Life at Oxford is very vibrant and eventful. That is in part attributable to the umpteen opportunities that are available and more importantly the choices I have made to make it so. In this blog titled Footloose in Oxford, I will share some such interesting things that have made my stay here vibrant and eventful.

An evening with Vikram Seth

I had read of his coming to speak to the Oxford Union book club. All members of the Union can meet the guests by writing to the President in advance. I did so and had this opportunity to have dinner with Vikram Seth and spend a few hours with him before a book reading night. It was very memorable because we were in close proximity to Vikram and shared many a things from our lives and hear from him. He recollected his days at Oxford and shared his fond memories from India. At dinner it was time for light hearted conversation with people sharing about their upbringing et al; As I shared about my childhood in Bangalore, I jokingly said that he has to set his next novel in Bangalore! Later in the evening he read some of his poems, bits from novels, shared his opinion of contemporary India, how he admires RK Narayanan and that if RKN had written of North India he would never dared to do something similar J, he spoke of how communal hatred can be detrimental to India in the long run, gave advice to a few budding writers on how to accept criticism and how to take it constructively. That evening as I said “Good night Vikram, I take leave of you, it was a memorable evening indeed. Hope to meet you again.” He turned around and up and said “Good night Vinay. It was nice meeting you all.” I started walking towards the gate and then he gave a shout “You know what Vinay, my next novel may after all be set in Bangalore. See you soon !” A memorable evening indeed…

Earning a quick buck

After donning the role of a student, there has only been out flows from my bank account. However, the prospect of earning a few quids is not very bleak. CESS, the Centre for Experimental Social Sciences at Nuffield College here is a place that promotes and facilitates experimental research by social scientists at the University. So, time to time these social scientists need ‘guinea pigs’ for their experiments. If you are registered on their distribution list you receive invitations to these experiments. You can choose to volunteer your time usually between 30 mins to 1.5 hours or so, depending on the experiment. During these experiments we answer various questionnaires… for example on elections to European Union (on a political orientation experiment), played games with randomly paired participant (on a strategic decision experiment) and so on. I have earned 10 to 15 quids everytime I volunteer and that is a decent amount ! The department of Psychology and the Medics usually need people for their studies and many student volunteer their time and earn a buck too.

Meeting Ko Aung at the Amnesty International event

Amnesty International Oxford and the Oxford Union hosted Ko Aung from Burma. Ko Aung was a student leader in Burma in 1988 during the uprising. He led thousands of students as they took part in mass protests. The protests would end in 3,000 deaths. He was arrested and repeatedly tortured. Two years later he received a jail sentence for his role in the protests at a trial Amnesty believed to be unfair. He spent the first three years in solitary confinement. He was released from his detention in 1994 and subsequently fled to the UK. It was very inspiring to listen to him and the extremely difficult times he has gone through. It was evident how those trying times had built his character. I walked back home re-kindling the activist spirit in me.

John Howard @ Sheldonian

John Howard ex-Australian PM, spoke at the Sheldonian on 28^th May. He was speaking as a part of the quincentenary celebrations of Brasenose college, he delivered a talk on ‘Lessons in Governance’. I am no center-right sympathizer, but John Howard’s speech and his way of engaging the crowd was honest, simple and elucidating. He spoke at length about the three greatest democracies of the world – America, India and Indonesia. He steered himself clear of making any comments on the recent MPs expenses scandal of UK, but he heaped great appreciation on the Indian democracy, its triumph in spite of its diversity and its leader Dr.Manmohan Singh whom he hailed as an intelligent man and one of the finest statesmen in recent times. John was a fine orator and the evening was particularly interesting.

John Howard (ex-Australian PM) at Oxford

Voting in Oxford

Apparently being a student in Oxford with a resident permit VISA, I was on the electoral rolls of the local council. I did not realize it until I received a voting card with details of my polling station for the recently held European Parliamentary Election and the Oxford Council Elections. Having missed the opportunity to cast my vote in the recent General Elections, it was a great opportunity to exercise my ‘right’ here in Oxford. The St. Giles Parish center was my polling station and I promptly went there after class on the 4^th of June to cast my vote. I had three votes in all and I had to use the good old ballot paper to mark a cross with a pencil to indicate my choice ! We have come a long way in India in this regard with a 100% electronic voting in every nook and corner of the country.

