The NUS MBA Consulting Club

This semester’s session took place on the 19th of October. Though this was a hectic time for many with projects and submissions due, the session was well attended. The speakers were Arthur Leung from Canada, Hyun Sik Ko from Korea and Arpan Bagchi from India. The session began with a small introduction from Rituraj, the emcee for the afternoon. He gave us an overview of why this initiative was started and how it helps students to understand the industry from an insider’s point of view.

The first speaker to talk about his experiences was Arthur. Arthur was a consultant for Accenture in Canada and the US prior to his MBA. He has a dual degree in Engineering and Business and had joined Accenture as a fresh graduate. Arthur talked about his diverse experiences working for different clients across various industries, the kind of role he was expected to play, his career progression etc. Along with this, he also shared his insights about Accenture as a whole, their work culture, environment and importantly, their recruitment processes.

Next up was Hyun Sik Ko who had some very insightful comments about I.T. consulting in Korea and what it takes to become a consultant. He told us how the mindset in Korea is different from what one expects in the US or other developed countries and that it might be difficult for non-Koreans to adjust to this. He talked about the importance of client satisfaction and forming long term relationships with one’s clients.

Lastly, Arpan talked about his journey since starting off as a I.T. Techie in Infosys India to becoming a data analytics consultant for GE. Arpan talked of the drive and commitment needed to succeed in this industry. He also talked briefly about the specific skills needed for his role within GE. Those of us who have started small and have lofty aims walked away with a great deal of inspiration from his words.

The session ended with a round of questions to the speakers who addressed specific issues like training for consultants and the need and demand for MBA’s within their companies. They were then given small tokens of appreciation from the club for taking time out in their schedules to chat with us. As is the norm in NUS, the session was followed by snacks where the audience could interact with the speakers informally. Kudos to the organising team who did a great job with the arrangements and logistics. It was a good learning experience with lots of positive takeaways for the audience.