Indian Institute of Science (IISc) - Bangalore GD-PI Experience

18th April, 2011
9.00 AM
Indian Institute of Science, Bangalore

Got the call through JMET. My lone call through this exam (missed IIT-R, IIT-M, IIT-Kgp calls by 2.5 marks). Around 200 people had been shorlisted for the gd-pi process. Only 15 students wud make the final cut (Yeah, only 15.....no typo there!).

GROUP DISCUSSION
Topic: Dhoni lead a team of 11 people and won the world cup. Is his leadership worth discussing?

Familiar topic, but with a slight twist! Everyone started speakin from the word 'go'. Majority of the points were in favour, rather than against. Team management, bringing out the true potential of the team members, performing and leading the team in a pressure situation, et cetera, were some of the points brought up by the group. I spoke a good 4-5 times and also summarised the gd. Overall, it was pretty good. One of the best gd's I've ever had.


PERSONAL INTERVIEW
There was a panel of 5 professors. All Ph.d's from different IIT's. The Director (Dr.Bala Subramaniam) was seated in the centre. All were ready to rip me apart!

P1: So tell me somethin about urself Mr.Rishikesh?
i: Told them about my educational background, interests, my ambition in life, dream of becomin an entrepreneur. Also told them that I am a very good speaker and was a runner-up in Maharashtra in the state-level debate.

P1: Oh, so has any political party invited you to join them?
i: No sir, not yet! (Both smile) And i have no intention of getting into politics.

P2: So tell me what exactly is 3G technology?
i: Explained the technical aspects, data speeds, video conferencing, blah blah...

P2: (with the not so convinced look on his face) I expect a more detailed, specific, technical answer from an Electronics engineer Rishikesh!
i: (ab is Ph.d wale ke samne main aur kya bolu bhai? ise toh sab crap hi lagega)...told him about the IEEE 802.11 network specification. (He still wasn't convinced. I gave up!!)

P2: What is TCP/IP?
i: Told them about the 2 protocols. Seven layers, each with a different function, blah blah....

P2: And whats HTTP then? Is it a tranport layer protocol?
i: Explained the technical part again...but the guy gave no expressions whatsoever.....no idea whether he was convinced or not....

P3: What is hysteresis?
i: (We had this topic of 'hysteresis loss' in first yr engg, EEE. Had no idea about it though as it had been 4 yrs since I studied it). "Uhmm, sorry sir...no idea".

P3: So u are from Mumbai. Do u know the place where tampering of meters takes place rampantly in Mumbai?
i: Well sir, it happens everywhere in Mumbai (everyone smiles). But Nalasopara is one area which is known for this menace (I wasn't pretty sure though).

P4: So Rishikesh, u want to be an entrepreneur. U wanna work in the Renewable energy sector, right? Why so?
i: Started off by stating some facts, statistics. Told them about the potential of the sector and how it hasn't been exploited fully in India. Hence, the need. Also told them that setting up a solar energy power plant of 1MW costs around 25 crores, while the cost of setting up a wind turbine (1MW) is around 5 crores. So the costs (for solar energy) can only be brought down by technological innovation.

P1: What interests u about the 'Master of Management' program at IISc?
i: The MoM program is designed specifically for ppl seeking coveted profiles in Hi-Tech industries and for ppl who intend to start their own ventures (Hi-technology startups). Thats the USP of the program.

P5: (curiously) Are u from a business family?
i: No sir. I come from a family with a medical background.

P5: So how do u plan to manage the funds for ur project?
i: I wud take the help of the e-cell and approach venture capitalists for the funding.

P1: Do u have any questions?
i: No sir.

P1:Ok, Thank You Rishikesh!
i: It was a pleasure talking to you sir.

LIBA (Chennai) GD-PI experience

26th March, 2011
9.00 AM
St. Xaviers, Mumbai

GROUP DISCUSSION

Topic: Australians were sledging till now, so they won. Now they don't, so they lose.

This was just a day after India beat Australia in the quarter finals of World cup (2011).

Some good points brought up by a few people. Many of the points were repeated though. There wasn't much to speak about and everyone was out of quality content. I spoke about how the Australians were trained to demotivate their opponents even during the worst of situations. Spoke about the team spirit and said that its important to fight till the last moment.
We were then asked to write our review on the GD as to how the whole process went about and also a summary of the GD.

