B-School Featured

3,281 articles
Page 174 of 411
How It All Started - MDI

How It All Started - MDI

This is how the journey started. Here I was, one day, at MDI Gurugram campus, wondering what does life have in store for me. And BAM, before I could even think of settling down I was hit with tasks and deadlines. Do keep in mind that a day before coming to the MDI campus I was celebrating my birthday. I was carefree. But being carefree was a cardinal sin here. However, gradually I adapted to the work environment here. The settling down part was still missing. Cosy was not how I would describe my room to be. But one should understand that it’s not the structure, design and shape of the room or the building but it’s the people who make a place comfortable, homely and restful. Now the question arises how to make contact with people. EVERY B-SCHOOL has the answer to this question. It’s a necessity after all. But the experience that each individual experiences differ and that is what makes every story unique. As for me, the story goes linearly. There have been no ups and downs but a stable drive so far. As I mentioned earlier it is friends that make any place loveable and liveable. I did have many opportunities, be it group tasks or late night walks inside the campus. I, in fact, made some good friends too during those group studies. But still, something was missing. Then came the sports competition “KOK” which had sections pitted against each other in different sports. I, for one, am a sports enthusiast and love to play football and basketball. So, I took part in those sports. The interesting thing here was that in spite of the fact that I did not know almost half the side I could still feel some connection. There was a common objective and aim which was not steered by the purpose of getting grades but by sheer enjoyment derived from sports. This is what creates friendship as there is no baggage. This is where the MDI campus plays a big role. It hosts one of the best football grounds among other top B-schools. It gives us the opportunity to organize the sports competition on our own and at the same time gives us real-time experience of managing various events. The ambience here brings people together. As the friendship starts to foster, the hostel becomes your home and the campus becomes your own city. One can see groups of people going to the “Sharma” canteen where even if they are not hungry they end up eating a lot. The computer cell always seems to be full even though people are hardly found working there. And how can I forget those late night FIFA world cup matches screenings in the auditorium? All in all, it has been a quality journey till now with many takeaways. Hope it remains the same!

Placecom MDI
Nalanda, Takshashila, And Gurukul - All In One Place At MDI

Nalanda, Takshashila, And Gurukul - All In One Place At MDI

“Do everyone get to wake up every morning these days with such a nostalgia?” - a question you ask yourself as your eyes are large awake five minutes before the morning alarm is about to strike. Well, it is no wonder that one does not need an alarm to wake up at the hostel room of the “Change Masters” building at this corner of the country, when nature herself take up the responsibility to do so, sending the most beautiful of her flying ambassadors to the window pane to chirrup at the sweetest tone of her voice.

Placecom MDI
Give Me Self Awareness And Then Rip Me Off Everything Else - MDI

Give Me Self Awareness And Then Rip Me Off Everything Else - MDI

My most memorable moment when I look back at the brief time I have spent at MDI, my new home, my most memorable moment came after I was 2 days into my MBA life. I remember the day vividly. It was the night of 17th of June and it was raining pretty heavily. I was sitting in the lawn of the college and it was clocking approximately 3:30 in the morning. As the droplets of rain were falling on my head, each droplet reminded me of how lucky I was sitting here. Actually, I was pretty excited while I entered the college premises for the first time, for obvious reasons. Because of this, the euphoria got the better of me and I was overwhelmed with the magnitude of success that I had achieved. I started thinking about what all I have done after coming here. I realised that just because I was experiencing something totally different and alien to me, I had lost sight of why I was here. I started thinking about the amount of time I have already spent roaming around, being over excited, over anxious and just a little out of place. I realised the complacency with which I was conducting myself in this college. To be honest, all these insights started pissing me off and I eventually decided to pen down what I had done wrong in the past couple of days. It had stopped raining by then. But the shower of self-awareness was something that I wanted to expose myself to.

Placecom MDI
Gangs Of MDI

Gangs Of MDI

14th July 2018 - 2:15 P.M. Its monsoon season in Gurugram and the sky has just started to clear after some heavy downpour. After 4 taxing hours of morning classes, my friend and I come back to our room for a rest of an hour before the next class begins. The imagery is perfect for a soothing nap: awesome weather, cool breeze, dimly lit room with the cloud masked Sun being the only source of light, and the most important part – Ghazals of Ustad Nusrat Fateh Ali Khan being played on a low volume on our JBL Speaker. As I lie down to extract the maximum utility out of this rare, pious combination, my mind races back to all the memories that I have created over the past one month in this new phase of life - MDI.

