Ever wondered how an internship in one of India’s largest conglomerates feels like? We profile and document the journey of interns at Aditya Birla Group in the summer of 2016. We bring this to you through InsideIIM TV our Video Series channel. This is the second part of our series this summer at ABG! You can follow the entire series of 20 episodes here.
A five minute five slider presentation sums it up all. All the feelings, emotions, joy, knowledge and learning I had in the last two months. From anything to everything that I saw and experienced during this two month period was just the kind of memory everyone wishes to cherish.
"Rushing to the Library in the wee hours to grab a book on Economics... Or taking a dip at the Campus Pool" Life is a full circle at ISB at its Mohali Campus. One has to admit that a quality MBA education should develop an individual into a well rounded human being. This is called the transformation that one goes through once in a lifetime. The Indian School of Business sets itself apart from all other B Schools in this regard that it makes you live a life which is unparalleled. With its rich blend of students coming from diverse backgrounds, ISB is a panorama of brilliant minds. At its Mohali Campus ( part of the One school two campus theme of ISB), the institute boasts of 280 students coming from some of the top notch academic institutes of India and the world. You will find students from reputed institutes such as IITs, NITs, NSIT, DCE, Presidency College, St Xaviers, SRCC, St Stephens, Goenka College Calcutta and Foreign Universities such as University of Pennsylvania, UT Austin, HKUST and the likes. Not only this, the class has diverse work experience backgrounds and this is what sets this institute apart from all others when it comes to the selection procedure. This was one of the biggest push for me too when I decided to apply for ISB. The fact that I will be interacting with my batchmates who come from varied industries from diverse sectors was a boost in itself. ISB is a place where you would not find a fresher just out of college doing an MBA , but it is a place where everyone has something to bring on the table and the experience varies from 2 years to 20 years and above. MBA is not only limited to knowledge gained from reading the books but also it should entail experiences from the work life and practical field work. From Doctors, Engineers, Chartered Accountants, Regional Managers of Banks to Artists, Musicians, National level Sports personalities, Entrepreneurs you will find achievers from all walks of life .
While we were at IIM Bangalore for our summer internship interviews (November 2015, a unique experience in itself), we were told to consider internship opportunities as a new and refreshing experience. Placement representatives from IIMB narrated stories of how sometimes, big and reputed brands end up offering the worst internships, and niche companies tend to define a whole new meaning to internships in terms of exposure, responsibilities, and the breadth of work that one gets to do. We were told that it is just a matter of two months, that we can easily change our work domain if we wish, when we sit for our finals.
“I don't like work - no man does - but I like what is in the work - the chance to find yourself. Your own reality - for yourself, not for others”. This phrase from Joseph Conrad’s Heart of Darkness has come to define my purpose and has been the touchstone of reality in my journey to truly discover myself as life peels me like an orange.
MBA aspirants and Management students have this urge to get straightforward to the point. Beating about the bush is strictly prohibited. This was the advice given by Director Ma'am on Day 2 at SCMHRD. But before we get to the point, here’s the prelude to set the context.
“You have a 17 lakhs loan! Don't even think about starting up something on your own now". This was a message which almost everybody gave me before joining XIMB. Coming from a middle class family who runs a training institute in Hyderabad, entrepreneurship was something which was always in my blood. After a couple of months when I opted out of the summer internship process, many of my family members and friends raised eye brows about this decision of mine.
