Boy o Boy ! What a transformation it has been for me. Just read my earlier blogs on Term 1 and the pre-term. Currently, the 4th terms are underway and I have already undergone the entire gamut of emotions... focus on studies to co-curriculars to games and sports everyday to gymming, to khud ka dhandha and now back to studies.
Also, was blessed with a baby girl in term 3. Have spend around 10 days with her till now. She is 40 days now. My only regret in life is missing out on those 30 days and the remaining some days that I will miss till she and wifey get here on campus. Cant wait. Everything else pales into insignificance.. believe me.. everything else is a facade. This is here to stay. Adore and love my baby like I dont know.. do not have words. Its an experience, an emotion to be experienced to understand. When I am with her, I just hold her in my arms and keep looking at her .....
Back to Term 2.. again the intent to pre-read was there but the persistent effort required for all 10 classes was not. Must have done it for the 1st two classes then stopped.
Subjects in Term 2:
1. Competitive Strategy: The first five clases by PK was a treat. His approach to cases was phenom. By far the best set of 5 classes that I have had in my life. Thru cases I learnt quite a bit about how companies adopt strategies to sustain competitive advantage over others. Apple, Domino's, Intel, Coke, Kodak... each was a treat. The last 5 classes by a different proff. was just regurgitating facts from the case. Did not find it very useful. Also found the proff. to be in a arrogant league of his own. I can understand arrogance in a Jobs or maybe a google founder, but this guy.. I dont know what he thought about himself.. maybe it was the airs that he was from wharton... who the heck cares abt that ? Neways.. enuf of the negativity.
2. DMOP: Decision Models and Optimisation - Engineers are supposed to be comfortable with this subject. I was till class 7. Last three classes were tangential and too fast to grasp. Here, again I was not satisfied with the quality of the proffs. The final exam was a nightmare. It was a 2hr. paper with some of the most weird and toughest problems. I exited the hall in an hour, knowing fully well that happiness of most students would be screwed with this paper. This was validated in another hour when I saw most of the students laughing away at their inability to crack it.
Basic Learning - U can use solver etc. to optimise the quantity of stuff ordered etc.
3. Global Eco - Classes were boring. Proffs. were highly qualified but it was just a montonous drab of dialogue from one side with many students resorting to relaxing, sleeping or bunking. I too resorted to all three activities. Learnt about macro parameters such as inflation, currency, gdp etc. The videos were good.
4. Marketing Decison Making - High point of Term 2. Markstrat game was played by the batch.
tbd....
Sunday, September 7, 2008
Tuesday, June 3, 2008
Term 1
Term 1 got over today. Exams also done. It was like holding ur breath for 6 weeks. Just exhaled over a couple of beers in the term ending party. Getting back into academics after a gap of 7 yrs was tough. Also, considering the negligible studies for my b-tech course, this past 6 weeks came as a total revelation.
We had 4 subjects in this term
1. Marketing - Knowledge levels are pretty much the same, before and after the course. Just validated my belief that this subject is more arbitrary and general blabbering that nething else. Some important concepts were taught, but dont know whether there will be any practical relevance of the 5Cs and 4Ps. Can faff away on this here, but will stop at this.
2. Accounting - Learnt basic accounting. How to interpret the financial statements etc. Extremely useful course for people from a non-commerce background.
3. Statistics - Multiple Regression with categorical variables sealed it for me. If the proff. had gone up one more level, I may have shut down shop and headed back home. The course was from a high level, but coupled with the jmp software did help me in relating to the interpretation of data. A very useful course indeed.
4. Managerial Economics - Only takeaways were MR=MC and game theory. Both interesting concepts and well understood, but not sure whether I will ever go ahead and pursue a PHD in eco. Mainly convers basic economical decisions that a floor manager may face. Ex. whether to go ahead and increase the capacity of the plant from 100 units to 200 units.
The entire term was like a strong breeze of hot wind, blowing against the direction of ur motion. Pre-reads for the subjects, before the class was the key. I think I barely managed pre-reads for the first class. The remaining 9 classes were without pre-reads, thus grasping powers reduced in class, which led to further reduction in efficiency levels. Bottom-line will have to be - religiously go thru the pre-reads for the future terms. Classes were from mon-thursday. Two classes on each day, 2 hrs each. Professors were excellent. The best from across the world come here to teach. The speed of the entire course may have been on the higher side, but when you join a 12 month management program, that should be expected.
