Mystory@Ayan Dasgupta: Why I decided to pursue a Management Programme

Mystory@Ayan Dasgupta

In my academic and professional stint as an Electronic Data Interchange (EDI) analyst, I had worked on theoretical and experimental research projects. I have also done my fair share of freelance work involving web development and graphic design. While I always harbored plans of my own start up, I felt a gap in terms of understanding the business, the markets, and the strategy and financial know how of running a business. I also desired the company of like-minded individuals who have an appetite for learning and sharing knowledge. Therefore, I decided to pursue a management program.

The Preparation Stage

It was late in 2014 that I decided to appear for CAT and pursue a management program. I started going through the basics of each of the three sections (Quantitative Aptitude, Data Interpretation-Logical Reasoning and Verbal Ability) from CAT preparation books like those written by Arun Sharma, I finished covering the syllabus by the end of May after which I enrolled myself for Mock Test Series of Career Launcher (CL). At the same time, I practiced solving problems from the CL course material. I would take one mock exam in three weeks between June to mid-October, after which I would take three exams a week. It is very important that one peaks slowly towards the day of the examination and doesn’t burn himself out in the initial months.

After the CAT exam, I enrolled myself into the CL GDPI program. It was of immense help to me as it made me realise the areas I needed to work upon. I had received calls from IIM-Shillong, IIM-Kozhikode, MDI-Gurgaon, NITIE and SJMSoM. Thanks to the mock GDPIs, I managed to convert all my calls.

Why I chose to join MDI Gurgaon

Having a CAT score of 98.57 percentile, I opted to study at MDI-Gurgaon. I chose this top business-school for its pedagogy, curriculum, faculty and the international exchange programs at this campus.The fact that it is located in the industrial hotspot of Gurgaon further went on to convince me to join it. There are frequent guest speaker sessions from Indian and international executives who give us insights into the corporate world. This unique blend of international and Indian exposure, gives us the best of both the worlds. It also allows a student to specialize in more than one discipline such as Marketing, Finance, Strategy or Operations, thereby encouraging a holistic development of business acumen.

The journey so far

Our session began last June (in 2016). What impressed me the most was the meticulous organization and involvement of the student run bodies. We were welcomed by the hostel and mess (HnM) team on the first day, and they ensured a hassle free allocation of rooms to us. This was followed by an induction week where our seniors got us up to speed with the MBA life on campus. Some sessions were taken to teach us the intricacies of the quintessential MBA tools of MS Excel and MS Powerpoint, along with those aimed at polishing our CVs and LinkedIn profiles. We learnt to adapt to the rigor of academics and extra-curricular activities, while also spending time in networking. The first trimester was a little hectic as we had to balance our academics with preparation for the summer internship process.

The study schedules are designed to ensure that the students get to optimally utilize time. The day starts with classes from 8:30 am and last till 5:30 pm. However, the day does not end there. The student life committee makes sure that we get enough breaks from the stressful time we have during each semester. We indulge in various club activities. The different academic clubs conduct engaging events and competitions year long and it is a wonderful experience to be a part of them. We also have event clubs which conduct disguised market research (Illumina) while throwing a Diwali Gala, a Research Panel Discussion week (Delphique) and one of the biggest campus fests in North India (Imperium).

We also have superb sports infrastructure. Being a sports freak, I get to enjoy playing football, table tennis after classes. The tennis court allowed me to learn a new sport altogether! Our campus also provides us the opportunity to take part in leading corporate case competitions. I feel that participating in them exposes us to a great learning curve as these competitions are held by companies from a multitude of industries. Participation requires extensive research and I would go to the extent of attributing a competition to nothing short of a live project. The sheer learning and practice of brainstorming in a team, gained from taking part in these competitions, would hold any student in good stead during his internships.

Suggestions to future MBA aspirants

Follow your dreams and just don’t think anything apart from it. It might sound so archaic, but my mantra is to believe in my ideas and just try to be the best. So, whatever is your area of interest, try to go deep into it and be the best. I love research and so far, my focus has been on research. I would say, choose your field of interest and try to be the best in it.

About the Author:

My name is Ayan Dasgupta, Post Graduate Program in Management (PGPM) student at Management Development Institute (MDI), Gurgaon in the batch of 2016-2018. After completing my BTech in Computer Science and Engineering (CSE) from West Bengal University of Technology in 2014, and working for two years at IBM as an Electronic Data Interchange (EDI) analyst, I felt the need to enhance and structure my experiential learning through a business program, which made me take admission in MDI, Gurgaon.

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