Placecom MDI
Pursuit Of Excellence - MDI

Pursuit Of Excellence - MDI

My story to MDI starts with moving away from home for the first time, with a sense of excitement, because I would be on my own for the very first time in my life and freedom to choose the way in which I will conduct my life. But the moment I stepped in the campus, anxiety rushed in my head because I expect a lot from myself and didn’t want to let myself down in any way by underperforming and getting swayed the newly found freedom. The first day on the campus was a unique experience for me, even though most of us did not know each other there seemed little hesitation in approaching them. Having been exposed to the same environment until now, every day there is something for me to learn, from the sessions and classes that were scheduled and more so from my peers who come from different walks of life. MBA chapter of my life started with two weeks induction, which included guest lectures from professionals coming from different industries and faculties to meeting deadlines. The testing period of induction gave us the insight on what is coming for us and what is expected of us in next two year. Though I had settled down physically, it took me a little while to settle down mentally.

Placecom MDI
The Beautiful City : MDI, Gurgaon

The Beautiful City : MDI, Gurgaon

Born and brought up in the City Beautiful, Chandigarh which is known for its greenery, cleanliness and a planned architecture, I have always been scared of living in a region where there is a huge population which coincides with great pollution, both air and land. I got even more scared when I visited New Delhi in the month of February for my interviews. The roads were jammed, smoke emanating from the exhausts of all the vehicles; in my humble opinion, rolling down the window of one’s car should be considered a crime against self. This crime I did commit and kept on coughing and sneezing for hours given my allergies to dust and smoke.

Placecom MDI
Grilling & Chilling - MDI

Grilling & Chilling - MDI

My journey at MDI so far has been intriguing and equally grilling. When I look back at the last one month at this place I can say that I have been through various wonderful and unique experiences whose effect I already feel on myself. Right from day one, this place has broken my ideas and conception of how a management graduate’s life would be and turned it into a fun ride involving attending various meetings and meeting multiple deadlines. This place is different, too fast and hectic but at the same time, a collectively wonderful experience. The funny part of this experience is that whenever I felt too proud of myself for making it here, to one of the top B-schools in the country, I got reminded that I had a long way to go.

Placecom MDI
The Holy Grail - MDI

The Holy Grail - MDI

Have you seen this really old comedy movie- Monty python and the Holy Grail? It is the most random and funny movie that I have watched. The first month of my B-school life reminds of this very movie. It is like I am riding the imaginary horse that the characters in the movie were riding. Things here happen at such a pace that I am not able to comprehend what has really happened. Every day is full of speculations on what is going to happen, which teacher is going to give the next assignment, what corporate talk would we be attending immediately after the afternoon class or what committee would be holding a session the coming evening. Honestly speaking I have never ever been so overwhelmed in my entire 24-year life. But all this is actually the best part of being in a B-school. So, this really funny thing happened the other day. To be honest, everything that happens here is funny according to me. The main question is what is more funny - someone tripping on the floor in the morning while they are half asleep or someone sleeping in the class and then asked by our professor to dance on a Bollywood song. These are parts of a B-school that make you realize that you have to find the fun in small things, because if you do not the only thing that you will find yourself trapped in are assignments, case studies, placements etc. Now talking about placements one thing that I would say is that it is the most serious but at the same time the most interesting part of a B-school. You sit for an interview and sell yourself like an FMCG product telling the interviewer on why he should hire you, what would be your utility and how long you can actually last. Now I talk about an FMCG product because marketing is my area of interest and the reason why I decided to pursue an MBA. So when we talk about a company as big as the Aditya Birla Group which has a number of brands under its umbrella, one that attracts me the most is Aditya Birla Retail Limited. I would love devising strategies to market and sell the products under the brand. Though I am pretty sure that life would be equally funny and interesting working at a brand as big as the Aditya Birla Group. But then again, would life be as funny as Monty Python and the Holy Grail?

Placecom MDI
B-School Featured | InsideIIM