Top Secret news from Paediatric AIDS Team
Nothing to see here, move it along folks... Actually, not being cheeky at all, there is not much to say about our project because our sponsor wants us to keep it on the down-low. Pharma is a funny industry, rife with secrets and outmaneuvering and half-information, so we are trying to play the game, too. But I did sign up to blog so I am contributing...with 9 working days to go.
From the outside, this looks like a pretty tame project. Lots of desk research, lots of skype use, lots of learning how to say things like tenofovir disoproxil fumarate and viral load testing until it sounds like you know what you're talking about, and wake up at night with the phrases running through your head.
I'm based in London, along with Josh (most of the time), whilst Marty and Rebecca are mostly in Oxford, except for their glamorous tour of Toronto for the world's largest HIV/AIDS conference. My day consists of a lot of confusion, stress, and worry that we don't know what we're doing, plus excitement about working on something as important as getting treatment to the 2million+ kids in the world with HIV (half of whom will die before their 2nd birthday). Josh and I are bunkered in borrowed office space at the Young Foundation in Bethnal Green, east London... a neighborhood that is half gentrified, half not, so you get a mix of yuppies and women in burqas on the street. It is a great neighborhood.
And that is pretty much it, I think, in order to stay kosher with our client's wishes. On a personal note, I am very much enjoying living with my husband, in all 290 square feet of splendour (30 square metres) in Notting Hill. All are welcome, but only two at a time, due to space constraints. If you do come to visit, you will be invited to play a thrilling game of "find the shower"--a game which is challenging because the ingenious/hilarious placement of the shower in our flat bewilders most guests for minutes on end. See you then.
Foreigners seized - Aug 14, 2006
More
foreigners were seized in Nigeria but none from the Oxford team. We've seen a little of everything in Nigeria but fortunately no kidnappings. We've actually felt safe most of the trip. You definitely can't go walking around at night alone but all in all everything has been great. We have 11 days left in Lagos and then we're on a flight back to the UK. Of course, if you read cnn.com it doesn't sound like flying into Heathrow will be much different than a night stroll in Lagos.
In the picture you can see the team in their traditional Nigerian clothes. We'll see you all back at the ranch in a few weeks.
The Access Bank Team.
For more stories on our trip
click here.
Malaria strikes Nigeria team
Welp, we had our first
Malaria incident in Lagos.
Jayne wasn't feeling to hot on Friday and Saturday and it wasn't because of the Star Beer or spicy chicken. On Sunday she went to the clinic and sure enough she was diagnosed with malaria. Fortunately she went in soon enough that all she needs to do is take her medicine and rest and she should be back to normal in a few days. That's the big news from this side of the world.
I guess there is one more important bit of news: Mike found a golf course in Lagos and played on Saturday AND then again on Sunday. More to come on his
blog this week.
Over and out,
Access Bank Team
Do you Yahoo!
It's been a while since the team that is furthest away from Oxford made a post that we thought that the time had come for an update.
New team nameFirst of all, we have decided to rename our team to team LICWTOIIN!, after our remit to refer to the company that we work with as the large internet company with two O's in it's name! Needless to say, we're thrilled to be here and have been treated very well (and yes, they have bribed us to say that).
And what bribes they have been!
Batter upFrom company backpacks to free travel, a week in a very nice hotel to the latest freebie which was tickets at a
Giants ballgame in the home ground in San Francisco. These weren't just any old tickets, these were for the luxury Diamond suite which was located behind the pitch and right next to the box where all the journalists sit. Talk about good seats! Naturally there was free food, beer and wine and as much Cracker Jacks as you could shake a stick at, not to mention programs and a baseball cap. Who knew that baseball could be so much fun?
Oink oinkEvery year LICWTOIIN! hosts a Summer Picnic for all their employees at each site. This year in Sunnyvale and Mission, the picnic was at
Blackberry Farm. It was a fun day, especially for the kids but there was lots of beer for the adults too...
BBQ's and swimming poolsThis is California after all, and what do you do in the evening after a long day's work? Why, you have a barbeque by the pool and solve the world's (internet) over a beer and slab of beef with several generations of Oxford MBA graduates working at the same firm...
Overall, it's been a good week, with several other things that I haven't mentioned like having the band "Raining Jane" play for us during our lunch hour by the campus caffiteria, going to talks given by top execs in the company and having an honest Q&A session afterwards. A very worthwhile experience.
Turns out "tranforming the government" is not so easy...
We are not so lucky to get to go to Swansea all the time... sometimes we go to London too! This Friday we were at IBM Business Solutions office on the south bank. Here are some "action" shots of us brainstorming to come up with a model to use as a benchmark to compare other organizations. Turns out when it comes government entities Porter has no "force" - as there are there is no competitive rivlary or subsitutes and consumers are mandated by law. Luckily the Canadian Government has come to the rescue with some good examples (never thought I'd see that!).
VIDEO: A Day in the Life in Lagos
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The Oxford team is spending 8 weeks in Lagos on a consulting project with Access Bank. In the next 3 minutes, mcfaddenplace productions will take you to where the team, Jayne Thorpe, Lijun Jiang, Timothy Ojo, and Michael McFadden, are working diligently on their task at hand. Be on the watch out for a special guest appearance by Kelly McFadden.
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Nokia - Dubai and Oxford bound
The Nokia team will reunite later this week in the jewel of the Emirates, Dubai to present its findings to Nokia MEA. We expect this week to be one of the most challenging yet as we synthesise our discoveries and develop key recommendations for Nokia. Judging by the photos it has not been all work and no play.
Tim has purchased himself a stress relieving Hookah in Casablanca. Bing and Ankur enjoyed an off road desert excursion from Dubai and Doug visited a Lion Park outside Joburg.
Plus there is even more 'play' on the cards. The whole team is looking forward to being treated by Nokia to an afternoon of indoor snow skiing in Dubai this Thursday. Then it is back to Oxford for the big write up. We are all a litte tired of living out of a hotel and look forward to resuming normal pub routines back in Oxford.
Cheers all,
Tim, Bing, Ankur and Doug
