The Pandemic STORY by Kriti Palod on Erasmus+ Scholarship to study in Europe for 4 months

    THE PANDEMIC STORY

                                                         By: Kriti Palod       Batch: PGDM6

I am writing this blog siting at my home. Sounds casual? It isn’t casual for a girl who was stuck in another country while this pandemic far away from her family with all lost hopes of coming back home anytime soon.

So basically my pandemic period had 2 phases, one, doing my Erasmus exchange program (Europe) & another, coming back home (India).

Fortunately or unfortunately, I went to Varna, Bulgaria to purse my exchange program from University of Economics – Varna, in February, 2020, so I had the chance to enjoy many of the things this place has to offer, starting with the natural beauty (the beaches & mountains), the incredible historical heritage and the amazing Erasmus experiences.

I & my international friends knew about how things were happening in China and how fast the virus was spreading. We knew it would be just a matter of time until it would reach Europe as well. Still, we weren't completely aware of how severe the situation actually was and we just kept living our dream, making unforgettable memories, enjoying it and making incredible plans for the upcoming months.

On 10th March, We were in a restaurant, lost in the streets of the historical Varna when they reported on the news the alarming situation in Spain & Italy. We talked and realised the severe reality. That was the moment when our hearts thought of home and our families, more than ourselves. We knew the risk we would take by going home, so we decided to stay in Varna.

It was a 360° turn of all our plans, never knew that the period I expected to try different cuisines in the countryside - I would be cooking 4 meals per day for self, washing my dishes, cleaning my house with no house helps and no home deliveries.  That is because Erasmus is also about adapting, cooperation and evolution in any possible way!

My plan?

At the top of the list are the principles that guide me: reciprocal respect, help, support, and effective communication. I was lucky enough to have more people living with me, with a wonderful sea view, but to maintain the harmony we need to follow these principles and look through the window often. And so that’s what I did!

We decided to use our individual time (because we respect the need for privacy) to keep in touch with our family and friends back home, to study, learn, grow, develop new skills, to take university-related as well as other types of online courses, to read books and to meditate, because we knew we have to use this time in the most constructive and efficient way possible.

Together we learnt Bulgarian, Spanish, Albanian, French, German, Hindi, had fun sports and yoga because we knew how important it is to maintain our mental and physical health. We cooked and had dinners together because we loved to eat. We explored our multicultural origins and traditions and always found out new and interesting things. We also played games, watched many classical, good movies, danced, listened to all kinds of music and admire the sunset.

Another phase started by mid-May, when our course was coming to the end. At that point of time it was clear that all our pre-booked flights were cancelled and the only way left to go back home is by taking evacuation flights (Vande Bharat Mission). I connected with the Indian embassy in Bulgaria. They registered me for evacuation process. The flight was supposed to fly from Frankfurt, Germany. Being on Bulgarian visa with Indian passport I had to take transit visa to go Germany & catch my flight. I managed all on my own; I had this adrenaline rush throughout this phase, of what happens next. Finally I booked my flight tickets, which got cancelled later (17th June) and got preponed and this all happened just 3 days prior my final flight (20th June).

Due to pandemic there was low availability of flights from Varna to Frankfurt. I completed my documentations till 18th, reached Frankfurt on 19th June!

Spent 32 hours at Frankfurt airport, in this situation where Frankfurt was the only place of connectivity for the entire Europe. It was crowed and scary!

And of course none of us can understand what my parents were going through this entire situation. It was my first abroad trip. No matter how old I grow for them I'll always remain that young innocent blood.

On 21st morning I reached India, FINALLY!

I was still sceptical about my quarantine conditions. But then Airport authorities allowed me for home Quarantine. I went home (Aligarh) through a personal cab. Completed my 14days mandatory quarantine & maintained social distance with everyone for around a month.

It was a rollercoaster ride!

