Students should focus on problem-driven learning: experts

Students should focus on problem-driven learning and develop the ability to deal with ambiguity and complexity on the ground, experts suggested at a webinar on ‘Beyond the Classroom: The Real MBA Experience’.

The webinar, presented by Vellore Institute of Technology in collaboration with The Hindu Education Plus under its Career Path series, sought to explain how value-addition comes from doing on-site MBA courses from good B-schools, such as VIT and others. While upscaling through pedagogy is important, rote learning is passe, and practical and real world learning outside the classroom shapes the MBA journey better and impacts students’ career prospects, the speakers contended.

Simulation-based learning and industry project-based courses have the most profound impact on students, leading them to critical thinking, confidence building, ethical leadership, and responsible management, said Mary Cherian, Dean of Business School at VIT. Students have to use every opportunity to develop new knowledge and skills and make themselves industry-ready, she added.

Anwar Sadad, co-founder, Olive Ridley, a B2B hygiene solutions company, an alumni of the VIT Business School, said the programme taught him about “price, promotion, product, and place”. But real-time experiences in later years taught him to add three more ‘P’s — Patience, Perseverance, and Problem-solving. “These are the three qualities every industry expects of a business student,” he added.

S. Sasikumar, director (Admissions), and professor (higher academic grade), guided the participants through the application-to-admission process at VIT and also walked them through the various overseas partnerships available. “To maximise success in the MBA programme, you cannot afford to be a loner. The campus environment, peers, and professors accelerate your learning,” he added.

For the full webinar, visit: https://newsth.live/THVITYT