult to determine where you stood throughout the whole process.

This teaching result was further exemplified when we had to present a final group project for a branding class. I noticed that all the groups worked hard on their presentation, with fancy animations and short movies (that looked professionally done) aimed at dazzling the audience. The problem is that they don’t know how to present it, they had their papers in front of them, reciting a script as they went along. The group that I was in just had a very basic PowerPoint presentation with key imagery highlighting what we had to say. I presented of course (being the only one in that class representing Asia in a truly varied form) my presentation was the normal presentation I would perform in my time in AIM. However what was to happen when I ended the presentation I would have never expected. The whole class stood in an uproar, clapping their hands until they were red, a standing ovation! I would have never expected that in a hundred years at that point (considering other presentations looked nicer than ours)

It then dawned upon me that the learning style that they were accustomed to was directed by the paper in front of their eyes, and that despite their ability to be very sociable outside the classroom they have not experienced a self directed learning wherein they enhance their soft skills. The fact that they relied everything on their exams was the reason for it all. I was glad that I studied in AIM where I was exposed to a different learning method. Because this method allowed me to develop skills that are beneficial for a manager, skills such as public speaking (casing point of the presentation), listening (I listened attentively to class as my basis for studying the examinations), communication, and most importantly I learned to be quick on my feet and come up with answers on the spot.

The education system was of course complemented by a very comprehensive IT network. You can do practically anything on their IT network, from registering your classes to registering for your examinations (different exams, different dates). Every student is given an ID card with this card they can access terminals where they can check various information or even get certification from the university for different reasons such as permit of stay or even a monthly public transportation pass. These cards are also used to gain access to the numerous computer rooms in the university, you can access the Internet and print, and you are provided by the university to print up to 20 pages a day per student, which is good because the only reason you need to print is to submit an assignment since everything is provided via the IT network. The best part of the network however is the individual student portal, in this portal you have your class schedules, exam schedules, materials for the classes, links to different departments, your webmail and even an online organizer which helps you schedule yourself in line with your activities in the university.

My experience in the European Business School was a good one, I grew up a lot in those 4 months that I lived on my own. At that time I lived in my own apartment, and did not experience the dorm life in the European Business School (although they did convert a hotel into a dormitory so I think the facilities were nice). I learned to fend for myself, I learned to assimilate myself into a completely different culture, most importantly I learned to appreciate what I had. My experience in AIM is irreplaceable, although the European Business School may have several advanced features in their portfolio, the sheer human touch, the basic elements in the classroom and the high value education (I was pushed, pulled and mashed into the ground in AIM, the WAC nights, the CP, the AC and the oh so dreadful MRR! you cannot get the same valuable education experience anywhere) that I received in AIM is what I hold in high regard over the museum like facilities, over the comprehensive Internet facilities (sorry but this does not go over the diversity in women!)