Manan Dahiya

Warwick Business School

“A curious and resilient soul who is ready to embrace every storm ahead.”

Hometown: Karnal, Haryana

Fun Fact About Yourself: I can hold a decent conversation about anything from astrophysics to economics.

Undergraduate School and Major:

National Institute of Technology, Kurukshetra, B.Tech (Electronics & Communication Engineering)

Warwick Business School, MSc Management

Most Recent Employer and Job Title: Indian National Congress, Strategy Advisor & Analyst

What word best describes your classmates and give an example of why? If I must describe my classmates in a single word, it would be “inquisitive”. Coming from every corner of the world and having hundreds of years of work experience between them, everyone in the class is keen to learn more from this MBA programme and from the experiences of others in the class. Different backgrounds, cultures and past experiences provide a vast learning opportunity —which everyone’s capitalising on. Moreover, everyone is accommodating. They support and inspire each other, which promotes healthy competition. Everyone is so curious and look to learn something new every day which would be practically impossible anywhere else.

Aside from your classmates and location, what was the key part of Warwick Business School’s MBA programming that led you to choose this business school and why was it so important to you? Being one of the best business schools in the world, WBS has an intensive curriculum which includes everything from strategy to digital transformation. It provides a platform to apply theoretical knowledge in the real world via the Leadership project and consultancy project, where you have to work with real companies. All of this combined provides you with a transformational learning experience. Coming from a non-business background, an exhaustive practical approach and knowledge about the business world is essential for me to transition into this new world and an MBA from WBS will prove indispensable in this regard.

Another thing that I would like to mention is the sheer value for money this MBA provides. For a crème de la crème business school, the value for money that WBS provides is simply unbeatable.

What course, club or activity have you enjoyed the most so far at Warwick Business School? The one thing that I’m looking forward to is the international study trip to Nova Business School in Portugal. COVID-19 playing the spoilsport, the venue for sustainability module had to be changed from Vancouver to Lisbon. Nevertheless, I am excited to learn from distinguished experts, for the opportunity to learn in a different environment and gain valuable international experience.

What has been your best memory at the Warwick Business School so far? Why? The whole journey has been magnificent and it’s hard for me to narrow down to one single memory. If I have to, the thing that will always be etched in my mind will be the fun times I have with my classmates outside the classroom. Even though everyone is extremely busy, we often meet informally to have a few drinks, talk about interesting things, and have a great time.

Describe your biggest accomplishment in your career so far: Politics in India is a tricky game, and the outcome depends on thousands of factors. My biggest achievement was when I worked on strategy, voter profiling, candidate selection and on-ground logistics during the Haryana state elections. I employed a bottom-up approach to build the campaign strategy where we built area-specific campaigns and developed a personal connection with the voters. This approach proved to be miraculous for the party, with an improvement of nearly 100% with respect to seats won in the election.

What do you hope to do after graduation? Post-MBA, I want to work as a strategy consultant, to help facilitate transformational change and assist organisations in identifying opportunities for growth and expansion.

What advice would you give to help potential applicants gain admission into Warwick Business School’s MBA program? WBS attracts top talent from around the globe and many people applying to the MBA programme at WBS will have substantial academic qualifications. In my opinion, along with your academic highlights, you should focus more on other interesting facts about your life and how you can align yourself to the core vision of the school. Dive deep into how you can be a valued member of the cohort, what people can learn from you and your experiences, and how WBS will help you grow further. Lastly, make your application personal and intriguing so that you stand out from the crowd.

DON’T MISS: MEET WARWICK BUSINESS SCHOOL’S MBA CLASS OF 2022