If you’ve been to an INSEAD Information Session, you’ll know that the final portion relates to our Admissions Criteria, and that one of those criteria is International Outlook[1]. It’s not uncommon for this portion of the presentation to solicit the most questions, and many people wonder about what exactly constitutes an International Outlook. Do they need to have worked abroad? Or to have spent years of their life outside their native country? Do undergraduate exchange programme count? What if they haven’t had the opportunity to travel as much as they would have liked? These are all common questions which I am asked all over the world. But, one of the attendees in our recent Information Session in Toronto presented one of the most interesting questions on the topic I’ve ever been asked.
‘If, as a Canadian’, he posed, ‘I’ve lived and worked in the U.S., does that count as “international”’?
Unsurprisingly, his question got a loud response of laugher from the rest of the group, and I laughed too. But, it also got me thinking of the question more broadly. Just a generation ago, travelling between Western and Eastern Europe, or the U.S. and just about anywhere was a major event. Oceans and walls divided us, both literally and figuratively. Now, former communist countries exchange freely with their European neighbours, not just in goods, but also in labour. And, I know people who will hop on a plane from New York to London for a weekend. I took a globalisation course at University and we called this phenomenon the ‘decompression of the time / space continuum’. Put simply, the world has gotten smaller. And, it begs the question: in a world where countries are closer, do we have to travel farther to become truly international?
When I think of my own experience, I have had three significant moves which have, without a doubt, altered my outlook on the world and myself. The first was my move from the U.S. to London. At 19, I was all bright-eyed, adventure seeking energy, and while my naiveté might have been charming to some, in retrospect it is clear that I had absolutely no idea what I was in for. Studying at a University in which Americans were a clear minority, I got my first real exposure to true Anti-Americanism. Coming into contact with new ideas and perspectives, I began to question both political policies and my own values which I had previously taken for granted. After a year of living there, my mind had been blown wide open. After two, I didn’t want to leave.
Seven years later I did leave, but not for home. Instead, I traded the grey skies of London for the lovely Singapore sunshine. My time in Asia was relatively short; I lived there for the first seven months of my contract with INSEAD, before moving to be based on our campus in France. Seven months obviously can’t compare with seven years, but as the country of Singapore is less than half the size of London, I didn’t need as much time to become familiar with the place. Though I’ve often heard Singapore referred to as ‘Asia light’, my time there certainly gave me my first exposure to Asian working and living culture, as well as some of the best sushi I’ve ever had.
My most recent move was, of course, to France. Though I enjoyed my time in Singapore, I have to admit that I was excited to come back to Europe. I missed good wine and good chocolate (there’s certainly no shortage of either here) and, while I love discovering new and different places, I looked forward to being somewhere a little more familiar. Strangely, though, I have never felt more like a foreigner than I do living in France. Though I love France for its charm, lifestyle and general opulence, there is no question that the culture is very different from my own. Every day, at nearly every turn, I am challenged to adapt to different norms, to communicate in a language and style I find unfamiliar, and to consider new points of view.
In fact, in many ways, Singapore felt closer the U.S. than anywhere else I’ve lived. Everything from the working culture to the consumer culture seemed to mirror the American. U.S. influence can be seen everywhere. It’s strange that somewhere 10,000 miles away from where you’re from can feel more like home than somewhere less than half that distance. But this is the world we now live in; culture divides us more than geography.
Having an International Outlook isn’t necessarily defined by the time you’ve spent abroad or the number of countries you’ve visited. These are just the potential products of a mindset. Distance is no longer measured in the space between one point and another, but in the space between one point of view and another. At INSEAD, we’re looking for people who want to walk that distance; people who will stand at the top of someone else’s peak and take in a new perspective. If you’re ready to rise to that challenge, then INSEAD is ready for you.
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[1] The other three, in case you were wondering, are: Academic Capacity, Leadership Potential and Overall Ability to Contribute to INSEAD.
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