On November 5, 2010 NASSCOM organized Business School Affaire and Dewang Mehta Business School Awards. Nearly 50 Top management institutes had sent students to contest for the award of Best Student in Management for the year 2009-10. The jury at the event comprised some of the eminent people from the top companies including ESSAR, ICICI Prudential, Reliance, HDFC Bank, Bharat Matrimony, HP, AEGIS, YES Bank, Hexaware, Global INNOV, Red Hat and many more. After the review of the resume of the students by the jury, each student was given a time span of 10-15 min to talk about himself/herself and another few min as to why he/she should be selected as the Best Student in Management. The jury then interacted with the participants cross questioning them on various issues.
When the final results were announced, ISBR struck a spot with Prashant Guha winning the award for the Best Management Student. Here’s an excerpt from the rendezvous with Prashant.
What all preparations went in preparing for an event like this?
To be frank, the preparations had started the day I decided to do something in my life. Till now I had never thought that I would get a chance to compete to be the best in my field in my country some day. As per the last moment preparations, I was all geared up to answer just anything. Starting from academics to achievements to current affairs.
Who all helped you in getting ready for it?
The credit list stands long but firstly I would like to thank our Director, Prof. Amit Gupta for confining in me and selected me to represent ISBR. From the staff, Parvathi ma’am played an important role in setting all things right for me from beginning to the last moment. All my gurus from past and present, my employers, my parents, friends and each and every one from ISBR who confined and believed that I could do it.
What was the experience like, not just participating but winning in an event like this?
In real sense this was an experience of a life time where I got a chance to compete with some of the best management students from the best Management Institutes of India. Though it was tough to compete, I was able to deliver my best. I got a chance to see how well other B schools are doing and what kind of management students are they producing.
Was there anything that you feel you missed or ignored while preparing?
Well yes… I felt I missed out on preparations of the introductory speech. I could have introduced myself better.
What are you’re learning from this win and any suggesting for all of us back home?
After being a part of this grand event, I realized that it doesn’t matter from which institute you come from, if you are confident and give it your best shot, you can surely make a place for yourself.
I would like to suggest this one thing to students at ISBR that don’t take learning lightly. Ignorance can lead you to doom but if you truly believe in yourself and apply you’re learning in day to day life you will surely be at the top.
What are those qualities of yours that you think got you so far and any weakness of yours that you identified during the whole event?
Well, I feel it’s been my continuous effort to prove myself in any field that I have been in so far. One quality of mine is of never giving up no matter what. Before the results were declared I was worried as to how am I going to face my professors, my friends and all those who believed in me. I was scared to the extent that I could not hold my tears when my name was declared. It feels proud to carry the tag of “Best Student in Management” for the year.
About ISBR:
Business School, Bangalore based, Top Class B School for PGDM or MBA, Consistently ranked as best B School in India, AICTE-CII Platinum Catagory, with multiple specializations.