Hi everyone,
So excited yesterday about meeting a whole group of MALICs that I even forgot to take any photos. I mended this today: here are the MALICs in one of the group-discussion sessions. To be continued with reports from tomorrow’s graduation!
There are many photo cameras in the room – feel free to share your own photos on our Google+ page!
Currently on my way to the airport, heading for yet another week of excitement in York, in the company of more than 50 MALICs: 40 attending their residency, and about 20 attending their own graduation! Will try to have some photos from the event as well.
Seen how so far I am the most prolific RKC blogger, I’m leaving you with a bit of a testimony from Deanna, a soft-spoken jamaican with a big heart.
Sorry for the rather noisy audio, but a room full of MALICs having fun tends to get noisy! Thanks Deanna for sharing your experience with the rest of us and hope to hear from you and the good things that happen in Jamaica!
In Zürich we also met Marcela, management consultant and happy person extraordinaire – and certainly one of the students keeping the group on its toes throughout the week. Here’s what she had to share with herself if she could go back in time to when she first started:
If you think she’s about to burst into laughter, you’re not far from the truth – she is officially the record holder for the number of takes and the one who sparkled the idea of a bloopers video as well … *hint*hint*
Also at the Zürich residency there was Riaz, in his final stages in the programme. With some practical advice on how to prepare yourselves for essay writing, Riaz also gives some hints on the practical implications undertaking MALIC can have in your day-to-day life.
Thanks Riaz for sharing!
Some of us have hidden talents: one of the many Veronika is not displaying everyday is pumpkin carving! So for all of you out there Halloween observers, here’s a little something from RKC! Boohoo!
As promised last week, here’s a video from the man himself, Thirunda. You can connect with him via his Google+ profile.
MALIC Residency 2012 – Zurich from Thirunda Liyanagunawardhana on Vimeo.
Officially the person with the longest name on the residency, Thirunda comes from Sri Lanka and had the following to share with himself if he was able to travel back in time to the start of his studies:
Thirunda also has some crazy video editing skills, and we’re hoping to be able to show you that pretty soon. Stay tuned!
In many cases the European crisis was fuelled by a lack of confidence. The OMT programme was a much needed remedy to restore confidence in Europe and in the Euro. The fact that the OMT programme is conditional doesn’t mean that the ECB is now dictating fiscal policy or is outside its mandate.
The announcement of OMT was already a success in the case of Italy: the latest auction of 18 billion was four times higher than expectations allowing Italy to cover all the 2012 financial obligations. For a country with the highest private wealth to GDP ratio of any G-7 country the crisis of confidence is almost over.
Does it mean that the OMT is the solution to all European problems? Of course not. The main issue of some European countries is dealing with high unemployment and lack of competitiveness.
From Burberry to Mulberry investors are rightly concerned about a global slowdown in the luxury sector and are taking profits. I think that the first distinction has to be made: while many luxury brands look similar there are substantial differences among them. For instance I see as a crucial competitive advantage where the luxury goods are produced for example in the case of Italian and French Luxury brands (like Brunello Cuccinelli +40% since IPO, Prada +90% since last year, Ferragamo +52% since IPO) is a buying opportunities in a selloff. This because, over the long term, they still maintain a distinct brand advantage vs the competition. This advantage is strongly anchored on where the products are manufactured and France and Italy are likely to remain long term leaders in this field.
As promised, here is the second video of the series from the Zürich residency. Today’s featured advice-giver is Maria, who will tell you more about herself in the video.
Last month I had the honour of meeting thirty three amazing individuals, who came to Zürich alone and left as a group.
The MALIC residency brought together people from 15 different countries and all walks of life, from bankers and SAP managers, to management consultants and entrepreneurs.
Some of them were kind (and brave!) enough to step up in front of an intimidating lens and share some of their personal experience with fellow students, whether they are at the beginning of their journey in the programme, or already approaching the end.
This will be a series of videos from the Zürich residency, hoping we will turn this into a regular event.
So, without further delay, I give you today’s first speaker, Martin!