Swasti Mishra

IE Business School

“Scientist turned nomad-blogger on a mission to address nutrition security challenges.“

Hometown: Bhubaneswar, India

Fun Fact About Yourself: My family moved every 2-3 years. I’ve lived at 14 different addresses in 4 countries!

Undergraduate School and Major: M.S in Plant Breeding and Genetics from Michigan State University

Most Recent Employer and Job Title: Process Optimization Analyst at Bayer Crop Science

Describe your biggest accomplishment in your career so far: I worked with our research sites in Europe, USA, and Latin America to adopt technology tools and redesign their operations to achieve a combined total of ~1M in cost savings. An average day at work consisted of working with AI/ Big Data engineers and research scientists to develop tools and systems with the potential to change the industry.

What quality best describes the MBA classmates you’ve met so far and why? Together, IE’s student body represents a lot of geographic, ethnic, and experience-based diversity. In spite of these differences in background, we share a common ground: a desire to change and improve the world. Everyone I’ve met here is driven, collaborative, and open-minded. It is fascinating to see a passing conversation turn into a passionate discussion and then eventually a business plan. Whether it is starting new projects, organizing groups, or launching a start-up, I’m constantly impressed by how driven and results-oriented my peers are. It is great to be surrounded and challenged by some of the greatest minds and entrepreneurial spirits.

Aside from your classmates, what was the key part of the MBA programming that led you to choose this business school and why was it so important to you? Having some years of work experience, I was looking for a short MBA program that I could tailor to fit my interests and objectives. IE allows me to customize my learning, focus on specific interests and collaborate with like-minded individuals from all over the world. At the same time, there is enough flexibility to explore new possible interest areas and opportunities.

IE Business School calls itself “An “MBA out of the ordinary.” How has IE’s curriculum and activities been out of the ordinary from what you expected or what you experienced in other educational institutions? At IE, you can design and own your experience. There are endless opportunities to get involved in the community, launch passionate initiatives, and lead engaging student clubs.

Having an interest and background in agri-tech, I was able to meet and collaborate with my classmates with similar interests. We started a professional club on campus to build a network of students, alumni, and entrepreneurs passionate about tackling nutrition security issues through innovative food production solutions. This opportunity to build something is rare and empowering!

What was the most challenging question you were asked during the admissions process? During the first round interview, I was asked, “How is technology impacting the competition among businesses in a given sector? Does it level the playing field for the smaller guys?”

What do you see yourself doing in ten years? I see myself running my own business (a successful one!), focused on agriculture and technology-based products in order to meet the growing demand for sustainable and local food.

Growing up in India, in the post-green revolution era, food security issues in the country captured my attention very early. With time, these challenges have become even more daunting. For example, a big challenge for nations is nutrition security for a growing population while using sustainable practices. A lot of new technologies are available today – from biotechnology and gene editing to data and AI-based approaches. However, these technologies are not reaching small scale farmers or urban farmers – we have yet to see the transformation of the food production sector! In 10 years, I hope to be working in India, as a part of this cause, hopefully working for a startup that focuses on not just technology development, revolutionizing the adoption of these technologies among small holding farmers in developing countries.

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