Six months that changed how I think

Before I understood time

Even before I came to Mumbai for the first time, before I stepped onto the SPJIMR campus, spoke to seniors, or interacted with the programme office, everyone told me the same thing: the next six months will be extremely challenging and incredibly fast. I listened, but I didn’t fully understand what that meant.

That understanding came within the first week.

From day 1, German classes and foundation courses began, and I found myself immersed in what would become the most gruelling, fast-paced, chaotic, exciting, exhausting, and deeply meaningful six months of my life. I say this coming from a background in life sciences, nearly a decade of working with start-ups, and preparing for the UPSC-CSE, where I studied 14–16 hours a day for two years. Yet nothing in my past compares to the intensity and depth of the GMP experience at SPJIMR.

Over time, friends and I often discussed why this journey felt so overwhelming yet transformative. The conclusion was simple: what most people experience over two years, we experienced in six months. Academics, deadlines, teamwork, conflicts, clarity, self-doubt, friendships, reflection, and growth; all compressed into an accelerated timeline. This programme is not just academic; it is immersive. It demands presence – mentally, emotionally, and intellectually! Every single day!

When the pace became the teacher

Somewhere along the way, something shifted.

Many courses contributed to this shift, including WISE Innovation, SOS, OB-1, Design Thinking, the PG Research Lab, and many more. These subjects were not about arriving at answers; they were about conversations, reflection, and perspective. Especially in the PG Research Lab, where learning moved beyond classrooms and into open spaces through observation and real-world engagement, the experience was something else entirely.

Those discussions changed how I now look at people, problems, and systems. I learnt that an unstructured problem requires a structured solution. Most courses promise answers to questions; GMP did something far more valuable. It taught me how to think. It didn’t hand me conclusions. It trained my mind.

GMP didn’t give me answers; it taught me how to think.

People who changed the way I see

SPJIMR was as much about people as it was about pedagogy.

I learnt from professors who had pivoted across fields, collaborated across disciplines, and continued to research while teaching, writing, and engaging with industry and policy. Watching them helped me identify my gaps, refine my skills, and fundamentally alter how I approach problems. I no longer see challenges in isolation; I now understand them as outcomes of systems, incentives, and decisions.

Equally powerful was learning from peers. Every person here carried a story of resilience, ambition, personal battles, and simply showing up every day. One person whose impact will stay with me forever is Mrudang Nema. Though his life was tragically cut short, his calmness, curiosity, and enthusiasm for life left a profound mark on me and the entire batch of GMP-22. He embodied balance between intensity and grounding and ambition and kindness, and that lesson continues to guide how I show up in life.

Living closely with 45 individuals from entirely different backgrounds added another layer of learning. Collaboration became instinctive, disagreements became lessons, and friendships became anchors. These relationships quietly taught empathy, communication, patience, and perspective, all lessons that no classroom alone could offer.

What I carry forward

The most unexpected change was personal.

Relationships I carried into SPJIMR evolved because I evolved. The way I speak, listen, handle uncertainty, and approach life has changed – subtly, but meaningfully. I now see many possibilities, but more importantly, I have learnt how to prioritise.

As I prepare to move to Germany, I do so with clarity and confidence. I carry forward a structured way of thinking, comfort with ambiguity, and the ability to approach complex situations with intent rather than hesitation. SPJIMR has equipped me not just to adapt to what lies ahead, but to actively shape it.

I move forward knowing that wherever I go next, I have the most powerful tool I could ask for, a trained mind, and the ability to think.