There were mid-terms and end term exams, interspersed with quizzes and assignments. Basically most of us were on our toes throughout.
Even though its just 7 weeks now, I can clearly see that more than the knoweldge, it will be the networks and friends I will build here that will stay with me. I have been lucky to have interacted with some of the most warm, stable and mature people around. Hopefully, I will have 8 times as many friends when I walk out of here after term 8. For me, it will not be the starting pay package or the kind of job or even the knowledge acquired. It will be the friends.
We had 4 subjects in this term
1. Marketing - Knowledge levels are pretty much the same, before and after the course. Just validated my belief that this subject is more arbitrary and general blabbering that nething else. Some important concepts were taught, but dont know whether there will be any practical relevance of the 5Cs and 4Ps. Can faff away on this here, but will stop at this.
2. Accounting - Learnt basic accounting. How to interpret the financial statements etc. Extremely useful course for people from a non-commerce background.
3. Statistics - Multiple Regression with categorical variables sealed it for me. If the proff. had gone up one more level, I may have shut down shop and headed back home. The course was from a high level, but coupled with the jmp software did help me in relating to the interpretation of data. A very useful course indeed.
4. Managerial Economics - Only takeaways were MR=MC and game theory. Both interesting concepts and well understood, but not sure whether I will ever go ahead and pursue a PHD in eco. Mainly convers basic economical decisions that a floor manager may face. Ex. whether to go ahead and increase the capacity of the plant from 100 units to 200 units.
The entire term was like a strong breeze of hot wind, blowing against the direction of ur motion. Pre-reads for the subjects, before the class was the key. I think I barely managed pre-reads for the first class. The remaining 9 classes were without pre-reads, thus grasping powers reduced in class, which led to further reduction in efficiency levels. Bottom-line will have to be - religiously go thru the pre-reads for the future terms. Classes were from mon-thursday. Two classes on each day, 2 hrs each. Professors were excellent. The best from across the world come here to teach. The speed of the entire course may have been on the higher side, but when you join a 12 month management program, that should be expected.
There were mid-terms and end term exams, interspersed with quizzes and assignments. Basically most of us were on our toes throughout.
Even though its just 7 weeks now, I can clearly see that more than the knoweldge, it will be the networks and friends I will build here that will stay with me. I have been lucky to have interacted with some of the most warm, stable and mature people around. Hopefully, I will have 8 times as many friends when I walk out of here after term 8. For me, it will not be the starting pay package or the kind of job or even the knowledge acquired. It will be the friends.
Thursday, May 8, 2008
Pre - Term week.. first week of studies
Students had the option for 3 pre-term courses. The subjects were Accounting, Statistics and Quantitative Methods. I opted for the first two. Classes, especially the accounting ones were great. The lady proff. (M.R.) was exceptional and had trucklooads of patience to answer each question, posed by the students. I thought I had enhanced my patience capabilities in the last couple of years.. but her levels..., definitely inspired me to improve mine way beyond current levels.
Studying finance is one of the keys reasons why I am here. M.R., ensured right at the beginning that I carry a positive momentum to the core and elective courses. Thanks M.R.
Statistics was good at the beginning. I did understand what the stats proff. was trying to convey, but by the end of it, it was getting increasingly difficult to understand. I did make honest efforts to study after the class.. but bottomline was that it was difficult. Only half the class being present for the last stats class, lends credibility to my view :)
There was a break of 12 hrs., between pre-term and course terms. We all had plenty of pre-reading for the core terms. More on this later.
With regards to pre-term, I would strongly advise people coming from unfamiliar backgrounds to take whichever ones are applicable for them. It is indeed very useful.
Next.. Core Terms
Studying finance is one of the keys reasons why I am here. M.R., ensured right at the beginning that I carry a positive momentum to the core and elective courses. Thanks M.R.
