Management Development Institute PGDM Review By Shailesh Chauhan

The only thing that I didn’t like about the college is something that I will mention at the start. Students of MDI are called 'ManDevIans'. Let’s begin with the good things now because I can keep on and on. I passed out recently and therefore the memories are still quite fresh. MDI may not be at par with IIMs but the college has a legacy of its own. The college has constantly ranked among the top 10 B-Schools of India for ages. Just like IIMs. MDI also accepts CAT scores. PGPM of MDI is one of the toughest courses but it’s not like IIMs where the students don’t even have time for themselves. Life at MDI was not that hectic. The hostel timing was 11 pm but many times we have come at 5 am and still got away with a little bit of scolding. The late-night parties that we did at the campus and outside the campus while studying at MDI will be cherished for life. One of the biggest advantages that MDI has is that Gurugram in general has a great industrial connection. This is why placements of MDI even during the pandemic was 100%.

The lecture halls at MDI are centrally air-conditioned. The college also runs a student exchange program and students from countries like Australia, UK, and New Zealand were a part of our college due to that. The classes started in the morning and ended before evening. It was a full stop there for the day. Once we were done there was hardly any pressure of assignments or anything. It was like study hard and party harder at MDI. I loved the way how things panned at MDI.

The best professors in the country are what you will find at MDI. Award winning professors like Ashutosh Das and Sanjay Bakshi are a part of MDI. The teaching was simple at MDI as the professors have adopted the case study style of teaching. The second-year course was highly demanding and thorough but professors made it look simple. We were even hit by the Covid scare during the final semester. The college technology came to the party as we stayed in our hostel rooms for a month and the course was completed through online classes.

The 1st thing that anyone would take note of is the ROI. Is 16 lakhs worth it? This was the same question that ran on my mind for the most part of my time at MDI. All my questions were answered after the 3rd semester when I had the offer letter in my hand. 2020 was the year in which we saw a lot of up and down. The markets were at 52 weeks low in March and at a new life high by October. Amid all the chaos one thing that remained intact was our job. We got placed in December 2019 after the internships. Companies like IMB, Infosys, and Deloitte were the leading recruiters. The average placement was around 15 lakhs and most importantly the placement was 100%.

There are 3 boy's hostels on the campus. They were named Kshitij, Takshashila, and Change Masters. Kshitij was like a 5-star hotel while Change Masters looked like a slum in front of Kshitij. The girl's hostel was named Odyssey. Kshitij was the most sought-after one because in rest 2 one has to bring their own itineraries. The hostel gave us a proper home-like feeling where everyone will sit together and talk their day out. It was exactly the same at Kshitij. The food was above average but less than Murthal which was a 2-hour drive but twice a week there was fixed. Hostel timings were hardly followed as bribing the guards was quite easy. This was the first time I stayed at the hostel and I wish I had a few more years of hostel life left in me.

A 40-acre campus with ultra-modern facilities and surrounded by natural beauty was so soothing. The campus was Wi-Fi enabled and all the classes and library were air-conditioned. There were 2 canteens and one of them also served non-veg food items. Foreigner's life at the campus became enjoyable because of that. The college has as many as 3 playgrounds and one of them has been converted into a mini-golf course. MDI is thus the only college in India with a golf course. The classes and hostel rooms were tidy as the housekeeping of the college was quite active. One unknown fact is that there’s a basement at the campus that has officially been converted into a poker club. Not just the students but even some faculty come and play poker at the poker club at night.

It was as amazing as anything. MDI is located at a nice location and MGF mall was nearby. The lawn is there inside the campus. Thus, if you want to have a walk in the park, you can do that on the campus itself. If you wish to watch a movie then MGF mall was also nearby. College annual fest was covered by many prominent media houses. MDI Gurgaon is more happening than any nightclub in the city for sure.