Illustrator:Sarah Jane Souther / TED
I am sure all of us have been interacting on various platforms on the internet ever since we got our hands on it. We exchanged texts, shared memes, and what not! Some of you if not all must have leveraged internet by joining online groups to study together for your B-School examination. But did we gave it a thought that we will have to attend our B-School online?
The prevailing conditions had put verve and interest of MBA aspirants to a test. A gust of skepticism rushed putting a question upfront that whether joining a B-School at such a time is the best-suited option or not. After all, we were putting the hard-earned money of our parents at stake. I was no exception to it.
However, the zeal of SIMS to impart education in lockdown in the most cohesive way cleared some air. To keep the learning going in lockdown, SIMS chose to switch to online teaching-learning mode. At such a time, this was the most viable option available with the institution. SIMS foresaw challenges ahead like minimum face to face interaction, lack of engaging with the students, etc. In an effort to keep tackle these problems, the institute organized fun and engrossing competitions like Blog writing competition by The Branding cell, Poster making competition by Pranay Team, and a lot more. The institute strived to create a platform where the batch of 2020-22 can brainstorm creative ideas together and connect with the institute better. The huge turnout of students showed appreciation for the efforts of SIMS.
The journey of a new batch at SIMS officially begins with its famous Orientation program of SIMS. This year, E-orientation “Transforming to corporate leaders programme 2020” was conducted to ease the process of induction of batch of 2020-22. The main of this program was to kick-start a journey of student managers into a T-shaped professional. Many dignitaries from the field of management addressed their experiences with us. Also, this programme included a lot of fun and engaging activities every day. It helped us channelize our energy to achieve our set targets within the time limit.
Everyone in the SIMS fraternity i.e. faculty, staff, or seniors, left no stone unturned to fill our beginning of the MBA journey with joy, warmth, and humor. Not only we were introduced to academics but also were imparted life lessons that would eventually help us in the years to come. Faculty and guest lecturers at times coupled funny anecdotes with their lectures to make it more interactive. In all, I can vouch that SIMS was successful in making a smooth transition from the conventional classes to virtual classes.
The drum circle at the end of the orientation programme was the icing on the cake. I had attended a few drum circles in my hometown but never have I thought that it could be equally fun.
As the drumbeat started, we experienced an adrenaline rush into our bloodstream compelling us to join us and start grooving. Our hand movements jived in the music in the same rhythm as the facilitator. We were elated and celebrated the beginning of our new journey at SIMS. A student manager of my batch described the event as “It was inclusive, light and absolute fun”.
After 11 days of this fest, our regular classes commenced. Our faculty have gone beyond the usual to engage us in class. They are using PowerPoint presentations, short videos, quizzes. More importantly, they arranged time-slots for the discussion of various case studies in classes. When the time is over, we then join the general channel to continue our class. It wasn’t easy for them as well but their commitment to making learning seamless has borne fruit. They focus on bite-size learning so that student managers like me who are not from non-commerce background understand the basics easily.
Another thing that impressed me was that the whole learning process is tracked here at SIMS and regular feedback is taken from students which helps us to address issues if any. Besides that SIMS also runs regular online mentor-mentee sessions where we can interact with our mentors so that they can guide us in our personal and professional life. I really commend our institution for having such a program. These one to one sessions, allows them to speak their heart out. Sessions like these can make a huge positive impact on the lives of students.
Cells and clubs have been very proactive from day1 to give exposure to the batch of 2020-22. Various events have been organized in this regard. Workshops like the Business Plan workshop by the Entrepreneurship Cell equipped student managers with the skillset to present their ideas in B-Plan Competitions. Other events include Crisis Manager by the Infinite club, debate competition by the People tree, quiz by various clubs and teams like the SMARK Club, the Sports club, SIMS MUN, etc where student managers tested their knowledge. Events like Gender Sensitization Seminar by the GCC Club addressed the key issues prevailing in our society.
In my short journey at SIMS, I am fortunate to have found such a wonderful group of people who share a passionate commitment to grow together and in the process inspire one another. They will stand resolutely beside you and will go beyond to help you out. One of my batch mates, when asked of his opinion, said: “Great bonding even virtually, I can count on my new friends here ?”. Another said, “Everyone took the challenge and went hearts out for this mode of MBA”. So you can tell how much we all are excited about our journey at SIMS. I do acknowledge the fact that the road ahead of us is long and there will be a lot of opportunities as well as challenges in our journey. I pray that we all sail through together and emerge as the leaders of tomorrow.