Statistics was good at the beginning. I did understand what the stats proff. was trying to convey, but by the end of it, it was getting increasingly difficult to understand. I did make honest efforts to study after the class.. but bottomline was that it was difficult. Only half the class being present for the last stats class, lends credibility to my view :)
There was a break of 12 hrs., between pre-term and course terms. We all had plenty of pre-reading for the core terms. More on this later.
With regards to pre-term, I would strongly advise people coming from unfamiliar backgrounds to take whichever ones are applicable for them. It is indeed very useful.
Next.. Core Terms
Sunday, April 20, 2008
ISB ... Days 7, 8 and 9
Day 7 continued with presentations from different clubs, mainly: social/sports/arts clubs. The golf club did catch my attention. I want to learn golf and explore what the hype is all about. In the afternoon we had a pedagogy session on the case discussed the previous day. Bottom-line was that class participation is good, but overdoing it with repititions and redundancies may affect the grades negatively. The point made was: talk only if u have some unique points and only if you think it will add value. I could not have agreed more.
Football and Cricket semis and finals followed in the evening. Section C won the football tournament. In cricket, my section (E) met section C in the finals. We bated first. I opened the batting to get some quick runs. Got out on the 2nd ball, hitting the ball out of the basketball court directly. This triggered a collpase and we managed only 31 in the first innings. We bowled well, but section C scraped thru. I was disappointed on not having got some crucial extra points for section E.
Day 7, 11 pm belonged to a 08 alum, who scripted and directed a 1 hr 40 mt. movie about 3 guys studying at ISB. It was an ok movie. When I talked to this guy the next day, he told me that this feature film was a major part of his interview with a top 3 consulting firm, which he eventually got thru. Point here was... do whatever that interests you with utmost passion and see to it that you take the task to a logical completion.
Day 8 started with an informal session from the general management club. The president told us that for GM jobs, knowledge in all areas was preferred. Companies such as Aditya Birla, Reliance (ADAG) and Bharathi did offer good GM roles. I personally feel that GM jobs is the only profile which gives some weightage to previous work exp. and is the logical end for most MC and Ibanking kind of jobs. It definitely needs to be explored from my side. ADAG group is seems was even ready to recruit all students from our batch. They finally made 71 offers. Day 8 eneded with the talent nite and a farewell party for the 08 batch. Section E were the overall winners for the orientation week.
Day 9 was free. Yahoo.. finally one day where we could relax and take rest. I ended up going to the city center (mall) with some of my friends. We went crazy and purchased sports goods, mainly tt, badminton etc. Then we played some badminton and then hit the pool. I did swim for sometime, but still cannot make out how not to get water into my nose and mouth when the head is immersed in. Day 9 ended with a sumptous meal from a near-by mallu restaurant. I had appam/parota with chicken and prawn curry. A welcome change from the dal and roti at ISB. Also rested completely, in preperation for the pre-term courses.
Regards...
Football and Cricket semis and finals followed in the evening. Section C won the football tournament. In cricket, my section (E) met section C in the finals. We bated first. I opened the batting to get some quick runs. Got out on the 2nd ball, hitting the ball out of the basketball court directly. This triggered a collpase and we managed only 31 in the first innings. We bowled well, but section C scraped thru. I was disappointed on not having got some crucial extra points for section E.
Day 7, 11 pm belonged to a 08 alum, who scripted and directed a 1 hr 40 mt. movie about 3 guys studying at ISB. It was an ok movie. When I talked to this guy the next day, he told me that this feature film was a major part of his interview with a top 3 consulting firm, which he eventually got thru. Point here was... do whatever that interests you with utmost passion and see to it that you take the task to a logical completion.
Day 8 started with an informal session from the general management club. The president told us that for GM jobs, knowledge in all areas was preferred. Companies such as Aditya Birla, Reliance (ADAG) and Bharathi did offer good GM roles. I personally feel that GM jobs is the only profile which gives some weightage to previous work exp. and is the logical end for most MC and Ibanking kind of jobs. It definitely needs to be explored from my side. ADAG group is seems was even ready to recruit all students from our batch. They finally made 71 offers. Day 8 eneded with the talent nite and a farewell party for the 08 batch. Section E were the overall winners for the orientation week.
