Expectations and Aspirations for the Academic Year

Drawing from Gibb's Reflective Cycle, my feelings prior to the academic year were one's of excitement, nervousness, eagerness, and curiosity. Upon my arrival to the Netherlands, I was extremely nervous and tentative. On the other hand, I was overwhelmed with excitement to meet new people, immerse myself into a new culture, and be surrounded by a new environment. Growing up, I was described as a 'worry-wort' by many family members, as I was always tried to predict outcomes and worry about the future. Hence, with regards to the nervousness, I was quite unsure and worried about whether I would sink or float, in terms of the academic standard of the Netherlands in general, particularly the VU. I always believed I possessed the capability and internal drive to succeed and work hard in doing so, yet that aspect of uncertainty and worry is something I have grown to overcome. Oddly, I feel it drives me to ensure I float and not sink. As my cousin has lived in the Netherlands for a prolonged period of time, I was aware of the amicable nature of the Dutch people, so I was extremely excited to live in a beautiful Amsterdam environment, surrounded by Dutch people. Not only that, the renowned reputation Amsterdam and the VU has in terms of international students and diverse backgrounds really appealed to me. Being able to meet people from all over the world with similar interests enthralled me and of course, I was sure to meet friends fo life, and that I did.

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My aspirations for the academic year are to try and obtain a cum laude. I believe that through hard work, a distinct plan to attain a set of short-term goals, and consistency, I can achieve such ambitions. I believe anyone can. 

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Learning Experiences from the Year

To put it simply, I have loved every minute of my time here in the Netherlands, particularly at the VU. I have made friends for life, not only within the Strategy and Organisation track, but from other disciplines within the BA programme. To discuss my learning experiences from the academic year, it certainly was very challenging in terms of meeting time constrained deadlines, balancing several modules simultaneously, preparing for upcoming presentations, constructing a thesis over a period of six months and various other obstacles. It was very challenging and that has to be said. However, this is to prepare all of us MSc. S&O students for the real world, as it is the exact same structure in terms of time constrained deadlines and being capable of multi-tasking with competence. In hindsight, I do believe I have learned to cope with multi-tasks and managing pressure much more effectively over the year. For instance, trying to set sub-goals in completing my thesis on time whilst trying to study for my behavioural exam, in conjunction to completing assignments for both behavioural strategy and research methods modules typically exerts a significant amount of stress on you, but I believe I've learned to mitigate such instances, which you will see how below. I possibly could have started meditating to assist my stress levels, although, the reason why I can get stressed is because I care about the output of my work and I always seek to attain the best outcome possible.

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My Cognitive Strategies

Every since the age of twelve years of age, right up through my bachelor's in marketing at TU Dublin, and finally to my MSc in Strategy and Organisation at the VU, my cognitive strategies have been the most integral and effective tool that got me through not just my academic life, but life in general. To elaborate, my cognitive strategies and psychological or mental tactics I incorporate into my daily life make the tasks I undertake more manageable, leading to a greater likelihood of successful outcomes. These six cognitive strategies were very effective and practical for myself especially upon the commencement of writing my thesis whilst simultaneously completing various modules, assignments, and exams. They are as follows:

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My Skills (and Newly Developed Skills)

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Efficient and Effective Delegation and Undertaking of Tasks

Efficiency and delegation of tasks is pivotal to any successful project. No matter what the circumstance, there will always be instances within project management where team members unintentionally engage in behaviours that lead to duplication of work. This occurred several times throughout the academic year, and I myself have been susceptible in engaging in the duplication of work or tasks. That's when I developed a core focus on ensuring that every project adopts an efficient means of delegating work tasks to each team member. There was one example which is quite prevalent in my mind. For our module in P1, strategic entrepreneurship and organisational renewal, we were preparing our report and subsequent presentation encompassing organisational ambidexterity and the strategic paradox. All seven of us team members were constructing the report section by section. This was too time consuming, duplicative and ineffective when it comes to team effectiveness. Hence, I proposed an idea with my team members to delegate different sections of the report. Upon collective agreement, the team output was significantly greater as well as the time it took us to do so. As a result, our report was graded with a delightful 8.3.

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Positive Reinforcement / Behavioural Engineering

Due to the self-directed learning, demanding deadlines, and high-degree of intensity within M.Sc. Strategy and Organisation, it is very common for people, including myself, to become deflated, lose motivation, and lack direction. This happened to me many times in which I rectified through my cognitive strategies (particularly positive self-talk). However, it was more difficult to try and alter the behaviour of my team mates when the experienced the same thing. Over time, I began to realise the effectiveness of positive reinforcement. For instance, during our module in P2, new business models and consulting, I could sense through body language and overall tone from my team mates that we were collectively become fatigued and almost losing faith. From that point on, I started increasing the use of positive social reinforcement towards my team mates subtle behaviours. Behaviours such as editing a document, using academic references, and refining the report, I would offer praise, attention, and various other compliments of their efforts. This revitalised their contribution and felt re-invigorated for the duration of the project. My team members started doing the same to me, so it was a reciprocal nature which started forming. Positive reinforcement should always be used within teams, it is crucial to uphold morale and motivation. This effective skill will assist me greatly when it comes to team-working dynamics in my professional professional career to spur motivation of team members and to encourage / celebrate enhanced team performance.

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Presentation Skills

There were dozens of presentations in which we had to conduct this year. I personally enjoy public speaking but there are certain aspects I have always wanted to improve. Elements such as voice quakes, and self-doubt are two primary things I wanted to hone-in on and improve this year. Due to the many presentations I was apart of with fantastic team members, the accumulative practice allowed me to gain increased confidence and overcome these self-doubt while presenting. As they say, practice makes perfect. The exact moment where I had a sudden realisation that I had overcome these hindrances was after our presentation for our module business ethics in strategy and organisation. Without hesitation, having enhanced my public speaking this year will act as a crucial skill when I enter the workforce.

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Time Management

Time management is crucial. As I have stated several times before, the dutch educational system, as evident within the VU while studying for my Masters, you need to ensure you leverage your administrative and time management skills. Through co-ordinated team work and a lot of preparation in conjunction with efficient delegation of tasks, we / I have never submitted an assignment late. It has to be said, the second assignment for research in business administration was by far the most intense submission. Upon submission, we as a team were simultaneously conducting assignments from two other modules, curating our portfolio, and writing up our thesis. The degree of multi-tasking and time management keeping was next-level intensity. However, I have to say it was a great experience as it prepares you for the 'real-world'. Oddly, I implicitly enjoyed the tight deadlines throughout the academic year, as I know it mimics the 'real world' or workforce, and will prepare me substantially for it post-graduation.​

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Creativity & Critical Thinking

In the words of the great Albert Einstein, "creativity is seeing what others see and thinking what no-one else ever thought."  It is no secret that without creativity and lateral thinking, the quality of output from a team diminishes, lacks ingenuity, and is deprived of uniqueness. The biggest thing that I've learned from this year is that no one person can be creative in isolation. Creativity stems from a group of people sitting in a room together, be that a 'virtual room', bouncing ideas off one another, disagreeing with each other constructively, and having the meticulous nature to ensure the output satisfies the project requirements. When I was younger, I used to believe that one person could continuously come up with this successful and creative solutions. This couldn't be further from the truth. In my opinion, creativity is a pseudonym for people. This was exemplified when we were preparing the initial stages of our report for the alliances, mergers and networks module which encompassed the Too Good To Go brand. The second all of us team members started proposing ideas, challenging each other, and refining our approach, I could instantly witness that our creative nature and quality of output enhanced hugely. Something that I admire and found extremely enjoyable.