The most important reason for me to pursue a full time MBA program was to learn marketing in an academic set up. Naturally, I was excited for my first marketing course in the first semester; it was a foundation course where we were introduced to the basics of marketing management. The course was conducted in such a lively manner that I learned enormously from the course.
Thanks to Dr. Arun Jain, we had many senior marketing managers from leading companies like Fisher-Price, Gelia, Cementbloc and Independent Health visiting us every week. The course required different teams to preset a case study to the visiting managers, who in turn evaluated and provided feedback. Some eminent marketers also provided lectures through the course. It was inspiring and impressive to learn and hear from these experienced professionals. The case studies provided us the opportunity to conduct market research and determine different marketing strategies. My enthusiastic classmates ensured that the research included visits to related stores, surveys and interviews of consumers; thus making our research effective.
The best part was the creative advertisements that different teams came up with for the presentations. From story boards to radio commercials, from graphics to video commercials, we unleashed our creativity and competed in a profound manner. I had a chance to act in a car advertisement which was a part of one of the presentations. On the whole the course was fun and also provided us with the opportunity to meet and network with the guests.
This spring semester, I have picked an elective, Market Planning. We will be taking part in a simulation throughout the course. We will be managing companies in a dynamic market and will be responsible for our brands. We will have to face scenarios that marketing / brand managers will face in real world and make informed decisions which would determine our company’s performance in the market. I am sure that this course will take our learning to a whole new level.
Looking back at the days when I was having difficulty in choosing a graduate school for my MBA, I now strongly feel that my decision of joining UB is just right!
Balakumar Bharathi
MBA, Class of 2014
Marketing and Consulting
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Bleddy naansense fellow