March e-newsletter

Dear All,

March has come and gone and I have failed to deliver my usual monthly newsletter in time. I ask that you overlook this, and I plead an agenda that had me out of the UK for much of the last two weeks. For the very curious, some inkling of where I have been can be found (along with this newsletter) on my blog.

So April may well bring you two newsletters for the price of one. It has certainly brought the promise of growth that lengthening spring and summer evenings tend to do, and the feeling here at Henley is one of green shoots after a winter of pruning. We are now into a real period of change, with launches of the new MBA curriculum for intakes in Denmark, Sweden, Finland and South Africa.

MBA Student of the Year Award 2007, sponsored by The Independent Newspaper

This award is organised by AMBA, of one Henley's accrediting bodies. "The Independent Student of the Year Award celebrates the impact that MBA study can have on the development of the individual. It also recognises the positive benefits that they can bring to their course, the welfare of their fellow students and the world beyond their business school. " If anyone is interested in nominations for this award, then there are three weeks left to do the paperwork. Details are available from Harle Shaw at AMBA on +44(0) 20 7246 2692 or email: h.shaw@mbaworld.com

Intake 25

On Friday March 30th a dozen members of Intake attended a special dinner at the College to mark the end of their scheduled study period. Of course, the way of things is that for many in that group studies may have come to more of a halt than an end, and as with previous get-togethers, this was an opportunity for some to re-energise their dissertation writing. Apropos of this topic...

On the Home Straight?

Those of you who are already there will know that the final part of the MBA is the hardest, and we have been looking fresh at what support mechanisms we can put in place to support you effectively once that scheduled dissertation due date has been passed without incident. We are pleased, then, now to announce the creation of a new community, called 'On the Home Straight", which will be run by two experienced tutors (Richard Lacey and Mike Green) and which will "organise events, co-ordinate communications and facilitate sharing" for programme members across all Intakes where people are at or beyond their schedules for part three. There will be a special 'kick-off' event at Henley on Sa April 21st in the afternoon, co-ordinated by Charlotte Ordish.

An invitation from Professor Jane McKenzie to attend will be sent out shortly to affected members in intakes up to 26. Naturally, if you have already submitted a dissertation proposal, you will continue to work with your appointed supervisor and this community support is in addition. Richard and Mike's work will, however, replace the Personal Tutor cover, which terminates at the end of your scheduled study period.

I should also add my usual plug for the dissertation clinics remaining this year:
Friday May 18th
Friday June 8th
Saturday September 15th
Thursday October 11th
Tuesday December 4th

Finally, for anyone looking to graduate in October 2007, bear in mind that your completed dissertation needs to be submitted by the end of this month.

Course Reps meeting

The next Course Representatives meeting is now set for Friday May 11th. If you would like to raise a cross-Intake issue or question, please let your course rep know this no later than April 26th.

Happy Easter

The team here wish you all a restful Easter break. According to my extensive desk research via Google, I find that about 10 kg of chocolate per person is consumed in the UK every year, and that we spend a weekly average of £1.33 on it. In fact, the average UK family spends more on chocolate in a year than a cocoa farmer earns in the same period. The UK chocolate market is worth around £3.9 billion, so I will be doing my bit by buying FairTrade products.

Chris Dalton, Programme Leader