My Memorable Experience In IIM Indore- Mamidi Shruti
They say ‘you learn more when you experience it’ –
They say ‘you learn more when you experience it’ –
We had this course named “Design Thinking” which allowed the students to brainstorm on a problem statement (related to college/hostel) and the outcomes were amazing. At the beginning of the class, we were given short exercises that were fun-filled yet tickled the grey cells as well. For example, we were asked to come up with at least 30 ways of using a fountain pen, to rethink a cash wallet in terms of design and functionality. After our minds were refreshed with these exercises, we were assigned groups and asked to solve the assigned problem statement, i.e., to make Girls’ Hostel more enjoyable. The most important part was identifying all the stakeholders and how each of them is affected when a decision is taken regarding the problem. Another great learning came up as we had to take feedback from different persona which gave us a peek into how each user/stakeholder is affected differently even from her nearby peer. By the end of the day, we had to design a physical model of what all needs to be done to revamp the hostel environment. In the end, we were surprised to discover that the real solution remained with us, the girls (the users). It also made us realize that in life, most of our problems can be resolved if we chose to do few things in a certain way rather than the other. Though, the onus is usually put on someone else. It was a great day of learning, and the experience is bound to stay with me.
With the advent of the morning light, comes the quiet and insistent chirping of the birds and we open our eyes to the peaceful and lush surroundings that make up IIM Indore. Away from the noise and pollution of the city, the Institute is a haven of fresh air, unwinding roads and calm surroundings; until that calm is broken by the panic-stricken cries of the students who have to meet unimaginable deadlines on any given day. In that moment of sheer chaos, when the queues for the printer are interminable, and the calls to the professor to extend the deadline incessant, the peace and quiet of the place become irrelevant.
Like any other assembly line product of Indian education system, I found myself in a premier engineering college. I was good at Science and Mathematics, and if you are good with these subjects, you inadvertently end up joining engineering before you even understand the meaning of the same. It was during my pre-final year that I understood that core engineering was never my forte nor my interest. Giving up upon many lucrative jobs offers in core engineering I choose to work as a business analyst, in a leading analytics company, for the love of understanding the kind of problems Fortune 500 companies face in real-world.
During the recently concluded i5 Summit, an entrepreneurial extravaganza organised in IIM Indore, my role as a member of the Corporate Relations vertical was to pitch and develop proposals to get venture capitalists for the flagship event of the Summit where they could choose to fund the participating start-ups. Another role of mine was to secure slots with pre-eminent industry speakers to grace the summit and share their wisdom with our 2000+ strong student community.
They say beauty lies in the eyes of the beholder. Well, perhaps it does, but I believe that some things have a different charm regardless of the beholder and I’m so much more than just a beholder when it comes to this context. So, how long have I been here for? About two weeks now, and yet I have come to this particular conclusion. Now, I understand that some people may feel that a fortnight is barely enough to conclude, but in our country, even life partners are chosen in a matter of days.
Indian Institute of Management Tiruchirappalli, or IIM Trichy as it is affectionately called, is one the premier business schools India.
IIM Indore is the sixth institution to be added to the most respectable and esteemed IIM family. IIM Indore motto of Siddhi Moolam Prabhandhnam completely captures the essence of all the achievements of this management school.