I begin my interview with Jan-Patrik Reimann (‘JP’) in his office in between his many, many meetings. As my internship supervisor, JP interviewed me when I applied to be an intern at the firm. This time, I was interviewing him as a fellow student, learning about his Cambridge student life as if we were freshers meeting for the first time all over again. It was a weird, but hilarious dynamic shift.

JP is the Head of AML, Compliance, Finance and Operations at Ravenscroft & Schmierer, a Hong Kong law firm. Alongside his full time role, he is also a member of Darwin College (one of the university’s postgraduate-only colleges) studying the 2 year Executive Master of Accounting (EMAcc) course part time at the Judge Business School. Once every 3 months, JP and his cohort stay in the city for one week for a period known as  “residentials”. But what does a typical day look like during this residential period? 

Breakfast  

8:00am—8:45am

As a part-time student, JP doesn’t have access to college accommodation, so he takes advantage of the many hotels available in the city. “I usually get up around 8am and then eat the hotel breakfast at 8:30am”, he tells me.

Arriving at JBS 

9:00am—5:00pm

For the EMAcc course, lectures run from 9am to 5pm every day. ”We have 4 lectures everyday,” JP says,”but it could take up the whole day with the same lecturer and topic.”

Postgraduate lectures are very unlike undergraduate lectures. They usually consist of a lot of discussions; and are more similar to typical undergraduate seminars. JP tells me that lecture topics can range from Data Visualisation to Sustainability Reporting.

Remembering his last trip, JP recalls “the last time I went, we had a full day speaker series with the regulation of AI and had speakers from Google, Citibank and more”. 

Lecture breaks for JP’s cohort also contrast with those of typical undergrads, who likely spend their free time relaxing on the Sidgwick site lawn, grabbing a snack from a nearby cafe, or catching up with friends. “Most of us check our work emails and messages throughout the day, each day. So, it’s not like a clear cut study break,”JP explains. He points out that all 15 members of his cohort are professionals who often need to be on alert in between lectures in case any work tasks need to be completed. Some even catch up on work in the mornings and evenings.

These additional responsibilities are one way in which the varying circumstances of students are revealed. JP admits that  “some students in my cohort entirely hide the fact from their employers that they do this programme. So, when they come to Cambridge for the residentials, they just apply for leave without any further comments.”

Not everyone is in this position though. JP asked his boss for approval before accepting his offer, and he tells me how “other students get sponsored, and partially funded, by their employers. Some also get scholarships to cover at least some of the fees.”

Evenings 

6pm to 12am

Back at home, most EMAcc students will have a follow-up task to do based on the day’s lectures. JP tells me how he “ usually ha[s] individual assignments to write at home, but occasionally [we] have group reports to write as well.” 

Of course, the Cambridge experience is never just about the studying. Outside of the JBS, JP is involved with the Vegan Society, Plant-Based Cambridge and is the incoming president of the Cambridge University Social Impact & Sustainability Society (CUSISS). To make the most out of the students’ short time there, “at least one evening, the business school will organise a dinner. Because we’re usually [in Cambridge] out of term, there aren’t many events, but we did manage to go to the Girton Spring ball one time”. 

An ideal night in Cambridge for JP would consist of “a vegan formal dinner at a college I have not dined at yet, followed by Jack’s Gelatos and great conversations with my cohort, and perhaps some other people we [would] meet, at one of the many historical Cambridge pubs, and then a good sleep”.

As a postgraduate student, there is a large emphasis on networking and having a strong LinkedIn presence, which JP actively promotes. With 500+ connections and 8,000+ followers, JP is active on LinkedIn everyday; he views it as much more than a site to post about professional achievements. After all, LinkedIn is where it all started. When JP saw a LinkedIn post about the EMacc in early 2023, he definitely didn’t expect to get an offer. And although flying a 13 hour flight every 3 months from Hong Kong to Cambridge sounds exhausting, for JP the Cambridge experience is quite literally a dream come true.

Back at the office, JP and I end the interview by discussing how he will tackle the formal challenge during his next residential at the end of October. He’s already been to Selwyn, Christ, Emmanuel, Darwin, Queens, Hughes Hall and Newnham. 7 colleges down, 24 to go!