 

 

These were just random experiences in Oxford that makes life vibrant and interesting here and I thought you would like to know…

Every year, for the past few years, student interest groups at Saïd have planned treks to many areas of the world. Some trips have been motivated by geographical and regional considerations while others have been centered on specific industries/sectors which are ‘traditionally’ centered on a particular city/area, i.e. Silicon Valley.

The 2009 United Arab Emirates Student Trip will remain one of my best experiences during the Oxford MBA. As an organizer, the trip planning consumed quite a large part of my Hilary term and given that the trip took place soon after the end of exams- I was consumed with the planning during exam prep time. I must admit though, it was a pleasant distraction at times

Our collective goal was to develop a strong understanding of business developments in the UAE, to present students with professional and personal resources to explore the Middle East region, and to act as “ambassadors” for the business school. We were also quite curious to check out the region as most in the group had not visited before.

After weeks of planning, scheduling and juggling assignments and exams, our first day of meetings started with a visit to Nakheel Properties where we learned about the current and forthcoming projects. We were treated to a boat tour around the edge of the ‘palm’ and a view of the Dubai skyline from an unusual angle.

We left Nakheel and headed to the financial center of Dubai to meet with Barclay’s Wealth where our group learned about the intricacies of wealth management in the Middle East. After the two hour meeting we were off to Dubai World /Dubai Investment Authority for an introduction to one of the Emirates’ largest and diversified investment groups. We learned about the different levers affecting the different groups and how truly diversified the firm is. Our fourth and final meeting of the day was a dinner reception generously hosted by PA Consulting. The event was at the Fazaris Restaurant in The Address Hotel which is situated next to the Dubai Mall. We learned of the interesting ‘projects of the future’ PA is working on and had the opportunity to mingle with the consultants based in Dubai. Our outdoor seating afforded us a view of the Burj Dubai, the tallest tower under construction.

Day two and we were off to Abu Dhabi to our first visit of the day, the Abu Dhabi Education Council. We learned of the thirty year strategic plan of the Emirate and the tremendous role that education plays in this plan. We then visited HSBC and discussed the differences in retail and commercial banking within Abu Dhabi and among the Emirates and other Middle Eastern countries. Our day ended with a visit to the impressive gold-laden Emirates Palace.

Day three began in the Jumeirah Marina, where we visited an entrepreneur and alumni of Saïd Business School to learn about the leisure boating company fully powered by solar panels, Gulf Solar Yachts.

After the early morning meeting we were geared up for our private tour of the Burj Al Arab. Our wonderful host took us on a comprehensive tour of the luxury resort. Perhaps next time we visit Dubai one of us will stay there!? In the afternoon we met with the Forsa- a women-run division of Dubai World focusing extensively on female wealth within the region. In the evening of the packed day we all attended the alumni event and networking reception for our meeting hosts. The event was generously hosted by the Center of Excellence in the Dubai International Financial Center. It was a great way to meet additional alumni and companies we hoped to but could not meet with during our short time in Dubai.

On the fourth and final business day the team met with four firms. The first meeting was hosted by Boston Consulting Group. Our next meeting was hosted by an alumnus of the program at Shell. We learned about and discussed with our hosts the future of oil in Dubai and the Middle East and additional sources of fuels and energy. We made our next stop at the Internet City of Dubai, where we visited with Dell. Our final meeting was with Bain and Company.

Our final group activity was a Desert Safari which included 4×4 ‘dune crashing’ a buffet dinner at a Bedouin tent, where camel rides, hookah, and belly dancing and a return trip to our hotel.

Wednesday Morning, 1st April

No April Fools’ day for us! We were up and off to a Niger State tourist development site – the waterfalls of Gurara, sourced from the River Niger further upstream. There was a plan to build all of the following on this site:

• a golf course,
• a hotel or three,
• a hydro power station,
• a kids’ camp,
• a park,
• a zoo,
• an amusement area,
• a tourist walk,
• various refreshment stations… you get the picture. ..
• and presumably a whole lot more.

