Life as a B-School
Student
- by Raja Banerjee *
It is fun, exhilarating, busy,
and sleep-deprived.
First off, let me introduce
myself. I am Raja Banerjee, male, 28, and single. This is not a dating website,
so I'll stop at that! My under graduation was in Electrical Engineering. I had
been working as an IT consultant in New Jersey, USA for 4 years when the MBA bug
bit me. I wanted to move from IT project execution side to the business
development side. An MBA was the ideal vehicle to make that job function switch.
And also the quickest way to move up from the Dilbertian cubicle farm to the
classy corner office with a wonderful view!
I started applying to one-year
MBA programmes in North America, Europe and Asia. I didn't want to go to a
two-year programme, as being out of the workforce for two years is suicidal in
the fast-changing IT industry.
I got a few admits, and decided
to join the Indian School of Business. This place is right in the middle of the
emerging Silicon Valley in India, and is the ideal launching pad for my IT
business development career.
So here I am, a student at the
ISB, with high ambitions and big dreams. We started in April, and it's been a
roller-coaster ride since. The professors are world-class and the work-load out
of this world.
A typical day begins with an 8:30
AM class. After two hours of intense class discussions, we get a half hour break
to get ready for the next lecture. Another two hours of information exchange and
we are ready for lunch. Post lunch we get some time to either sleep or catch up
on our emails. Then begin the team meetings to work on the group assignments.
These meetings could go on until the wee hours of the morning. But that's not
all. We also need to study for the next day's lecture/case discussion on an
individual basis. And thus comes to an end a packed day.
It's an experience one cannot
forget in a hurry. And the best part is that - it's all worth it.
