The Saga Of The Student Clubs

An essential piece of the b-school puzzle is an institution’s student clubs. Aspirants succeed in getting hold of plenty of information about the academics and the placements of an institution. Still, little do they find to satisfy the curiosity about the functioning of the clubs of their dream college. To break this mystery, we are presenting this series, “The Saga of Student Clubs”. In this article, we are presenting two clubs, Niveshak and E-Cell.

NIVESHAK

Niveshak, the first club of IIM Shillong, is the finance club of the institute that provides the students a unique exposure to the financial world, helping them channel & build their financial skills. Being part of a student club presents many opportunities, and so does Niveshak.

Shashwati Agrahari, first-year PGP participant and Junior Niveshak Team Member, says,

“Niveshak, the oldest club, is known for its well-researched Magazine publications, managing the Niveshak Investment Fund, organizing Finance oriented sessions, etc. As a new student, I instantly knew this was the club I wanted to be a part of.

Along with my team, I have researched contemporary topics to keep our magazine relevant. We got Live projects for our batch. In addition to this, I am constantly in touch with external parties interested in imparting training sessions and other knowledge-sharing sessions. The activities, from dealing with the administration for all procedures to creating content, are enriching. It is apt to say that I “Stay Invested!”

But being part of a student club comes with its own set of challenges as well. After spending almost two years with the student body, Rakesh M K, second-year student, and Senior Niveshak Team Member, expresses it as,

“Being part of such a coveted club brings in many challenges. The experience of dealing with admin, external stakeholders, faculty & peers is the true intangible of being a part of the club. Academics are always a concern because of the high standards of people around you. People & time management with a lot of learning in your domain of choice with a good set of people around you is always invaluable if you are ready to push that extra mile to enjoy the ride.”

E-CELL

Encouraging the entrepreneurial spirit of the student community, the E-Cell of IIM Shillong helps the budding leaders to bring their innovative ideas to fruition. E-Cell helps these booming entrepreneurs to channel their energy and efforts into the right direction and provides the needed support during the journey to convert their dreams into the ground reality.

Joining a club such as E-Cell and working to help others conceive their grand visions, brings benefits for the club participants in satisfying ways.

As Hijal Chatterjee, a second-year student and Senior E-Cell Member puts it as,

“I feel start-ups, in the coming few years, are going to play a vital role in strengthening the economy and taking the country forward. Hence, I felt compelled to interact with and learn about and from budding entrepreneurs. E-Cell gave me that opportunity. Another interesting thing about E-Cell is that it is not domain-specific. If you want to build a start-up and successfully run a business, you need to take care of everything – from finance to marketing, from operations to HR. So, in a way, entrepreneurship is the epitome of an MBA.

As part of the club, I interacted with entrepreneurs, investors, and other students who have top-notch business plans. Emerge, a flagship event, brings together some of the most dynamic entrepreneurs, sharing their stories. Pratyay, the other flagship event, gives students a platform to test their business ideas.”

Mayuri Mundada, Junior E-Cell Members, adds to this,

“IIM Shillong gave me an opportunity to get into a club that instigates people to bring their ideas to the table and works towards thriving such ideas. We assist start-ups with early-stage funding. We try to connect these people with investors and mentors.” Mayuri beautifully summarises it as, “In E-Cell, I learned how to work for others' dreams, and this gives immense satisfaction.”