‘Data is the next big frontier for innovation’

After completing his Bachelor in Business Administration from NorthCap University, Vijay Vardhan Azad went on to pursue a Post Graduate Diploma in Management (PGDM) in the field of Human Resource Management and Operations from Apeejay School of Management. The 22-year-old has recently secured a campus placement with Accenture as Advisory Associate – HR. Upon being asked about how he aced this campus placement, he shared, “The cornerstones of any achievement are goal setting, focus, commitment and discipline.”   

The Apeejay student is a keen learner, who  seeks out new knowledge and actively develops new skills. And that’s what led Vijay to pursue four internships in different domains including Business Development, Operations, Marketing and HR. “I wanted to identify what suits me the best and during these series of internships, I realised that HR is the best fit for me.” In an interview, the HR professional further explains how the case study approach in management education allows in-depth, multi-faceted explorations of complex issues in their real-life settings. Read on:

The importance of a case study in management education

We have worked on many case studies. Shweta Jha ma’am frequently gives us McKinsey & Company case studies. And they are not one or two-page case studies – they are massive – that goes up to 16 pages. And to study each page in detail takes time. It entails how big organisations work, how they actually identify a problem first and then work towards finding the optimal solution, according to the situation and the dynamic of the environment. Case studies expose students to real business dilemmas and decisions. It just doesn’t teach students the process of solving a problem but how to take the right step. There may be many possible answers to a problem but finding the most appropriate one is the key goal. Learners recall concepts better when they are set in a case. Case studies teach students how to apply theory in practice. The case method approach cultivates the capacity for judgment, critical analysis, decision-making, and action.

Research and its role

Suppose you have some curiosity in your mind. It’s research that will help you find answers to your questions. You may take different approaches like primary research, secondary or say data-driven methodology. But research lets you find the most appropriate answer; it plays a vital role in an individual as well as organisation’s life.

Data is the key 

Today, collecting large quantities of data and identifying analytical insights has become an integral part for all organisations. And I am keen to explore this world of data. At Accenture, there would be data-driven work and I am very excited about it. Data has the potential to provide organisations with effective results. For example, a HR professional needs to verify the performance of two employees. One of them says that s/he is the best performer. The other one also says s/he has performed equally to the person standing next to her/him. But who actually did better? That’s where data analytics come into picture. Data provides you insight into any domain. HR professionals can analyse performance of an employee extracting insights from data. Hence, data  is a real indicator of everything. It is the next big frontier for innovation and data-driven jobs are the future.

Learnings at ASM

One of the things that ASM developed in me is the curiosity of learning more and more. In the last two years, we have been given plenty of assignments. Sometimes, some of them were beyond our understanding. But it turns out that you can only work on a tough assignment or take up a challenge when you actually take the first step. And that’s how we proceeded with each assignment. Moreover, the faculty at ASM are so motivating. Ishita Ma’am taught us using real-world examples from the global corporate world. She was also my mentor. At Apeejay, I learned every subject in detail. 

Future target

I haven’t planned so much but one thing that I know is wherever I am working, I am totally open to learning new things. I want to learn in depth about the new emerging technologies. I am not personally planning to switch my job anytime in the coming five years. Accenture is a vast platform for learning that provides diversity. Also, I like to challenge myself with new assignments because if there’s no challenge, then there is no progress, no change.