MBA at SJMSOM, IIT Bombay is one of most coveted places students look for to get a rich experience from the courses spread over 2 years. Located in the heart of the lush green IIT B campus, students enjoy the facilities of the best campus in India be it academics, sports, extracurriculars etc. The pedagogy followed here has helped me understand as well as experience the real-life business situations and find solutions to them using my creativity.
Along with all these memorable experiences, there were also tough times in the form of inevitable SURPRISE TESTS! This forms a part of every student’s life and MBA students were given no exception to this doomed exam. Here comes the surprise in my MBA 1st year which I will never forget. In my second semester, “Macroeconomics” was one of the toughest subjects to follow as the professor covers loads of topics every day and I was always used to be behind. This course was superbly taught by our professor. He used to mesmerize everyone with the way concepts are connected to real-life scenarios. And yes, surprise tests were also a part of this course and, we used to quickly go through the concepts just before his lecture. Surprise tests are always a surprise and my guess never used to be right about this. One fine day, the professor starts with a bang and frightens everyone by announcing this test. In our previous class, IS-LM model was introduced and was extensively taught. Various scenarios were shown on how IS curve (goods market) and LM curve (financial market) tend to shift depending on the fiscal and monetary measures taken by the Government. So, it was naturally clear that the test would be about something similar. However, it is tough to answer as this concept needs to be understood properly. To all our surprise, the professor has revealed that today’s exam is going to be very interesting and not in the way a regular surprise test is conducted.
Chits were placed on his table and all the students were asked to randomly pick from the lot. Two incomplete statements were mentioned on each chit and we were asked to comprehend them first and then choose a partner from the rest of the class so that the combined chits will make meaningful sentences. We were given exactly two minutes first to comprehend and then three minutes to find out the right combination. My chit had the lines: “Fiscal expansion move by the Government of India” and the other “LM curve to shift down causing interest rates to fall”. I quickly understood the statements and started asking my friends trying to relate the same. I was lucky to be one of the very few groups to go and submit the chits to the professor quickly. In the end, it was announced that only the first six groups will be given marks and the rest will be awarded zero. I found this test very interesting as it was not purely about my knowledge and understanding, it was also about teamwork and solving problems together. The way our professor has conducted this test has changed my view about surprise tests and I felt motivated and made me curious which helped me excel in the remaining part of the course. As it was a very new experience for all of us, I consider this as the best classroom experience in my B-school.
Which ABG company would you want to work for and why?
I would like to be associated with Hindalco Industries Limited which enjoys the market leadership position in Aluminium, Copper and other products. I am passionate towards solving real-life operational issues faced in a factory, supply chain network etc. Having been associated with the world’s largest automotive supplier Bosch for three years in core operations and manufacturing, I had gained rich experience from this stint and through my MBA experience now I would be able to make a huge difference with the kind of opportunities available for young professionals. I am driven by self-motivation, my commitment, and result oriented approach. This unique mix of qualities enables me to excel in the today’s challenging environment and step ahead of the future.
Kodi Venkata Hareesh is a second year student at SJMSOM, IITB