Is B really for Business?

NMP XXVI Participants Enjoying Sports

Things started settling down post the induction week and after enjoying a very peaceful weekend, I geared up for the regular courses in the coming week. Having a quick glance through faculty teaching pedagogy in this world class institute (MDI currently has tie ups with around 50 Top Global B-Schools), core courses began with a full bang, with loads of assignments, pre-reading material and group case studies to discuss. Unknowingly, many parallel activities started to pool in my daily chores. I had the opportunity to express my views in the Group Discussion event @ SharmaJi hosted by Daksh Creative Solutions in collaboration with Samsung on the "Role of Technology in Future Education in India". In the meantime, I was also invited to join the NMP26-Badminton Group on facebook and there I found my badminton partner who was unknowingly staying just opposite my room. Ashish Thakur, you have extended my nights and deprived me of my sleep in these past two weeks but I am really enjoying every moment of my stay at this place, learning to manage things practically. The creation of fear of surprise quizzes and CP marks (class participation) by each faculty member, insight into "Darna Mana Hai" type questions in Accounting class and brief guidelines by the Startegy Prof. Dr. Amit Kapoor at the fag end all made this week very happening.

Ice Breaker Party NMP XXVI Batch

With sense of formality still prevailing in the batch, and participants not knowing much about each other, my colleague Harleen and her friends took the bold initiative to organize an ice breaker party @ Takashila Wing-B. For the first time, EPGPM batchmates came together to meet informally at this event and exchanged their interests with everyone. Many talented colleagues finally got the stage to showcase their hidden talent openly and generate huge fan following among batchmates on facebook. The ball was kept rolling in the coming week and there was another pleasant surprise birthday party of Amit Gupta hosted by Wing-A mates. There were many live performances but the party ended with late night wild dancing on Punjabi hits.

Myself, being in consistent touch with the senior batch guys right from the beginning collected information on different hosts of activities undertaken by the previous batches. After discussions, I invited nominations for the formation of official Corporate Communications team and Alumni Relations team. With the batch support, the team was successfully elected within stipulated deadlines and officially put in place before the end of April '13. Along with these activities, the course silently kept picking its pace day by day. Asst. Prof. Rupamanjari Sinha (Microeconomics) was the first one to turn our fears into reality on coming lazy Monday morning; surprise quiz leaving each one of us with our eyes wide open after the class.  

Participants with Dr. Bhagwan Khanna

During the past week, I personally attended my first ever Book Launch event @ India Habitat Centre, New Delhi where Mr. Vineet Nayar (Vice Chairman, HCL) launched "From Smart to Wise by Prasad Kaipa & Navi Rajdou" . A couple of days later, Kevin Stolarick, Research Director, Martin Prosperity Institute (Rottman School of Management, Canada) delivered an influential guest lecture on "Importance of Creativity & Innovation". To introduce us to International Accounting, Dr. Bhagwan Khanna - an eminent faculty in the field of accounting (Ball State University, USA), delivered an interesting 5-lecture series citing beautiful examples from our daily lives. 

With so much happening each day and gaining knowledge from experienced international faculty has turned this course (National Management Programme @ MDI) Truly Global sitting here in India. Lengthy group discussions on HBR cases of Strategy, trying to convince every other folk of your group, has already started conquering my pleasant evenings. To be very frank, 24 hours in a day has really started seemingly so less to me for the first time that i am daily longing for few more hours.

Abishek Mittal
NMP XXVI - Class of 2014
MDI, Gurgaon

Kickstart to My 15 month MBA Journey

MDI, Gurgaon

It was a cool Sunday morning on 07-April-2013. Usually, my Sunday's were filled with laziness but today it was altogether a different day as I was finally about to vacate 1546, First Floor, Sector-17C, Gurgaon i.e. the place where I have been staying for the past almost six years. On the one side, I was nostalgic to leave the place and my friends whereas on the other hand I was all together excited to be a student once again. 

My dream of attending oldest Full Time MBA programme (NMP) at one of premier B-Schools in India @ MDI Gurgaon, was getting realized. Though I have visited this campus many times earlier (used to stay just approx. 200 meter from campus gate), but this time I was here with some clearly defined future goals in mind. I assure you that taking a call to attend Executive MBA Programme after resigning from well settled MNC job was not that easy.

EPGPM Batch Inauguration Banner

Once I landed in the campus, I was having the feel of hitting an oasis in the so called corporate desert. The lush green fields for recreational activities, lots of open spaces dotted with trees and specially designed Red Brick buildings gave me initial comfort that future is definitely going to be better. On payment of fees, I was directed towards the Parthenon building for Room Allocation @ Takashila Hostel. Immediately after shifting luggage to my room, I started with brief introductions to whomsoever I was meeting in the corridors, at the dining table etc. The next morning was the NMP-26th Batch Formal Inauguration Ceremony wherein Chief Guest of Honor - Shri S.P. Singh, Director-HR, NTPC, officially lit the flame along with batch participants and declared the programme Open by delivering an inspiring speech on ethics and integrity. 

Participants at Business Lunch

For the next four days right from 8:30AM to 5:30PM, I was exposed to Expert Faculties @ MDI briefing our batch about their respective field subjects that we will be studying in the forthcoming year. They made us walkthrough of case method teaching pedagogy followed in this institute and importance of business education these days in the complex corporate world. Apart from this, each of us was allotted a formal identity i.e. the roll numbers, pigeon box numbers (something which was new for me) and email-IDs (something which gives you good feel in the beginning but usually it comes with loads of tensions each day). Though sitting at a stretch for 90 minutes lecture was something I have to learn fast but a cup of coffee at the end of each lecture (Mind it, only for Executive programme participants) was something very exciting at this institute. And to conclude the Induction week on Friday afternoon, Mrs. Neera Jain (Faculty) organized a complete 4 course business lunch for us to demonstrate the dining etiquette's which finally ended with raising a toast for the 26th batch. 

Presently having stayed here for only one week, I will continue posting my experiences in the days to come. But really the first week was full of events and exciting one with lots of new friends in the making. All this ingrained in me the urge to do something bigger and better in life that can have a long lasting impact on society and to make the best out of my stay at the campus.

Abishek Mittal
NMP XXVI - Class of 2014
MDI Gurgaon