Well it’s that time of the life again and I’m getting set to ignite my MBA next week. My first module is taking place in the quaint little village of Shanghai. I’m wondering how previous generations of MBA students began their programs cold turkey compared with MBA 2.0 approach I’m experiencing, already most of my class mates have facebooked, linkedin and tweeted sweet nothings in each other’s ears, not to mention organized pub crawls and local adventures.

My MBA program is unique in many ways and the university, Duke, claims it’s the only one of its kind in the world, with an emphasis on “world”, the Cross Continent MBA is a hybrid modular MBA which meets in 6 different countries over 16 months covering the regular full time syllabus whilst taking in some local specialties and a few electives for dessert.

I must admit I’m little more cerebral in my pre and post lecture plans and I’ve organized a tour of the Shanghai Ghetto and a day trip to the World Expo which is visiting town, possibly not the most exciting events but I’m quite happy to leave my dancing shoes in their abattoir.

This upcoming module is everybody’s favorite, financial accounting, which I’m anticipating to be a festival of illuminated numbers in psychedelic columns. In truth I’m quite looking forward to a new perspective on the subject since it is almost always taught in light of technical skills for accountants or as a finance for non financial managers and I’m interested to explore the subject matter from a strategic global vantage point incorporating US GAAP and IFRS.

So far I’m quite impressed with the caliber of my classmates. Duke being a top tier school is attracting a cadre of talent as would be expected but the fact that CCMBA allows people to remain in their jobs with the exception of study periods has brought together some colorful characters. Duke, not being from a bustling metropolis has turned its geographic weakness into a strategic strength; instead of spending 2 years in Durham, North Carolina we’ll get the benefit of a world class faculty as well as global exposure, something that is difficult to simulate in a classroom.

So my bags are sitting in my bedroom, revving to go, snacks packed for the 20hour hop skip and jump via Dubai and if anyone could give a heads up to the billion odd Chinese folk that I’ll be in town it would be much appreciated.