The PGP 2016-18 batch at IIM Ahmedabad has returned to college after completing their internships. The summer internship 2017 at IIM Ahmedabad has remained unique as many students this year have opted to work in unconventional sectors like Policy, entrepreneurship, NGOs instead of only in corporate sector. List of such students opting for the unconventional offers has been increasing at IIM Ahmedabad for the last few years.
Widening scope of Management: Reason behind unconventional career path
According to IIM Ahmedabad ‘Over the last few years, IIMA students have been increasingly bucking the trend and opting for unconventional paths. While the institute policies and programs have played an instrumental role in supporting these initiatives, students are increasingly preferring the non-conventional options to begin their careers. Joining newly born startups, IIMA’s Maverick program, Public Policy sector, NGOs, etc. have been some of these less trodden paths chosen by the students this year.’
Sandeep Murisetty and Prabal Chauhan, Recruitment Secretaries of PGP (Post Graduate Program) and PGP-FABM (Post Graduate Program in Food and Agri-Business Management) program, while commenting on these trends pointed out the excitement and challenge in accommodating the aspirations of fellow students to create a positive impact on the society and the country. They further remarked that the evolving environment and the widening scope of management field are the reason behind the growing acceptance for IIM Ahmedabad students in these niche unconventional sectors.
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Why we did internship in unconventional sectors? IIMA interns share
We bring to you 6 students of 2016-2018 PGP batch of IIM Ahmedabad, who have made contrarian choices during their summer internships of 2017 and have dared to look beyond the conventional definition of a successful career of a management graduate.
Arushi Jain ( PGP 2016-18): Sector - International Relations
Intern: Ministry of External Affairs, Government of India
Arushi has been fascinated towards foreign policy and did not want to miss the opportunity. Sharing about why she did internship in this unconventional area, Arushi gives strong reasons and says “My fascination towards Foreign Policy analysis was stimulated during my undergraduation. To further pursue my interest and understand the policy process closely, I decided to do my summers at the Ministry of External Affairs. This internship provided me with the befitting exposure and helped me get acquainted with the nitty-gritty of the bureaucratic process. I was given the opportunity to work in close proximity of ministers and higher rank officials to organize the 'Sustainable Development Conference' in the Pacific island countries. Contrary to my expectations, I was enthralled by the autonomy, ownership, and innovation that was valued at the workplace. The intrinsically rewarding nature of my role in liaising with different ministries made the experience valuable.”
Goutham Senthurvel (PGP 2016-18): Sector: Entrepreneurship
Intern: IIMA Maverick Program
Goutham never liked to miss the chance to pursue his entrepreneurship dream and the opportunity at IIM Ahmedabad just added wings to his aspirations. Sharing the reason why he preferred this unconventional summer internship area, Goutham says “Entrepreneurship has been my passion from a young age, and no one could get a better platform than IIMA’s Maverick program to explore one’s dream where the opportunities are in abundance and the support given, incredible. I worked on two projects. One, to buy used clothes from upper middle class and sell it to the lower middle class after re-processing. The second was to produce Sugarcane and Neera juices and offering it in tetra packs for consumers.”
Gouthm adds further “I found it challenging to persist with the uncertainty of the scope and success of the planned ventures. Not to mention, getting to meet the stakeholders at the right time and the right place was a major challenge. I would suggest to the students that this is a zero risk opportunity to check their entrepreneurship skills and build their dream business.”
Shankhadip Majumder (PGP 2016-18): Sector-Renewable Energy
Intern: An emerging startup in Renewables sector
Fascinated by the renewable sector, Shankhadeep chose to do internship in his preferred sector. Sharing the reason, he says, “I interned at a two-year-old electric mobility solutions company. Right from the start, I was fascinated by the renewables sector which I believe along with AI represent two of the most transformative and impactful areas of the next decade. My primary mandate was to understand the inter-city bus business and submit a report and a costing sheet as a part of my deliverables. I met with many interesting people and had the chance to look closely at industry representing the transport lifeline of the nation. I was over-awed by the pace of change and how quickly technology promises to radically alter our lives.”
