IIMB’s EPGP students head to S Korea for immersion experience

The students of the Executive Post-Graduate Programme (EPGP), a one-year residential full-time programme at IIM-Bengaluru, are about to embark on the much awaited International Immersion in association with KAIST (Korea Advanced Institute of Science and Technology), in Daejeon, South Korea. With an average work experience of around nine years, the EPGP participants hail from diverse backgrounds, from the Indian Navy to the fashion industry.

The two-week international immersion programme was launched with a special focus on business in an emerging economy, such as Singapore, South Korea and China. The programme has been positioned strategically in the third term of the one-year programme, after the core courses have been completed and students have learnt different aspects of looking at businesses and joint ventures.

The students have taken courses on corporate finance, strategy, marketing and analytics. These courses are mostly based on case studies, which enable them to analyse businesses and their practices with a critical eye.

As students, we are looking forward to two weeks of learning in a whole new way. We are excited to experience and learn from the professors of KAIST, who will share with us their viewpoints of doing business in South Korea and how strategies will have to be adapted to suit geographical and demographical variables. We will also be associating with industry leaders and working on projects that will supplement our classroom learning on business strategies. We hope to learn the nuances of leading world-class business-houses such as Samsung, Doosan and Mahindra, from their leaders.

This is the fourth batch of EPGP students visiting South Korea as part of the immersion programme. The previous batches have a high opinion on the visit and the immense value-addition it brings to academic learning. We will be accompanied by Prof Ashok Thampy and Prof Padmini Srinivasan from IIMB, who were part of previous immersion programmes and are emphatic about the benefits from the experience.

Students interested in entrepreneurial ventures hope to benefit from the programme by receiving guidance from world leaders in business. We have been through a session on South Korea to familarise ourselves with the socio-political environment. We also hope to learn about the rich history and society of South Korea. Having been exposed to the kind of social and demographic diversities of India and the West, the South Korea experience will definitely be an exciting and rewarding learning opportunity for us.

Personally speaking, with 10 years of experience in the IT industry behind me, the course has given me invaluable insights so far and I hope to gain more from the International Immersion term in KAIST, Korea.

What other 2015-2016 EPGP students say :

The best thing about the immersion is the broad spectrum of experiential learning. From interactions with CEOs to trekking the tallest peak in Seoul, the trip promises plenty. These two weeks are undoubtedly one of the most sought-after aspects of our MBA programme.” – Abhishek Vaid (a travelpreneur and currently president of EPGP start-up club ‘Shuruaat’)

"I am fascinated by South Korea’s growth story, especially in the last few years, during which companies such as Samsung, Hyundai and LG, to name a few, have become household names the world over. South Korea is emerging as a technology leader in many segments but still does not have a big enough market at home. India has a huge market and, hence, a marriage between the two is quite logical. There are still so many areas where India and South Korea can collaborate and that’s what makes me excited about the immersion. To look for these opportunities and, at the same time, learn from industry leaders there makes this irresistible.” - Vinod Vijayakumar (Engineer with 10 years of experience in Cognizant USA)

“Coming from a refinery background, where our customer base is now shifting from the West to the East, South Korea is an especially interesting place for me, considering it is home to one of the world’s largest refineries. EPGP has taught me to draw parallels to my work experience and gain new insights from a number of industries I was barely aware of. I think this visit will take this learning one step further and enable us to learn from a nation that has grown so well despite a turbulent history.” - Sujatha Krishnamurthy (seven years of experience in oil refinery process design and consulting)

“An experience that I am really looking forward to is our trip to Korea, during which students get to interact with leading industry experts from well-established Korean corporates such as Samsung, Doosan and SsangYong. In addition, students will be involved in coming up with a strategy to solve a problem faced by these companies. This is really exciting, since this visit can help us get a glimpse of the real drivers that have propelled Korean companies to the forefront. For an aspiring entrepreneur like me, an experience like this outside the classroom not only helps us talk the talk but also walk the talk. - Vikram Venkataraman (11 years of experience in US in the technology domain, and aspiring to be an entrepreneur after EPGP)