Vritaanta Volume 2 Issue 1 August 2015

6White CollarDifferent Strokes,Different FolksSIBM Pune is a potpourri of students from diverse educational backgrounds.Every year, thousands upon thousands of MBA make up the diverse student body at SIBM Pune.applications are submitted to and processed Students come here from various streams, includingengineering, economics, arts, commerce andby top MBA programs across the world.Many of these students will come from the management, psychology and even law. The presenceof ‘non-traditional’ MBA students amplifiesfield of business administration, commerce and engineering.In India, it is an observed trend that engineers the learning process, bringing in different perspectiveson the subject matter. Adding to their ownare very likely to pursue an MBA – whether it’s to find anew career path and break away from the faceless clutterin the industry; or to tackle the problem of market sets, their presence augments the learning experi-attitudes and opinions, and their own relevant skill-saturation and oversupply of similar skills by adding ence for the ‘traditional’ students as well.more to their qualifications; while some just hit an earlyEngineers from Mechanical, Chemical, Computermid-life crisis!Science, Electronics and Civil streams admit thatA ‘traditional’ B-School applicant usually has a Managementor an Engineering background, with work experi-growth, budgeting, funding and marketing eludethe intricacies of programme coordination andence in their line of work and a clear plan for where them. They have chosen to pursue their MBA tothey’re going. For them the process of settling into B- improve their skills and prospects, to become functionaland high-performing… not just in their workSchool and chalking out their career paths is certainlyeasier…it’s a logical progression in their careers.environment but in life.Now there also exists the non-traditional B-School applicant.The applicant may be a lawyer looking for valueaddition, a designer ready to apply a creative spin to theworkplace, a paramilitary officer with corporate dreams,a linguistic major with a passion to learn, a psychologyor hospitality graduate seeking opportunities in a newfield.Shashvat Mishra (MBA I Finance) is a practitioner oflaw in the real estate sector. He identified a needThese examples are just a sample of the stories thatAugust 2015