WHEN THE GOING GETS TOUGH, THE TOUGH GET GOING

 

Benaifer Pereira     Batch: PGDMFC15CM

Majestic memories of the gorgeous greenery, magnanimous mountains, wacky waterfalls, and the rambunctious rains at UBS campus, is such an exhilarating thought. If only I have the chance to enjoy my last year, experiencing the nostalgia of the beautiful scenic views of UBS. Nevertheless, I gradually understood the dynamics of the situation and came to the culmination that the cataclysm was out of hand. So why worry? This is when I decided to spend most of my time at home, soldering with family, enriching my versatility through conditioning newer skills in my realms of interest and furthermore contemplating my thought process and thoughtfulness which otherwise in my ‘precipitous’ life, was literally impossible to adhere to.

Unfortunately, the lockdown was declared while we were at the stint of our peremptory examinations and at that point of time, students’ safety was of utmost precedence. Thus, it was made sure everyone was sent home with utmost provision immediately. Being a final year undergraduate, we were not only worried about our online examinations but also getting the vetted results on time. Falsifying our concerns, the faculty at UBS made sure that the evaluation never delayed, and the learning never stopped. It was in no time that UBS appraised to conduct online examinations which were clenched in a very systematic and organized way. I dejected to bid farewell to some of my closest friends over a video call, although our Program Director and Juniors made sure to make the Adieu as memorable as possible, by virtually enabling us take a stroll down the memory lane, further facilitating some emotional speeches and followed by quite a few activities.

I expected things to get better by July-August so that I would get able to meet my new MBA batchmates, but the Covid-19 situation seems to be the getting worst. The concept of meeting new students and batchmates virtually now, is an entirely different experience as compared to interacting with them on campus. Though at UBS, even at such difficult times, efforts are being made to help the students interact amongst one another as much as possible through various plutonic platforms like the case blazer, and outsourced sessions.

The sheer transformation from classroom learning to asynchronized teaching methods, libraries to inornate online platforms, UBS is slowly preparing students to be ready for the augmented future where ‘blended’ learning will be integrated into every educational institution.

While the MBA lectures, personal development sessions and guest lectures, help keep us busy all day, further keeping our systematic stress away. It is with utter eagerness that I wait for the sun to shine on the clock as to when we hasten back to the UBS family and relive the memories we made and cherish the new ones coming forth towards us.

Stay safe and do not forget to learn some new skill!

‘Virtual Experience at Universal Business School during Covid-19 pandemic’

 

    FARHEEN INAMDAR                                   Batch: PGDMBDI1                                                                                         

Being excited about my admission getting confirmed in Universal Business School, I started daydreaming about how life will be on campus. This would be my first time staying away from home in a hostel managing things on my own. But soon in mid-March the nation-wide lockdown was announced. At first I thought everything will be back to normal by July but as time passed things got more serious.

This did not affect the programs planned by UBS, the Pre-Program Activities started off by Dean Digital Challenge, which allowed us to pen down a little note about ourselves. On 6^th April 2020, a webinar by Prof Vijay Tandon was arranged in which we got to know about how our induction programs and classes have been scheduled. We had a 30 days Induction Program started from 10^th April 2020. This included session by CEOs, business leaders, alumni. It gave us sense of how being on campus would have felt like. By each passing day the excitement of being on campus increased as well as the cases in Maharashtra. By 26^th May, online classes began different modes of learnings were introduced such as collpoll and e-library.

Classes are virtual but learning is real. The first question that occurred was how is it possible to interact on a platform without knowing or meeting my Professors or batchmates. To my surprise we did managed to not only interact but also form groups and do various group assignments and tasks. Slowly overtime the frequency of the classes held were increased to every alternate day to daily classes. Also the number of classes per day were increased from 1 to 3. I thought being a first year

MBA student all the basic concepts of marketing, business and economics will not covered but to my surprise at least 2-3 classes were solely designed to tell students the basic concepts of each subject. Each student were assigned a mentor who helps them in acknowledging and enhancing their skills. Each student was given the freedom to select a club according to their interests. These clubs helped students to get to know students who had similar interests.

During the whole pandemic UBS ensured to keep the students engaged with different activities, assignments, presentations and competitions.

The experience has been surreal it allowed me to learn, grow and be confident. It made me realized the value of education and it can change one’s thinking from being worried about my future in the beginning to looking for opportunities to grow. I made friendship which I’ll cherish for life. Every Professor taught us learnings are endless and Unlocked new possibilities.

