Korean MBA Program Gives Diverse Experience

By Vivek Raval

As someone who has lived in the U.S. for a long time, Korea for me was just ``uncertainty,'' nothing more and nothing less. When I got the chance for a study abroad program at SKK Graduate School of Business (GSB) at Sungkyunkwan University in Korea as a student in Tuck School of Business in the United States, I thought about Korea seriously for the first time in my life. No one from Tuck had ever done an exchange with the school, so I couldn't get any information about either the program or the country.

I had done all the research about Korea I could, but it was not enough. I could not be certain about anything until I actually set foot in Korea. However, I was committed to learning more about the global economy, and I knew that it could be the best opportunity for me to get out of the States. Therefore, I decided to come to Korea.

It was a great decision. I had the opportunity to learn many things that I would not have known if I had lived only in the States. It was sequence of new experiences, and it broke my frame of thinking. It had been natural for me to think in a US-oriented way. Also, I studied ``global economy,'' but it was really just ``economy of the U.S.''

In Korea, I came to know that there are dynamic economic flows in the world out of the States. Korea has accomplished great economic growth as well, and it transformed itself into a global business powerhouse. I visited companies changing the face of Korean business, discussed past successes and upcoming challenges with current Korean business leaders, and saw how my fellow students were working on continuing the tremendous growth these companies had seen.

I spent time in Japan, Hong Kong, and China on field trips, and not only saw what companies in these countries are doing now to stay competitive, but what they are doing to continue to collaborate with their peers globally. The campus life was also cool. I met new diversity at SKK GSB. With professors from all over the world, I knew I was in class learning from those that shared my interest in international business. They were able to layer each person's perspective together with their own global experiences to drive interesting class discussion.

The students of SKK GSB were from a diverse set of countries, industries, backgrounds, interests, and goals. However, each student had a common interest in getting as much as they could from their time for 16 months at the MBA school. The students challenged each other to learn more, teach more, and to work together to get to the best answer possible. As a result, I learned not just about each of my colleagues, but also about how I can contribute to such a diverse team.

Also there were many foreign students like me, so I could overcome the difficulty from the unfamiliar environment more easily. SKK GSB, like Tuck, is a small, tight-knit community. The faculty, the students, and the administration each are individually impressive. However, it is not what they do alone, but how they work together that made me immediately feel comfortable and successful in an otherwise unfamiliar place.

My peers looked out for me whenever I needed help; my professors got to know me in and out of the classroom; and the Dean's door was open for my concerns from day one. And while I would like to think I was unique in this respect, I knew it was just a privilege of being part of the SKK GSB community.

I learned much more than I thought I would by studying, discussing, and experiencing at an MBA program in Korea. Frankly, I was surprised that the MBA class at SKK GSB was tougher than that at Tuck. Nonetheless, I enjoyed the MBA life in Korea by virtue of the environment that made me learn new perspectives and to stimulate my will to learn new things. Also, I would never forget the community that embraced and encouraged each other in the unfamiliar world.

Uncertainty about Korea changed to the firm belief about my future. Now, I am back at Tuck, I believe that the various experiences in Korea and Asia will help me grow up to the global business leader.

Vivek Raval is second-grade student studying MBA at the Tuck School of Business at Dartmouth. He can be reached at Vivek.Raval@tuck.dartmouth.edu.