I’m sitting at the airport in Nairobi waiting for my plane thinking back to the beginning of our class or even the beginning of our trip. I’ve seen and learned so much over the course of two short weeks it’s hard to choose what stands out most. I guess considering... Continue reading

Sitting at lunch we were reflecting on some of our company visits and what we would do different and who we would work with when the conversation quickly changed to, if you had to start a company between now and the end of summer what would it be and why.... Continue reading

One of the aspects I enjoyed most about our trip was contrast. There were two particular contrasts which I want to focus on, Kenya vs Rwanda and for-profit vs non-profit. As is turns out there is some overlap and interesting connections between the two. Our course focused on the opportunities... Continue reading

Three days before we leave for Nairobi and begin the “tour” portion of the study tour. Most of all I’m looking forward to experiencing in person the things we’ve learned during the semester through; lectures, discussions and readings. We begin our trip in Nairobi where will work two full business... Continue reading

We board our flight in a few hours; actually we board the first of three flights that we are taking to get to Singapore. Our flight is roughly one full day (24 hrs.) from Boston to Chicago, Chicago to Hong Kong, and finally Hong Kong to Singapore. Worth it? Absolutely! I would fly twice as long just to participate in one of the three legs of our trip; Singapore, Chengdu, or Beijing. 15.228 has already been an exceptional learning experience. We’ve heard from leading academics ranging from MIT’s own Sarah Slaughter to Harvard Kennedy Schools Alan Trager, as well as innovative non academics like Jim Donnell of Poseidon Resources and Aaron Mandell of Oasys . Now we have the unique opportunity to capitalize on MITSloans motto, mens et manus (Mind and Hand) and hopefully leverage this experience to eventually fulfill MITSloans mission statement, “to develop principled, innovative leaders who improve the world and to generate ideas that advance management practice”. It will be fascinating to take our newly acquired or broadened knowledge of water and see how our classroom discussions are actualized in reality. In particular there are three company visits I’m most excited about. • PUB • #6 Veolia • North South I think these three visits will do a particularly good job of providing a holistic perspective on the intersection of water and business. They all incorporate some aspect of: • Policy in terms of public private partnership and build operate transfer relationships • Economics in terms of supply and demand forecasting and pricing • Finance in terms of project finance, risk, credit, and ingenuity • Technology in terms of disruptive and progressive technologies • Management in terms of contracts and project finance However, the learning doesn’t stop there, in addition to learning in the classroom and learning in the field, hopefully we will learn from one another. Our classed is filled with energetic and talented individuals who represent an enormously diverse spectrum of professional backgrounds and personal interests. After this trip I’ll possess new water specific business knowledge and cultural perspectives from Asia but hopefully and maybe more importantly I will also have built friendships with water leaders of the future. Continue reading