 

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UBS Experiential Learning for Skills Development - Student Feedback

Simran Lalwani (PGDM7) - Management Concepts (Igor Ansoff Matri) explained

My transformational journey at UBS during the pandemic

 

By: Komal Jain      Batch: PGDMG7

My transformational journey to become a professional in this corporate world began with my visit to Universal Business School. I witnessed the lush green environment which made me feel relaxed. The lobby of the campus, classroom, library, and the most important part is the Stock Trading Room. I was so excited to see all this, and at that time I could not wait to start my journey to the campus. The most admirable thing is UBS vision and mission. They firmly believe in three 3E’s: Environment, Ethics and Experiential Learning.

Suddenly this pandemic broke out and I was disappointed that I could not go to campus when a complete lockdown was announced in the country. It felt like I would miss all my college experience. But, surprisingly, UBS was ready with its master plan to deliver what it stands for.

 

To start with UBS organized a 30 days induction programme where I got an opportunity to interact with 30 Global industry leaders across the continents. They shared their journey of becoming a global leader and the life lessons that they gained from their experiences and hardships they have faced in their life. They also gave us an insight of the role that big data and analytics are going to play in Industry 4.0. All these sessions inspired me to work hard and become a better version of myself.

 

UBS took the next step to channelize our energy in a productive manner and started our synchronous live sessions. Using this online platform, professors have made sure to implement a model of experiential learning. After each session, we are assigned group assignments and case study that has helped me to apply the concepts learned in the classroom. It helps me to develop creativity, gain new perspectives, and most importantly bridge the gap of this virtual world as I started interacting with my fellow students. Online tests are conducted regularly to ensure learning and identify the gaps.

Apart from all these things UBS is trying to give us a real time experience of the corporate world. UBS have 15 clubs which are designed in such a way to give us a wholesome experience. Many fun learning activities are organised like Lock down food in which I took part and secured 2^nd place. Housie Commander which took away all the boredom out of a lock down Sunday. An event to make our planet green where we must Plant a tree and send a picture. A conference with Parisar Asha Foundation to create awareness in CSR activities.

I got the opportunity to be a part of one of these club or to be precise a student driven private limited organisation namely, Experiential Learning Corporation (ELC) in the capacity of Finance Executive. We have organised various events like PuBG tournament where I along with my team members maintained the revenue record and prepared the Profit Statement. I also extended my help to the Creative Department where I write various E-Mail and attractive captions of our social media handles.

UBS is leaving no stones unturned and are helping us in developing our personality by organising various events namely Mini Case Blazer. Since I was the leader of my team it helped inculcate leadership skills in me, improve my presentation skills, developing analytical skills and most importantly I got to learn about how various organisations around the world are developing different strategies to maintain their positioning in the market.

Our program Director Vijay Tandon leaves no opportunity to appreciate his students. We have the concept of WOW Cards. Students who exhibit exceptional performance receive a WOW card and I received the first WOW Card of this session after showing my commitment to the tasks assigned which has motivated me and encouraged to work even harder. He also came up with an idea of sending out Thought of the Day to motivate and inspire us by inculcating great good ideas to shape our vision. The best part is I have been assigned as the Manager for posting Thought of the Day.

The corporate relation team of UBS organises a minimum of 2 guest lectures every Saturday. In these sessions some of the elite personalities share with us the mantra of how we can prepare ourselves to be ahead in the game by giving us the insight of the current corporate scenario and telling us what skills we need to thrive in this new normal.

UBS always takes care of its students. All the faculty and staff members are just a phone call away and even if students hesitate to contact them, we can connect with our assigned mentor and discuss our problems and they have always given us the right direction. We are also provided with a one-on-one counselling session in which I shared all my strengths and weakness after which I received a proper guidance on how to work on my weakness and emerge as a warrior.

UBS management team has shown courage and confidence to move ahead in this Covid-19 pandemic and made sure that our academic and personal growth is not compromised. With all of this I can proudly say that the journey of my transformation has truly begun, and I have no doubts I will be a completely transformed individual with such great efforts invested by UBS management. I am proud to be a student of Universal Business School and I am proud of my decision to be a part of such a great Institution.

