The Touch MBA Admissions Podcast

Imran Kanga, Director of Recruitment & Admissions for Rotman School of Management's Full-time MBA at the University of Toronto, discusses what makes the Rotman MBA unique, the school’s admissions process, career opportunities and more. Program Highlights (2:30) | Admissions (19:00) | Financing & Scholarships (35:30) | Careers (39:50) About Our Guest Imran Kanga is Director of Recruitment & Admissions for the Rotman School of Management's Full-time MBA Program at the University of Toronto. Previously, Imran worked in a similar capacity for the Schulich School of Business, where he got his MBA in 2010. What is unique about the Toronto Rotman MBA? What are its key advantages? The University of Toronto was ranked 18th globally by Times Higher Education, and #1 in Canada (2022) Rotman, located in the heart of downtown Toronto, was ranked #1 Canadian MBA program by Financial Times (2021) 250-300 students/intake with 40 nationalities Rotman’s office of student engagement curates over 1,000 experiential learning opportunities for students with its Creative Destruction Lab, Self-Development Lab, Business Design Institute, etc Rotman requires a one semester, 4-month internship for all students Admissions is looking for intellectual horsepower, experience and impact, communication and presence, and spike factor i.e. doing interesting things with your personal and professional lives that demonstrate passion, grit, resilience, innovation, drive and ambition Students can specialize in 15 majors Toronto was ranked one of the world's most livable cities by the Economist, with a lower cost of living and higher quality of life than many major cities in the US; over half of Toronto's population was born outside of Canada Rotman's 2-year MBA allows international Full-Time MBA graduates to be eligible for a 3-year Canadian work permit Episode write-up and show notes: https://touchmba.com/toronto-rotman-mba-program-admissions-interview-imran-kanga Get free, personalized school selection help at Touch MBA: https://touchmba.com  

Francesca Roveda, a member of the recruiting and admissions team for SDA Bocconi’s MBA program, discusses what makes the SDA Bocconi MBA unique, the school’s admissions process, career opportunities and more. Program Highlights (5:30) | Admissions (28:26) | Financing & Scholarships (48:00) | Careers (55:30) About Our Guest Francesca Roveda recruits candidates for the MBA, Executive MBA and Specialized Masters program for Bocconi University’s School of Management. Francesca has been with Bocconi for nearly 30 years, starting in the marketing office and then moving over to recruiting and admissions in 2008. What is unique about the SDA Bocconi MBA? What are its key advantages? Located in downtown Milan, which has the third largest economy among EU cities after Paris and Madrid and is recognized as one of the world’s finance and fashion capitals; Paris, London and Barcelona are a one-hour flight away SDA Bocconi MBA starts in September and lasts 12 months 100 students per class from 30 countries; 75% of students are from outside Italy Admissions is looking for applicants who truly listen and respect diversity and have strong interpersonal skills to work in groups  Students can specialize in Finance, Marketing & Innovation, Entrepreneurship and Luxury Business Management SDA Bocconi is celebrating its 50th birthday in 2021  Episode write-up and show notes: https://touchmba.com/sda-bocconi-mba-program-admissions-interview-francesca-roveda Get free, personalized school selection help at Touch MBA: https://touchmba.com

Safira Djati shares her journey from private equity analyst in Indonesia to the NUS MBA, where she is President of the NUS MBA Student Council. How has Covid affected the program and what has most surprised her about the NUS MBA so far? Safira shares the importance of student clubs and her takeaways from leading the 38th NUS MBA Student Council as its first female and Indonesian president. Finally, Safira touches on being a mother and making the most of her MBA. Questions Safira's background, pre-MBA goals, and reasons for applying to NUS (3:20) Safira's NUS MBA experience vs. expectations (8:30) MBA recruiting during Covid (14:00) What Safira has learned from the MBA (17:00) Singapore job-seeking as an international student (20:05) Building connections in VC/PE (24:20) Safira's experience running for President and leading the 38th NUS MBA Student Council (30:10) Safira's advice for mom MBAs (46:20) Safira's last thoughts on making the most of your MBA (52:00) About Safira Safira Djati currently attends the NUS MBA. Prior to NUS, she worked as a Manager and Investment Analyst for PT PPA Capital in Jakarta, Indonesia. Safira graduated from Universitas Prasetiya Mulya with a Bachelors in Economics. Safira is President of the NUS MBA Student Council, runs her own jewelry business, XAVIA Jewelry, and is looking to pursue a private equity, venture capital or impact investing role after graduation. Show Notes Connect with Safira on LinkedIn Get your profile assessed by NUS MBA Admissions Team Chat with NUS MBA Student Ambassadors NUS MBA Episode write-up and show notes: https://touchmba.com/inside-the-nus-mba-student-council-president-safira-djati-nus-mba Get free, personalized school selection help at Touch MBA: https://touchmba.com  

