MBA Student Life

Thanks Irene

Hi Irene and Niladri

Hope you guys are doing good. Thanks a lot for taking out time to help so many prospective students
I had a few questions and would be obliged if you can answer them

-- I wanted to know the details of the GATE program at Fuqua. As to how the selectiosn are done , how the projects are alloted and what kind of exposure we can expect from the same ?

-- Also for the Small Business Consulting Practicum and Strategy Practicum how are the projects alloted. Is it more of a student choice / depends on the projects available ?

-- What kind of activities are the geographical involved in such as Asia Business Club etc?

-- My immediate Post MBA goal is to work in the Corporate Finance practice of a management consulting firm. What kind of courses I will have to take and is it possible to pick and choose electives across strategy , finance and management.

Thanks
Saaim

Irene and Niladri ,
Currently i work for a venture debt company. I would like to come back and scale up operations in the high-tech space. ( I have a masters in Electrical Engg)

1. What are the offerings of the GATE what are the countries typically visited and what kind of projects are picked up and what is the student involvement in these projects.
2. Can you speak about international exchange programs ? Which are the partner universities ?

Thanks
kapil

Hello,

Here are my answers:

1. What are the offerings of the GATE what are the countries typically visited and what kind of projects are picked up and what is the student involvement in these projects.

Please refer to the link here which has updated information about GATE and our new FCCP program.

https://www.fuqua.duke.edu/student_resou ... rtunities/

Countries/regions include India, Africa, Latin America, Middle East, Asia. GATE is typically focused on learning about the culture of a region, both social and professional. There is no specific client/consulting project to deliver. However, please refer to the FCCP link for further information.


2. Can you speak about international exchange programs ? Which are the partner universities ?

Fuqua is part of the Partnership in International Management consortium of global schools, and the list from PIM is found at the link here.

https://www.pimnetwork.org/member-school ... of-schools

More information about Fuqua's Exchange Program can be found here: https://www.fuqua.duke.edu/student_resou ... _programs/

Hi,

Can a student take part in two GATE courses? Participating in one and leading the other as a SY?
I am interested in both Latin America and China.

Thanks,
Vikas

I believe you can. However, the GATE country leaders are usually FY students.

Irene, Niladri, et al...,

Thank you for taking the time out of your hectic schedules to help prospective students get a better understanding of what life at B school is like. My question is a bit of a departure from what you've been answering thus far. I am married with a daughter that is about to turn 1, so obviously FT programs are not in my future, but I am in the process of applying to the Cross Continent program offered by Duke. Do you have any insight into this program? Have you had any interactions with students of the CC program? The program sounds amazing & I've already spoken with an admissions counselor and am very excited by the prospect of earning a Duke MBA. Anyway, I just wanted to see if anybody has had any experience with the program - maybe the GATE trip coincides with one of the Cross Continent trips, etc...Or maybe there is a current CC student monitoring this thread that would be willing to share information with me. Thanks for the information and good luck in your studies!

R/
Chris

Hi Chris,

I know a few people from the CC MBA Program but I don't know much about the program. I only know that they meet 5 or 6 times in different Duke campuses around the world. Each meeting last 2 weeks or so and they are very intensive. Do you want to be put in touch with a CC MBA alum?

Irene

hi guys,

first of all, thanks in advance for taking your time to help out the perspective students! i am interested in applying for the day-time MBA problem at Duke. At first, i didn't really look into Durham NC, because i was trying to look at places that me and my family are more familiar with. However, as i started to find out more about Duke's team culture, and about the Fuqua Partners, i really want to apply for its MBA program.

i have a couple questions:
1. Career change -
i am a career changer. I am currently working as a general manager in a small retail chain (5 small stores, really small ones!). One of my duties was to build and maintain relationships with different suppliers, bringing a rich variety of products and services to meet the customer demand. My short term goal is getting a career change into a large retail corporation (such as amazon.com or walmart) as a global sourcing manager in supply chain management.

i tried to research about Fuqua's operation concentration, but i didn't see much info about its supply chain management. May i get some insights into this concentration, especially about supply chain? for a career changer like me, am i going to get the necessary knowledge and skills from the operation concentration to make this change? do you have any classmate that has a similar career goal as mine?

2. getting to know more about the school
i am turning 31, and i really want to get into a MBA program this year so that i can kick off my career change process. In this case, i can only apply for the round 3. like i said, i didn't really look seriously into the fuqua program until few weeks ago. I see that there are barely any info session between now and the round 3 dead line. can you possible suggestion me a few ways to get to know the school and community better? can you please refer a few current students and alumnis with similar background or goals as mine?

btw, any general suggestion for a last round applicant? i know it is significantly more competitive in this round. hopefully it is not toooo late...

thanks again!

Keith

Hello,

Here are my answers:

1. Career change

Please refer to the link below to find more information about the Operations Management concentration at Fuqua.
https://www.fuqua.duke.edu/student_resou ... anagement/

Do you have any classmate that has a similar career goal as mine? I do not.

2. Getting to know more about the school

Round 3 is always tricky as it does not provide you with a lot of time to know the school in detail. Having said that, you should be able to find a lot of information through our website; for example, the curriculum and concentrations, the term structure, the extracurricular activities and community involvements (by contacting respective club leaders). I am not sure if I can refer you to a particular student with a similar background or interest as yours, but I can definitely advise you to visit the campus if at all possible. This is one of the best ways to experience the school, and especially its people. We take a lot of pride in the strength of the Fuqua community and a personal visit will give you the best idea about the "fit", which is very critical at Fuqua.

Any general suggestion for a last round applicant - as I said above and as you have mentioned yourself, Round 3 is indeed very competitive, since there are fewer seats left at this point. However, every year students get admitted from this round. In terms of suggestion, I can say that know the school well using as many avenues as you can, and know yourself well; then try to identify the extent of "fit" between the two.

