PGP1
My IIM A journey started with the
customary orientation at Ravi J Matthai (RJM) auditorium along with my fellow
batchmates. Every minute that I spent in that auditorium was a beautiful
reminder that I have actually made it into Indian Institute of Management,
Ahmedabad (yes, writing it in full brings a better impact). It was overwhelming
and exciting at the same point to sit with a bunch of 400 people listening to
the best management faculty in this part of the world. If I remember one thing
distinctly from that orientation, it was this statement by Warden, Prof Sunil
Sharma – “Welcome to commando training!”
PGP1s (first year) are hectic across
all the bschools in India. We at IIM A believe that the PGP1 at IIM A is
something special. It is surely the most strenuous amongst all Indian bschools.
Through a maze of cases, assignments, classes and the dreadful quizzes, a first
year IIM A student is taken through a wide variety of management courses in a
very short duration. PGP1 teaches that there is never enough time nor enough
data to take a decision. And you still need to make one. For the majority of us
who are engineers, it was a challenge to move beyond solving well defined
problems and dealing with ambiguity. PGP1 inspires one to push the physical and
mental constraints that we tend to put on ourselves. It was a time when ALL of
us had our own personal battles to fight. It felt like a warzone with all of us
fighting it out together.
Despite being an extremely rigorous
year, we do not have ill feelings about it. PGP Office and the entire faculty
team took care in ensuring that the pain is evenly distributed and there were
rarely any time when I felt that the pressure applied was more than bearable.
And this is precisely what makes PGP1 at IIM Ahmedabad special. It is the
institution’s ability to create the environment which pushes people but never
lets them fall down. A fine balance.