Adi’s Annotated Curriculum
I’m having trouble believing it, but this is the last full week of classes for the spring semester, which wraps up on Monday. Tuesday and Wednesday will be study days before exams start on Wednesday. With that in mind, it’s a good time to recap the academic pathways of our graduating student bloggers. Today we’ll look at Adi‘s “annotated curriculum” for his two years in the MIB program. As you’ll see, an annotated curriculum is what it sounds like — a useful device we’ve developed for students to describe how they combined their courses and out-of-class activities during their studies at Fletcher.
Pre-Fletcher Experience
I managed external partnerships and public relations for CISDI, a social startup working on healthcare development in Indonesia.
Fields of Study
International Finance and Banking
International Political Economy
Capstone Topic
Strategic Positioning of Indonesia’s National Holding Company
Post-Fletcher Professional Goals
I would like to merge my newly developed financial skills with my social development background.
Curriculum Overview
Semester One
Foundations in Financial Accounting and Corporate Finance
Global Investment Management
The Arts of Communication
Financial Statement Management
Strategic Management
Managerial Economics
Activities:
FSIG advisory project
A little more than two years since undergraduate does not sound like a long time, but in my first semester, I definitely needed an adjustment period to revive my schooling and student habits. That is why I really enjoyed the Strategic Management course, which was a two-week Monday-to-Friday session before the fall semester actually started. Corporate Finance was the highlight of my semester. While there was no way for me to avoid taking it, since it’s a required MIB course, I truly enjoyed this first exposure to finance and it inspired my interest to learn everything about the topic. Taking this course in the same semester as Investment Management and Financial Statement Management was not easy, but the courses complemented each other in deepening my financial knowledge. Managerial Economics was a good refresher on my economics knowledge from undergraduate. I also really enjoyed Arts of Communication. I took it knowing that enhancing my public speaking skills could only do good for my personal and professional development, but I must say that the whole experience surprised me in how practical and hands-on the projects were.
Semester Two
International Financial Management
Global Financial Services
The Political Economy and Business Environments of Greater China
Marketing Management
Macroeconomics
International Financial and Fiscal Law
Activities:
FSIG due diligence project
Management of the Fletcher Finance Club, 2017-2018
My second semester was still filled with a lot of required courses for the MIB program, including International Financial and Fiscal Law, Macroeconomics, and Marketing Management. I also had to pick a regional course, for which I decided to learn about China because of all the talk about China being a global superpower. As it turned out, I did learn a little bit of everything about China, including its history, its relations with neighboring countries and regions such as Taiwan and Hong Kong, its industrial development, political set-up, and cultural matters. Completing my course list for this semester were two classes with Professor Jacque, whom I had for Corporate Finance. In International Financial Management, I learned about derivative usage, including hedging, speculating, and risk management. For Global Financial Services, I explored different cases of financial disasters throughout history. I decided to really double down on my finance training, to ensure that I could pivot into a career in the financial industry, either for my summer internship or after Fletcher, and thus these two classes were the highlight of my semester.
Summer Internship
Citibank in Jakarta, Indonesia
Semester Three
Large Investment and International Project Finance
Petroleum in the Global Economy
Processes of International Negotiation
Art and Science of Statecraft
Activities:
CFA Challenge
FSIG advisory team lead
After a first year full of required courses, I finally had some flexibility in choosing classes in my third semester. My class on Petroleum was interesting because it discussed a topic that is connected to most issues, but which I have little exposure to or knowledge of. Negotiation has always been one of the most recommended classes at Fletcher, and it definitely equipped me with practical knowledge that I can bring in future engagements, in both my personal and professional life. Art and Science of Statecraft was the outlier of the semester, in that it was not business related, although its common theme on power can easily be implemented in a business setting. Finally, I really enjoyed my Project Finance course. The cases discussed were fascinating, ranging from talking about an aluminum mine in Mozambique all the way to building a new stadium for the Dallas Cowboys. It was a class that brought everything together, from financial modeling to political risk and cultural awareness.
Semester Four
Political Economy of Development
Global Private Equity
Political Economy and Business Context of Latin America
Managing NGOs and Social Enterprises
Building Sustainable Cities and Infrastructure (HBS Cross-Registration)
Activities:
CFA Challenge (Regionals level)
TA, Public Finance – Tavitian Scholarship Program
And yes, here we are, the final semester. Back when I was a first-year, it seemed strange when alumni and second-year students kept talking about how time flies, and yet it is true. With most of my required courses out of the way, I took one final “required” course in Political Economy of Development to complete my International Political Economy Field of Study. I managed to cross-register at Harvard Business School, taking a class on Building Sustainable Cities, which built a lot on the knowledge that I described in my Project Finance course the previous semester. I registered for two half-semester module classes in Private Equity and Latin America, with Private Equity providing me with practical experience in managing a fund, and Latin America fulfilling my curiosity about a region that many at Fletcher are focused on, and yet I know little about. Nonetheless, I would say that Managing NGOs and Social Enterprises is my favorite class at Fletcher so far, which is funny because at the beginning of the semester, this was the only class I did not plan to take. The cases and concepts discussed in this class brought me back to my work prior to Fletcher, and generated ideas I hope I can implement someday.