Meeting The Alums

I always believe that you must find a good mentor before you begin with a life changing activity. Half the work is done if you succeed in identifying a good mentor. The do's and don’ts can be explained in no better fashion, than by a good mentor.

Hence, the right mentor can always show you right steps, the right way and the right method. But, the onus of reaching out to the mentor at the right time lies on you.

For a person like me, who has just started with a new phase in life by enrolling in a MBA program at NITIE, interacting with the seniors and alums would be one of the most interesting and intriguing things to do. Many thanks to our professor Dr. Mandi who made our day by inviting alums from IM 10 batch - Mr. Nikhil Kulkarni (Manager - IT Advisory, KPMG) and Mr. Hemant Kumar Jain (Manager, Human Capital Advisory, KPMG).

I and the entire class were excited to know their experiences, learnings, ventures, victories, failures and industry happenings etc.

After the introduction, Mr. Kulkarni took over and raised this fundamental question - 'how many of you want to get into SCM?’ NITIE, being the mecca of operations management, it was of no surprise that many hands rose. The next was an interesting question - 'how many of you are thinking of entrepreneurship?’

This time few hands rose and even those who evinced interest, weren't confident enough.

By now it was clear that Mr. Kulkarni had intentions of clearing the air for the students for them to make wise decisions when it comes to taking up entrepreneurship. He advised that entrepreneurship is for those who really are passionate about setting up their own enterprise, who can think innovatively and for those who think big and act big. This he explained with couple of real life examples.

Comforting the disheartened souls, Mr. Kulkarni went on to say that one can run a business and be the boss even while working for a company. He stated his own experience as a manager where he looks at and analyses the profit and loss sheets of the company he works for, while consistently thriving to increase the profitability and customer base of the company.

As the curiosity bar kept rising among the students, Mr. Hemant made an entry into the hall with a bang! Concluding a brief introduction he engaged in a jovial discussion with the students like asking them if the count of steps to reach the academic block from the hostels was still 96.After a sound 'Yes' from the students, he compared those steps collectively, as a ladder to success. 

The duo suggested on how the students must make the most of their stay at NITIE and make it more than just worthwhile. They elaborated on their invention at NITIE - 'Mastishk' that was so dear to them and something that they are really proud of even today. Mastishk is an online business case study simulation competition that witnesses the presence of best minds from the top colleges across the country. Despite the criticism right on the face and turbulence in conceptualizing the event, Mr. Kulkarni team battled it out and pulled it off very well making a huge and successful event.

Apart from the participation in committees, forums and several other campus activities like case study competitions, the alums have recommended some good books and movies which they said would help in improving our personality and change our persona altogether.

Overall, it was a wonderful,knowledge filled session.Once again, would like to express our gratitude to professor Mandi for making this happen!