Scribbles

Last day of class for P1 is tomorrow, and then three days of finals to finish it off.  Just firing off a few thoughts about the academic environment at INSEAD…

I think I mentioned before that for our promotion here in Fontainebleau, we have about 300 students divided into four sections (Singapore has two).  Each section stays together for the first 2 core periods in the same amphi (classroom), with assigned seating.  This way you become familiar with everyone in your section and the professors get to know you from you nameplate and seating location.

Each session lasts 1.5 hours, and depending on where your assigned seat is, you may be stuck there for the entire duration (ie can’t leave for bathroom break or whatever without disrupting the class).  It’s rather cozy and hence obvious when you fall asleep, read the newspaper, not pay attention, etc.  Therefore, focus is required for most of the class.  The worst is when we have three classes in a row, sandwiching 15 minute breaks in between.  During that break, you can run to the lavatory, grab a coffee, complain to your fellow classmate about how boring/entertaining the class was, and then get back to your seat.  Anyways, these three-in-a-rows translate into a five hour block occupying your calendar.  Afterwards it leaves you little will to perform studies or anything productive.  It’s usually my excuse to have a nice long dinner among friends here.

In P1, we have 5 core courses.  Of the four sections, two of them share the same set of 5 profs, totaling 10.  Although there exists a noticeable disparity between their teaching abilities (in both sets), I am satisfied with the overall quality of teaching.  Some people disagree with me.  They expect, for the amount of tuition we pay, that every single professor delivers at a high level.  I wouldn’t say that they’re wrong, but I view the academics here as only part of my education here, so I will cut the administration some slack as long as I find the overall quality in high regard.  I’ll post about individual courses and professors after finals.

One of the most disruptive aspects to building a routine here is the way classes are scheduled.  There is no single week where we have the same class at the same time or even day of week.  When I asked about this, the response was that it depends on classroom availability, professors, and most importantly, to make it fair.  They didn’t want to stick a particular section to all morning classes.  So some weeks I have classes that start at 8:30, and other weeks they go from 2-7pm.  Like I said, it’s impossible to generate any sense of routine and I’m constantly checking my schedule.  Ick.  The facilities are very conducive to studying.  The library provides a quiet getaway to bury oneself with books and the numerous cubicles setup for group work allow us to discuss and debate over case studies.  And these facilities are rarely overcrowded.

All in all, with the amount of school work and facilities for learning, INSEAD has empowered us to study to our hearts content.  Now if they’d only do something about the scheduling…