Expanding Horizons – My Great Lakes PGDM Experience
Last updated on: 30th May, 2025 | Student Experiences << back to blog
Published on: 25th July, 2020
A brief account of my first year journey as a PGDM student at Great Lakes Gurgaon, the opportunities I was presented with, and how I made the most out of every opportunity.
Prologue
It was the year 2019, and I was in the final year of my Bachelor of Business Administration (BBA). Towards the end of my under-graduation days, I was at a crossroads, like many other students at my stage, in choosing between gaining work experience for a few years or pursuing my post-graduation in management. After much deliberation, I decided to pursue an MBA before beginning my career as a management professional. And with this decision, I embarked on my journey of shortlisting colleges, filling out applications and finally grabbing my seat at Great Lakes Institute of Management, Gurgaon.
Why Great Lakes, Gurgaon?
To begin with, Great Lakes Institutes of Management, Gurgaon is the youngest and amongst the only 12 business schools in India to be accredited by the prestigious Association of MBAs, or AMBA, UK. The AMBA accreditation is a hallmark of quality management education and ticked one of the most important boxes in my checklist.
Secondly, the two year MBA program at Great Lakes is in fact a PGDM program, which focuses not just on building business acumen in students, but also their soft skills, leadership and emotional intelligence. They facilitate the development of these skills through initiatives such as Karma Yoga (an experiential leadership program), teamwork activities, leadership talks, events and competitions.
If this wasn’t enough for me to choose the PGDM at Great Lakes, their exponential growth in recent years in terms of placements, curriculum focused on emerging economies and digital technologies, and alumni who speak highly about the faculty and learning experience, all worked together like clockwork in convincing me that this was the place for me.
Being a student at Great Lakes Gurgaon
I am currently a second-year student at Great Lakes, and my journey so far has been full of learning, self-development and an intense unravelling of my true potential. Great Lakes has given me a platform to realise my capabilities as well as limitations in the most realistic of ways.
Here I have been exposed to an ocean of opportunities, ranging from a number of competitions, internal as well as inter-college, to a number of interactions with industry leaders, along with the experience of even publishing a macro-economic article. I have not only realized and developed my competencies and my knack for solving business cases, but also learnt to capitalize on them.
The Winning Streak
Within a month of my first year in PGDM, I contested for and was selected as one of the core members of the Placement Committee (PlaceCom) at Great Lakes Gurgaon. I then signed up for the very first competition that opened up registrations during our time – the Big Idea Business Plan competition organized by V-Guard Industries. My team managed to win the special Jury award in this competition and this was my calling card.
I then participated in more competitions, among which was the Think Equity Think QGLP competition organized by Motilal Oswal. This competition was organized in collaboration with the Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad (IIM-A) and my team was a National Finalist in it. The best part about this competition was the opportunity to present our idea to Mr. Raamdeo Agrawal – businessman, investor and the joint managing director of Motilal Oswal group – and at the same time, get featured in Bloomberg Quint. I got a chance to go places, experience stiff competition, and give my best in my first year of MBA itself.
Summer Internship during CoVID-19
As I completed the first year of my PGDM at Great Lakes, I was about to start my summer internship with Zinnov Management Consulting as a consultant. But that was when the Coronavirus Pandemic gripped the world and India went into lockdown to contain the spread of the virus. I was one of those whose offer was rescinded due to the situation.
But did this stop me from putting my best foot forward? Definitely not! I knew I had the support of the Corporate and Career Services (CCS) team, which looks after placements, and the faculty at Great Lakes, Gurgaon. And it was worth counting on them. I worked closely with them and within a few weeks after my first offer was revoked, I secured another internship opportunity at NoPaperForms, a leading SaaS-based firm that automates enrolment and provides other digital solutions to Educational institutions.
I was offered the role of a Market Research & Strategy intern. Here I had an opportunity to work closely with the CEO of the company and my key area of responsibility included creating a fundamental base of insights, using which the management could take key strategic decisions for a new venture the firm was about to initiate.
Expressing my views
Immediately after I completed my internship with NoPaperForms, a fellow batchmate and I wrote an article – ‘The Rise of China – Let China sleep, for when she wakes, she will shake the whole world’. My professors at Great Lakes were always there to guide us and help us write a seminal article, and even get it published on a public platform, Start-up Terminal. Writing and publishing itself is a whole new learning experience. You pick a topic that is relevant to the industry, the economy, or the society, you perform your research, and you pen down your insights. Ultimately what you write, when published, could benefit more people than you can imagine. And it gives you the satisfaction of being able to reach out and express your views to a larger audience.
Summing up
Great Lakes has not just helped me in expanding my horizon but has played an instrumental role in shaping my personality. I am a much better version of the Dhaval Jain who first walked into the campus in July 2019. My mind has been opened to new thoughts, ideas, and perspectives. It has instilled a sense of focus and discipline in me which now has become a part of my lifestyle. My experience at Great Lakes is not just about acquiring an MBA degree (or a PGDM diploma) or a gateway to enter the corporate world, but a rather fulfilling journey of self-transformation which will shape my life ahead.
Dhaval Jain
PGDM Class of 2019-21
Great lakes Institute of Management, Gurgaon
Learn more about the PGDM program at Great Lakes Institute of Management, Gurgaon.