Most applicants get an MBA to step out of their comfort zones. But, what about pursuing your MBA and subsequent five-year marketing career in Hong Kong as an American? Tony DeGennaro, who majored in Political Science and Philosophy at Rutgers, shares his winding journey to the CUHK MBA, one of the top-ranked business schools in Asia, to running a boutique marketing agency targeting Chinese consumers, to now working as a Digital Strategist for First Page Digital, an online marketing agency with offices in 9 countries. What has Tony learned from studying and working in Hong Kong? Questions Tony’s background, pre-MBA goals, and reasons for applying to CUHK (3:45) Tony’s biggest challenge during the MBA (13:40) The two things Tony took away from his MBA experience (17:10) Can entrepreneurship be taught? (21:20) How Tony ended up running his own boutique marketing agency (22:10) Tony’s current role at First Page Digital (27:50) Tony’s thoughts on the future of digital marketing and the marketing industry in Hong Kong (29:50) Tony’s tips for landing a post-MBA job in a foreign country (33:30) Leading the Marketing Club at CUHK (37:00) What Tony would have done differently (43:20) How Hong Kong has changed over the past 5 years (45:20) Tony’s last tips to applicants (50:00) About Tony DeGennaro Tony DeGennaro is an Enterprise Digital Strategist at First Page Digital. Previously, he was Director of Marketing and Business Development for Dragon Social, a boutique marketing agency in Hong Kong. Tony graduated from Rutgers with a Bachelors in Political Science and Philosophy, and worked in sales and as an English teacher before attending the CUHK MBA. Show Notes Connect with Tony on LinkedIn Meet Tony at CUHK MBA’s Information Session & Alumni Sharing Webinar on August 25, 2021 Get your profile assessed by CUHK MBA Admissions Team CUHK MBA Episode write-up and show notes: https://touchmba.com/taking-the-road-less-traveled-tony-degennaro-cuhk-mba/ Get free, personalized school selection help at Touch MBA: https://touchmba.com

Samuel Adeoye, UBC Sauder MBA '22, has an amazing story to tell about applying to 18 business schools over two years, and getting full-scholarship awards at 8 of them. How was he able to do this? And what has he learned from his application journey from Abuja, Nigeria to Vancouver, Canada? Questions Samuel's background (4:18) Samuel's 2-year journey applying to over 15 business schools (8:00) Samuel's advice to low income applicants on applying to business schools and winning scholarships (20:52) Why Samuel started City of Lane and LanePod (30:40) Samuel's Sauder MBA experience so far and landing an internship at Microsoft (41:54) About Samuel After getting his Bachelors of Science in Civil Engineering from the University of Ibadan in Nigeria, Samuel Adeoye interned as a Highway and Transportation Engineer while launching a podcast tech startup, and then worked as an Implementation & Design Engineer for Arup, a global architecture and civil engineering consulting firm. He then worked as a consultant for The Bluepen Company, a boutique consulting company serving small and medium sized enterprises in Nigeria. In March 2020, Samuel founded City of Lane, a community of MBA Alumni, students and applicants looking to leverage their MBA experience for an economically and politically inclusive Africa. Samuel is currently a Mastercard Scholar pursuing his MBA at the University of British Columbia's Sauder School of Business, in Vancouver, Canada. Episode write-up and show notes: https://touchmba.com/fully-funded-mba-samuel-adeoye-ubc-sauder-mba Get free, personalized school selection help at Touch MBA: https://touchmba.com  

Justin Taines, RSM MBA ’21, shares his journey from developing kids and family entertainment shows in Los Angeles to the RSM MBA, based in the Netherlands. Why did Justin pursue an MBA (instead of an EMBA) despite having over 10 years of work experience? What was his experience at the RSM MBA as an older student and during Covid? Questions Justin's background (2:15) Justin's shortlist of schools (4:30) Why Justin took the GRE instead of the GMAT (12:36) Justin's positioning and application tips (16:40) Justin's RSM MBA experience (27:10) Justin's thoughts on his (forced) hybrid MBA experience (35:33) Justin's recruiting experience and lessons (45:45) What Justin wished he knew before starting his MBA; how to best prepare for your MBA (1:05:45) About Justin After getting his Bachelors of Fine Arts in Experimental Animation from the California Institute of Arts, Justin Taines worked in creative development, developing kids and family entertainment shows. He then worked in business development, building animation studios and helping the city of Jerusalem build up its animation industry. He also started and sold a retail cannabis cultivation venture before heading to the Rotterdam School of Management for his MBA. Justin is currently freelance consulting while exploring new roles post-MBA. Episode write-up: https://touchmba.com/rsm-mba-justin-taines Get free, personalized school selection help at Touch MBA: https://touchmba.com

