I was quite thrilled when I first knew that I was going to Cape Town for my IIP. I have been to Cape Town before. It was during the 1 week study tour that took place in May and it was very good. We got a lot of industry exposure and the trip was a success.
2 months later, I am back. The IIP at Cape Town is a 4 week long project and is in association with the university of Stellenbosch business school. The IIP in Cape Town consists of 3 projects. The first one is based on developing scenarios for the consumer mobility trend in South Africa retail by 2020. This is by far the biggest project out of the 3. The second one is a Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) based case study to be written for the Fairhills project. This project is a part of the Fair-trade organisation. And the last one is a marketing plan for the University of Stellenbosch targeted towards the marketing of their MBA program towards the MBA aspirants from India.
The typical weekday consists of interviews with personnel from all 3 projects and then, lots of research and brainstorming at the university. We work from the university itself and it has been hectic over the last 3 weeks. My team consists of students from India, China and Russia. It is no surprise that we are often called the “Emerging countries” group. Coming from a developing economy is quite helpful as we are able to use our different viewpoints and situations from our respective countries and adapt it to the setting in South Africa.
The weekends are spent seeing the sights of Cape Town which we had not seen in May. Driving in Cape Town has been a liberating experience and we were able to find cheap Indian food in Cape Town. We visited Chapman’s peak which is a 593 m high sea drive which stretches for about 9 km. The coastline and the beach are beautiful sights that one should see in their lifetime. We also had a chance to visit Long Street which is known for its culture of street food and bars. In the afternoons, one can just sit and relax at a Waterfront coffee shop.
I have really enjoyed working in South Africa, even though the weather has been a little unpredictable. With only one week left at this beautiful place called Cape Town, we are planning to finish our work and also, enjoy the tranquility that this place has to offer.
No comments:
Post a Comment