LBS Business Immersion Week

London's Business Skyline

I know I haven’t been writing much on this blog, but I’ve just been swamped with work ever since matriculating at LBS. Graduate school is a whole new level of academic intensity, but don’t get me wrong, I’m enjoying every second of it.

What brings me back to this blog is because I’d like to report this upcoming week’s events. One of the reasons I choose LBS over Imperial was its innovative and synergetic educational approach. A key highlight of my program is coming up next week and I wanted to introduce my readers to it. Over the next couple of days, I’ll be participating in what LBS calls Business Immersion Week in which we get to connect the theory we’ve been studying in the classroom to the real business world. This is my opportunity to get to see how London, one of the top financial capitals of the world, conducts business on a day to day basis.

I have always been fascinated by how the Western World has advanced by leaps and bounds in the past century through the collective efforts of individuals that put Western economies at the forefront of the global arena. It was organizations, corporations, and societies in cities like London that defined the way international economics works. I hope this week will serve as an inspirational lesson for me to emulate such large scale organizations back in Egypt.

The organizations and institutions I’ve signed up to visit are truly at the top of their sector:

Monday

Tomorrow, I’m due to visit the headquarters of BBC Worldwide and the London Stock Exchange. I have always been an ardent follower of the former. Whether it’s the BBC News, Sports, or shows such as Lonely Planet, the BBC has always awed me by its international coverage and educational approach. Also, I’m particularly keen on visiting the BBC this week because I’ve been glued to their news coverage of the 2011 Egyptian Revolution and, in my opinion, the BBC has always served as a professional source of truth.

As for the London Stock Exchange, it truly is a unique opportunity to visit the most international stock exchange in the world, hosting over 3,000 companies from over 70 countries. Finally, I’ll be able to see what I’ve been taking in my Finance and Financial Accounting courses in practice. Additionally, this is supposedly one of the oldest capital markets worldwide.

Tuesday

Next, I’ll be visiting the headquarters of British Airways and Thomson Reuters. Again, my choice of these two organizations is because they represent the unique prowess of Great Britain’s economic stature. I have frequently flown on BA and was always amazed at how such a corporation could manage such an international system of airline networks. Additionally, I’ve always been amazed at the inner workings of the airline industry, which is always in the headlines because of mergers, strikes, etc… Moreover, it will be the airline industry that defines our modern way of transportation.

Reuters on the other hand has truly played a pivotal role in defining our modern information age. The fact that they capture the news every second is truly phenomenal. The organization’s accounts of global events not only determines what the world hears, but how business and political leaders make crucial decisions based on the information Reuters feeds them. According to the firm, “Information is Power.”

Thursday

On Thursday, I’ll be attending a talk by Herman De Bode, the head of McKinsey & Company in Saudi Arabia. There are two reasons I signed up for this event.

1. McKinsey is regarded as the top consulting firm worldwide and is my future firm’s main competitor in the Middle East. I interviewed with McKinsey in London but unfortunately did not make the cut.

2. Saudi Arabia has relied heavily on consulting to advance its economy. Since I will be consulting in the Middle East next year, I think it’s crucial to hear from one of the sector’s leaders.

McKinsey, like Booz, serves as an advisor to the world’s leading businesses, governments, and organizations. Learning from one of the best consultants in the industry will definitely give me an insider’s perspective as to what I’ll be getting myself into next year.

That’s the overview of the week to come. I really hope it lives up to my expectations. Business Immersion Week is truly one of the reasons that bring me to London; i.e. to learn from the world’s leading institutions in my mission to modernise Egypt and situate it as one of the world’s most competitive countries.