'One day at IIM-A' programme gives and receives joy

Registrations for the common admission test (CAT) closed last Tuesday and about 2.05 lakh candidates will slug it out from October 22 to November 18, to make it to the top business schools in the country – including the prestigious IIMs.

And, even as IIM Ahmedabad sees one of the most number of applications each year, 50 students got to study at the premier institute without even having applied to take the CAT.

On 8 October, the 50 lucky students spent a full day at IIM-A – attending classes and geting to live the experience of India’s top B-school , as part of its ‘Joy of Giving Week’ celebrations.

For many of the participants, like Rajendra Khemka, it was a dream come true. “It is like Nayak. It reminds me of Anil Kapoor — ek din ka CM, so it’s like living a dream,” Khemka told CNN-IBN.

The participants who were to bag seats for the ‘One day at IIM-A’ programme based on an auction, eventually bagged them after a lucky draw. Earlier, the institute’s students planned to auction the seats to the highest bidders, but later scrapped the bidding process and conducted a lucky draw.

The participants will now voluntarily contribute money to the institute, which will be used to educate slum children — through Prayas, a voluntary organization run by IIM-A students that finances the education of 65 slum children in Ahmedabad.

This aspect made the programme more special to many of its participants.

Juhi Bansal, said, the ‘Joy of giving’ aspect was a bonus. “I’ve always dreamed of being at IIM-A and I jumped at the chance. Plus, what’s a bonus is the joy of giving,” she told CNN-IBN.

Another student, Raghav Bansal agreed. “It’s such a noble event. Feels good that the funds will be used for something good. Feels proud to be an Indian,” he said.

As part of the ‘One day at IIM-A’ programme, the chosen 50 participants attended a lecture on management, the economy and a case study class. They were also given a surprise quiz and posed for a photo shoot.

Shailesh Gandhi, Professor, IIM-A who taught the case study class said of the candidates, “They had done their preparations well. There was a lot of participation from across the group. And that was a very enriching experience.”

Anchit Agrawal, a volunteer for Prayas told CNN-IBN that the collections would encourage volunteers like him to do better work. “Till now our resources were from the campus and from alumni. Now its gone beyond that and will encourage us to do better work,” he said.

Clearly, while the lucky 50 wanted to share their ‘Joy of Giving’ they also received something in return — an experience that money could never buy and satisfaction from helping the underprivileged that is unmatched.

Watch the video on the 50 lucky students who made it to IIM-A for a day: