Why IMIM?

Well, there are many reasons to want to be a part of IMIM, and most of them have to do with the experience and opportunities you get. Today I was in the same class with 26 people from 17 different countries. However, this wasn't very weird for me since this has been my life for the past 4 months. I feel like I am in the UN and not in a masters course sometimes. 17 different nationalities! 17 different lifestyles to learn and to adapt to. Different experiences, different interpretations of every body language movement... These are not only general cultural information. These are preperations for the future so that you don't get shocked by how direct Americans can be once you start to do business with them, or so that you don't get offended by the warmth of the Indians who are willing to be your suppliers.

Let's see what else is there in the program... There are 3 wonderful settings first of all: Madrid, Como - Milano, and Stockholm. Plus, in these cities I am having my education in one of the best universities in Spain, Italy, and Sweden. I will get a diploma from all of them, I will learn (at least to a bit) how to speak the same language as the citizens of each country, and most important of all, I will understand how to work, collaborate, and do business with them. Since this master is a International Master in Industrial Management, I think all the candidates would like to know about how to work with businessmen from these places; and trust me, by taking classes from professors of this quality, it is very probable to learn the working environment and business opportunities in each country.

For the candidates, who would be eligible is also another important issue, because they would want to see who can get in here. Well, although this is a new program I must say that the background of the people are getting better and better every year. I was very happy to hear that I got accepted once I got the news in July (a very late date, I know; patience is a virtue!) In order for you guys to reference yourselves, let me give you some information about my capabilities and what made me get into the program.

I am Turkish, and my name is Cem Gürbağ (funny letters, eh?). Personally when they ask where I am from, I say Turkey, but I cannot put an exact location on the globe for Turkey. It is a clash of cultures, Turkey, really. Part of us is in Europe, part of us is in Asia, and it was actually after seeing the variety of cultures even in my country that I wanted to be in a rich and culturally colorful environment. Anyway, I am a mechatronics engineer, graduated from Sabancı University in Istanbul. My high school was an American private high school, Üsküdar American Academy. I was in the football team in both high school and university and I really learned the basics of groupwork, trust, and motivation in these communities. I was also an exchange students mentor and a peer tutor at my university. I finished some serious projects during my bachelor, the most successful one being designing and implementing a rehabilitation robot for people with injured ankles. I put some effort to my summer vacations and went to France, Bordeaux and Cannes to language schools to learn French. Also after being at a considerable level, I went for an internship for 2 months in Paris, at an engineering company. I have no work experience, but had other internships during the summers in Renault factory in Turkey, and in a Turkish robotics company. My English is pretty good and I got 117 out of 120 in the TOEFL exam. My GMAT score was 630 and I my GPA was below 3/4.

I hope that this information gives you at least some guidelines... But anyway, I hope all those who are interested can apply to the program, and I hope that you can get a class full of diversity, both in terms of backgrounds and nationalities, for this is the main purpose of the program. Good luck to you all!

Finally a word for my Turkish friends/candidates:
İnanın bana Amerika'da herhangi bir üniversitede (mesela top 50 dışındakiler) yapacağınız bir eğitimden çok fazla şey katıyor bu master insana. Dil öğrenmekten tutun dünyanın 4 bir yanından gelen insanlarla anlaşabilmek ve buralardaki insanlarla arkadaş olmak size büyük bir avantaj olabilir ilerde; hem sosyal, hem de profosyonel anlamda. Umarım istediğiniz olur, programa girersiniz. Başarılar,

Cem Gürbağ