What it takes to be a Great College

What is one thing that all great colleges have in common? If you think it is the ROI for joining that college or the salary offered, then you may be mistaken. A great college is defined by the culture and the sense of belongingness that its alums have towards the college. All the other factors are the outcome of long-term benefits of it, at some level or the other. Therefore, it is paramount to have a Strong Alumni network in any institute.
We, IIM Raipur’s community are the young toddlers in this sphere of colleges. It becomes an onus on us as community members to build a goodwill and lasting culture of the institute by engaging with the alumni network of our college. We do have alumni meets and city visits, however, calendar events are not enough to motivate and inculcate a culture of helping (giving & seeking), which leads a sense of contribution (forgiver) & indebted (for seeker) towards the community as whole. Both will be more connected with each other and it will also bring the sentiment in the seeker to help someone else and so on and so forth, this is how a culture is built.
We hence would like to bring this thought to action via the resourcefulness of Apps/social media platforms, where you can connect with your peers, faculty members, and the alums to seek help and help others. By taking such steps, we can contribute towards building a strong culture. When great things around us happen online, why not create a community that thrives on mutual admiration and education, be online.
It is time we get the butterfly effect rolling in favor of our community. The IIM Raipur backyard for innovation and excellence.

Author :

Shashank Patekar

Class of PGP 17-19

IIM Raipur

Disclaimer - The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the official view.

The Adventures of the Youth Delegation Programme

The Department of Youth Affairs in India gives a golden opportunity to the Indian youth to go and visit different countries in Asia-Pacific regions and explore their culture. As a part of this program, students visit different cities and cultural places in the country and try to learn their culture and exchange ideas and values which will be beneficial to both the countries. I too got an opportunity to be part of this program and be privy to this enriching experience.

On 9^th June we started from Delhi airport to Hong-Kong. The first thing we saw being in Hong-Kong Airport is the scenic beauty, surrounded by beautiful mountains and seashore. We spent some quality time exploring this beautiful place and started for Beijing. We reached Beijing in the afternoon where we had a warm welcome by Chinese youth.

On day two, we left to explore the Great Wall of China, Juyung Pass. It was a great experience to visit the place and see the wonder of how they maintained that wall in a great condition. After this visit, we all went to Embassy of India, Beijing where officials welcomed us with a great speech. On this occasion, we got an opportunity to have a discussion with officials and interacted with them on various issues.

After that, we went to China Youth Center for international exchange where we learned different Chinese cultural things including Calligraphy and Taijiquan.

After this, we left for Heifei by flight and checked in at Hongrui Jinling Hotel. On the third day, we visited the Hui Park at 9:30 in the morning where we explored the various cities’ important attractions explained by sculptures in the garden. Also, we got a chance to attend the Huangmei Opera singing.

After that, we visited Anhui Museum of Historical Notables. Here we saw how their culture evolved and who were the famous personalities made China develop in various aspects. We also visited the Binhu Wetland Forest Park.

On day four we visited SUNWIN UAV and IFLYTEK technology innovation industry and got to learn how within short time duration the industry leaders of this company achieved massive growth. A visit to Qingwang Technology Park further enhanced our understanding of technology for growth aspect of Chinese industries.

13^th June morning started with a visit to University of Science and Technology of China. Here we communicated with students and visited various labs and explored the environment of the campus. After this visit, we started for Shanghai by flight and arrived at Shanghai City Hotel.

On day six, we left to visit different cultural places. At first, we visited an old age home where we interacted with old people and got to know how their daily activities are performed. Next, we visited a cultural center where they welcomed us with an Indian song. Here they encourage people to follow cultural things like dance and other activities. Not only this, but they also have fitness gym to encourage elderly people to remain fit.

We then visited waste management system governed by a private company. We explored and learned how they function and how they are able to help nature by doing waste management of various electronic stuff.

On the seventh day, we visited Deep sea lab in Tongji. After this visit, we went to Oriental Pearl Tower of Shanghai and went up to 230 meters. Here we had great opportunity to look at the city from heights. After this visit, we went to do the street shopping to buy various souvenirs and see various cultural stuff.

On day eight, we visited Shanghai Youth Centre in the morning and found out how students of age 10-16 are taught. They are taught to handle various machines including 3-D printing. Not only this, but they are given counseling about how to avoid drug intake. Following that, we visited SSRS physics lab we got to know the various radiations and how they use this for different medical and technical studies. Medicine museum visit after this was a great attraction of our visits. Here they explained to us how they evolved in the medical field and how they are still learning from the old ancient practices. After this visit, we left for India with the great experience of this youth delegation.

It was a great opportunity given by Youth Ministry of India to explore and learn the foreign culture. The most important thing that I learned on this trip was the importance given to cleanliness by the general public of China. The transportation system and rules and regulations imposed by government are respected by all people and all follow it rigorously. Because of this quality, it is easy for the government to implement new policies.

Also, the infrastructural growth of China is marvelous and everywhere we can see tall buildings properly maintained. Also, the ancient culture of China is respected a lot and they modernize their things by taking into account their old cultures. Because of this unique thing they have developed a lot with the essence of having cultural touch.

We, the youth, should be open-minded and ready to accept good ideas. We should not only learn new things but also should be on the front line to implement the philosophies and concepts for the betterment of the society. Students and young generation are the biggest asset of the country. So we should feel responsible for the growth of our country and take initiation to make our country grow.

Author :

Sonali Phapale

Class of PGP 16-18

IIM Raipur

Disclaimer - The views and opinions expressed in this article are those of the author and do not necessarily reflect the official view.

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