TO THRIVE COMPETE & CONQUER DURING TOUGH TIMES - LEARNING FROM UBS

TO THRIVE COMPETE & CONQUER DURING TOUGH TIMES - LEARNING FROM UBS 

Blog By: Nidhi Patle         Batch: PGDMBM4CM

Hello everyone, who is reading this. I am going to talk about my exceptional experience at universal business school during the lockdown. I am a CEO in making at UBS because here they make CEOs not just the managers. My virtual induction program started from April 2020. The top business leaders across various industries were invited to guide us through their journey and experiences. All the sessions were curated keeping in mind our aspiration and dreams. The 30 days program speakers were classified into 10 CEOs, 10 industry faculty and 10 distinguished alumni. This was a once in a lifetime unique opportunity to interact with business leaders who have worked in over 20 countries across 5 continents and have studied in some of the best b-schools in the world. The Covid situation was really overwhelming, I felt lost but what kept me going was listening to their stories, their achievements, their challenges, their failures. It gave me a different perspective of looking at things. I wanted to learn, I wanted to listen more, and I wanted to be someone who can be the change.

During the ongoing induction program our online lectures had commenced. It started off with 3 subjects marketing, operations management, people, and organization. The faculties were not only the industry experts but also the great masters in their field. In the initial days I found it difficult to keep up with the studies because of the virtual setting. I could not feel the same energy I would have felt in a normal classroom. Sitting in front of the screen for two and a half hours seemed like a struggle. However, the faculties never felt to keep us engaged. The forum was always open to ask the questions and clear the queries. Breaking the barriers of the virtual settings we kept learning. By we, I mean the teachers and the students, it was equally challenging on both our parts. Soon, we adapted to the change. We were given access to the digital library of UBS, so we could refer to the course books. You could also find books written by Shakespeare, Paulo Coelho, and John Grisham to name a few.

Talking about the extra curriculars, I have participated in various fun activities conducted by different clubs in the college such as mind boggler, housie commander, smirky quirky and more. I am a part of a marketing club and I never realized the importance of clubs until this happened to me. In the club meetings, I get to share my views, ideas and opinions and get to know about others. I learned the importance of working together as a team from the club. A great emphasis is given to experiential learning in UBS and to learn through experience is something more. To make us interact with people across different courses and work together as a team, a mini case blazer was introduced. It helped us get familiar with the case study approach and problem-solving techniques. As case studies are an integral part of the learning process. It was a great opportunity for us to showcase our presentation and communication skills. To monitor our progress throughout the course, a mentor is assigned to 20 plus groups of students. The mentor-mentee session is conducted every Monday wherein we discuss the studies, current affairs and developing requisite traits as an MBA student. Not only our academics but also our mental well-being is taken care of. We are also provided with a professional counsellor with whom we can discuss our personal or professional problems. I really appreciate the initiative taken by the college in considering the importance of sensitive issues such as mental health. This helps cope with the stress one faces because of their studies, peer pressure, family, or other reasons.

Apart from studies, the faculties invite guest speakers every week. The placement cell takes care of providing us with the best of the opportunities even in the times of such crisis. Shout- out to them for doing such an excellent job and putting in their efforts just so we do not run out of opportunities. A big thank you. Also thank you for the guest sessions you organize that gives us a learning experience every time we listen to them.

My experience at UBS has just begun and it is a long road to travel. The beginning might have been challenging but the destination for sure will be beautiful. One of the few things that I would want you to know. I made the first ever presentation of my life here. I have connected with the people I have never met in real life and I would have never done it in normal times. I made a LinkedIn profile and started working on it. I have got a hang of doing things and being consumed. I can see myself changing from a girl that would procrastinate to a girl who likes to get things done. Fast forward to today we have three lectures a day and are studying 9 subjects in total. Things might even get crazier in the coming days but one thing I know for sure that it will all be worth it. As I mentioned at the very beginning, I am a CEO in making and CEOs do not stop. They thrive, they compete, they conquer. I cannot wait to be on campus and experience everything in person, but these virtual walls cannot keep me down nor can the tough times.