PERSONAL INTERVIEW

There was a panel of 3 people. One of them was the Prof of International operations at LIBA, with an industry experience of about 25 yrs! The other one was a Prof of International marketing, earlier associated with an American university. Third one was a priest, he spoke nothin and was only observing my body language.

P1: So tell me something about urself?
i: blah blah.....gave a brief intro.....told him about my hobbies n interests....also about my ambitions n how aggressive i can get in achieving them.
P2: So why do you want to do MBA right after grad and not opt for work-ex?
i: Told them about my long-term goals and how an MBA after grad would help me in achieving them.
P1: Do you know what is social media?
i: "Of course sir!! It has played a major role in the recent 'Jasmine revolution' in Egypt and Tunisia."
P1: So now tell me what is the co-relation between the way a message is sent through routers and the the way a message sent through social media?
i: (Dumbstruck for a second!! Didn't know where to start!).....explained the whole process briefly in simple language without using any technical terms as I wasn't sure if I was making sense!
P2: Why the drop in performance in the 5th semester?
i: Told them that I was working on a research paper on 'Weather derivatives' which was to be presented in an International conference just 2 days after my engineering exams. They seemed convinced.
P1: So you are an electronics engineer. What was your fav subject?
i: Mobile communication (Honestly speaking i did not like any of the subjects. I said mobile commn coz that was one subject which I felt I could speak on)
P1: Good. So tell me the difference between GSM and CDMA?
i: Went on and on. Explained the basic differences.
P1: (with the 'not convinced' look on his face). Don't tell me the what is the outcome, explain the technical aspects.
i: (I was in a fix. Hadn't read anything about that in the last 1 yr after engg) Tried to explian CDMA with the help of TDM and FDM.
P1: Can u explain it with the help of graphs?
i: (That was it. I wanted to kill that guy) " Well sir, let me try......"
Drew 2 graphs showing the frequency bands. P1 was finally convinced.
P2: Tell me something about Rishikesh? What does Rishikesh mean?
i: Told him about the city 'Rishikesh' in North India. Also said that Rishikesh is one of the 1001 names of Lord Vishnu, mentioned in the Vishnushasranaam.
P1: Good. So thats it from our side. Any questions for us?
i: Well sir.....I would like to say something about the GD, if u permit..
P1: Yeah sure, go on!
i: Told them about how the GD was revolving around the same point....the importance of aggression in a team leader in order to motivate his team members.....the importance of having a 'Never say die' attitude......
P3: (finally enters) With a wicked smile on his face....."So everyone should be like Abhimanyu"
i: "No sir. You need to channelise your aggression in the right direction. Else, its of no use"
P2: Ok Rishikesh. We are done with the interview.
i: Thank You sir. It was a pleasure talking to you!

the Countdown begins...

It's official....CAT 2010 dates have been declared. Frustration is now at its highest level. Around 3 months to go for D-day n still not made it to the elite club of 99 percentilers. However, I recently read a post on PG by one of the CAT 2009 toppers n he said that most top scorers begin their actual CAT prep 3-4 months before the exam. That gave me some relief!! :-)

This is now the most crucial phase in the CAT journey n what one does in the next 2-3 months will either make him or break him! Solving umpteen number of mocks with a good strategy would enable you to get a good grip over the different sections in the paper and ace them.

Scores are fluctuating now...tryin hard to improve upon my sectionals. LR-DI it seems is highly unpredictable, especially in the TIME Aimcats!! Doing VA only from mocks.....haven't touched a single VA SM book which was given by TIME. Quant is the speed-breaker and will have to slog a lot to get balanced sectionals. Seeing the unbelievably high scores of fellow puys on PG makes me petulant, but i just can't help it...:-)

Just hope that Prometric doesn't repeat the CAT 2009 story. Hope to see a glitch-free CAT 2010!!

Best of Luck guys!!! :-)

My Welingkar gd-pi experience

7th may, 2010,EDR, Mumbai
Presentation by WE school students. Was pretty boring, nothing impressive.

GD topic: Education n success are co-related.
GD experience: GD went on fine, few good points brought up by all. Bit noisy at times though.
Was satisfactory overall.


Welingkar (WE School) had two interviews for people opting for a biz-design specialization as one of the five preferences in the form.


