My very first learning during my first month at IIM Nagpur has been“Live one day at a time, keeping the bigger picture in mind.”
At the very outset, not only has IIMN given me a sense of how my next two years would be but also how my life after graduating from IIMN would shape up. There would be targets, timelines, teamwork, well-being, health all clubbed into one, and we will have to manage and ace through all of them.
My first month at IIMN was full of novelty and surprises. But at every moment, I was proud and happy to have received the chance to experience them. The academic session of PGP 1, Batch of 2019-21 started with a warm Welcome Dinner in the presence of Director L.S Murthy, faculty members and P2s(our senior batch). The following day, i.e., on 24th June 2019, we officially became a part of the IIMN family and then started the Orientation Week. We had a week-long orientation program in which we were given insights about the culture, academics, clubs, and committees of IIM Nagpur. We were introduced to the events and activities of various clubs and committees beginning with the event by Nexus – Media and PR Club. We worked through all the activities in groups which helped us know each other’s working style, strengths, weaknesses, and personality in just a week’s time; which would have taken months otherwise. Activities such as presentations, solving case studies, ideating business plans were all designed so that we could understand how to cope up with the time, pressure and still come up with the best output.
During the orientation week, we were taken through team-building exercises organized by ‘Breakthrough’.The team-building program was organized with the motive of giving us a clear view of how to become a better leader and why it is needed in the first place. Through various outdoor and indoor activities, we learned that it is the leader and their coordination with the team that makes one team perform better than others. The program ended on an inspiring note with the instructor's favourite quote, “One (United) is better than one(single)”.
Towards the end of the orientation week, a community outreach program was organized under which we were taken to the NGO Slum Soccer. We met children from different slums and got a chance to know about them closely. We learned how this NGO is contributing towards making a difference in those children’s lives by building capabilities and widening their horizon of opportunities. The idea of the visit was to teach us that being a great leader is not only about being better professionals, but also about being better human beings. Great leaders give back to society and make this world a better place to live in for everyone.
Soon after the orientation program ended, the academic calendar of 2019-20 (First Term)commenced. Here at IIMN, classes are not regular, but extraordinary, because every class is unique, meaningful and challenging. Every teaching gives us a direction and a greater purpose. And yes, work and fun go hand in hand at IIM Nagpur. The new batch received a roaring welcome from the now-senior batch, with a memorable freshers’ party.
My first month here, therefore, was just like an exciting preface that geared me up to dive into the book of MBA Life and Beyond.
About the Author:
Shruti Agarwal is PGP 2019-21 student at Indian Institute of Management Nagpur. Prior to joining IIM-Nagpur, she worked as a Web Application Engineer with Reontek IT Systems and is a Certified Android Developer and Digital Marketing Specialist. A Computer Science Engineering Graduate from College Of Engineering Roorkee, she is a keen Photographer, Writer and Reader.