Nestled in the outskirts of the capital city of Raipur, the Indian Institute of Management is located in the village Sejbahar. The institute, without any infrastructure of its own, has been operating out of a block of the Government Engineering College, Raipur for almost 8 years now. Apart from GEC Raipur, the newly established Indian Institute of Technology, Bhilai, set up in 2016, is the institute’s newest neighbour.
Thus, just one shared building constitutes the B-school named IIM Raipur. But, is it really those plush green lawns, or those ornamental fountains and statues of history makers that market an educational institution’s worth? You must be wondering where I am heading with this. My point is, you can have the best infrastructure and location, but does that really sum up the uniqueness of an institute of higher learning. No, it doesn’t. It’s the people, which make this campus unique.
Acing the Career Aptitude Test, only 210 out of 2 lakh aspirants make it to IIM Raipur every year. A test, that looks simple at first glance, has been known to test one’s patience, accuracy and concentration over the years with surprise changes in testing patterns. Hence, country’s 210 best minds, after going through rigorous writing assessments, group activities, interviews and a continuous test of their soft skills make it through.
From varied backgrounds, these people bring together a bunch of different skill sets, domains and experiences under a single roof, all to earn a Post Graduate Diploma (not even an MBA degree) in Management. And once you start your journey at a B-school, you realise that no books can help you become a good manager or a future leader, or an entrepreneur.
Had this been the case, everyone would have bought books worth 50 thousand rupees and boasted their management knowledge. Then why do we pay 12 lakhs for 2 years of hectic lifestyle and torturous nights, uncountable assignments, case studies and presentations? The answer would remain the same as the topic I started writing for, to be under the same roof as these 210 people. The advent of a good manager starts the day he or she begins participating in the rituals of a B-school.
Hence, it’s the experiences, the life that you live for these 2 years that overhauls your persona and publishes a better version of yourself into the corporate world, version IIM, a version that never gets deprecated, and receives updates till eternity.
Which ABG Company would you work for and Why?
I would love to be a part of Ultratech Cement, Aditya Birla Group. Being a mechanical engineer undergraduate, I would love to witness a mix of my engineering skills with those of the management ones, bringing a finishing touch to my work and enhancing my ability to contribute to the brand of Aditya Birla Group.
Shubham Mahore is a first-year student in IIM Raipur