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Two weeks in Chile for the Global Immersion Experience | Photo essay by UBC MBA student Amar Grewal

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Santiago, Chile

Posted ─ 2023-04-12
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Every year, UBC Master of Business Administration (MBA) students spend months preparing to travel abroad with classmates to tackle complex consulting projects as part of the flagship Global Immersion Experience (GIE). The 2023 destinations included Chile, Israel, South Africa, and Spain.

UBC MBA student Amar Grewal documented her time in Santiago, Chile.


Through her personal photography, she reveals the most poignant moments of the two-week trip, from strolling along the colourful streets of Barrio Bellavista to delivering her team’s final presentation to an auditorium of judges, clients, and students at the University of Chile.

All smiles upon arrival 

After a long flight from Vancouver, our group of UBC MBA students arrived in Santiago safely! Everyone was smiling despite some of us being tired.

Looking up

I love fruit trees! Chile is known for its bounty and quality of citrus trees, so when I spotted this orange tree, I immediately jumped to capture a photo. 

A quiet space of reflection 

Our trip to the Museum of Memory and Human Rights taught us a lot about the victims of human rights violations during the military dictatorship led by Augusto Pinochet between 1973 and 1990. This photo highlights the ‘Velatón,’ a space of reflection and silence to honour all non-surviving victims.

An artist’s dream promenade 

Exploring the different neighbourhoods of Santiago. As an artist in abstract monotone line art, I took great pleasure walking the colourful streets of Barrio Bellavista.

Diving into Chilean trade policy

It was eye-opening to learn about the trade relationships that Chile has with their partners. Following the dictatorship, Chile rapidly engaged in unilateral trade liberalizations, supported by multilateralism, and pioneered in the negotiation of bilateral and plurilateral preferential trade agreements.

Final presentation prep 

My lovely group and I rocking our sunnies in our bright breakout room as we prepare for our final GIE presentations. We look so happy because we just killed it in our mock presentation! Our consulting project focused on developing a marketing strategy for a logistical company to help them with expansion across Chile. My team and I ultimately recommended creating an e-commerce app and a new positioning statement so incoming customers such as new business owners feel supported in launching their services and products.

It’s game day!  

Here’s the empty auditorium at the University of Chile, right before our fantastic judges, clients, and students walked in.

Travelling to Chile presented some unique challenges that forced me to grow professionally and personally. It was my first time travelling outside of Canada to work and play. This challenged me to learn about my surroundings (neighbourhoods, hospitals, pharmacies, grocery stores, etc.), become conversant in basic language and gesture cues, and figure out how to move around the city safely and efficiently. 

I surprised myself with my ability to adapt quickly and think on my feet. I’ve become more and more aware of my own resiliency through the passage of time and because of the circumstances I have encountered throughout my life. 

My major growth moment occurred when I was able to step outside of my comfort zone to ask for help when I really needed it without feeling like I was giving my power away. While initially difficult as it requires a lot of self-confidence and comfort in demonstrating vulnerability, I felt incredibly lucky to be surrounded by classmates and professors who are good and compassionate people.