In March 2023, a group of 21 Full Time and Executive MBA Students traveled to Italy with Professor Karan Sonpar for the Doing Business in International Markets study tour. There, they heard from experts and executives in fashion, food and beverage manufacturing, luxury brand management, financial services, and technology sectors ranging from data analytics to aerospace engineering. Here’s what the students had to say about the experience.

The Italy Study Tour was an incredible experience visiting the offices of Campari, Enterprise Ireland and Piaggio. The presentations were insightful and the visit to Insoore showed us the innovative start-up culture in Italy. A great opportunity to learn about the luxury brand industry, heritage marketing, and competitive advantage of nations. In addition to the valuable business insights gained from the Italy Study Tour, the quality time spent with my MBA batchmates was truly unforgettable. The opportunity to bond over delicious Italian cuisine and explore the beautiful cities of Milan and Rome together was a highlight of the trip. A truly enriching experience both professionally and personally. —Abhinav Agastya, FTMBA Class of 2023

Experience is the teacher of all things.’ – Julius Caesar.
The international business trip to Italy was an invaluable experience I would carry for my life. The trip provided an opportunity to immerse in a new culture, try local foods, visit local landmarks, and gain a deeper understanding and appreciation of the diversity of the world. I was able to meet business leaders and learn from the experts in the field. I got a chance to visit local companies and industries to learn about their operations and business models and to observe the challenges and opportunities they face in the global market. Overall, I found the experience was more tangible, and I could see how the theories we learnt in the class apply in the real business world. —Ananya Singh, FTMBA Class of 2023

Did you know that more than 85% of businesses in Italy are family-owned? This makes up about 784,000 businesses and accounts for around 70% of employment in the country. These businesses include the Said chocolate factory, the well-loved Borsalino, specialists in Italian luxury hats,  the luxury Italian fashion house D&G and Piaggo, the Italian motor vehicle manufacturer to mention a few.  If there is one thing all these companies share in common, it’s the appeal to lifestyle, culture, and joy of life which Italians are known for.

Well, it was not all business. I did get to enjoy some Italian delicacies, tour the Campari museum, the Duomo Di Milano Cathedral, the D&G fashion house in Milan, and visit the Milan Fashion Institute, among others. It was also a great opportunity to bond with my classmates and the Executive MBA students outside the classroom setting and make new connections. I also got to appreciate a culture that was different from mine. I fell in love with Italy and look forward to visiting again sometime. —Blessing Ehinomen Ebare, FTMBA Class of 2023

This should give you an idea of why so many UCD Smurfit MBA Students consider the International Study Tour a highlight of their year! Thanks in particular to Legacy Ventures for putting together such an engaging and rewarding itinerary.

To any prospective students reading this: Just think, next spring this could be you.

—Kathryne Del Sesto, FTMBA Programme Manager

My first boss told me that “Fake it till you make it” is not a piece of good advice, because it involves pretending that you are great at something that you are not and then just hoping that you somehow get to the pinnacle of success. Since I have grown up on this advice, as many of you have, I was taken aback by this. But while thinking about writing this blog, I understood how my boss’s words changed my perspective towards life.

“It” can be any new task, habit, project or role you haven’t aced yet. And acing “it” may involve constantly fighting with your inner self. But, if you are not convinced you are initially good at “it”, you might feel an imposter syndrome kicking in and stop doing “it” altogether. My boss recommended that I replace “faking it” with  “believe in pushing your boundaries”. The suggestion was to accept that I must leave my comfort zone and convince myself I can break the glass ceilings. 

She said that when you know in the back of your mind that it’s high time you must take up a challenging project, build your self-confidence, or try out something different in the company, it is better to overpromise in a meeting quickly. In fact, per her, once you have overpromised, you need to take responsibility to not under-deliver! For example, if some co-worker comes and tells you that there is this new project that you have to take up immediately, and even though you feel like saying, “no, that is hard”, sometimes it is lovely to go that extra mile and say “yes” to that project in a 10-second “confidence window”. The 10 seconds is to ensure that before the inner voice kicks in and tells you that you can’t do the project, you publicly take ownership of it.

I have realised that this was a brilliant way to give new challenges my all while pushing my boundaries, one hard thing at a time.  My boss said that, gradually, I would see progress in that new project and finally give my best shot at the project because I have openly taken up the responsibility to do “it”.

This advice works because you might develop a new passion or skill while exploring that new hurdle. You never know your true potential; if you give in, you can ace “it” (that, too, in one go!) Even if you do not execute “it” that wonderfully, at least you have an empowering feeling that you have tried out something different. And the next time you get a similar challenge, you know exactly what not to do to crack “it” the next time! 

Most recently, I applied my boss’s advice when I decided to take on the role of FTMBA Class Rep for Spring 2023. I had the least professional experience in terms of years of work experience in my MBA cohort. So, initially, in my head, I did not think of myself as serving as a class rep of such an experienced group. But I impulsively implemented the above advice.

Before becoming a Class Rep, I knew I was very approachable and always wanted to be helpful to my classmates. As I did not believe in being competitive, I did not view the role of a class rep as some position of power to boast about in an MBA. I got great help from my classmates in both my personal and professional life. So, I wanted to serve the best interests of my classmates, many of whom became “my tribe” for life. Hopefully, pushing my boundaries will bring justice to this promising role.

Needless to say, it is a leadership position for someone like me who was otherwise shy to be opinionated in class. I now use this opportunity to hone my communication skills further. Therefore, I highly recommend you take up this post once you are here.

—Rajshri Chakraborty, Full Time MBA Class of 2023

What ways do you hope your career will change when you’ve earned your MBA?

My hope is that I move into a role with a wider scope, directing more of the strategy execution within a business. My background is in marketing and product management, and my ambition is to take on a Chief Operating Officer role where I can design and optimise the full end-to-end commercial journey for a business. The MBA helps reinforce my practical experience while also filling in knowledge gaps across that spectrum from creating to fulfilling demand.

What skills have you learned in the programme so far that you’re most excited to take to work?

First and foremost is time management. It’s amazing how much you can take on when you are deliberate about how you spend your time, plan accordingly, and commit to that plan. When you know what your plan is you can ironically be more flexible about changes that arise – you know where the tradeoffs can be made and how to set expectations when new tasks or projects come up.

What’s the best piece of advice you ever got from a boss or coworker?

When you’re thinking about making a job or career change, make sure you’re running toward something, not running away from something. In running toward something you have the opportunity to define and craft what you want in an opportunity; in running away you’re defining your next move based on what you don’t want – which isn’t the same as defining what you want.

—Allyson Barr, EMBA Class of 2023