Experiential Learning – SPJIMR

If top quality and affordable management education is your priority, S.P. Jain Institute of Management and Research, Mumbai is one of those colleges that takes a top spot in your consideration list. Amongst the plethora of prestigious IIMs knocking on the door of every MBA aspirant, SPJIMR - S.P. Jain Institute of Management and Research, popularly known as SPJIMR carves a niche for itself. Alongside top-class faculty, the best student-faculty ratio and great placements, it offers an innovative pedagogy that includes Non-Class Room Learning (NCL), to stimulate the minds of young individuals, who aspire to be future managers. In this article, we will articulate what NCL is and what it offers.

As a first-of-its-kind initiative, SPJIMR offers Organisational Behaviour course through PG Lab (Personal growth lab), a 3-day comprehensive program in term 1. Students are exposed to a slew of immersive outdoor and indoor activities, psychometric tests and experiential exercises. The results of these psychometric instruments help the participants to identify their strengths and weaknesses, thereby assisting them in charting a personal development plan based on their areas of improvement. It offers an ideal platform for the students across all four specializations of PGDM and PGDM-BM batches to get to know each other well, understand the social constructs within the groups and ingrain the philosophy of “Me to We”.

At SPJIMR, students are viewed not just as participants but as stakeholders with a definitive role within the campus. ADMAP (Assessment and development of managerial and administrative potential), is a 3-credit course that is spread across the first year of the PGDM curriculum. As a part of ADMAP, each student is mapped to one of the existing committees, thereby taking part in the organization’s everyday functioning and decision-making. It aims to empower the participants with the art of administrative capabilities in a fun and experiential way. Participants get to learn the art of influencing without power and negotiation skills. Each committee is headed by a faculty member who provides periodic feedback to assess and improve, thereby completing the cycle of self-learning.

At SPJIMR, students are viewed not just as participants but as stakeholders with a definitive role within the campus.

In line with the spirit and vision of former dean Dr. M.L. Shrikant, the Science of spirituality course offered at SPJIMR aims to instill the need for self-care and help the students to expand their horizons of thinking. As a part of this course, students are encouraged to engage in exercises and practices as a commitment to their personal development. It aims to make students understand the limitations of their capacity to drive change and accept the factors that are beyond their control in both their personal and professional lives.

A unique feature in SPJIMR’s experiential pedagogy is the initiative of Abhyudaya. Under this program, each student in their first year is mapped to mentor an underprivileged kid, called “Sitara”. Every student has about 12 visits scheduled at the Sitara’s house. During the course of these visits, students chart a customized personal development for their respective Sitara thereby helping them reach their true potential in personal and professional life. Areas of mentoring may range from digital literacy, communication skills, general awareness to the knowledge of the subjects taught at school. As a part of this journey with Sitara, every student gets exposed to the nuances of urban poverty within the ambit of Mumbai. Another objective of this exercise is to help students develop sensitivity to cultural diversity, become socially aware and understand the role of business in sustainability.

A unique feature in SPJIMR’s experiential pedagogy is the initiative of Abhyudaya. Under this program, each student in their first year is mapped to mentor an underprivileged kid, called “Sitara”.

Apart from corporate internships, students at SPJIMR are given an opportunity to pursue social internships with NGO’s spread across India. This entire exercise is handled under an umbrella initiative called DoCC (Department of corporate citizenship). This rural internship in the social sector is in line with SPJIMR’s vision of influencing practice and value-based growth which helps create sensitivity based on knowledge and the social environment around the students.

While SPJIMR remains the pioneer of such industry-first initiatives, most of the above-mentioned NCL initiatives are being incorporated by other B-Schools in the country in its modified forms.

Note: The views expressed in this article are that of SPJIMR - S.P. Jain Institute of Management and Research and do not reflect/represent those of Shiksha