Dunedin Beaches

Doctors Point Beach

Dunedin (and the immediate surrounding area) is home to more than fifteen beaches, identified below, with numerous opportunities to surf, swim, beachcomb, walk dogs or view wildlife. Very briefly, St Clair may be the favourite beach (most used) for surfing and viewing the ocean from the esplanade (with restaurants & coffee), especially on stormy days; Tomahawk is great for walking dogs (plus surfing); and the beaches south of Brighton go on for kilometers. Long and Allans beaches are beautiful and less used; and all of the beaches have distinctively different sea shells. Dr.'s Point and Aramoana are particularly great for hunting shells. Most beaches provide easy access (i.e., many within minutes from downtown Dunedin), but Tunnel and Sandfly require some effort.

I've seen seal, sea lion and penguin on numerous beaches.

Dunedin Beaches

Allans Beach

Brighton Beach
Tunnel Beach
Blackhead Beach (surfing)
St Clair Beach (surfing)
St Kilda Beach (surfing)
Tomahawk Beach (surfing)
Smaill's Beach (surfing)
Allans Beach
Sandfly Beach
Victory Beach
Aramoana Beach
Long Beach
Purakanui Beach
Doctor's Point Beach

Purakanui Beach: leopard seal

Why Student Candidates Choose the Otago MBA

New Zealand Adventure

An accepted premise exists concerning why International students choose the Otago MBA.  They either want to experience New Zealand or contemplate remaining in New Zealand after graduation.  A significant number of our students choose to apply for a Graduate Job Search Visa and secure employment in NZ upon completion of our Otago MBA programme: see immigration to NZ below.

We receive the usual responses to our inquiries of student candidates: "Why have you chosen the Otago MBA?"  Some students focus on our global perspective, diversity of students or location in the booming Asia/Pacific region.  We are indeed fortunate to enjoy cultural diversity both in and outside of the classroom.  Others point to our reputation (oldest and only full-time MBA in NZ), the respect our programme enjoys internationally, and the University of Otago's research focus: we're not just a teaching school.

Most candidates appreciate our small class size, personal attention, one-to-one relationships with our educators, emphasis on practical (real business) experiences in the classroom, as well as the desire to know each candidate well in our admissions process.  They describe us as like a family and point to the camaraderie among our students, networking opportunities, as well as our mentor and professional development programmes.  "We enhance career prospects."  Our student candidates recognize that we deliver distinctive value at a reasonable price relative to our competitors.

Still, candidates who choose us almost universally express their desire to study in New Zealand.  "I'm a nature loving guy," they say, or "I'm adventurous."  New Zealand is beautiful, peaceful, and they care about carbon emissions and the environment.  They have beaches and mountains (the Southern Alps), and Dunedin is a college town.  It's an English-speaking country, with a stable economy, entrepreneurial opportunities, and the people are friendly.  I want to try something new, push my boundaries, meet people from diverse cultures, and try outdoor/adventure activities.

A few student candidates express the feeling many may harbor: "I see this as a life changing opportunity," "I want to live in New Zealand," and "I would like to retire in New Zealand."

The Otago MBA's unique competitive advantage may be the opportunity to receive

a world class education in one of the most spectacular places on the planet.  You decide: come

for an education and maybe stay for a lifetime.

David

Immigration to New Zealand:  New Zealand Immigration does not permit the Otago MBA to advise students about matters related to securing residency in the country.  Any candidate interested in pursuing his or her career in NZ should investigate this issue directly through NZ Immigration.

Adventure Capital of the World

Sometimes, no explanation is necessary: just watch!

                             Queenstown: Adventure capital of the world - Videos - CBS News
1. ► 4:58► 4:58

   www.cbsnews.com/.../queenstown-adventure-capital-of-the-World, Mar 5, 2013

Let's face it, all work and no play is no fun:

Apply now

David

Meet Our Students: Ryf Quail

Otago MBA 37 Student, Ryf Quail

The stated purpose for his blog, as it pertains to future Otago MBA students, is to introduce you to Dunedin and provide a look inside our programme.  This includes allowing you to meet my friends and colleagues: meet Ryf Quail, one of our 2013, MBA 37 students.

Ryf is an Aussie who grew up throwing rocks at snakes and quickly riding away as the snakes gave chase. He proudly boasts that he can trace his ancestry back to criminals on both his mother's and dad's side.  Ryf arrived in Dunedin last April along with is wife, Nichola, a talented business professional, and three-year-old daughter, Izzie, who wraps dad around her little finger.  Ryf describes himself first as a surfer and then as a seasoned media and marketing professional.

Ryf was easily the most impactful student in this year's class, with the most uninhibited approach to life: he laughed loud and often; perpetually supported the wrong sports teams; fueled Aussie vs. Kiwi rivalries; and rode a wave of adrenaline through our programme.  No one was left unscathed and we'll all remember Ryf as a great friend.

He will complete an international exchange at Grenoble Ecole de Management before undertaking a BUSI 540 project aimed at launching a high tech, Internet business venture (no details).  This is something I know about: Ryf and I argued for three months about the wisdom, and credibility of this venture.  He championed from a base of experience in Internet technologies and client needs, while I challenged from neuroscience and the risk that technological innovation could doom the venture.  He eventually won me over through his sheer stubborn commitment. 

Little doubt exists: Ryf will become a successful (and wealthy) entrepreneur, maybe by launching and selling this venture before moving on to the next.  To Ryf, an Otago MBA forever!

Read about Ryf's experiences in our programme.

We are constantly on the lookout for MBA candidates of the
 caliber of Ryf Quail.  I invite you to apply to our programme if you dream big and
 have the guts to follow those dreams.

David

How do we select MBA candidates?

Sandfly Beach - Otago Peninsula

The Otago MBA is situated in one of the most beautiful places in the world, an adventure wonderland with surfing minutes away and enough beaches to accommodate varying wind conditions. We are lucky in this regard, but we're also uncompromising about the quality of education we offer.

My profile for this blog describes our MBA programme as adhering to a coherent business model designed to deliver distinctive value to our students, defined as attention to the individual and whole person, with an emphasis on his or her thinking abilities and character.  Other programmes follow a different business model that emphasizes scale (N of students) and brand recognition, but compromises on one-to-one mentored experiences that nurture the person and contribute to a cohesive MBA class.  We begin with the careful selection of candidates into our programme: here's what you need to know.

No precise profile or perfect student exists and we cannot fully articulate that which informs our selection of one individual over another.  We know the right person, when we see him or her.  We're looking for well-grounded candidates; with a solid base of experience; who demonstrate maturity and character; are self-motivated and self-directed; with (at least somewhat) clearly articulated career ambitions; who come from diverse backgrounds and cultures; and who demonstrate the ability to think conceptually.

The ability to think conceptually figures prominently into our selection decisions.  Consider this: experience contributes to intuition and has value, but the person who thinks solely from experience relies on either small-N data (i.e., one or a few data points/experiences that do not widely generalize) or opinion.  Without the ability to think conceptually, the student will (1) contribute little to our classroom experiences; (2) struggle to think within a credible business/academic frame; and (3) not easily be able to abstract away from the noisy immediate details of a business situation to discern the structure of a complex problem.  "It's this kind of problem and requires this kind of solution."

No Kids Allowed

Important point: GMAT scores inversely correlate with age, so kids younger than
 twenty post the highest marks.  We require students to submit GMAT scores, but we are far more interested in the maturity and character of the person!  

I invite you to register your interest now 

David

See also, Selection: part two