September 2013 MALIC Residency in York

Almost two weeks have passed, but memories are still fresh!

September 9th, 2013 – a day like any other really, except I got to meet for the first time “in the flesh” 49 extraordinary people, all on the same day, and all in a single room! Granted, the room was not too big, but the energy and excitement as we got to know each other, shaking hands or finally pulling those virtual hugs into the real universe, was unbelievable.

These forty-nine “students”, seasoned managers, board-room veterans, serial or aspiring entrepreneurs, from all walks of life, were representing all five continents (sorry Antarctica, we’re still waiting for your representative!), and a staggering thirty (30!) countries. It is difficult to describe in words, and even more difficult to imagine, the richness of the interaction and the dynamics of such a special group. A biased population, for sure, driven by the desire to grow better.

MALIC Sep 2013 York from Dr.David Costa on Vimeo.

As the week progressed and we delved deeper into matters pertaining to research ethics, and quality of research, we also took great care to nourish and develop social relations, in places traditionally suitable for debate, such as pubs, restaurants and cafés, and to be honest, for me this is almost without exception the most interesting part of such a residency – discovering the people. As big a supporter of online education as I am (being actively involved in it!), the added value of face-to-face interaction, for even the briefest of times, to me is invaluable. And Tim agrees!

Students for students: Tim's advice for the residency from Dr.David Costa on Vimeo.

For more advice from current and past students, visit:

https://blog.college.ch/tag/students4students/

It would not be fair to leave out the exceptional team from our partner York St John University, who have done an amazing job of catering to all our needs, academic or logistic, and have done so with style. George and Irene, Sarah, Leanne and Natalie, thank you!

Students for students: Donald’s impressions on MALIC

A few minutes after recording the video of Jaap, I managed to grab hold of Donald. I believe I’m not mistaken in saying that the November residency attendants unanimously elected him the “joker” of the group. You will notice he cannot help it and lets his young heart show in this short clip as well, even if he speaks of serious things, like the commitment needed to be successful in the programme.

So I give you Donald!

Students for students: Jaap’s advice for the York residency and more!

Hello everyone,

Although I am in the middle of reading midterms for the January cohort, I could not resist the temptation to surprise you all with a new video from the Students4Students series. Today our special guest is Jaap, whom some of you will know either from the residency or from our online world.

I caught up with Jaap last year in York, and for reasons outside my control the video was delayed again and again, but now it is here. Jaap has some practical advice for those of you attending the York residency, and also some advice about the programme in general.

Students for students – Kaiss’ advice on using journals

Hello everyone,

I thought I’d fire just one last post before the end of the world 😉 So here’s Kaiss’ advice on reading – just like many of you, Kaiss is a busy person and it seems he found a good way of reducing slightly the amount of reading one must do to catch up with the field.

We too, of course, often tell students to read journal articles, both because they summarise the theory before making their own point, but also because they are more recent than some of the books out there – but who listens to the prof?

I give you Kaiss:

Students for students: Sean’s tip about academic thinking

Hello everyone,

After a somewhat longish break, here I am again with some more videos from the Zurich residency last autumn (so far already, considering the 20cm of snow on my balcony!). Today’s student is Sean, who works for Vodafone as solutions architect and holds, as he says it, a Bachelor of Experience. Here’s his tip about wrapping your head around all these academic theories!

Enjoy, and drop a word off for Sean to say thanks – he had the impossible task of staying focused in a room of 30 MALICs having fun 🙂

Students for students: Greg’s advice on assignment writing

You have probably noticed a bit of silence since my return from York – breaking the routine of daily life has an effect on tutors as well, just as it does on students: had to focus on delivering feedback on midterm drafts for the September cohort, so the blog took the back seat.

Back now, and continuing our series on student tips and tricks, here comes Greg, with a bit of advice on writing assignments. Greg was also in Zürich and had a part in making everyone have a jolly good time.

The floor to Greg:

Deanna’s MALIC story

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!

Students for students: Marcela’s advice on life-study balance and assessing the workload

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*

%d bloggers like this: