Inspiration begins at home: Ajmal Basheer

I come from a small family of 8 members. I’m the 6^th child and the smallest in the family. My parents wanted all of us children to get good education. All my siblings were good in their academics and are currently well-settled as either engineers or doctors. Seeing them work hard and reaping good results, I kept myself at par with them and at the same time, wanted to try something different than them – I chose Bio-Math combination after 10th, since I was interested in Science. Soon my interests grew strong and I decided to pursue Science. That’s when I decided to join Indian Institute of Science Education & Research, Thiruvananthapuram for an integrated master’s degree in Pure Science and took up Biological Science as my major due to my interest in genetics. During my course, I learnt that even though there are a lot of innovations and technological advancements, Indian agriculture hasn’t been able to reap the benefits of it due to lack of proper management. Obviously, I did my research and found out that National Institute of Agricultural Extension Management (MANAGE, Hyderabad), the pioneer in Agribusiness Management, is the place for me to develop my managerial skills to make my contributions to fill in this gap. I am happy and satisfied that I chose to pursue PGDM-ABM from MANAGE.

After graduation, I stayed for some more time at the college to complete a couple more experiments in my master’s project. I took out some time occasionally to prepare for CAT, using a couple of books I got from my friends and NCERT math textbook! I got a good enough percentile in CAT that easily ensured me a GD-PI call from MANAGE, IRMA (good enough IRMASAT score too), and IIFM Bhopal – Agribusiness, Rural and Forest Management courses respectively. After I confirmed the calls for the interviews, I googled to past years’ GD-PI experiences and preparations to be done, which really helped me out. I converted MANAGE and IIFM calls in the first list and missed IRMA by a very small margin. All said and done, Internet helped me out mostly at all the different stages!

MANAGE is a home away from home. With a beautiful lush green campus away from all the noise and pollution of the city, it is a place to set your mind at peace. Like any other top B-school, to give you such a high RoI in less than two years, the classes are packed and may seem a bit hectic in the beginning, but that’s just during the beginning. The classes and practical lessons ensure that you’re equipped to be placed at high-level positions in leading firms.

Various clubs and committees ensure that every festival is enjoyed to the fullest, every talent is showcased and personal development is achieved in all aspects. But you need good food and ambience too; the mess food is healthy, tasty and awesome. After all, Hyderabadi food, right?! We play and fight hard at the courts and hit the gym to stay fit and also get many chances to represent the batch and the institute in various intra and inter-college sports events. We dance to the latest hit song and sing our heart out with karaoke music in the background. But study, play, enjoy... where do you get time for all of that? That’s what I learnt first here – time management. I get to do all of it and more. I learnt web designing and am doing couple of online courses too! I represent the batch in two groups – the MediaCell Club and the Academic Committee and both have taught me a lot that can’t be learnt in classrooms.

About the Author:

I’m Ajmal. I’m from Kozhikode, Kerala. I’m currently in my 1st year of PGDM-ABM at MANAGE, Hyderabad (batch 2018−20). I’ve completed dual degree of BS-MS from Indian Institute of Science Education and Research (IISER), Thiruvananthapuram, batch 2012−17. I did my schooling from my hometown in Kerala and was the school topper in plus two with 96% in CBSE AISSCE and 9.8/10 in CBSE AISSE. During my five years at IISER-TVM, I was a recipient of the INSPIRE-SHE, a prestigious merit scholarship offered by the Dept. of Science & Technology, Government of India. My hobbies include pencil sketching, caricature sketching, and playing volleyball. I never keep away from trying out new and different things and always push my limits to see what I’m capable of!