Hope this helps. Good luck.
Niladri.

Tr1ckythe0ry wrote:hi guys,

first of all, thanks in advance for taking your time to help out the perspective students! i am interested in applying for the day-time MBA problem at Duke. At first, i didn't really look into Durham NC, because i was trying to look at places that me and my family are more familiar with. However, as i started to find out more about Duke's team culture, and about the Fuqua Partners, i really want to apply for its MBA program.

i have a couple questions:
1. Career change -
i am a career changer. I am currently working as a general manager in a small retail chain (5 small stores, really small ones!). One of my duties was to build and maintain relationships with different suppliers, bringing a rich variety of products and services to meet the customer demand. My short term goal is getting a career change into a large retail corporation (such as amazon.com or walmart) as a global sourcing manager in supply chain management.

i tried to research about Fuqua's operation concentration, but i didn't see much info about its supply chain management. May i get some insights into this concentration, especially about supply chain? for a career changer like me, am i going to get the necessary knowledge and skills from the operation concentration to make this change? do you have any classmate that has a similar career goal as mine?

2. getting to know more about the school
i am turning 31, and i really want to get into a MBA program this year so that i can kick off my career change process. In this case, i can only apply for the round 3. like i said, i didn't really look seriously into the fuqua program until few weeks ago. I see that there are barely any info session between now and the round 3 dead line. can you possible suggestion me a few ways to get to know the school and community better? can you please refer a few current students and alumnis with similar background or goals as mine?

btw, any general suggestion for a last round applicant? i know it is significantly more competitive in this round. hopefully it is not toooo late...

thanks again!

Keith

Hello everyone.
Thank you in advance for you time and answers.
My question is about the students who plan to be entrepreneurs after graduation.
How many men usually decide to have internship with start-ups? And how many decide to create their own company after graduation.
Is there any environment, where the professors share their research ideas, that can be used to make a new businesses.
Does it possible to find on campus an idea related to commercializing technologies?
May be you know any alumni, who became an entrepreneurs? WHAT kind?
Thanks

Hi Pleaman,

I am not quite sure about the % of Fuqua ALumns who immediately pursue entrepreneurship upon graduation. I will try to find out and get back to you.

Fuqua and Duke certainly encourages start-ups and entrepreneurship. One of its initiatives is the Duke Start-Up Challenge which is hold every year and open to Duke Students.

I apologize for being not quite helpful.

Regards,
Irene (Fuqua Alum 2013)

Hello,

I would just add to Irene's response above:

How many men usually decide to have internship with start-ups? And how many decide to create their own company after graduation.
I don't think there is a stable/fixed percentage of "men" who go for an internship with start-up firms. It varies from year-to-year, and is affected by many factors, including emerging technological/engineering advancements, general market conditions for MBAs etc. That being said, I would guess around 5-10% going for some kind of entrepreneurial internships. And just to clarify, they include both men and women.
Creating your own company would be a very different ballgame, and I think the percentage would be much less. Off the top of my head, I recall one graduate of the class of 2012 launching a custom jewelry store. I also know at least two of my classmates working full time at an incubator in the San Francisco Bay Area and one other as an incubator coach in South Africa.

Is there any environment, where the professors share their research ideas, that can be used to make a new businesses.

As Irene mentioned, Fuqua and the greater Duke promote entrepreneurship in many shapes and forms. Just as an example, Fuqua runs the Program for Entrepreneurs (P4E) program, which is an entrepreneurial course where you pair up with students from other schools at Duke to pitch an idea and carry through the idea, hopefully to fruition through your two years. More information here: https://www.dukep4e.org/ In addition, there are several options for Mentored Study, where a faculty advisor will guide you in your work with a local small business.

Does it possible to find on campus an idea related to commercializing technologies?
May be you know any alumni, who became an entrepreneurs? WHAT kind?

To your first question, you should look through the P4E link to get an idea about the ideas that are pitched. For the list of Duke Alumni who have started their own ventures, refer to this link https://www.dukegen.com/profiles.

Hope this helps.
Niladri.

Thank you guys. It is all very usefulll info for me. A lot of staff there. Looking it through)

becnil wrote:Hello,

I would just add to Irene's response above:

Is there any environment, where the professors share their research ideas, that can be used to make a new businesses.

As Irene mentioned, Fuqua and the greater Duke promote entrepreneurship in many shapes and forms. Just as an example, Fuqua runs the Program for Entrepreneurs (P4E) program, which is an entrepreneurial course where you pair up with students from other schools at Duke to pitch an idea and carry through the idea, hopefully to fruition through your two years. More information here: https://www.dukep4e.org/ In addition, there are several options for Mentored Study, where a faculty advisor will guide you in your work with a local small business.

Niladri.

Hi Niladri,

I have a question in addition to what you have answered.
You mentioned about the faculty advisor. Could you please provide little more detail on that.

Is there a program or club through which we get in touch with faculty advisor?
If so, are there any selection criteria for the same?

Also I have couple more questions.

1) I wanted to find out about the electives courses such as Entrepreneurial Finance, Raising Capital, Marketing Innovations. Could you provide insight over these courses. How are these courses? How are the faculties who are imparting these courses.

2) I also wanted to find out about some clubs and what all events they have. On fuqua's site I couldnt find details on that.
Entrepreneurship and Venture Capital Club
Duke MBA Finance Club
Marketing Club
Media, Entertainment and Sports Club
Asian Business Club
Association of Women in Business
FuquaVision
Fuqua-Improv
Fuqua Speaks

Also if you can provide links to all these clubs that will be really helpful.

Thanks