Day 9 was free. Yahoo.. finally one day where we could relax and take rest. I ended up going to the city center (mall) with some of my friends. We went crazy and purchased sports goods, mainly tt, badminton etc. Then we played some badminton and then hit the pool. I did swim for sometime, but still cannot make out how not to get water into my nose and mouth when the head is immersed in. Day 9 ended with a sumptous meal from a near-by mallu restaurant. I had appam/parota with chicken and prawn curry. A welcome change from the dal and roti at ISB. Also rested completely, in preperation for the pre-term courses.
Regards...
Thursday, April 17, 2008
ISB... Day 6
Day 5 ended at 1:30 am with informal gyan on management consulting (MC) by the alum. There was representation from all across..the Mckinseys, BCGs and Booz Allen. Bain and Monitor were the only 2 cos. from the top 10 which did not visit ISB. Most firms did not take into account the past work experience while assigning roles to candidates. It was more of junior/senior associate kind of a position, with most of it (roles) being subjective. 107 offers were made in the MC front with another 70 odd in the IT consulting front from players such as Capgemini, CTS etc.
Grades and Cases can make or break a top 5-7 consulting offer. After getting shorlisted, the firm conducts anywhere between 3+ rounds of PI (Personal Interview) + Cases in each round. Cases and Business Plan competitions help a student get shortlisted and will also give him/her the exposure to do well in the interviews. Other than extensive travelling and the inability in most cases to witness the implementation of the suggestion provided, MC is the perfect job to understand different functions and industry verticals.
Day 6 started with presentations from the Retail, Finance, BTC (business technology) and ECV(entreprenurship and venture capital) clubs. All were good. 7 students from the present batch are planning to venture out on their own and opted out of the placement process. ISB provides the flexibility for these students to sit with the next 2 batches for placements, in case the initiative flops. It also provides guidance and helps the entrepreuers network with the VC and Angels. The technologists had offers from Google, Microsoft in the sales and marketing and product/program management fronts. Indian IT cos. also visited the campus for various roles, from sales and marketing (Satyam had 4-5 offers in australia + singapore) to account management positions with Infosys. The Finance side only had 25 Ibanking offers. There were 48 retail banking offers, 6 PE offers and 8 Sales and Trading jobs. Overall, the numbers on the finance side were not that impressive. Additioanlly, bcoz of the subprime crunch, companies are looking for a financial background, lacking which will require extensive finance based activities on campus for the next 11 months, for a career switcher.
In the afternoon, our section (E), was introduced to its first Case. The way the discussion was carried forward by the proff. was remarkable. I had points noted down, which all targetted only one aspect of the problem. I was surprised to find 4 other equally important factors which required consideration to arrive at a solution. The most important lesson learnt was that no case has one right solution. Its the analysis and the logical handling of the problem that decides whether you succeed in cracking it. The students (arnd 70 odd) were hyperactive throughout, which was understandable as cases have nearly 50% weightage on an average for each subject. Morever, cases are critical for MC jobs. I had my hand up throughout the 2 hrs, that the case was being discussed but did not get an opprtunity to even twitch my tongue. Goes to show the brightness and enthusiasm of the batch. Not that I could not barge and interpret, but refrained myself from doing so as I have the maturity on my side to understand that this initial hyperactivitism and enthusuasm may not last beyond Day 10.
Then we had a session on leadership development and then a fun gyan session on the traditions and cultures of Section E by the alum. Activities in the night mainly included informal sessions on the different clubs (ecv, finance, btc). Then a big party followed, the last for the 08 batch, which must have continued till the wee hours today.
Day 7 already underway...
GoodBye
Grades and Cases can make or break a top 5-7 consulting offer. After getting shorlisted, the firm conducts anywhere between 3+ rounds of PI (Personal Interview) + Cases in each round. Cases and Business Plan competitions help a student get shortlisted and will also give him/her the exposure to do well in the interviews. Other than extensive travelling and the inability in most cases to witness the implementation of the suggestion provided, MC is the perfect job to understand different functions and industry verticals.
