When I had first arrived at VJIM, Hyderabad for pursuing my PGDM, I knew I was already in for some treat. It was never about finding an alternative to hardwork for me. I was in fact more inclined towards figuring out how to channel my efforts towards something more constructive- something more beneficial. My B-school helped me pick up exactly those skills.
From rigorous classroom sessions to real-life case studies, from regular assignments to group discussions, frequent industry interfaces to executing innovative ideas into reality, my PGDM experience has been packed with pleasant surprises. The most crucial of it has been the realization that- it is never too late to make the effort of achieving one’s goals and objectives. I did my Bachelors in Commerce from Ajmer, Rajasthan and then chose to get my management skills further honed at a reputed B-school. Naturally, VJIM had to happen. Now that I look back, it seems like one of the wisest decisions I could have made for myself.
My B-school provided me a platform to unlearn and learn again. It helped me groom myself into a future-ready professional. Adding to all of it has been the chance to work as an active member of the Alumni committee. The final icing on the cherry was bagging the Summer Internship with SKS Microfinance Ltd. My main focus at the internship was to do a comparative study of SKS Microfinance Ltd. vis-a-vis its international players.
After learning various management subjects’ right in the first year of PGDM, the SIP was the direct exposure to the corporate world. It is one thing to pick up the theories from the classroom sessions but quite another thing to implement them in front of practical, real-to-life problems. By first year, we were equipped for both. My SIP highlights clearly remain to be the fact that my study was well appreciated by the company and stands in the process of implementation.
After the SIP, once we had joined back, quite unlike other B-schools, we were taken through a reverse orientation. It helped us recollect and brush up all the concepts we had learnt in first year across streams.
Then the fateful days of final placement started approaching. We were exposed to rigorous training sessions beside regular classes. The sessions included elaborate personality development classes where we participated in mock aptitude tests, group discussions and personal interviews, helping us get grip on various soft skills. Result? I cracked the final placement with Tata Projects as a Management Trainee.
Of course, I cannot wait to step out into the corporate world. At the same time, I am going to thoroughly miss VJIM and my friends here. The school has become one with our identity and thinking life away from it, is quite difficult. Hyderabad seems to have grown in my heart but then, as they say, every end is a new beginning. I would forever be indebted to God, my parents and the wonderful faculty here for helping me grow from strength to strength.
Signing off wishing luck and health to all my friends and well-wishers!
– Ankur Dani
PGDM, 2012- 2014
VJIM, Hyderabad