It’s a late Sunday evening and everyone in the campus just had a terrible weekend after we were asked to attend 12 hours of self-help workshop on personal finance conducted by the pioneers of the industry. I, for one, was looking forward to binge watch a new TV series that got a nine-pointer on IMDB and would have preferred to end the weekend on a high (ahem) with my friends at a local joint nearby. But I was stuck with a case study competition floated exclusively for top ten B-schools by a major consulting firm. Not really an ideal weekend, if you ask me, but here’s something you can take out of it. In IIFT, almost all weekends are on similar lines. There is always some kind of value addition that is happening and it’s really up to you where you want to take this forward. Even if you are hell-bent on spending your weekends secluded, the curriculum and the administration will ensure that you do the things that will only take your career further in the right direction.
VolleyBrawl intra-college level tournament
But it’s not about the work and presentations all the time. Here in IIFT, you will be allowed to delve deep into your extracurricular interests that transcend beyond your regular curriculum. Of course, there will be nights where you will be asked to curb your desire to sleep while your laptop is playing “Die Hard” for the umpteenth time, and pull an all-nighter for a corporate competition or a dossier for the next conference to be held in your college, but those weekends are few and evenly sprinkled throughout the year! You like your classics? We have the IIFT movie nights every Saturday where you vote for your favourite movie/TV series to be played in the amphitheatre (it's Sherlock this weekend, btw). You're a sports head? We have college level sports competitions being held regularly every fortnight! From volleyball to Gully cricket, you name it, we got it! You are more of an intellectual kind? Join the literary and debate club and meet with like-minded individuals every week to discuss various happenings of the world! You have an inquisitive mind? Why don’t you participate in Quiz competitions held by the Quizardry club! These guys conduct quiz on almost any trivia under the sun and boy it feels great to rub the nose of your eternal nemesis/best friend in your intellectual glory.
- IIFTians during a weekend Quiz
Wanna go out of the campus and chill out? Kolkata offers mind-boggling opportunities to revel your hard-earned break and make the most of it! Be it pandal hopping during Durga Puja (yes you get week-long holidays to explore as you please) or go for fancy lounge and sports café on Park Street! Or if partying is not your thing, then you can always go to the quaint parts of North Kolkata and soak in the quiet and often nostalgic driven British Era marvels like Victoria Memorial or shop for that blue shirt at dirt-cheap prices on the Espalande street. Or simply take a long walk near the shores of river Hoogly right next to the grand Howrah Bridge. If it’s the food that gets you going, then you just landed in the right place! Go for the famous fish curry and Chawranghee rolls and finish up the gluttony with the famous rosugullas and sondesh from legendary Ballram Mullick sweet shop (which happens to be quite near to our campus!) Kolkata also happens to be the gateway city for multiple tracks and unexplored weekend getaways like the eternal Sundarbans or a night out to Mandarmani beach! It’s almost a ritual for IIFTians to visit the great North East after summer and final placements!
In the end, whenever we would look back and reflect on our college life, we will remember the fun times we had with our friends and not what happened in the classrooms. No doubt, IIFT offers you world-class academic infrastructure and strong corporate relations that will take your professional career to new heights, but it’s not just the placements that this campus has to offer. It’s the culture that defines the campus and these small but significant activities bring about a true change in you not only as a student of International Business, but also as a person.
Welcome to IIFT, where you will receive so much more than just a degree!