You can’t connect the dots looking forward; you can only connect them looking backward. So, you have to trust that the dots will somehow connect in your future. – Steve Jobs
On the morning of March 27, 76 people from various cities and towns of our diverse nation joined IIM Bangalore’s one-year flagship MBA programme – Executive Postgraduate Programme in Management (EPGP). The class of EPGP 2019-20 batch embarked on a year-long journey to rediscover, reinvent, reimagine and rebuild themselves.
The day after the enrolment and inauguration, the batch was asked to assemble at 6 am for a photoshoot amid the environs of the lush green campus. After the photo session, the EPGP Chairperson, Prof R Narayanaswamy, conducted the orientation. This was followed by roller-coaster sessions on the case method, ethics, communication and alumni relations.
The day was not over yet. In an hour and a half, the batch was supposed to be ready to hop on to buses and head to the Pegasus Institute, some 60 km from the campus, to engage in outbound activity as an ice-breaking exercise.
The EPGP batch thought it was on its way to finally getting a breather after the previous two hectic days, but was unaware that in the next couple of days, their mettle and patience was going to be tested. Imagine what would happen when you put 76 talented chefs in a kitchen — you get a cauldron brimming with ideas!
The outbound experience provided the batch an amazing opportunity to connect with one another and form new friendships. In just two days, everyone was exposed to various group activities, like crossing an obstacle track, singing old melodies in chorus around a bonfire or doing a kind of non-verbal enactment to describe one’s batch-mates. The outbound activities helped us shed our inhibitions and made us realise that EPGP was going to be one’s second family for the next year.
It is challenging to summarise the learnings from the two-day experiential learning, but one thing is for sure, no one is now afraid of the future. The uncertainty of what lies ahead is scary but with the strength of 75 friends, I am looking forward to how the future will unfold. It is not going to be easy – there will be sleepless nights, there will be 11th hour rushed submissions – but in the end , the experience will be worthwhile for the learnings gained and bonds forged here at IIM-B.
(The writer is a student of the EPGP 2019-20 batch at IIM Bangalore.)