Imperial College MBA Constantin Bilbor used his trips to China and Brazil to explore Romania’s trade links with the two fast-growing export markets
Imperial College Business School's Constantin Bilbor tells us he had the best experience of his life when, as an MBA student, he visited China and Brazil on study tours.
The tours were organised for Imperial MBAs by Legacy Ventures, and gave them phenomenal access to businesses and contacts on the ground in both countries.
Constantin graduated from
Imperial in 2012 and works at Johnson Controls, a global technology firm. He is the Senior Project Manager for their Goldman Sachs account. The former engineering supervisor seized the opportunity to do an MBA because he is planning ahead for opportunities beyond his current managerial role.
The ambitious executive told us: “I believe that life opportunities have to be searched for rather than expected to turn up at our doorstep.
"My aim is to engage in entrepreneurial and leadership roles, to innovate and envisage new and different futures that challenge the fundamentals of my firm and redefine its core strategies. This is what I was expecting from an MBA and that is what the Imperial MBA has prepared me for.”
A chance to expand his horizons through international travel was very important to Constantin. He believes that global interaction creates global business opportunities as well as improving your network and career prospects.
For his MBA project, Constantin researched the export ties between his home country Romania and the BRIC countries, and chose to visit China and Brazil to help his research.
He spent a week in each country, visiting Beijing and Shanghai in China, and Rio de Janeiro and Sao Paulo in Brazil. Legacy Ventures organised meetings with top academics and business executives, and helped him findrelevant people to interview for the project.
The official programme organized by
Legacy Ventures also included meetings and presentations at investment banks, engineering consultancies, energy and manufacturing firms, law firms, retailers, and marketing and advertising agencies.
Students also attended events at local business schools and alumni networking evenings, as well as visits to local tourist attractions!
“It was my best international experience ever”, said Constantin. His highlights include visits to Suzhou Industrial Park just outside Shanghai, and the Afro Reggae Cultural Group Community Center in Rio de Janeiro.
Constantin serving Hot Pot to the MBA Cohort in China
Suzhou Industrial Park is a high tech Chinese town with integrated industrial and urban areas for both working and living. It's a futuristic feast of modern skyscrapers, university campuses, theatres and shopping centres and health and leisure facilities.
The living areas are harmoniously integrated with state of the art R&D and production facilities, ingeniously linked by futuristic transportation, and advanced communication systems, and interwoven with beautiful parks and canals!
The cohort getting some salsa training
Afro Reggae offers modern community centres located in the heart of Rio’s slums, featuring mini-libraries, computer labs, and studios for dance, music and recording. The centres deliver free artistic education to youngsters, supporting anyone in the community who wants to break away from violence and the drug trade.
The other highlight of Constantin's MBA was the
Innovation, Entrepreneurship and Design module. Working with Imperial's science and design faculties, the module takes students from a simple business idea to fully researched and tested business plan. The teams have the opportunity to present their business plans, Dragons Den-style, to a panel of entrepreneurs and venture capitalists. It was the main reason Constantin chose the Imperial MBA!
Constantin gives Imperial College Business School and Legacy Ventures two thumbs up! While he isn't pursuing business opportunities in China or Brazil yet, he’s seen for himself the huge career opportunities both countries present for experienced MBAs.
He said, “These countries have seen remarkable economic developments in the last decade and are opening up toprofessionals from around the world who want to do business there or join the growing expat communities managing local and multinational enterprises. So, never say never!”
Read more stories about students, alumni and programmes at Imperial College Business School. Compare Business Schools in our MBA Rankings table.
