We bring to you an interview with Partha Sarathi Banerjee, the first year topper (Finance) from KJ Somaiya Institute of management studies and research (KJ SIMSR), Mumbai
(2014-16) below-
1. Tell us about your educational background. Why did you decide of pursuing MBA? Why did you choose KJ Somaiya?
I am a first class Economics Honours graduate of St. Xavier’s College, Kolkata. My interest for the subject Finance was developed in my second year of graduation itself. At the same time I wanted to step into the corporate world after a few years. Hence a professional qualification like an MBA degree with Finance specialisation would enable me achieve my objective in the upcoming years. I chose K.J. Somaiya among other comparable institutes due to three reasons. Firstly, it is an established B-school running successfully over the last three decades. Secondly, due to its prime location advantage, it being situated in the heart of Mumbai (the financial capital of India), definitely provides an edge over others during placements. Thirdly, the fee structure of K. J. SIMSR is very reasonable as compared to other similar business schools.
2. "To be one amongst the toppers of my batch"- was that a strategy from day one of B- School or something that evolved eventually?
There was no predefined strategy as everyone else is equally good, but yes, I made sure that I understood the lessons taught daily and did not let my work pile up and continued working hard throughout the trimesters.
3. Walk us through your academic journey in the first year – How did you pace yourself academically in the first, second term?
The first year was slightly more hectic from an overall perspective as compared to the second year. The first trimester was the most hectic with several new subjects coming in simultaneously. However, things began to fall into place in the second and third trimesters. This may be due to the fact that we all were pretty new to the institute and over time we adjusted to the pressure. In the second year, we all were pretty comfortable as we had the subjects of our choice.
4. What is the contribution of your Professors/ college in your success?
Whatever I have achieved, I owe it all to my professors. Nothing would have been possible without their support and guidance. The introduction to the totally new subjects along with the ground work of generating the interest of the students was done brilliantly by our first year professors. In the second year we got immense support from the faculty who helped us in building our knowledge further and delving deeper into the subjects of our choice.
5.B- School is mostly about group activities. Were you used to this kind of team endeavour’s or was it a new experience for you? How would you rate your performance during the team activities?
Being a part of group assignments and activities was not a completely new experience to me as I had worked in a team in an organisation prior to my MBA. I would rate my performance in the various group activities at K.J. SIMSR as “good” as I have been able to coordinate well with different members of whichever group I was and was able to accomplish the tasks assigned to our group pretty well and within the deadline allotted to us.
6. Tell us about your summer internship.
The summer internship is one of the most essential parts of the entire MBA curriculum as it gives the students a taste of the corporate world before having entered into. I had done my summer internship in the Investment Department of National Insurance Company Limited. It being one of the largest PSU’s in the insurance industry in India gave me immense exposure during the short stint of two months. Also the quality of training I received from my industry and faculty mentors is worth mentioning.How important do you think is the involvement in Extra- Curricular activities? Do you think these activities tend to deviate a student's mind from the initial academic goals set?
7. How important do you think is the involvement in Extra- Curricular activities? Do you think these activities tend to deviate a student's mind from the initial academic goals set?
No, an MBA curriculum is not just shaping ones academic goals. It involves a holistic development of an individual, which can be achieved only through involvement in various extracurricular activities. In fact this is the reason why all B-schools have several committees in which students organise various activities throughout the academic year. I myself being a part of the Finance Committee of K.J. SIMSR feel that extracurricular activities are essential in the overall development of a student.
8. What would you like to advise to this year's batch w.r.t academics, activities, & in general about the B- School life?
I would always urge my juniors to do what interests them, but after having chosen their field of interest, one must try to excel in those chosen fields or areas of interest.