Bringing International Opportunities to Rice MBA

During last fall semester, the IMC continued to expand international opportunities by organizing a trip to London and Paris in the first week of January, 2005. Three Rice MBAs (Laurent Tran, Brandy Hays, and Derrick Hinton) traveled to London to meet with Atkins Rail and to Paris to meet with Schlumberger and Sysload Software.

Concurrently, more than a dozen MBA students opted to go on a week-long intensive Spanish course at the Cuauhnáhuac Spanish Language School in Cuernavaca, Mexico, during the first week of January, 2005.  This opportunity was facilitated by JGSM’s Director of Development Maya C. Houston, who has been a champion of the International Management Club.

Europe Trip Summary

In London, Laurent Tran (Class of 2005), Brandy Hays (Class of 2005), and Derrick Hinton (Class of 2006) visited with Atkins Rail, an engineering consulting firm, which won a contract to refurbish 70% of the London’s Underground stations as part of the Metronet alliance.  Metronet is a joint venture of five world class companies - Atkins, Bombardier, Balfour Beatty, Thames Water, and Seeboard Energy- that partnered together to undertake this massive project.

Atkins’ East Area Manager Bobby Vijay led our Rice MBAs through the Bow Road Station, explaining the myriad of challenges involved in refurbishing a station while maintaining its historical flair.  Back in the office, Aktins Rail’s Head of Communication Dale Lawrence presented how the Metronet alliance is set up to manage this massive engineering project, spanning over 30 years.  Rice MBAs were featured in Atkins Rail’s January 2005 newsletter Points (Issue 93).

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