MBA with Marketing Concentration
"I am grateful to IUP for giving me a unique and global education, which made me stand out among the crowd, and now to have given me the opportunity to grow professionally while contributing back to the program. IUP has helped me to find the new me'!"
The experience in college stays with a person throughout their life, and IUP and the Eberly College have left no stone unturned to make this experience the best possible. Especially for me, IUP has given so much; I was truly amazed with the faculty, the teaching, grading, and the entire IUP India MBA program as a whole. Everything is so transparent, and each faculty member is so down-to-earth and goes a mile beyond to help the students!
I am Divyashree Ravishankar. I belong to a town called Mandya, which is 60 miles from Bangalore. I finished my schooling as well as my undergraduate degree in computer science and engineering in my hometown. Staying with my parents throughout that time helped me develop strong values, ethics, and principles, which I think are very important in becoming a strong professional as well as a better human being. Right from my childhood, I was made to realize the importance of hard work, and I believe that there is no substitute for that. At school and college, I was an active participant in cocurricular and extracurricular activities. I was a member of IEEE in college.
It took me four years of engineering school to discover that my true interest was in business! My technical background placed me in a good position to pursue a career in areas like project management; but I wanted to secure management education and have a career where I could leverage my skills in both technical and management fields. That is when I decided to pursue my Masters in Business Administration in the unique IUP India MBA program in partnership with the highly reputed Peoples Education Society (PES), Bangalore. PES is the top institution in the state of Karnataka. This program provides an excellent opportunity for students to enhance their careers by helping them gain knowledge and skills in various aspects of business management while providing a truly global exposure. The program incorporates a unique modular design and a combination of lecture sessions and industry interactions. I was always curious about the U.S. education system, which focuses on hands-on learning. It goes a long way in equipping a student with the skills needed to take on today's challenging business world.
Right from the first day of my MBA program, I was actively involved in all cocurricular activities: Heading an event in the international management competitions on the PES campus during the first year of my MBA was an excellent learning experience. It brought out the confidence within me, and I started believing in myself that I could do much more. I came to IUP for my second year in the Fall 2010 semester to pursue my specialization in Marketing.
During my specialization at IUP, I worked as a graduate assistant for Dr. Prashanth Bharadwaj. This was my first job, and I was very much excited about it. I was assisting him in the rigorous documentation for IUP's AACSB accreditation maintenance, as well as in a number of process improvement projects for my India MBA program that he directed. During that semester, I was also an active participant in the India Daya ticketed event which is held annually each Fall on the IUP campus. I was not only one of the coordinators of the program, but also participated in Indian cultural dance performances, which was appreciated by everyone as one of the most outstanding performances in years. I also had the opportunity to attend the IUP alumni event at the Waldorf Hotel in New York City.
In Spring 2011, I worked as a marketing intern in a company called Upwardly Mobile (UpMo) in San Jose, California. UpMo was a startup company which gave me an opportunity to dabble in all aspect of their business. The responsibilities which I handled at UpMo complemented my specialization. My key responsibilities involved assistance in market research, advertisingand promotion, and managing a CRM database. Working with the top management helped me acquire the skills, techniques, and etiquette required to succeed in any organization.
Upon graduation, I got an offer to take up a job as the program manager for the IUP India Program with PES, the very program from which I graduated. I jumped on this opportunity to not only manage a program that I was passionate about, but also to return to my home country. I thoroughly enjoy working for PES and IUP. The job keeps me motivated since it brings new opportunities and challenges every day. Interacting with the top management of Eberly and PES, experienced faculty, young students, and seasoned industry professionals has helped me shape my thoughts and actions in a more professional way and has helped me grow professionally and as a well-rounded individual. I have made some significant strides in this job in less than a year. I have helped streamline several key processes for the program to run smoothly. I am the managing editor of the Program's newsletter VOICE, which I resurrected to strengthen the bond between our alumni and current students. I also coordinated the first Corporate Relations Meet in this program to help boost the placement opportunities for our students. I was part of the team that coordinated an international symposium in Mauritius in 2011, and I look forward to taking a leadership role in the organization of another exciting symposium in Germany and France in August 2012. Presenting a coauthored empirical paper about the key success factors of our program in an international conference in 2011 added to my professional growth.
Ours is the longest-running U.S.-MBA program in India, and I see the program going a longer way! Expanding it further, making it a truly unique and global program, and providing students with a strong crosscultural experience is my next goal. The first step towards this was to arrange a short Study India Tour during the Spring Break of 2012. We had a dozen students from IUP who came to India and studied the culture, economy, and rich heritage of India. I took the leadership in coordinating their trip, which involved visits to several companies, a symposium of expert speakers, a panel discussion, meeting with alumni, and visits to some historical sites in India. This is just the beginning of many things I have planned for my program.