Meet the MBA Class of 2025: Prerna Gupta, Indian Institute of Management Ahmedabad by: Jeff Schmitt on January 31, 2025 | 154 Views January 31, 2025 Copy Link Share on Facebook Share on Twitter Email Share on LinkedIn Share on WhatsApp Share on Reddit Prerna Gupta Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad “An empathetic deep thinker navigating life with a dash of humor and a pinch of curiosity.” Hometown: New Delhi, India Fun Fact About Yourself: I love solving jigsaw puzzles and crafting things out of thread. Undergraduate School and Major: Undergrad: Psychology at Delhi University, Grad School: Psychology of Economic Life at LSE Most Recent Employer and Job Title: Senior Behaviour Architect, Fractal Analytics Aside from your classmates, what was the key part of IIM Ahmedabad’s MBA programming that led you to choose this business school and why was it so important to you? I knew since childhood that IIMA is India’s most reputed B-School – it seemed like a place one only hears of, but never actually gets into. I was over the moon to have received my admission letter to join a place with such a rich legacy and alumni who had a significant role to play in India’s development. Visiting the campus before the start of the academic session for Manthan (a knowledge transfer event from the outgoing batch to the incoming batch) further solidified my intention to come to IIMA. Seeing the beautiful campus, the academic atmosphere, the rigor, and the bonding between the previous batch sealed the deal for me. What has been your favorite course or extracurricular activity at IIM Ahmedabad? What has been the most important lesson that you have learned from it? The two marketing courses that we had in Term 1 and Term 2 have been my favourite so far. Having worked with marketing teams before, I did not expect that I would learn so much more about the subject matter. Professor Arindam Banerjee constantly pushed us to think deeply and critically, making classroom discussions extremely engaging and enlightening. I loved having ‘Aha’ moments in class, where I was able to think of a concept in a way that I had never thought of before. What makes Ahmedabad such a great place to earn an MBA? The atmosphere here is always charged up and buzzing with enthusiasm. There is so much to do here and so much to learn! There is course material to study, sports to play, seminars and talks by guest speakers to attend, case competitions to crack, cultural events to participate in, Ahmedabad to explore, and so much more! There is always a little bit of FOMO playing in the back of the mind. However, it feels amazing to have a hectic life full of so many opportunities to learn and grow. Describe your biggest accomplishment in your career so far: Over five years of work experience, I have acquired the skill to process large amounts of information, collected through primary and secondary research, and synthesize frameworks to make sense of the data. This ability to create narratives out of ‘messy’ and disparate information has proven invaluable in developing influential strategy frameworks and user journey maps for important clients. Describe your biggest accomplishment as an MBA student so far: Unlike most of my cohort here at IIM Ahmedabad, I come from a social sciences background. I have always been averse to numbers and struggled with math. However, having been exposed to so much of it during my time here, I have actually overcome my fear of numbers and now dive headfirst into any quantitative problem—something I never thought was possible! What is your class’s favorite hangout away from school? Why do you gather there? Since the campus has everything, one could ever need, there is hardly ever a reason to step out. However, my study group and I love exploring different restaurants in Ahmedabad and end up going to a new eatery each time. What do you hope to do after graduation? I have worked with Fortune 500 clients for the past five years. While you get to work on some very interesting problems in the corporate world, I would love to be closer to the action and work with a startup. I am excited to work in a more dynamic environment where I can directly shape a product’s growth. What advice would you give to help potential applicants gain admission into IIM Ahmedabad? My advice would be to be completely authentic and put up no pretenses in your interview. Reflect on where you are in your career and how you feel about various things happening in the macroeconomic, business, and sociopolitical environments around you. Reflect so you can form authentic, well-informed opinions. It is these unique opinions and perspectives that make you stand out. Everyone has something to bring to the table; let that shine through! DON’T MISS: MEET THE INDIAN INSTITUTE OF MANAGEMENT AHMEDABAD MBA CLASS OF 2025