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It's 6.00 AM in my watch, and three different alarms go off from various corners of the room. My roommate and I, still with our eyes closed, try to identify the noises and switch all the alarms off. Although the body doesn't want to wake up, the mind knows that we have to wake
up, right then and there. It's the time to begin a brand new day at SIOM!

Still drowsy, somehow we manage to land up at the respective sessions - yoga, gym, aerobics - we have scheduled for that day. And the next one-hour manages to infuse the energy in us which is required to fight off another hectic day at SIOM.

Official classes begin at 9.00 AM, where again the body takes over the mind and refuses to reach on time, because most certainly, we are late for breakfast, and hence, for the class. Four classes of 1.5 hours each are scheduled on a normal day; on the days we get lucky, the number can drop down to 2, and on the days we get unlucky (somehow such days are more common), the number can go up to 5. The lunch hour is the most-awaited break as one can plan a short nap, but then in most cases, it remains just a plan as we have a lot to cram in the 2-hour lunch break. The pending assignments, the unfinished presentations, studying for the weekly tests, impending case studies, all of this is scheduled in those 2 hours as well.

The day officially ends at 6.15 PM, leaving in its wake lots of work to be put in after the classes. Like any other business school, the students here also are expected to use their grey cells to a large degree and squeeze out work worth 48 hours from the 24 hours. Curricular works notwithstanding, most of us here are involved in various other committees which also work for the smooth functioning of the college. Student committees present here include Placement Committee, Communications & Publicity Committee, Alumni Committee, Guest Lecture Committee, Cultural Committee, Sports Committee, IT Committee, etc. All these committees work in tandem throughout the year to ensure proper functioning in their respective areas.

Having said all this, I must say that MBA @ SIOM just isn't about the academics only. Each year, the new batch is subjected to experience the innovative Outward Bound Learning (OBL) Programme conducted at an adventure camp located in the midst of lush green fields and mountains.

The OBL events usually include the hurdle race, blind-folded soccer, three-legged race, human-chain race, basketball balancing, formation of circle with ropes and blind-folded eyes, etc., aimed to imbibe team building, communication, confidence, decisiveness, planning, time-management, co-ordination, inspiration, action and encouragement in the students. There cannot be a better example to show as to how a common goal/target makes people work together as a single entity.

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* Contributed by -
Varun Jindal (Campus Associate),
MBA (Operations Management),
Class of 2010,
Symbiosis Institute of Operations Management, Nashik.
Article posted on December 1, 2008.