A day at a B-school

B-schools have always been synonymous with the continuous development of the managerial and leadership qualities in the youth. Therefore, the rise of business schools in the past few decades has given the students a powerful career path to aspire for. The best MBA/PGDM/PGPM programs in India take this into account and aspire for a world class education. This involves augmenting some of the most useful and effective learning techniques, a robust curriculum that is constantly evolved with best industry practices, and experienced faculty members who can use technology to enhance the learning experience. While all this is very exciting for any student, surviving at a b-school takes more than just passion and dreams. A big part of it is having the self-discipline to ensure that you are always on top of the curriculum and your studies, and keep up with the demands of the course. The other big part is in understanding the expectations of the course and preparing yourself for a different kind of life with some unique demands. Let us look at some aspects of what a day at a b-school entails and help you envision a future at one of them.

The facilities and accommodation

While the accommodation and other facilities are not the most important of the b-school experience, it is one of the first things that most people notice about their prospective campus. The campus keeps playing an important part in the life of the students, who form close bonds of friendship during the MBA/PGDM/PGPM program. The usual staples of a campus would include hostels, classrooms, administration buildings, libraries and auditoriums. As time has evolved most b-schools also have included a high-tech computer lab, which helps the students in their research work. Some great campuses have a Case Development Center (CDC) which makes the b-school stand apart from its competition. The campuses also include facilities such as swimming pools, gymnasiums, basketball courts, grounds for cricket and football, table tennis, badminton, to name a few.

Over the time spent in a b-school, the students usually develop their academic as well as co-curricular activities which prepare them for life to come. It becomes an important part of the memories that stand out about their Alma mater. A typical day includes the students making use of the facilities for their academic work followed by them spending time in activities such as playing a sport, researching things or simply chilling out with their friends at one of many hangouts including the hostel itself.

Social life at the campus

Just because the students are going through a revolutionary academic experience, does not by any means equate to compromising your social life. As the students leave their previous lives and enter this new phase, they learn to foster new relationships and social ties. The curriculum gives them ample opportunities to take out time from their schedule to devote at group projects, forums, groups and enhance their people skills.
Many newer teaching methodologies also leverage the social skills of the students and assign projects that need them to interact and collaborate with other students. As you find a like-minded person, you would be inclined to spend more and more time with them during a day. A good example of the b-school helping you in developing your co-curricular activities are through clubs and common interest groups. Clubs can be focused around areas such as money management, financial markets, drawing, photography and theater. The club membership allows the students to pursue interests that they desire apart from studies.

Course curriculum

Although the course curriculum forms the major building block of any learning experience, it is especially true for someone going through the top b schools in India. The coursework is intellectually challenging and constantly requires you to push the boundaries of your comfort zone to take more and more academic work in the form of class projects and assignments. In the typical format of “learning by doing” the students going through MBA/PGDM/PGPM have their fair share of workload that they would need to fit into their routines.
Since there are many students who join the course from the science background, subjects such as accountancy are new and require them to learn things from scratch. A lot of hours of the day of a student at a b school are dedicated to learning about the general principles of management as well as understanding nuances of their specialized field. The students also need to keep themselves updated regarding the new happenings and changes in the world of business which requires some time.

Events and happenings

The events and happenings, although not taking place every day, can become an integral part of your b-school experience. The events can range from an informal fresher party thrown together by the previous batch of students to various formal competitions organized between b-school students. The common events organized at a b-school may include freshers’ party, farewell party, summer internship, placement days, annual day, fests, competitions, sports day and seminars.

All these events take a fair share of time and the days preceding the events may require the participation of the students in not the event but also organizing the same. These events prepare the students for the real-world challenges in organizing and motivating people that the student must face once they enter the corporate world. It enhances the leadership skills of the students and helps them foster powerful industry contacts that can serve them well in the future.

As you may have understood by now, the b-school experience is not really a cakewalk and it is also true that not everyone who embarks on this journey goes on to completing it. The people who make it to the end of the line though, have promising careers and prospects that would make many people envious. The best MBA/PGDM/PGPM programs in India provide the students an opportunity to invent themselves and shape their futures through their own hands all the while giving an opportunity to have a lot of joy and memories in the process.

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