Day 6 started with presentations from the Retail, Finance, BTC (business technology) and ECV(entreprenurship and venture capital) clubs. All were good. 7 students from the present batch are planning to venture out on their own and opted out of the placement process. ISB provides the flexibility for these students to sit with the next 2 batches for placements, in case the initiative flops. It also provides guidance and helps the entrepreuers network with the VC and Angels. The technologists had offers from Google, Microsoft in the sales and marketing and product/program management fronts. Indian IT cos. also visited the campus for various roles, from sales and marketing (Satyam had 4-5 offers in australia + singapore) to account management positions with Infosys. The Finance side only had 25 Ibanking offers. There were 48 retail banking offers, 6 PE offers and 8 Sales and Trading jobs. Overall, the numbers on the finance side were not that impressive. Additioanlly, bcoz of the subprime crunch, companies are looking for a financial background, lacking which will require extensive finance based activities on campus for the next 11 months, for a career switcher.
In the afternoon, our section (E), was introduced to its first Case. The way the discussion was carried forward by the proff. was remarkable. I had points noted down, which all targetted only one aspect of the problem. I was surprised to find 4 other equally important factors which required consideration to arrive at a solution. The most important lesson learnt was that no case has one right solution. Its the analysis and the logical handling of the problem that decides whether you succeed in cracking it. The students (arnd 70 odd) were hyperactive throughout, which was understandable as cases have nearly 50% weightage on an average for each subject. Morever, cases are critical for MC jobs. I had my hand up throughout the 2 hrs, that the case was being discussed but did not get an opprtunity to even twitch my tongue. Goes to show the brightness and enthusiasm of the batch. Not that I could not barge and interpret, but refrained myself from doing so as I have the maturity on my side to understand that this initial hyperactivitism and enthusuasm may not last beyond Day 10.
Then we had a session on leadership development and then a fun gyan session on the traditions and cultures of Section E by the alum. Activities in the night mainly included informal sessions on the different clubs (ecv, finance, btc). Then a big party followed, the last for the 08 batch, which must have continued till the wee hours today.
Day 7 already underway...
GoodBye
Wednesday, April 16, 2008
ISB ... Day 5
Day 4 for me ended at 8 pm. I hit the bed for a 60 mt. nap, but woke up only at 6 am. Good that I slept well as today as been productive bcoz of that sleep. I heard that there was a beer guzzling party yesterday night. Missed it :(
Day 5 started with a session by 4 alums from IT, Finance, Enterpreurship and Marketing. I was surprised to know from the IT guy that some IT cos. are looking for strategic positions, with direct reports to the CEO. That will be interesting.. need to explore that option with the alums. Finance guy presented the true picture of the submprime crisis unfolding across the world and gave a clear picture on the different job functions in Finance. E and M guys were also good.. short and sweet.. with enuf gyan to keep us thinking.
This was followed by a crisp marketing club presentation. All activities that happen, etc. Then one of our most famous finance professors walked into the room and asked us all to take a quantitative test. It was a 10 question test. 80% of them were way out of the league for most students. Complex integration, complex numbers etc etc. Dont know the purpose of that test yet.
Afternoons was football + cricket. Njoyed watching Football and then thoroughly enjoyed playing cricket. I think I played after nearly 4-5 yrs, but was happy to find that nothing had changed in my skills. It felt like picking up from my MH days at CET. It was total fun. Now we have presentations from 10 pm till god knows what time about the different clubs etc.
With the Indian sensex being driven primarily by the two Is.. Inflation and Infosys, I was glad to see the Infy numbers today. The special dividend did surprise me as normally most compnaies resort to such gifts only when they are about to announce losses or are expecting a slowdown in their business. hmm.. lets c
GoodBye...
Tuesday, April 15, 2008
ISB ... Day 4
Day 3 ended with an informal presentation about the placement activities for the passed out 2008 bacth. Although they have graduated, some 60 of them have stayed back and are training/helping/guiding us in the first two weeks. If not for them, there would have been no conduit to pass the ISB culture and spirit. A gaping hole would have resulted and we would have had to reinvent the wheel in most of the activities here. Each one is doing a tremendous job and no amount of appreciation and gratitide will suffice for their activities. Hats Off to them. Day 3 ended without booze, for a change.
