Career Treks are a great way for any MBA student to network, learn about new industries, and experience a whole new country and culture before starting their MBA journey.
This Trek explored the four key employment verticals in the Singapore market: Consulting, Finance, Technology, and Industry. It covered such luminary giants as Google, Facebook, Deloitte, JP Morgan, as well as startups and disrupters in the market and one of the largest South East Asia agri-businesses.
Our first day started at Deloitte Singapore. We heard from an HR representative – a CJBS Alumni as well as a senior member of Monitor, the strategy arm, with case studies and a review of the consulting interview process. This was followed by Apple where we heard from the PAC-Ops Team.
Olam one of the largest agri-business firm was next; we received an overview of operations and their Future Leaders’ Program. We heard about the real impact made by their products in our daily lives; If you have ever bitten into a McDonalds burger or purchased a wrap from your favorite deli, you have sampled a product from Olam.
Finally, a visit to Booz Allen Hamilton (BAH), a consulting firm specializing in cybersecurity.
Day 2 took us to Grab, a fast-growing startup and recent purchaser of Uber’s SE Asia operations. A presentation from HR was followed by their future ambitions from the Head of Transport.
Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS), Singapore’s Central Bank gave us the opportunity to hear from Dr. Choy, Head of Economic Analysis Department. He vowed at the start of his speech that he would be “levelling-up” the sophistication of his answers given that we’re Oxbridge students…and he didn’t disappoint!
Day 3 was Tech Day: Today’s agenda meant we would be walking into the Disneyland of offices. First stop was the castle itself – Google. We were not disappointed with the office filled with interactive walls, free food, multiple cafeterias, hair salons, massage rooms, and a nap area! We experienced AR and VR with one of the business leaders. Enthralled by the office and the energy around us, we left our mark with a Cambridge logo on the Google Lego wall.
Day three also took us to Microsoft, Facebook and concluded with an Alumni social attended by impact-investors Bamboo Capital Partners.
Day 4 led us to GlaxoSmithKline where we reviewed their four-year Esprit MBA program. Later at Goldman Sachs Wealth Management Division, we heard from two private bankers and an HR member who explained about their official MBA program in Singapore.
Our last stop in this fifteen-company marathon trek was Mastercard. The Consulting Team gave a presentation about the importance of empathy and solving real client problems. Our tour ended with a rare look at the Mastercard Labs, a sector developing futuristic products.
The Singapore Oxbridge Trek was a huge success; we learned a great deal about employment in Singapore, but most importantly, we made 30 new friends.
Looking forward, we are going to have the time of our lives at Cambridge Judge Business School!
Here’s a link to a video diary made across the MBA Oxbridge Singapore Trek by accompanying student Pratik Gidwani – Oxbridge MBA Singapore Trek 2018