My experience of International Immersion Program @SPJIMR: Divya Gubba

Divya Gubba

It was a cloudy evening when we embarked on our journey to the United States of America. Though it was my second international trip, first being to Denmark for an office assignment, my heart was filled with a lot of excitement and a bit of anxiety. Excitement because it was a tour abroad with a big bunch of crazy friends (I was sure that we were going to make memories of a lifetime in the trip) and anxiety because I was the coordinator of this program and the onus was on me to ensure everyone landed safely. Nevertheless, excitement overshadowed every other feeling I had.

To give a brief summary, the immersion program at S P Jain Institute of Management and Research (SPJIMR) is called Global Fast Track (here onwards I will call it GFT). It is a 3-week exchange program in which an entire batch goes to one of the Ivy League Universities in the US to pursue some courses there. We, the Information Management students, were sent to Carnegie Mellon University (CMU) in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania.

Upon reaching the hotel, though we had a long trip of more than 24 hours, our excitement gave us new energy to quickly freshen up and go out to explore the place.

We explored the campus and felt proud of ourselves for getting a chance to walk in the corridors of CMU which was like a dream come true for us.

On the first day of our program, we had a batch photoshoot, a campus tour and a party arranged by CMU. We were overwhelmed by their hospitality. During weekdays, in the daytime we attended classes which were interesting and engaging. In the evenings we went out and explored Pittsburgh. We girls spent our time mostly shopping, making the best of Independence Day sale there.

On the academic front, we had many interesting courses taught to us by famous people like Computer Scientist and UX Designer Chris Harrison. We got a lot of practical exposure during the Design Thinking course and we also got a chance to visit a start-up hub. Last but not the least was the capstone project which involved heavy data analysis and creating a B-Plan for future technologies. It gave us a chance to incorporate all our 3-week learnings and was a perfect finish to the program.

Well, the trip was not just about studies. We also got a four-day long Independence Day holiday. The holiday gave us a chance to tour the most happening cities in the world. We visited the Statue of Liberty in New York, the Brooklyn Bridge, took pictures at world’s best museums and memorials in Washington and made many more memories. Thus, GTF days were the best days of our MBA life.

About the Author:

I am Divya Gubba and I am currently pursuing PGDM in Information Management from SPJIMR, Mumbai. After spending 25 years in Hyderabad I finally got a chance to get out of the city and explore new places which include Mumbai, Pittsburgh, New York and Noida. I am an enthusiastic learner and always ready to take up challenging tasks to learn something new.