It must not be a novel concept to anyone appearing for any of the aptitude tests that one of the most frequently asked questions in any interview is ‘Why MBA?’ Most of us find it really difficult to articulate their views on this question. I was not an exception when I appeared for the interviews after CAT. The life of an IT individual was probably not suitable enough for me, that I took this decision of pursuing further studies. But many times, I could not even convince myself with this answer.
IIM Udaipur, our second home, is surrounded by hills and is situated on a backdrop of a picturesque scenery. The first day on campus overwhelmed the students of the vastness of the campus. Still, in its nascent state, the campus provides unbound opportunities for future expansion and establishment of further amenities.
Now that we have set the basic context, I would really like to comment on the USP of IIM Udaipur. IIM Udaipur is an institution that is completely driven by students. The decision-making authority given to various student governance bodies are paramount, and until and unless there are issues which cannot be solved by the students, the administration does not interfere with the student governance.
This has a two-fold effect on the students studying here:
1. Students get to learn the life skills required to thrive in any corporate environment. Students must take ownership of each and every single action taken by them.
2. Students also get to rendezvous with stalwarts from the corporate ecosystem, get mentored by them and learn under their patronage. Some of the responsibilities coming under the purview of various student bodies include acting as liaisons between the whole student community and various vendors and contractual stuff who are providing services to the IIM U community, inviting new vendors through tenderized processes to improve the quality of life in the campus, coordinating with various visiting guest speakers in student interaction, etc.
The vision of the Director of the institute places the foundation of the Institute on three pillars of academic excellence, career growth opportunities and student activities. This triad of institutional vision is ingrained within the student community, and each and every individual student is expected to uphold the values of the college to the letter.
The journey of a student through the two years at IIM Udaipur is not focussed only on graduating as a professional and getting a job offer at the end of the tenure. The journey is supposed to be an introspective transformation where the students realise their long-term aspirations and align it with the skillsets they pick up during these two years. Moreover, maybe, at the end of the day, students graduating from here will finally be able to answer the question ‘Why MBA?’ and have his/her conscience satiated.
#ABGLP