My Life at Kelley – from Moment to Momentum
July 31, 2017
When I first arrived in Bloomington, Indiana, I was dazzled by the splendid variety of night-colored and idyllic flowers—a place where all walks of seeds were thriving. I was part of a group of students drawn from all over the Middle East and North Africa to participate in the 2017 Global Business Institute at the prestigious Kelley School of Business at Indiana University. We were a group of eager students who came to Kelley to acquire skills and learn new ways of doing business. Ways that would ultimately make us entrepreneurs who will be able to cement our ideas into real and successful companies.
During the first week of the program valedictorians, nerds, bookworms, and techies alike were crying over business problems at 3 in the morning working to perfect a business plan, build a contingent marketing strategy, and figure out how to satisfy the target customer’s needs. Additionally, all classes and activities including dinners and company visits were compulsory during the program. Getting to classes on time is not the norm at Kelley; it simply means being late. One has to make it into room HH1000 five minutes before class time, and before the faculty arrives to begin the day’s lesson. This was something that I couldn’t accomplish as punctually as I expected, despite vain attempts to wake up on time. Punctuality was given primacy during GBI.
By the second week of the program, we were divided into teams and then introduced into a competition assessing the business feasibility of each team’s idea. Each team had to progressively update their work with the assistance of a coach from among great Kelley faculty.
If there is something that certainly impressed me during GBI, it is how thoughtfully the program schedule was structured. Each week we were scheduled for class time, team building activities, networking opportunities, and large-scale company visits such as The Coca-Cola Company and Eli Lilly. Our time was carefully planned in a manner that was correlated to our state of progress in the competition. As individuals and teams we had the chance to attend courses in marketing, business, and entrepreneurship, and accounting, taught by strongly committed experts— many of whom have contributed to the shaping of modern American industry.
When we were not working on our presentations, in small groups we were hanging out downtown Bloomington. I remember much time spent roaming the strip malls and pubs on Kirkwood Avenue, the Indiana Memorial Union, and other campus places at night time. I have so many memories of the delight and joy that each one of us was the origin of.
Along the way, the GBI experience was deeply transformative in various ways that are complementary. Faculty, Staff, Cultural Liaisons, Program Assistants, and the citizens of Indiana taught me to be more punctual, more humble, and ultimately a better person.
It goes without saying that during the Global Business Institute experience, Kelley’s faculty successfully made me look differently at business and entrepreneurship principles – and literally changed the manner I perceive the world of business. Today, I believe that business and entrepreneurship are all about problem-solving; that is not because I am an engineering student, but rather because it is only through deep observation and visionary perspective that one can truly attune to people’s problems make this world a better place to live.
– Billal is an Algerian GBI scholar, studying engineering at the University of Bejaia. He enjoys table tennis, electronics, guitars, and hiking.
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