We all looked somewhat amazed as we baked in the heat and looked at the area under consideration. The only relief was the falling water to a pool below. But this is where the hydro station would be located, eating into the relief of the rocks behind the waterdrop. $2bn dollars of investment is sought. I imagined the track of a golf ball as it veered off the fairway, hurtled through the entertainment tents, past the mouth of a beast in the zoo, jamming the hydro generation station below. The target customers for this new development would be foreigners or wealthy Nigerians. Some in the group were worried that foreigners would never even make it to the site, given the quality of the roads. Hmm. Food for thought, we thought.

Lunch – serendipity and mango
I haven’t mentioned yet that everywhere we go, we run into friends of Yemi’s or Tolu’s or David’s. And lunchtime at the hotel provided another such example. Sharp eyed Tolu spotted, over her mango smoothie, the face of the current Chairman of Etisalat, Nigeria’s 4th GSM provider, an Oxford Alumni and an invitee to the Africa Conference held in Oxford on May 1st.

David and Yemi boldly approached. Yes, he would be delighted to come to the conference. He would have loved to have hosted us, but we were returning to Lagos then. Hakeem Belo-Osagie offers scholarships to four African undergrads at Balliol each year to applicants that have applied to a University Clarendon Fund Award. He wants to keep in contact with the Africa OBN. Our chance rendez-vous was serendipitous, to say the least.
Evening at Yemi’s friends’
Yemi, you now realize, is Miss Fixit. Whatever needs doing in Lagos, she can fix it. She fixed a wonderful accommodation for us all to stay in while we were trekking in Lagos. This avoided the need for a hotel and gave us plenty of common space to watch rap and chat. Yemi’s kind friends hosted the lot of us for supper providing us with another example of fantastic extensive Nigerian hospitality!
We are now up to about 9 of us. Our host had recently completed the Sloan Fellowship programme at LBS . His neighbour was another friend of Yemi’s (they had studied together in Washington DC).

Friday, April 10th

This gorgeous California morning found the trekkers once again in San Francisco. Frequent SVCO guest Jerry Sanders hosted us at his San Francisco Science office in the Presidio, and to open the day he arranged a private tour of the grounds. After getting our fill of historic military buildings and Yoda fountains we sat in his conference room to discuss his company and our goals.

San Francisco Science seeks out unique technologies and brings them to market. The current portfolio ranges from medical devices to social-finance, and even includes Saïd Business School alum Cameron Turner’s ClickStream Technologies. The goal with each of these companies is a profitable early exit. In Jerry’s words, San Francisco Science specializes in base hits, not home runs. We then asked Jerry to share some insights with us. Never one to mince words, Jerry’s advice was simple – in this economy, take whatever job you can get right away. The risk otherwise is that you’ll be seen as damaged goods, making the job search even more difficult. The most important thing is that first job, and then from there to build the knowledge and networks for your future.

Insight from Jerry Sanders: Jerry’s recommendation is consistent with his company’s philosophy. Now, more than ever, we should be looking for that base-hit career step rather than waiting around for the home run.

For our closing act, we stopped by Linden Labs to see Second Life creator Philip Rosedale. Philip explained how the Second Life virtual world works and even showed us how the company uses Second Life to host all of its staff meetings. He then talked about the challenges he faced as an entrepreneur trying to pitch the idea. Philip explained that genuinely new ideas are rare, and they don’t fit the venture capital risk model. “If you have an idea like that, your best bet for funding is to find someone as visionary (read: crazy) as yourself who has more money.”

