With high expectations and great enthusiasm to dive into a new learning adventure, I resigned from my job as a Manager in a major power distribution utility with the aspiration to become an MBA graduate from the globally acknowledged and coveted Indian Institute of Management Bangalore. But Covid-19 hit our plans hard, and we were locked down, baffled with the situation we were in, and worried about not being physically able to attend classes. But there was a new virtual learning experience awaiting us, in the rolling out of which IIM Bangalore did exceptionally well.
Starting with a warm and memorable online inauguration, lessons are now being imparted through online classes, with sufficient breaks in between to avoid stress and to compensate for the lost contact hours. Classes are also organised on Saturdays, and we do not feel that peer learning or the classroom experiences are missing. Group discussions, case studies, breakout sessions, office hours and tutorials, everything is taken care of online. Classes are interactive and require everyone’s involvement.
We are provided with online resources of study materials with access to the Institute’s e-library, so learning is immersive and inexhaustible. In the meantime, I, along with some of my fellow students, suffered from the aftermath of cyclone Amphan that hit Kolkata hard, leaving some of us without electricity, internet, and phone network.
I am thankful to IIM Bangalore for cooperating with all of us by sharing all the learnings that we missed during those days, and for never making us feel deprived of anything. It has been a special experience, indeed, to be a part of this lively learning process which is truly a class apart.
(The writer is an Electrical Engineer with over six years of experience in Government Power Distribution Sector, WBSEDCL, the largest power distribution utility in West Bengal. He holds cross-functional abilities in management – Finance & Revenue, Strategy, Project, HR and operations of H.T./L.T. Distribution Network. Rohan is Passionate about painting with other hobbies like driving, photography.)