INTERVIEW 1 (Let's call interviewer as P)
p: describe urself.
i: sir,...blah...blah...
p: why MBA?
i:....(told)
p: which sector u want to join?
i: FMCG. wanna go into marketing.
p: who is the CEO of Hindustan Unilever?
i: Nitin Paranjpe.
p: What is ERP?
i: enterprise resource planning.
p: types of ERP in India?
i: uhh...sorry sir. don't know.
p: Explain ur final year project
i: blah...blah...(explained for 2-3 mins)
p: which books have u read in the last six months? give a brief summary of each of them in 2 mins each.
i: sir....(told. spoke for 3-4 mins about 'Imagining India' and 'Built to Last')
p: where do u see urself in 10 yrs?
i: ......(told)..
p: (smiles. pretty impressed with my answer) Good Rishikesh. Best of Luck!
i: Thnk u sir!! (both exchange smiles).



INTERVIEW 2 (One of the toughest, rather weird interviews i have ever faced)
p: why business design specialization?
i: well sir,...blah...blah..
p: u r an electronics engineer. tell me an innovative way to wash clothes without using washing machine.
i: uhh...(WHAT THE HELL!!)....#%&^% (gave a weird answer, not worth mentioning)
p: u know that shahrukh n salman are rivals. how will you bring them together in a movie if u r d director?
i: uhhh..(stunned for a second!)..sir, I'll offer them more money.
p: they don't need it. they r too rich.
i: well sir, I'll have to be unethical then.
p: no, u can't.....Absolutely ethical n above the board.
i: well sir, then...(gave a sad expression)
p: (now hands over a big picture of a lady who is begging on the street with a child in her arms) explain what do u understand from this pic/ur interpretation?
i: sure sir,...(explained)
p: have a chocolate (gives me a toffee).
i: thnk u sir.
p: ok. now give a caption to the pic.
i: (gave a caption)
p: Very good. (seems impressed)
i: Thank u sir....(kuch toh accha hua!!!)

RESULT: Converted (Not joining)

my journey called life...

"Life is not measured by the number of breaths you take..but by the moments that take your breath away!"

As a kid, the world seemed so beautiful n hassle free. Life was so very peaceful then, as you had other people to worry about you!! Lazing around doing nothing, it felt wonderful. But very soon life was about change..
Had lots of dreams n aspirations as a child. But never had i thought that this journey would be so full of surprises, good n bad. As Vishnu Sahasrabuddhe rightly says in 3 Idiots, "Life is a race. Tez nahi daudoge toh peeche reh jaooge!". Well, the fight for survival had begun on 12th June,1987 itself when i entered this big bad world. Dreams remained dreams n ambitions began fading out.
School, studies, xams, ugghhh!! I had an aversion to these. But later realised that these only were the so-called 'essentials' to reach where i wanted to! What a waste of life! What is life if we can't do the things that we enjoy doing?
With every passing day a new chapter unfolded in my life, bringing in new learnings n experiences. I had always dreamt of becoming a doctor. But my dreams shattered when i couldn't get past the post in the so-called race. But they say that all that happens does happen for the best and it couldn't have been more true. Got into engineering and accepted my fate.
For the first few days i wondered what i was doing here. Amplifiers and digital circuits didn't fascinate me. All i did was learning by rote. Somewhere in the 2nd yr i came across some books which had inspiring stories of people like Bill Gates, Akio Morita, Ray Kroc, D Ambani, Steve Jobs. I read them and found inspiration. And whoa..!! I had finally found out what i wanted to do in life. Entrepreneur is what i wanted to be. I got into the habit of reading business magazines n tried to get knowledge about my new found topic of interest. Finally, the decision was made. I wanted to do MBA. But then came the CAT shocker. 'To be the best one has to learn from the best' was what people thought when it came to management education. I had always thought that 'Leaders are born and not created' coz you need to have the passion and the will to succeed, you need to have the risk taking ability to make it big out there. But i was proved wrong by our great system n the people who are a part of it. 'Leaders are made in b-schools' is what they thought. Left with no option i had to start my prep for the most dreaded xam, the CAT!!
The initial enthusiasm just faded away in a few days and i was lost again. My first attempt was a mere joke! I completed my engineering (somehow) and decided to give it another try. A whole new approach, a whole new level of enthusiasm is what i needed, or rather need.

I am now in a virtual battlefield and i don't know whether I'll lose or win. I don't know whether I'll be able to get past the post in this race......But what i do know is that there's much more to life than just winning or losing. It's about living your life to the fullest. It's about learning from your experiences and improving yourself every single day. It's about doing the things that you love the most, without caring about the gains. It's about fighting for your dreams n ambitions!!

In short, it's about living the journey called Life...!!