“PGDM students must be open to taking risks and identifying their areas of strength. After graduating from Jaipuria, Lucknow I had teams with graduates from IIT and ISB reporting to me.”

With Business Management at the undergraduate level, Abhishek Gupta (Lucknow campus, batch of 2003-2005), always knew he had a flair for Marketing and Strategy. So, in order to further hone these skills and add a few more to his armoury, Gupta decided to pursue an MBA. And he chose Jaipuria simply because “it was the best.”

Today, Gupta is Senior Principal (Senior Manager), – Growth and Strategy Division, Accenture, a coveted role that many don’t easily get. However, Gupta’s career path started very differently. He was placed from Jaipuria, Lucknow in ABN AMBRO as a Management Trainee. He soon realised that banking was not his ideal career choice so he switched to Evalueserve. However, as he says, “I think Evalueserve was like an extended MBA for me. I started from scratch as a Business Analyst in 2007. But that was also a company that gave me an entry into Research and Strategy. It was from here that I then built my career.”

Looking back Gupta says that he always knew that Research and Strategy was not such a huge trend in the days when he graduated from Jaipuria, Lucknow. “These roles typically went to IIM graduates. But my advice to students would be to ‘be open, be hungry,’ at different stages in their careers.” However, he adds, “I can tell you that in Evalueserve I had teams where I had graduates from IIT and ISB reporting to me. What I am trying to say is that with time, the corporate world gives you an open field. If you have the talent no one can stop you. I passed out from the Jaipuria Institute of Management, Lucknow but today if you are talented and doing well nobody asks you which college you passed out from.”

Gupta says students must also be open to taking risks and identifying their areas of strength. During the first two years of their working lives “they should be very open to exploring avenues that match those areas of strength.”

The Jaipuria experience not only gives students the opportunity to leverage their skills across a large range of sectors but it also gives them a sense of confidence and self-belief. Gupta corroborates this fact when he says that his belief in his career path came from his stint at Jaipuria, Lucknow. “When we used to do projects in teams and participate in presentations, I realised then that I could guide a team, or be a leader.”

Graduating from Jaipuria, Lucknow almost guarantees students industry placement however, once they are in a job situation how do they adapt to their changed circumstances? Gupta has a sage piece of advice. “You cannot expect to start performing from day one. Be patient and take the time to learn, understand people’s styles, the undercurrents, the organisation’s style of working and gradually formulate a strategy for your growth in the company. When you are in Rome, become a Roman!”

Ultimately it is one’s alma mater that instils certain beliefs and values in students. That gives them that cutting edge as far as their growth in the industry is concerned. Gupta agrees. “I think Jaipuria really gave me excellent analytical skills. There were exceptional faculty as compared to faculty at other B-schools. It was not a fun MBA, the faculty was extremely serious – we did various projects, like our summer project at Bharti. So when I went into Research and Consulting, I could relate to the projects I did at Jaipuria. In short, the kind of academic concepts we learnt made all the difference.”

Business Communication, however, according to Gupta was one area in which Jaipuria, Lucknow should have focussed more. However, realising this lacuna, Jaipuria has since put in place a host of processes including its Individual Development Plan or IDP that have plugged this need gap. But as Gupta reiterates, “An MBA does not stop after two years…keep learning, keep that hunger on, be ready to get your hands dirty…”