Some helpful pointers gleaned from ISB Info Session

The ISB info session held in kolkata on 31st July was very crisp and professional. They started exactly at 3 pm. Number of participants was around 100. There were total 3 members from admission committee there. One young lady was the alumni of ISB itself and she opened the session by talking about the agenda of session.

The second member was somewhere around 35 and he had great communication skills and sense of humor. He started by showing a video of ISB which compared the career of a person to an F1 race. In that race, ISB acts as pit-stop break to give your career a new vigor. It was pretty cool video.

Then he talked about emerging markets. ISB is very clearly focused on the emerging markets. Someone who has association with emerging markets would definitely has an advantage.

The faculty at ISB is one of the best. They invite professors who are best in their respective fields. Industry leaders also come and take courses which still evolving and they do not just take a guest lecture instead cover a full course.

ISB wants to develop an integrative approach towards problem solving in their students. Innovation and sustainability require cross-functional teams working together. So integrative approach can be developed if students get a chance to work in teams consisting of members who are diverse in profile. ISB stresses a lot on diversity in terms of industry and function.

ISB does not has summer internship. Instead it has Experiential Learning Program(ELP) where real time consulting projects are awarded to students. There are also Faculty initiated Research projects(FIRP) in which students can work with a faculty member in a research area. ISB also has exchange programs in 36 B Schools across the world including Pakistan :). 70-75 percent of students who join ISB undergo career-shifts. So career-shift is encouraged and common in ISB.

The third member was an elderly one. He told that interviews and essays are very important in admission process. To excel in both, the key is self awareness and for that one must do a lot of introspection. Seniors at workplace whose work is impacted by your performance are ideal recommenders.

Last pointer is about essays. One should be clear about his future goals. One should be aware of his USP and what he is bringing to the table. These two factors are playing a very important role in this year's ISB admission essays.

ISB info session

I registered 2 months back for the ISB info session. It was going to be held on 31st July in Kolkata. Covering more than 500kms in a day and spending precious one day weekly-off for a 2 hour session might not be a good deal but it was worth all the effort :)

I reached the venue(Hotel Taj Bengal) 3 hours before the session. The previous morning session was still not finished. So I spend my time exploring the beautiful hotel lobbies, tasting blueberry cake in Deli and having club sandwich plus Jamaican blue mountain in their promenade.

The session was crisp and info provided was more than their website. They talked about their value system and teaching methodology at ISB. There were three people from Ad-Com and they talked about the kind of people they are looking for. There was a Q&A round which cleared queries from the aspirants. After session, there was informal chat with the alums.

My next post would be having some pointers specific to ISB which I gathered at info session.

When you get an MBA, you never know who you will meet at the top

The business world has more variety than ever, and tomorrow’s entrepreneurs are a part of that. From new students at business colleges to the top online MBA programs, the young people aspiring for a business degree show off a wide range of experience and ability. I wonder and try to figure out what kind of achievements B-Schools look for in an aspirant. Nowadays people are distinguishing themselves in quite innovative ways. Today I came across this article about eclectic mix of people at ISB-2012 class. Just reproducing here from the article few lines that matter.

Class of Achievers

It is not just academic excellence and work experience that the ISB looks for. Many of the students who joined the class have demonstrated multi dimensional leadership abilities. They are strong achievers in their own sphere of work and also across areas that they choose to focus on. Among this talented group are -
• India's first Audio Book Author
• A doctor, who is also a State Home Secretary
• A commander in the Indian Naval Force
• Film Directors, Playwrights and Poets
• Trained Dancers and Choreographers
• Certified Sky Divers and Scuba Divers
• Several Academic Rank Holders

So next year, when you enter into your dream B-School, an army of smart people will be there. Be ready to belong there :)

Hiccups

My itinerary is simple. I do not foresee any hiccups except one. And that would be this.
I am expecting the maximum damage to be of 6 days. And in those 6 days also I am hoping to get an hour or two to be in touch with the material.
I am allowing this interruption because it is very much in line with my goal and I have a plan for using this idea and starting a club in my dream college. My IT background plus experience in developing programs and games should help me here.