I arrived at BITSoM two days before orientation week, feeling a mix of excitement and uncertainty. The campus seemed to be in the middle of nowhere, which is apparently a thing for many MBA colleges. It’s the trade-off for a large, serene campus, I guess. But soon, the location felt like a non-issue. The MBA life here is so packed with activities that the surroundings hardly seem to matter.

Orientation week was a wild ride, packed with leadership talks, networking events, info sessions, and even a talent night. As a self-proclaimed introvert, I was dreading the networking part which was a major thing in O-week. Yet, I ended up talking to more people in that week than I did during my entire undergrad. We even had an event that was a combination of speed dating and bingo but for professional contacts. Exhausting but surprisingly fun.

Then the first block kicked off. BITSoM’s unique approach of combining core technical subjects with Winning at Workplace (WaW) courses is brilliant. We study one core and one WaW course for two weeks and then we’re done with those subjects, it’s like ticking off items on a checklist. Three blocks in, and the professors, who come from all corners of the globe, have been nothing short of remarkable. It’s like a global tour without leaving the classroom. We even had a session with Ms Lulu Raghavan for our design thinking course, where we got to interact with her and get signed copies of her latest book!