My Experience At IIM Nagpur || Dinesh

Are you a Binge watcher, Gamer, IT employee, Netflix/Prime guy? Well, I am none of those. I hated the screen, never watched a single episode of GOT. I prefer playing outdoor sports, spending most of my free time with family and friends. Imagine a sudden change from there to daily, almost 14+ hours on screen. Yes, the guy has landed into the world of MBA in the pandemic times. Given the challenges and restrictions, the college had adopted new ways of teaching, and the orientation events were also held online. I was surprised to see the kind of events planned by the seniors amidst the challenges. It has definitely set the bar higher.

IIM Nagpur being such a prestigious institute, I was expecting rigorous academics at the same time learning through experiences. We are now approaching the end of term two, and someone rightly said that ‘Rollercoaster Ride’ has already started since the first orientation event. The kind of Growth that IIM Nagpur has shown amongst the new generation IIMs and many reputed institutions was conspicuous through the Institution’s expectations from the students. Be it group projects, case preparation, competitions, and whatnot. The institute demands students to excel in all these fields, and The Pygmalion effect is evident.

Initially, the ride was not working for me, and I was about to jump off from there. Being spent those sleep-deprived nights in depression, the Thought of giving up and trying next year for the physical world also came to my mind. But thanks to the IIM Nagpur’s Buddy program, where a senior is assigned to you to solve all your doubts and queries.  Well, after speaking to my Buddy, she reminded me of beautifully working Charles  Darwin’s Theory, and I am Quoting it here “It is not the strongest of the species that survives nor the most intelligent that survives. It is the one that is most adaptable to the change survives’. This pushed me to try my level best and to survive in this challenging world.

Talking about the curriculum, as most industry experts say that now, Businesses are five years ahead of their time in terms of technology. This applies to the Academic Institutes as well. IIM Nagpur adopts that same tech-driven approach to deliver a seamless learning experience. The Faculty is trying their best to get the most out of us and making sure that there is minimal difference between the campus and virtual classes. All those group activities (especially for MPPO-HR lectures) that are supposed to be carried out in a physical classroom setup are done in virtual and imparted the same values to us which are required. The guest lectures from the industry’s prominent experts ensure that we are aware of the Corporate world and fill those demand-supply gaps for the corporates.

Looking back at those five months, I learned different management concepts and their application in the industry. Working in groups with diverse people and sharing a bond with them, the virtual world has not stopped it. But the major takeaway is different. Someone said that ‘MBA teaches you life, I would say it teaches you OPTIMIZATION. You have your limited 24 hours at your disposal and how you make the best possible use of it.  From being sleep deprived all the time, now I am happily sleeping 4-5 hours a day and learning to optimize the remaining. There will be challenges coming in the future that may be bigger than covid, but these past months have taught me to prepare for any challenge in the world. It is an experience that I will cherish for the rest of my life.

About the author - Dinesh is a PGP 2020-22 student of IIM Nagpur, and he has 25 months of work experience as a Business Development Associate in the FMCG Sector. He loves to watch and play football, spend time with family, and indulge in cooking in his leisure time. He has recently developed an interest in the field of Finance.