Post Unilever Changemakers is a pre-MBA initiative for students appearing for CAT, XAT, and/or TISSNET to build a strong foundation for their management studies. Selected students get an opportunity to prepare with HUL to ace their dream B-school admission process and also get an internship opportunity with Unilever in 2022. The program also provides an early advantage into HUL’s B-School Competitions: Lessons in Marketing Excellence, FinAce, and Nutcracker.
We recently spoke to five students about their experience with the program in the past and how their journeys have been so far.
Isha Nisar, IIM Ahmedabad
In January, when B-School shortlists were being announced, I applied and had been shortlisted for Unilever Changemakers Foundation School. In a few days, my mentor guided me. He boosted my morale just 1 day prior to my IIMA interview. The 3-day foundation school gave me a new perspective of looking at consumer-driven Marketing with other areas like Finance, Sustainable Planning. My team, along with 3 other teams gladly won Stage 0 and became the semi-finalist teams at LIME 2020 along with receiving PPI for ULIP 2021. Our team was allocated a mentor-someone who had more enthusiasm and energy than the combined of us. Our journey never ended at LIME, both my mentors even helped me with my Summer placement preparation, which is a crucial process at any B-School. And here I am, completing one more dream, Intern at HUL from IIM Ahmedabad.
To apply through CAT, visit- https://bit.ly/2LFq1WT
To apply through XAT, visit- http://bit.ly/3sJ7av2
Subhadeep Datta, IIM Banglore
My Journey as Changemaker started with Unilever Changemakers Foundation School. Interacting with the HUL leaders from various functions on the Leader’s Connect session, I got an in-depth idea of multiple roles at HUL. I got the opportunity to team up with fellow changemakers even before we were to join India’s top B-Schools. Post Foundation School, based on my interest in Finance, I was allotted a senior leader, my mentor. The interactions helped me understand industry insights outside of the regular coursework at IIM Bangalore. This connection helped me understand concepts better than my peers and more so as the classes have gone virtual due to the ongoing pandemic. I applied these learnings when I participated in FinAce and was subsequently offered a PPI for a summer internship with HUL.
Sourav Mishra, IIM Ahmedabad
Unilever Changemakers program prepared me for the B-school interview process and the B-school journey forward. The interactions helped me understand the interviewer's perspective in the interview. Post admission, Unilever Changemakers Foundation school helped me understand the basic concepts of business, in general, and Marketing and Finance, in particular. The leader-led sessions helped me gain valuable insights into how upper management think and strategize about consumers' common issues. The sessions widened my perspective on consumer behaviour, the adaptive capacity of an organization, and how it can significantly improve maintaining a sustainable competitive advantage.
Adya Niraj, IIM Ahmedabad
The Unilever Changemakers Foundation School was instrumental to a large extent in shaping the way my journey at IIM Ahmedabad has been till now. I had applied for the course just after CAT results were out and the course started very soon after IIM A released its offer letters. With a few months left before classes start due to delays because of the pandemic, the Changemakers course was the first to give me a peek into the subject of Marketing and the life of a marketer. In fact, the assignment that we had to do in the Foundation School, wherein we had to design a campaign, greatly helped me to understand the fundamentals of Marketing. Given my diverse background, I initially did not have clarity regarding the field that I would like to work in, but the Foundation School helped me develop an interest in Marketing even before my classes had begun. This helped me focus my preparation on Marketing for Summer Placements, which finally culminated in me securing an internship opportunity at the very prestigious ULIP at HUL.
Rajas Pawar, IIM Ahmedabad
I was elated when our team won the FinAce competition, and even more when I got the internship offer from Unilever. 5-month long journey before I got the offer. It began at the foundation school, a 3-day marketing workshop, where I got a flavor of what the marketing universe consists of. Immediately after that, we solved real-life case studies for LIME and FinAce. Regular sessions with my mentor helped address the knowledge gaps for future career prospects and fundamental concepts and we sailed through the QnA round during the actual presentation in competitions.
To apply through CAT, visit- https://bit.ly/2LFq1WT
To apply through XAT, visit- http://bit.ly/3sJ7av2