I recently completed the first year of MBA from NMIMS, interning in an FMCG giant with Marketing as my majors. In the classes and through projects, I learned about theoretical and practical concepts pertaining to the area of business management. But I learned many things from people and certain experiences. Some of these learnings are positive, which I would always cherish, & some negative which are to be always remembered as a lesson.
So, here’s a glimpse into my first year at NMIMS.
Lessons You Learn At A B-School
Lesson 1: Don’t be afraid of asking questions
Many students do not have a habit of raising red flags or asking questions whenever they don’t understand any concept, question or conversation. They do it because of fear of being judged. One should always keep asking questions as this expands the horizon of discussion on any topic.
Lesson 2: If you are two in a room, there isn’t really a necessity to have a bath. Doing so, even for ten minutes may lead to a loss of one-and-a-half-hour lecture. (So probably you could go for a late-night shower)
Lesson 3: You don’t always have dosa with sambar, you have dosa with rickshaw too. (Grammar Nazis, please forgive me...!) Breakfast on wheels! Rickshaws are nice, until you have to stop one. So how do some of my friends do it? “Bhaiyya, Big Bazaar chaloge” (Just NM things…!)
Lesson 4: Friends Are Family
There are times when you might have a complete breakdown, nothing might seem to go right. This is the time when friends come to your rescue. Due to pretty hectic schedule, you might visit home only 3-4 times in the whole duration of 2 years. Friends would be a part of almost everything that you do; party, travel, studies, sports and competitions.
Lesson 5: Your only companion is your alarm. (Alarms could be humans too, just saying…!)
Lesson 6: Chai is life, but Coffee is wife. (Now I leave that to you, to be deciphered)
Lesson 7: It’s Also About Luck/Chance
Luck, chance or random arrangement; give it any name but it plays a major role in b-school.
Lesson 8: Always carry an extra blazer, if not carry an additional perfume to compensate for that. (Being A Placecommer…!)
Lesson 9: Treat Pre-reads as a pre-read. There’s immense knowledge in doing so and it helps you participate better. (CP always has weightage)
Lesson 10: Different Dimensions of Diversity
Conventionally diversity is demographic in nature. But in b-school, it is also on a psychographic level, you would find people who think differently and have totally different life experiences from you. This is where the real learning lies and creativity sparks.
Lesson 11: Early to bed, early to rise doesn’t make me wise. Well well well, early to rise is a good thing, but the former is not really a possibility. (It may just happen that both of them clash…!)
Lesson 12: Jack of All or Master of One
At NM, I’ve seen some people doing everything at once; they are at competitions, academics, extra-curricular etc. While some people who are focused on just one or two things. Both the types of people were doing just fine till the time they enjoy what they are doing and yes learning something out of it.
Lesson 13: Learn to Prioritize
B-School life is the best exposure one could get. Competitions, case studies and a truckload of other opportunities is something you should not miss out on.
Also, I can’t wait to see what the next three trimesters have in store for me. That’s my version of saying, “Hey, I’m excited!”