Amidst the smell of fresh parathas and a flurry of people around, I got off the taxi to find my destination- IIFT, Delhi. I walked through the gates on 29
th June, 2015 and the journey till now has been incredible.
The decision to do my MBA had germinated because of my engineering undergrad which gave me the space to evolve into whatever I wanted to. With my active interest in Economics through two internships (which eventually turned into a published chapter for a book) and my participation in the managerial aspects of the annual festival and the college government, I somewhere realized that my calling was for an MBA. I realize that many of you who are reading this are wondering on how clichéd it is to do an MBA after engineering. I believe that if it were not for engineering, I would never have been exposed to the world of opportunities that surrounded me. MBA has been one of the best decisions I could have taken for my professional fulfillment.
IIFT was the place where I got in closer to my passion academically. I had always been thoroughly intrigued by the field of Marketing and understanding how the needs and wants of people shaped the business space. The first few days at IIFT went by in a flash. With the extremely meticulous curriculum which kept us on our toes and the class presentations, case studies and quizzes that followed ensured that sleep was a fairly distant thought.
Each day was a new discovery, I realized how little I knew about the business space and how much there was to learn. IIFT gave me the space to have a dialogue. The smaller batch advantage at IIFT, gave me the liberty to voice my concerns wherever I wished to. I profoundly remember my first marketing presentation where the professor and I debated on a topic for 15 minutes with the entire class present. IIFT gave me the space to grow by giving my ideas a space to grow.
Amidst all the flurry of Summer Placements, Classes, Assignments and Quizzes, parties were always a welcome. Parties and celebrations at IIFT were of the sort that I had never attended. Crazy is the only word that comes to my mind.
One thing that mesmerizes me about IIFT is the kind of pride that we take in our legacy. Each of us at IIFT, not only realize that we are the students from one of the finest business schools in the country but also that we work in a way to make the institute proud. For IIFTians, there is not a “me” in winning the various corporate competitions that we do, and that is why you can see tremendous amount of peer learning. There is a lot of work that we do to maintain the legacy that the name of our institute carries.
IIFT gave me the chance to travel and explore an entirely new world. I was selected for the Student Exchange programme and was admitted to the University of Barcelona for a semester. The experience in Europe has transitioned my International Business degree to the next level. IIFT has taught me a lot and more than that, it has given me chances where I have the space to teach myself.
The perks of studying in an institute under the Ministry of Commerce are immense. A plethora of policy makers are attracted to this place because of the same. Lastly, the amount and quality of guest lectures (courtesy our amazing placement committee) that we have at IIFT is truly amazing. You can learn something every day, directly from an industry leader.
I hope each of you get a chance to be a part of this wonderful legacy.
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About the author (in his own words):
I am a thorough marketing enthusiast and a debater. When you don't see me hyper actively debating about an issue or a topic, you'd find me silently reading a book/comic or just writing. After my Europe experience, I like to call myself a traveller.