They all gathered impatiently, jostling to be in the centre of the photo. After all, this was the same chair where Alia Bhatt had sat. These were students from LD Engineering college, Vishwakarma Engineering College and Government Engineering College (Gandhinagar & Modasa), coming to visit IIM A as a part of the ‘Women Empowerment Fortnight’ organized by Gujarat government. Accompanied by their professors, these girls had come to enjoy a day out and to get photos clicked at the location where Two States was shot. But after the sessions and tours conducted by our very own WLS team, things changed.
The day started with a session on ‘Careers in Management’ conducted by IIM-A PGP 2 students. It focused on the kind of jobs and roles one gets after spending 2 years here. While the students seemed interested, it was evident that they were hearing that such jobs even existed for the first time. The sessions were followed by a tour of the campus. Initially, the girls insisted on frequent stops for photo sessions. But things changed once they entered Vikram Sarabhai library. Their faces showed surprise that a library could be like this. There are things that we WIMWIans take for granted. But to them, an air conditioned library where one could be dressed informally and work on their laptops was an impossibility. The tour that started from Harvard steps continued through LKP, IMDC and CIIE. On the way, the students entered one of the new CRs and got a sense of the case study pedagogy followed here. Needless to say, that piqued their interest considerably.
The one hour tour was a shot in the arm for these girls. It changed the way they perceived MBA. At the beginning of the tour, only two of them raised hands when asked how many wanted to pursue an MBA. At the end, everyone wanted to. As Monica Nalan, one of our students conducting the tour said, “I could see the excitement these girls had after visiting the library and the CRs. The same students who had some vague idea of MBA an hour ago, were now inquiring about loans, curriculum and CAT preparation.” The reasons for this change? Inspiration and awareness. When they saw the facilities and the environment provided here, something that was very different from the academic institutions they had experienced before, they all wanted to have this experience for themselves. Many now considered seriously preparing for CAT. Such was the inspiration they got in just a couple of hours.
But lack of awareness was an even acute issue. Many had come with misconceptions about MBA. They felt that only students from the most elite schools and colleges are allowed to study here. Many were uncomfortable with English and preferred Hindi. Unaware of the many ways of achieving basic proficiency in English, they had discarded MBA as a career option. When they heard the fees charged for the course, again many felt dismayed. They weren’t aware that loans could be availed to fund an MBA. Quite a few did not know how to go about preparing for CAT. All this was summed up when one of the girls asked, “Didi, how did you even manage to get here?”
The tour was an eye-opener for both us and them. For the girls, MBA in a good B-School became an attainable target. For us, because it emphasized on the fact that awareness of management and related careers is restricted to students from certain backgrounds. Many others, especially girls, have a preconceived notion that such careers are not for them. Hence, they don’t even bother to find out the most basic facts about such opportunities. A serious thought needs to be given on improving dispersal of information. Not only is it beneficial to students like these girls, but also for institutes like IIM-A, for we are currently missing out on people with good leadership potential, simply because they don’t know the path to reach here.
In the end, the girls arrived on campus with smiles and expectations, and left with smiles and expectations, but for different reasons. Such awareness programs should be made a regular feature not only on campus, but also outside. We hope that in time, more and more students are inspired to become the next WIMWIans.
-Written by Aditya Deodhar, PGP-1 at IIMA
The day started with a session on ‘Careers in Management’ conducted by IIM-A PGP 2 students. It focused on the kind of jobs and roles one gets after spending 2 years here. While the students seemed interested, it was evident that they were hearing that such jobs even existed for the first time. The sessions were followed by a tour of the campus. Initially, the girls insisted on frequent stops for photo sessions. But things changed once they entered Vikram Sarabhai library. Their faces showed surprise that a library could be like this. There are things that we WIMWIans take for granted. But to them, an air conditioned library where one could be dressed informally and work on their laptops was an impossibility. The tour that started from Harvard steps continued through LKP, IMDC and CIIE. On the way, the students entered one of the new CRs and got a sense of the case study pedagogy followed here. Needless to say, that piqued their interest considerably.
The one hour tour was a shot in the arm for these girls. It changed the way they perceived MBA. At the beginning of the tour, only two of them raised hands when asked how many wanted to pursue an MBA. At the end, everyone wanted to. As Monica Nalan, one of our students conducting the tour said, “I could see the excitement these girls had after visiting the library and the CRs. The same students who had some vague idea of MBA an hour ago, were now inquiring about loans, curriculum and CAT preparation.” The reasons for this change? Inspiration and awareness. When they saw the facilities and the environment provided here, something that was very different from the academic institutions they had experienced before, they all wanted to have this experience for themselves. Many now considered seriously preparing for CAT. Such was the inspiration they got in just a couple of hours.
But lack of awareness was an even acute issue. Many had come with misconceptions about MBA. They felt that only students from the most elite schools and colleges are allowed to study here. Many were uncomfortable with English and preferred Hindi. Unaware of the many ways of achieving basic proficiency in English, they had discarded MBA as a career option. When they heard the fees charged for the course, again many felt dismayed. They weren’t aware that loans could be availed to fund an MBA. Quite a few did not know how to go about preparing for CAT. All this was summed up when one of the girls asked, “Didi, how did you even manage to get here?”
The tour was an eye-opener for both us and them. For the girls, MBA in a good B-School became an attainable target. For us, because it emphasized on the fact that awareness of management and related careers is restricted to students from certain backgrounds. Many others, especially girls, have a preconceived notion that such careers are not for them. Hence, they don’t even bother to find out the most basic facts about such opportunities. A serious thought needs to be given on improving dispersal of information. Not only is it beneficial to students like these girls, but also for institutes like IIM-A, for we are currently missing out on people with good leadership potential, simply because they don’t know the path to reach here.
In the end, the girls arrived on campus with smiles and expectations, and left with smiles and expectations, but for different reasons. Such awareness programs should be made a regular feature not only on campus, but also outside. We hope that in time, more and more students are inspired to become the next WIMWIans.
-Written by Aditya Deodhar, PGP-1 at IIMA