Group Discussion (GD) Topics & PI Experience by Ujjwala Gaur, IMT Hyderabad

In a recent conversation with Shiksha, Ujjwala Gaur talks about her experience of GD & PI process for admission at Institute of Management Technology, Hyderabad. She talks about questions asked by the panelists and also has a few tips for aspiring students.

I just remember 5 topics and we were divided into 5 groups of 10 members each in slot 2.
1) Narendra Modi vs Rahul Gandhi
2) Is the Indian Education System lacking behind?
3) GST is a boon or a bane
4) Sex: How do we see it?
5) E-commerce: a boom in the market

What, When and How were the areas where I mainly focused on. Speaking 3 main points (which nobody might have touched) is better than just saying "I agree" to other person’s points.

I followed the news every day. I also wrote essays for my sister and studied from the internet. During my coaching with TIME, they used to mention facts and figures which I kept on noting down every day.

No, I did not take any help from coaching. I just prepared on my own by making notes on current affairs and news.

There were two panelists from IMT Hyderabad and 1 from IMT Ghaziabad. I remember two of their names, one was Shiva Gyanasundaram (Hyd) and the other was DP Kar (Hyd). I am from Psychology background so they asked me questions related to the subject. If I was wrong somewhere, they pointed it out then and there itself. It was little difficult but they gave me time to think before I answer. I wanted they should ask me about my topic and my resume only so I guided them through every detail of mine.

The questions they asked in PI were:
1) Tell me something about yourself
2) Rate yourself from 1-10 in General Affairs
3) Any 3 weakness and strengths
4) In Olympic 2012, who qualified for Woman Wrestling?
5) If you like basketball, which NBA team would you support for?
6) Author of the book "The Lost Symbol"
7) Any 5 movies based on Psychology
8) After how many posts do you become a Major in the army?
9) Favorite artist and name of his best painting
10) Any poetry that you like the most, recite it and mention the name of the poet

I took online classes from BYJU's and TIME Institute. We used to have mock PIs and feedback and results used to be displayed on the leaderboard. Also, I used to get Skype calls from the people assigned by BYJU's to prepare for my PI.

I just used the coaching material to prepare for the PI. There were a certain set of questions and we had to record our video and send it to the faculty for them to review and give feedback.

I panicked a little during my GD wherein I was given the topic - Education system: a boon or bane? to speak for the motion. I spoke for the motion all the time but at last, I spoke 1 point against it which kind of ruined it.

I want to give the PI round again as I was giving correct answers but after looking at the panelists' changing faces, I was changing my answers too.

Overall, the experience was good. Only that they grilled me a lot during the PI. Getting into the best MBA school is no less than cracking IAS in one go. But they test us in the waters. So, just speak the truth, if you know it, speak else do not give vague information. It was quite informatic and a good learning level. I got to know where I was standing and where I need to be.

Try to speak about 3 valid and untouched points. Give others a chance to speak. Talk to the whole group rather than just answering to one person.

You're judged on your appearance.
You're judged on your body language.
Judged on your points.
Judged on the statistics.
Judged on facts.
Judged on your behavior.

You're judged on the basis of your appearance, body language, points, statistics, and behaviour.

About the Author:

Hi! I am Ujjwala Gaur and I have completed my MBA in 2019 from Institute of Management Technology, Hyderabad. Currently, I am working with FedEx. My passion is writing, photography and sports. I like helping people especially in terms of education.