Drishti Sharma

IIM Kozhikode  

“A compassionate and gentle individual striving to share warmth and joy with the world.”

Hometown: Delhi, India

Fun Fact About Yourself: I have an identical twin sister, so you may never know whether it’s me or her.

Undergraduate School and Major: Indira Gandhi Delhi Technical University for Women, Mechanical and Automation Engineering

Most Recent Employer and Job Title: Saint-Gobain India Private Limited – Glass Business, Team Member – Procurement

Aside from your classmates, what was the key part of IIM Kozhikode’s MBA programme that led you to choose this business school and why was it so important to you? The major aspect that I considered was the cohort size and average work experience of the cohort. The cohort size of the PGP-BL program is around 60-65 candidates. The smaller cohort has its own advantages. We have already formed a very close-knit group, wherein we sit together and talk at length about each other’s experiences across sectors and industries. The class discussions are extremely rich, and each individual comes into the limelight in terms of participation and performance. In the short time that we have spent together, I can say with confidence that I have already earned some friends for life.

The second aspect, the average work experience of the cohort in the program is 5.5 years, ranging from 3 to 18 years. The diversity makes the classroom sessions so rich and diverse; we get to learn from the point of view of an expert in the domain as well as someone who is learning about the domain for the first time. There’s a drastic difference in both points of view, hence the learning is immense.

I visualize this opportunity as a stepping stone in my career. The opportunities and learnings that you get being a part of the top management institute of the country are unmatched. The class discussions are so enriching given the diversity of the cohort. The curriculum and pedagogy at IIM Kozhikode are tailor-made to help the candidates transform into the business leaders of tomorrow. I am grateful to be a part of such a dynamic cohort and institute and can’t wait to explore what lies ahead of me in this year of transformation.

What has been your favorite course or extracurricular activity at IIM Kozhikode? What has been the most important lesson that you have learned from it? My favorite course to date at PGP-BL has been Macroeconomics by Prof Rudra Sensarma. I thoroughly enjoy studying the theories behind how economic decisions are taken, how geopolitics influences the economy of the world, and their influence on the daily lives of the common man. It helped me to understand the concerns on a much broader level and thus to broaden the horizon of our thought process. I owe my growing interest in the subject to the Professor’s teaching methodology.  He relates the concepts with ongoing events across the globe, which makes it even more relatable. He is also a seasoned publisher and I thoroughly enjoy reading his articles published on major economics article websites.

Describe your biggest accomplishment in your career so far: While working for Saint-Gobain, I got the opportunity to work on Global Sourcing for all the manufacturing sites in India. I am grateful to have experienced the growth from handling one vertical at one site to handling multiple verticals across all sites in as a big market for the company as India within a short span of time. I worked with stakeholders from across the globe, which enhanced my overall understanding of global markets.

Describe your biggest accomplishment as an MBA student so far: I joined IIM Kozhikode as a fairly underconfident individual. I have always had a consistent zeal for achieving what I think is impossible for me. Challenging myself, I decided to stand for the Students’ Council elections. I sailed through the rigorous process of writing SOPs, preparing for the soapbox, etc.  The nervousness on my face on D-day was evident, I had to pitch my candidature to the cohort in the auditorium along with some of the most talented batchmates. Once on stage, I forgot everything and cherished every moment. I was overwhelmed by the response received from my batchmates. The result echoed the response and today I am serving my cohort as the Students’ Council representative.

What has been your most memorable experience at IIM Kozhikode? Why was it so special? It would have been easier for me if I were asked about writing a hundred memorable experiences, selecting one experience out of it is a rather more daunting task.

The most memorable of the lot will be the first time that I entered the campus. The hard work, persistence and sacrifices that were put in for years to make it possible flashed before my eyes. The cherry on the cake was sharing the moment with some of the closest people in my life. It’s no less than a blessing to get to pursue your post-graduation with your best friends from grad school.

What led you to pursue an MBA, and what do you hope to do after graduation? After having experience of more than 4 years in the field of supply chain for the manufacturing industry, I wanted to explore other domains and industries. Pursuing MBA seemed to be the best route to gauge my interests and learn about the emerging fields in the business world.

I was fairly confident in my technical skills on the job, but the case was not the same when making business-related decisions. The thought of “what-if it failed” always used to cross my mind. The learnings that I could get from an MBA program, through courses, case competitions, and the cohort could not be attained in the corporate world. After coming to IIM Kozhikode, I feel it is the best decision I took at the right time in my career.

Post-MBA, I wish to leverage my position to make a positive social and economic impact on society.

DON’T MISS: MEET IIM KOZHIKODE’S PGP-BL CLASS OF 2024