Day 4 was entirely devoted to sports and games in groups. The goal was to cultivate team spirit, trust etc. After being under the scorching Hydernad sun for 8 hrs, I am not sure whether nething much in me has fostered other than sun burns, blisters and the like. We are going to cap off the day with beers. I feel like I am beggining to settle into a groove here. Booze, fun, music, sports ... I think reality will set in once the core courses commences on 28-Apr-08
Njoi....
Day 4 was entirely devoted to sports and games in groups. The goal was to cultivate team spirit, trust etc. After being under the scorching Hydernad sun for 8 hrs, I am not sure whether nething much in me has fostered other than sun burns, blisters and the like. We are going to cap off the day with beers. I feel like I am beggining to settle into a groove here. Booze, fun, music, sports ... I think reality will set in once the core courses commences on 28-Apr-08
Njoi....
Monday, April 14, 2008
ISB .... Day 3
Day 2 ended with a party till 3 am. Music, Dance and Drinks were the order for the night. It was fun and relaxing. Day 3 commenced with a slew of presentations about entrepreneurship, the honour code etc. There were also detailed sessions on the 5 research centers existing in ISB. Here, two centers caught my attention. The analytical finance center and the IT center. I was disappointed that there were no funds to manage under the finance center, like in some US b-schools. The experience of managing a portfolio with faculty members would have been fantastic. Hopefully, I can do something about it in the future. Maybe, I just discovered my contribution towards ISB. Wow... Day 3 has already provided me with a goal in life.
Lunches and Dinners are pretty similar at ISB. Salads, Rice, Rotis, Dal, Mutter Paneer type curries and a dessert. I enjoy the "foodings" thoroughly. Just before lunch we were assigned to a group of 5, which will be our core team for the first 6 months. Two of them are finance guys and three engineer-IT guys. There is diversity in the countries worked at and types of our experieces. All 4 guys seem to be fun guys. I am the eldest and already the uncle of the group. This was followed by group chanting. All students are divided into 6 groups from A-F, with each group having a chant. I am in section E and our chant is RockEEEEEEEEEEEE, RockEEEEEEEE, clap clap and clap. I have already started chanting out this while walking down the hallways. This chant will stay with me forever as Rocky is one of my favourite movies. My wife will vouch for this as she has seen me run on the rocky steps in philly musuem, jumping up and down on the footmarks of Rocky. The view from those steps of downtown Philly is phenomenal. Entire afrernoon and evening was spend in a treasure hunt, which made us run throught the entire length and breadth of the campus. It was fun again. All activities done for the day. There is an informal chat with seniors in the evening today about placements.
Goodbye and God Bless
ps: I am not sure how long I will be able to continue my commentaries on a daily basis.. will type in whenever I can find time.
Lunches and Dinners are pretty similar at ISB. Salads, Rice, Rotis, Dal, Mutter Paneer type curries and a dessert. I enjoy the "foodings" thoroughly. Just before lunch we were assigned to a group of 5, which will be our core team for the first 6 months. Two of them are finance guys and three engineer-IT guys. There is diversity in the countries worked at and types of our experieces. All 4 guys seem to be fun guys. I am the eldest and already the uncle of the group. This was followed by group chanting. All students are divided into 6 groups from A-F, with each group having a chant. I am in section E and our chant is RockEEEEEEEEEEEE, RockEEEEEEEE, clap clap and clap. I have already started chanting out this while walking down the hallways. This chant will stay with me forever as Rocky is one of my favourite movies. My wife will vouch for this as she has seen me run on the rocky steps in philly musuem, jumping up and down on the footmarks of Rocky. The view from those steps of downtown Philly is phenomenal. Entire afrernoon and evening was spend in a treasure hunt, which made us run throught the entire length and breadth of the campus. It was fun again. All activities done for the day. There is an informal chat with seniors in the evening today about placements.
Goodbye and God Bless
ps: I am not sure how long I will be able to continue my commentaries on a daily basis.. will type in whenever I can find time.
