This institute rolls out red carpet to welcome its new batch of PGDM students 

Apeejay School of Management (ASM) welcomed its 30th batch of Post Graduate Diploma in Management (PGDM) students. A week-long orientation programme has been organised to familiarise new students (Batch of 2022-24) with the ASM campus, faculty members, seniors, and more.   

Ms. Mukul Rastogi, Ex Vice President, ITC and Dr. D. K Malhotra, Professor, Thomas Jefferson University, Philadelphia, USA graced the occasion as Guest of Honours. They were accompanied by the leadership team of ASM including Director, Dr. Alka Munjal,  Deputy Director, Dr. Etinder Pal Singh and Dean, Prof. Kamal Kishore. 

The program commenced with lighting of the lamp followed by the Director’s welcome note to the students and parents. In her welcome address at the inauguration programme, Dr. Alka Munjal, Director at ASM emphasised on the need for students to develop a responsible attitude. “Responsibility is the ability to respond to any circumstance judiciously and so, the students must develop a character that takes responsibility for their own actions rather than passing the blame.”

Subsequently, Ms. Rastogi, a self-employed CSR and HR Advisor and Regression Therapist, mentioned many attributes that the students must try to inculcate to achieve their set goals. She said, “Don’t be complacent. In fact, have a spirit of enquiry because there is no right or wrong question. Make the most of your time at ASM by ‘Trying it Out’ in various events, activities as these will boost your overall development.”

She further added, “Build relationships starting early in career and develop an understanding and appreciation for all the 3 Ps, People, Profit, Planet. Remember to give back to your alma mater when you have established yourself as a successful and content professional. Most importantly, invest in your own physical and emotional well-being.”

Following Ms Rastogi’s address to the students, Dr. Malhotra highlighted how Covid-19 impacted the World Economy. “Global Economy shrunk by 4.4% in 2020, the highest since the Great Depression of the 1930s, owing to the pandemic-induced lockdowns. Supply chains were disrupted, GDP fell down substantially and thereby, there was a massive rise in job losses and unemployment.

However, the pandemic brought a paradigm shift in our lifestyles and in the world economy as we faced a virtual revolution overnight. We all have become part of a massive digital experiment.”

Post the address by the guest of honours, a panel discussion was held wherein experts discussed a host of issues that included situation of global economy, the present and future position of India, the US and other countries, importance of being sustainable, entrepreneurship vs a corporate job and preparedness of management students for the corporate world.

Campus Tour

After the inaugural session, the fresh batch of students were taken on a physical tour of the ASM campus, when they were apprised of the state-of-the-art infrastructure and facilities like classrooms, library, computer labs, cafeteria and sports and recreation facilities available in the campus.

Ice Breaking Session

In addition to introducing each student with the teaching and non-teaching staff, various activities were conducted by the ASM faculty members Dr. Ishita Adhikari and Dr. Preeti Suryawanshi, to break the ice among the new students and make them more comfortable in each other’s company.

On the day two of the week-long orientation programme, students were apprised of the PGDM programme structure, student discipline, attendance policy and norms by the Dean, Prof. Kamal Kishore and Program Head Dr. Shalini Vermani. Further, they were informed about the industry–academic collaboration, placement system by the Corporate Resource Centre (CRC) team of ASM as well as different clubs, committees, cells and societies on the campus.

Orientation Programme: Day 3

On the 3rd day,  the 30^th batch of students was involved in a variety of activities ranging from interactive guest talks to games and introduction to the institute’s academic infrastructure such as library, online resources, learning management system and the mandatory community service project.

Mr. Anshuman Bhargava, Cluster Head and Deputy Vice President at Edelweiss Wealth Management delivered the guest talk. He summarised a few important points to remember such as creating a comprehensive resume, to give at least 5 years in the first job, and to quickly understand one’s interest area. To always have a ‘Plan B’ and develop essential skills like convincing power, communication skills, punctuality and strike a work-life balance, among others.

The engaging session was followed by  indoor games competition to inculcate sportsman spirit and encourage them to open up and take active part in extra-curricular activities at the institute. A series of management games were also organised to give the students a feel of managerial skills like working in teams, creative thinking and resource and time management.