Monday, 30th March

First things first: we are only here able to write this blog because of the incredible commitment that Yemi and Molly have made to arranging this Africa Trek. What a way to see Nigeria – our host laid on trips and experiences that are beyond the reach of any of us as tourists. And then again in South Africa, we owe a huge thanks to Julia Jansch, our classmate from Cape Town, who, with her family and friends, welcomed us trekkers with fantastic kindness and hospitality. More will be said throughout the blog, but anyone reading this needs to know how much we all appreciated quite what they have done to give us this opportunity. And we’ve been and done so much; we’ve visited many people and places; we’ve been overwhelmed by kindness and warmth and we have impressions galore – we will try to sift and submit the best of them to you here.
We all began the day in a different mental zone altogether – rushing to finish formal end of Trinity Term assignments followed by an all out race against the clock to deliver them to exam rooms before 12 midday. After the panic-induced shopping at Boots we finally gathered in Heathrow, relieved, but feeling somewhat mentally unprepared for what lay ahead.
Tuesday, 31st March: Visit to Nigeria’s Parliament

When we saw Yemi as soon as we touched down in Lagos, it changed all our senses.
We flew straight on from Lagos to the capital, Abuja, where we were personally welcomed in the Federal House of Representatives by Honourable Dimeji Bankole, the Speaker of the House of Representatives and an Oxford Alum.

We witnessed a debate on oil pricing and subsidies in the House. The layout of the House, and the system of voting (voicing ‘Ayes’ and ‘Nays’) were a small reminder of the roots of the democratic processes adopted here in Nigeria. A difference was the glamorous appearance of the MPs, clad in long starched white Nigerian dress, for the most part.

We then joined a session of the Committee on Power in the National Assembly. This was chaired by our host, the Honourable Ndudi Elemelu, Chair of the Governmental Committee on Power and Member of the Committee on Diaspora of Nigeria. He is currently also studying a leadership course here at the Saïd Business School. The Committee on Power was discussing the establishment of an energy fund grown from profits generated by the oil industry (a sort of Norwegian style sovereign wealth fund)

Democracy appeared to rule OK: NGOs and other interested parties were allowed to speak, at length, on the structure and remit of the fund. The committee considered and commented, but it appeared no decision on the details of the fund was yet to be taken.

On Tuesday afternoon we had the chance to meet with World Bank’s Country Director Mr Onno Ruhl. We would like to send a big thanks to Mr. Ruhl and the World Bank team for their time, information and perspective on the big issues around Nigeria’s growing economy.

Some key points emerged throughout the meeting: health care provision and reach seems to be a complete muddle exacerbated by pirated medicines, different regional needs and weak education on causes of key illnesses. The number of people living in extreme poverty (under $1.25 per day) is falling. Wealth is unevenly distributed, with a growing gap between the two ends of the income scale. The middle class provides the engine for economic growth as purchasing power has increased most quickly in this category. Agriculture, not oil, is the dominant growth in the economy, surprisingly. Then there’s the growth of Nollywood, Nigeria’s own answer to Hollywood. Nigeria also provides large tranches of the African TV material shown across the continent. Protection of IPRs is a big issue requiring a ‘nuanced approach from the World Bank’. This prevents some forms of FDI reaching Nigeria. Pirating of DVDs is rife. Sit in the traffic for long enough (easily done, we assure you!) and you will undoubtedly be offered a full range of convincing discs (at least, to the untrained eye).

Detailed information can be accessed on the World Bank website for Nigeria Debates about the access to information at the sectoral level seemed to suggest that data does exist but it’s a question of knowing where to look. There’s an entrepreneurial opportunity in bringing this together.

During Tuesday evening we dined at the home of Honourable Elumulu. We were welcomed by our host, and his wife, dressed in beautiful Nigerian traditional dress. His two young children also watched and listened with guarded attention. We were offered such generous hospitality by our host Honourable Elumelu, accompanied by some of his staff at his well guarded mansion in Abuja.

He talked at in length about the challenges he faces on the Power committee, on making corporations accountable, and of taking his ‘findings’ through the House of Assembly. Our meetings during the day, at the House of Assembly and the World Bank, helped us to put the evening’s discussions into context. The bond of Oxford and Hon Elumulu’s formidable travelling schedule around the world means that we are likely to have the chance to catch up again. But to provide comparable hospitality could be more of a challenge. We look forward to it.