Sunday, April 13, 2008
ISB .... Day 2
A delicious indian breakfast started the day. Oothappam, sambhar, chutney, semiya kichidi, fruits, bakery assortments, tea/coffee/juices. What more can a food junkie like me ask for :)
A series of talks/presentations followed. We were also made aware of the common misconceptions that students have. One important point that was cleared was that ISB does not get you a job. At the end of the day, it is we who sit in front of the recruiter, so the onus lies completely with us. Acads, networks with friends/alumni/industry and co-curricular activites form the three pillars on which the entire experience is based. Students can pick and choose among the three, but to get the best out of the next 12 months, a fine balance between the three is essential.
We were also told about the faculty arrangement, orientation week and about the different posts available on campus, all of whom will be elected via elections over the next 1-3 months. The morning session also had a snippet of the profile our batch. Surprisinglly, only 23% were from IT. The average GMAT was 714 and 56% of the students were engineers. All telling statistics. I think the average GMAT can be compared with the top 4-5 b-schools across the globe. Some exceptional profiles were highlighted. Doctors, kargil war heroes, gold medallists, state/national sports players and a black belt were just few among them. This must have definitely put a lot of students into thinking .... wow.. how do I deserve to be here ?? I did think along those lines and felt blessed to be given the opportunity to be spending the next 12 months with such an esteemed set of people. Party at 10 pm organised by the 08 batch will wind up the day.
Hopefully, on 4-Apr-09, I will have a hat on my head and a smile on my face. happy that I was able to do justice to the resources here. Next week is filled with fun activities. The 2nd week is when the pre-term courses commence.
Will keep you posted... njoi
Njoi.
A series of talks/presentations followed. We were also made aware of the common misconceptions that students have. One important point that was cleared was that ISB does not get you a job. At the end of the day, it is we who sit in front of the recruiter, so the onus lies completely with us. Acads, networks with friends/alumni/industry and co-curricular activites form the three pillars on which the entire experience is based. Students can pick and choose among the three, but to get the best out of the next 12 months, a fine balance between the three is essential.
We were also told about the faculty arrangement, orientation week and about the different posts available on campus, all of whom will be elected via elections over the next 1-3 months. The morning session also had a snippet of the profile our batch. Surprisinglly, only 23% were from IT. The average GMAT was 714 and 56% of the students were engineers. All telling statistics. I think the average GMAT can be compared with the top 4-5 b-schools across the globe. Some exceptional profiles were highlighted. Doctors, kargil war heroes, gold medallists, state/national sports players and a black belt were just few among them. This must have definitely put a lot of students into thinking .... wow.. how do I deserve to be here ?? I did think along those lines and felt blessed to be given the opportunity to be spending the next 12 months with such an esteemed set of people. Party at 10 pm organised by the 08 batch will wind up the day.
Hopefully, on 4-Apr-09, I will have a hat on my head and a smile on my face. happy that I was able to do justice to the resources here. Next week is filled with fun activities. The 2nd week is when the pre-term courses commence.
Will keep you posted... njoi
Njoi.
Saturday, April 12, 2008
First impressions.. ISB and Hyderabad
One word to describe ISB would be "awesome". With professionalism ingrained in every facet of the institute, I am delighted to have joined ISB. I landed in Hyderabad at the new Rajiv Gandhi Airport on 11-Apr evening, around 5:00 pm. Excluding the shop type centres existing in other international airports around the globe, which unfortumately I could not view, even if they were existing, I would rate the Rajiv Gandhi airport as the finest in India and one which is comparable with the charles de gaules, jfks and dubai airports of the world. Facilities are slick and efficient. Could not have asked for a better landing.
The 3 hour journey that followed in a cab to traverse 44 kms. was horrendous. Even by the worst of standards, this distance should not have taken more than 90 mts. But 180 mts is unpardonable, a total waste of time, energy (gas) and of course the additional Rs. 1 that I had to pay for every one minute that the cab took a halt because of a traffic jam/snarl. During this journey, I felt that if all traffic were frozen at a given instant, even an ant would find it difficult to maneouvre on the highway, provided it was alive. Road infratrusture in India is pathetic. Only underground metros or overhead trains and buses can save time/energy/money for the Indian commuters. There has to be an efficient public transport system implemented by the state/central government for the situation to improve.