Shreeja Jaiswal (PGP 2016-18) : Sector – Impact Consulting
Intern: Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation
Inspired by the philanthropic causes, Shreeja made this unconventional sector her choice for internship. Speaking about why she opted the unconventional sector, Shreeja says “All Lives Have Equal Value - is the belief that guides the Bill & Melinda Gates Foundation. In India, the foundation has been a key impact maker in reducing inequity, especially in Healthcare sector. I was greatly inspired by their philanthropic causes and wanted to make an impact by giving an MBA’s perspective to their work. Tagged to the Policy Advocacy team, I performed extensive research & analysis and met with multiple stakeholders & experts in the area to devise a strategy towards capacity building in Human Resources for Health. A parallel stream of my internship dealt with grant management. My project enabled me to understand the issues at the root of Health Care delivery and exposed me to high positioned stakeholders in the human development sector.”
Harish Udaykumar (PGP 2016-18) : Sector – Public Policy
Intern: Government of Telangana
Harish couldn’t resist himself when he got the opportunity to know how the Government functions. This led him to do internship in Public Policy. According to Harish, “I have always had an inherent interest in politics and on how governments work. Most of us always critique the Government from the outside. So when the opportunity to intern with the Government of Telangana came up, I wanted to seize the opportunity to get to know how the Government operates from the inside. I worked on a project under Prof. Ajit Rangenekar, the ex-Dean of ISB, Hyderabad, to create an innovation ecosystem among the research institutes in and around Hyderabad and businesses and startups to build novel enterprises.”
Sharing about his experience in Internship, he says “The internship was a wonderful experience. I was surprised to find out how efficient the people and the systems are. I would suggest anyone who gets an opportunity to seize it just for the experience.”
Vinayak Yadav (PGP 2016-18) : Sector – Not-for-Profit enterprises
Intern: SRIJAN
ith a view to improve the condition of farmers and learning how to empower them, Vinayak preferred an absolutely different unconventional internship. Sharing about his internship, he says “SRIJAN works with poor farmers to improve their annual income by providing them technical and financial assistance. My project was also based on empowering tribal farmers of Koriya (Chhattisgarh), by developing a business plan for jackfruit. The farmers are exploited by traders/middleman as they are not aware of the market potential of jackfruit. For the project, I stayed in villages and interacted with farmers and their families. These interactions helped me to know them and their problems better and motivated me to come up with the best solution. The project provided me with a tremendous learning opportunity to meet with many government officials, industry experts, and vendors. The marketing, operation and financial concepts that I studied in the first year at IIM Ahmedabad were beneficial in the successful completion of the project.
Srijan will be starting with a small jackfruit dehydrating facility by the end of June’17. Today I feel proud as I was able to contribute to improving the financial health of approximately 2500 families through this project.”
Established in 1961, the Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad (IIMA) is recognized globally for excellence in management education. One of the top management schools in the world, IIMA educates leaders of the enterprises. The Institute’s strategic priorities include: strengthening connection with its various constituencies, including academics, practitioners, alumni, and the community; nurturing a high performance work environment of stretch, autonomy, and teamwork; and strategic growth while maintaining emphasis on quality.
As per the latest ranking by The Economist, IIMA is No. 1 School in the world on the parameter of opening up new career opportunities for students. The flagship Post Graduate Programme (PGP) is ranked 16th in the Financial Times Masters in Management Ranking 2016 and Post Graduate Programme in Food and Agri-Business Management (PGP-FABM) is ranked 1st by Eduniversal, Paris, France in 2017. As per the Financial Times’ Global MBA Ranking 2017, IIMA’s Post Graduate Programme for Executives (PGPX) is ranked 29th in the World.
Stay tuned to MBAUniverse.com for more updates on IIM Ahmedabad
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