Milan Mecklenberg, Insead MBA '18D, shares his journey from studying theoretical physics at Cambridge to McKinsey Berlin to Insead and then back to McKinsey, this time in Vietnam. What has he learned from the journey? Questions Milan's background (2:20) Applying to Insead and getting sponsored by McKinsey (4:20) Preparing for the GMAT (8:55) Interviewing with McKinsey as an MBA student (11:20) Milan's McKinsey experience (18:28) Milan's Insead experience (22:42) Making the most of 1-year and building your network at Insead (33:40) Building self-awareness at Insead & McKinsey (39:45) Picking classes & professors at Insead (44:55) About Milan After getting his Masters and Bachelors in Theoretical and Mathematical Physics from Cambridge University, Milan Mecklenburg worked for McKinsey in Berlin, who then sponsored his Insead MBA in 2018. He then joined McKinsey Vietnam's office for two years. Milan is currently working as a freelance consultant and pursuing entrepreneurial projects Episode write-up: https://touchmba.com/mckinsey-insead-experience-milan-mecklenburg/ Get free, personalized school selection help at Touch MBA: https://touchmba.com

Hunter Dong shares his best application tips for getting into the Wharton MBA / MA Lauder Joint Degree in International Studies program. How did Hunter pull together his diverse work experience working for the Hinrich Foundation in the Philippines, his family business in pharmaceutical packaging and IBM as a Data Scientist to make an ultimately winning case to Wharton and Columbia? Hunter walks us through his entire preparation process, from initial school research to the final team-based discussion interview. Don't miss this episode packed with clear, practical advice from a just admitted applicant. Questions Hunter's work experience and reasons for pursuing an MBA/MA in International Studies (2:25) Hunter's positioning strategy (9:10) How Hunter focused on students and professors as sources of information to craft his application (15:00) Hunter's advice for Wharton's team-based discussion (TBD) interview (19:25) Hunter's essay timeline and editing process (29:45) Lauder application tips (35:40) Preparing a "briefing guide" to recommenders (42:23) How Hunter demonstrated leadership qualities to adcoms (45:20) Why Hunter chose to attend the Wharton / Lauder program (47:30) About Hunter Hunter Dong will be starting his joint MBA/MA degree at Wharton and Lauder this Summer. He previously worked as a Senior Consultant and Data Scientist at IBM. Hunter got his B.S in Operations Research and Financial Engineering from Princeton University. Episode write-up: https://touchmba.com/how-i-got-into-the-wharton-mba-lauder-hunter-dong Get free, personalized school selection help at Touch MBA: https://touchmba.com  

After helping four MBA applicants with their resume and essays, Darren realized he was repeating similar advice. In this episode, Darren shares how you can use the five senses - sight, sound, smell, taste and touch - to make your application more three dimensional. Topics Introduction (0:00) Sight - paint the scene (2:23) Touch - make the reader feel something (8:00) Sound - have a point of view (12:54) Taste - be focused and break stereotypes (18:10) Smell - make sure your entire application matches (23:54) Episode write-up: https://touchmba.com/five-senses  Get free, personalized school selection help at Touch MBA: https://touchmba.com

Dr. Michele Roberts, MBA Academic Director of the Australian Graduate School of Management (AGSM) at University of New South Wales (UNSW), discusses what makes the AGSM MBA unique, the school’s admissions process, career opportunities and more. Program Highlights (3:20) | Admissions (31:00) | Careers (47:30) About Our Guest Dr. Michele Roberts is the MBA Academic Director of AGSM at UNSW, looking after all its MBA Programs. Michele teaches MBA courses in Marketing Management and Foundations of Management. Prior to academic life, Michele worked as a Marketing Manager at a Fortune 500 company in London and Melbourne. She holds a Masters’ Degree in Marketing and a PhD in Marketing & Public Policy from the University of Western Australia. Full write-up on what makes AGSM unique: https://touchmba.com/agsm-mba-program-admissions-interview-michele-roberts  Get free, personalized school selection help at Touch MBA: https://touchmba.com