I spent the evening with a family friend and left for ISB on 12th morning. On entering the ISB campus, I was reminded of similar IIT campuses, set in green backgounds with plenty of trees and untouched natural habitats. Registrations followed. Efficieny and to the point help was provided by the local security guys, ISB alum (2008 batch) and the ISB faculty and administrative staff. I have never witnessed or heard of a more professional setting in India. Hats off to the people who envisioned this and then carved out ISB from this vision. The studio apartment provided to me has a tv, mattress, sofas, fridge, gas burner, toaster, ac, microwave and most importantly all utnesils that I would require on an everyday basis. ISB caters to all needs of the student, right from food to laundry. Students have to focus only on the academics and co-curricular activities at campus. The student villages are situated on 4 corners of the campus with the main ISB building at the centre. The arcitecture has shades of hindu, islamic and persian touches to it. In a nutshell, its not only beautiful in the aesthetic sense but utility drives the entire structure from the student/faculty perspective.
The 444 of us were welcomed by the dean at 7:15 pm, followed by a booze free party. I got an opportunity to interact with many of the 2008 batchers. All smart people with diverse views on how to approach the course. The bottomline from their side was to get involved in all possible activities and meet/network with ur own batchmates. Met a bunch of current students as well. All very bright and intellingent students. Also met Viren Rasquinha. It made my day. A big sports freak that I am, it was my homour to have met a national caption, an olympian and a hockey player of his caliber. Returned to my dorm at 10 and hit the bed hard. At 11:45 pm I heard loud thumping sounds on my door. Time for a booze party. Sheri... I tried to talk my way out of it, as I love sleeping but was sipping Kingfisher within 3 mts. The 2008 batch was singing "Woh Lahme, Wog yaadien" etc.... I assumed it was the 2008 batch as for the 09 batch it was the first day.. so the lahme and yaadien part of it was still some time away.
Talked with an old college buddy who is also there at ISB and then hit the bed after 1 am. First day over.
Second day in progress... will update
Njoi
Thursday, March 20, 2008
Thursday, March 13, 2008
Sunday, March 9, 2008
Friday, March 7, 2008
Monday, January 14, 2008
Sunday, January 6, 2008
My first Blog: 6-Jan-2008
Its 7:50 am cst now. I am perched up in an apartment in Saint Louis, in the heart of US of A. My wife is sleeping in the bedroom, wondering in her dreams what her husband is upto in front of the laptop on a sunday morning, when rest of the world snores away.
Cannot help it. I am a morning person.
I dont know whom I am addressing in this blog, maybe its for myself or maybe this will be read by my kids, 15 years from now. Whatever.. its a neat medium to let your thoughts out of the bag.
I will be joining ISB on 12-Apr-08, for my MBA. I have been planning to and have dedicated a good chunk of my life in the 20's in the pursuit of this goal. Initially it was about moving out from a job whch primarily caters to cleaning and washing up after people from this part of the world complete their morning chores. As time passed, I realised that it was the wrong approach to take. I needed a beacon of light, some goal in mind and then work backwards from there. This goal provided me with that drive and determination to chart my path. An MBA from ISB will be step 2. Step 1 of course was the struggle in getting to know that goal.
Its 8:10 am now.. time to wash the utensils and prepare some breakfast... will continue in the next blog.. bye
Cannot help it. I am a morning person.
I dont know whom I am addressing in this blog, maybe its for myself or maybe this will be read by my kids, 15 years from now. Whatever.. its a neat medium to let your thoughts out of the bag.
I will be joining ISB on 12-Apr-08, for my MBA. I have been planning to and have dedicated a good chunk of my life in the 20's in the pursuit of this goal. Initially it was about moving out from a job whch primarily caters to cleaning and washing up after people from this part of the world complete their morning chores. As time passed, I realised that it was the wrong approach to take. I needed a beacon of light, some goal in mind and then work backwards from there. This goal provided me with that drive and determination to chart my path. An MBA from ISB will be step 2. Step 1 of course was the struggle in getting to know that goal.
Its 8:10 am now.. time to wash the utensils and prepare some breakfast... will continue in the next blog.. bye
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