Dreams 2 Reality ! SIBM- An Experience !
2 months back, as I prepared for my MBA entrance interviews, I often had moments of serious doubt. And one of my friends (who apparently read too much of Paulo Coelho) used to try and cheer me up with his philosophical clichés like, “Come on Harshad, don’t lose heart. You know your dreams are closer than you think.”
But being an engineer I needed ‘quantifiable data’ before I could even begin to consider the validity of such unscientific (almost blasphemous) statements. I was keen on knowing the specifics. How close was my dream exactly? And what on earth would take me to it? And how long would it take to realize it?
And then on 27 May 2015 I found my answer. “My dream was precisely 20.5 kms away from my house. And the 9 a.m. bus from S.B. road was what would take me right up to it. And all it would take was 45 minutes. ”
Yes! This dream was called SIBM Pune. And I am living it right now! Breathing it! And I wake up to it every morning!
The morning sun shining on our (me and my room-mates) faces through the massive windows of our hostel room acts as our wake-up alarm. Not to mention the exquisite lush green landscape spreading before us as we sip our morning tea sitting by the windows. (P.S. – The rest of the day is more or less spent sitting before MS Windows on our laptops. So we do take the nature’s early bird offer seriously.) Fresh morning air, cool breeze blowing in our faces, occasional drizzles, perfect sunset, splendid fog, a walk through the clouds, cycling through the mountains and a breathtaking panorama are some more courtesies of the nature we avail here on a daily basis. No I am not describing my stay at some hill station resort. I am talking about SIBM Pune, one of the top B-schools in India.
When I first visited SIBM for my interview round I was so enchanted by the sheer beauty of the campus that it actually put some additional pressure on me to crack the interview as now it would be more like an emotional breakup with a place I had just fallen madly in love with than a lost opportunity of getting into a premier B-school if I didn’t make it. (By the way such long sentences are looked down upon here in SIBM. They are branded as ‘faffing’. And my professors would have been glad had I put it in bullet points – #Sibm #Love #MoreThanJustATopBSchool )
But these are just the add-ons. The real beauty of SIBM is the people associated with SIBM and the relationship they share with one another. A bond that goes beyond the boundaries of class, culture, language, geography or faith. Be it the professors, the higher management, the alumni, the seniors or the peers. In the true sense of the word ‘symbiosis’, it indeed is coming together of people from a large assortment of backgrounds. The variety and vastness in terms of knowledge, experience, culture, skills, personalities that is brought onto a single stage is incredible. This is where sharing and learning happens. You learn. You love to learn. And then…You learn to love! The only unwritten rule here is ‘All for One, and One for All’. We are a family and we take care of each other. Period.
The pre-induction programme by SIBM, was an interesting endeavor to give the incoming batch enough time to settle down and to get everyone on the same page. With speeches by the top corporate leaders, faculty members and the alumni, it was a perfect introduction to the new exciting world of management for our fresh minds. Other interactive activities like Group tasks, Talent shows, Industrial Visits became the key to breaking the ice between us fellow students and forging new friendships among us. With all the state-of-art facilities on the campus be it the central library, the huge dining area with its wide range of menu to cater to our palates, the sports and recreation center, the coffee shops and snack centers, and more importantly the signature ‘Bus Service’ which in my opinion is the lifeline of SIBM, making our stay here comfortable, smooth, convenient and blissful.
While there is much more to SIBM than the blog limit would permit me to write, I will wind up with a loud cheer! Cheers to the start of a wonderful journey at this Temple of Learning!
My 20 days of stay here can be summed up in 4 bullet points (as the professors would like it)
#SituatedInBetweenMountains
#SincerelyInterestedinBecomingaManager
#SuchIncrediblyBeautifulMoments
#SuchInnovative&BrilliantMinds
Please Note:
This blog has been written by an engineer. There is a reason for highlighting all the numbers or ‘values’. The blog was required to talk about ‘value addition’ during our two weeks here. The engineer in me found a shortcut by actually adding values in some of the lines. That too only at the beginning of the paragraph and towards the end. (no faffing!). Technically ‘value addition’ you see. Welcome to the world of Jugaad err…MANAGEMENT !
Harshad Sapre – First Year MBA student @ SIBM, Pune
