A good career choice. Review on Goa Institute of Management, Panaji

Well , let me be honest with you , this is not going be a the same old glossy review about a business school. And yeah it is not that I have done something so great in my corporate life so that everybody shall be looking at my alma mater and me !!YET , the only object with which I start writing about my institute is to talk about the EXPERIENCE of learning provided by it.

As a fairly average student ( an engineer with 1 years of manufacturing experience when I joined this institute) , I believe to share some of my learning here ( after two years of working in a reputed investment banking firm ) shall be useful to any B-school aspirants???.. who might be considering various options for pursuing their MBA

Before we talk about the specifics , let me make my view clear that when u are looking to study post your graduation especially in the field of business administration almost all the B-schools have a limited role to play rather than being a facilitator providing the RIGHT ATMOSPHERE to move ahead.

A B-school education is not about LEARNING ANY HARD CORE sciences ???.. rather it is a program that MAKES YOU PLAY EVERY & ANY BALL from any position as a GOOD BATSMAN. The objective of a program is to create leaders with common sense and ability to respond any complex situation in the best possible manner.

No, I am not defying the role of specializations in PGDM courses , but the primary object I believe for a B-school, is to make you smart to tackle the challenges in business arena and create leader managers of the same. I shall be viewing my two years of life in GIM from this perspective. The objective again is not comparison across the B-schools ( that the admission aspirants shall decide ). Every school has a unique identity and a unique value driver that produces the end products. Here I would like to present a fair view of my institute.

~I consider this institute as good primarily because it has transformed my life ( along with 100 others in my batch ) to a large extent. This is not in absolute terms ( frankly I am not at a very high level of management or such as my counterparts passing from IIMs and nor drawing amazing salaries as media indicates but sure to look ahead for the same very soon ) but from the perspective of incremental changes that have occurred in my personality over two years . It can be attributed to broadening of the perspective , ability to face failures and building patience.

I believe the school has important role to play here as the following facts endorse

~There were 100 of us coming from SRCCs, Xaviers RECs and some of the best institutes in the country. The only common element being the fact that we were dreaming of IIMs or XLRIs yet were not in there and were feeling dejected. Yet , this institute precisely harps on this fact in a POSITIVE manner.

~The ambience is such that within days , the two batches of 100 each ( seniors and juniors ) , join together as a bunch of people who are extremely ambitious to perform better than IIM or any other similar B-schools , closely bound within the range of a common objective and most importantly are pushing each other hard to perform and reach higher.

~ The corporate environment is best simulated in the institute . Oh no I am not talking about the infrastructure or things like that ( they are already well placed ) but in terms of working here. Example , if there is some idea which you feel is noteworthy and can make good of the students, the institute is willing to take it in PROVIDED you prove the mettle across the various decision making bodies , Isn?t it similar to what happens when you are dealing with a prestigious clients? So the simulation of corporate experience starts here and is extremely helpful as you move ahead in corporate life. I can talk as an authority about this experience today after working two years in a reputed investment banking firm.

~ One typical philosophy on which institute believes is placement is NOT THE ONLY OBJECTIVE but it is one of the objectives OTHER THAN OVERALL PERSONALITY GROOMING, EXPOSURE AND IMPARTING STRENGTH OF THE MIND TOGETHER making them I might sound foolishly idealistic when I say like this , but believe me this has been a consistent feedback from our alumni ? who occupy some of the top notch positions in industry.

~I have a strong belief that in the LONG TERM this helps a lot. Please do not mis-interpret me , GIM has excellent placements this year and also last year too. The average salary this year has been around 4.25 Lac with more than one offer for everyone ( approximate data ) , but the institute has a firm belief in developing long lasting competencies. While recruiters from debt markets and market research are regular here the share of IT , marketing and consultancy companies is fairly high.

~ The institute enjoys excellent relations with the local industry , which is a good thing. Through plethora of industry interactions , visits and projects at various forums, It prepares all of us to create the business models ,and strategies not only for the resource rich , high flying MNCs but from the perspective of Small and medium enterprises. These skills certainly are critical for any successful business manager.

~ About infrastructure and facilities, I need not talk much. It is simply world class. Campus offers a splendid view of river mandovi and institute has many good things to boast in terms of close surrounding to the nature. Faculty is also one of the best in their fields and there is a sizable number of visiting faculty across the globe visiting this institute.

~So if you believe that knowledge with all these values can make you a good corporate over your career , GIM can certainly be a great choice. If you have something to be done on your own and believe the theory ? there are no free lunches , this could be a good career choice. Please understand that getting out of a B-school is not a beginning of bed of roses to follow ( as it is usually ) but the fact that it is beginning of much harder corporate career , GIM certainly helps u prepare well for the same.

~So , all those who are not going into IIMs, ISBs , but still want to have a differentiated mark of your own in the corporate world and importantly have patience to seek justified remarks , should certainly look at this option positively.