N. L. Dalmia Institute of Management Studies and Research PGDM Review By Nidhi Karnani

N. L. Dalmia is not that old and you can see it with the campus and the college building. The college is in Mira Road and I used to stay in Andheri. The travelling made my schedule hectic as the college started too early for my liking. The Maharashtra State Common Entrance Test got me here and I was also selected for Welingkar’s but thank God I chose this college. During my time the college didn’t had that rapport but with time the college has made a lot of changes. The tie-up with Bloomberg has been a game changer for the college and it happened 2 years after I passed out. Wish it happened early we would have even more opportunities then. Though complaints with the facilities that we got, and the college has the vision to change with the changing world. This is what makes N. L. Dalmia one of the best colleges for MBA in Mumbai.

The college is affiliated to Mumbai University and it didn’t matter as the college introduced their own subjects and that kept us occupied even on weekends. If that was not all the guest lectures and industrial visits made sure that for 2 years we are in a way married to N. L. Dalmia. The teaching methods were more advanced than many and attendance, Oh my Word. Even if you have skipped college for 2 straight days, you will get calls from the faculty. The college was way too strict in this regard and there was literally no escape. I believe college did that in the best interest of the students and I don’t think me or for that matter any students can thank college for that. Academics were the front runners but that doesn’t mean we were not allowed to do anything else. The college also gave us the chance to explore the other fields as well but without harming the studies.

The faculty members were more than 20 for sure. Each semester some new faces and fresh legs were introduced even between the semesters. The faculty was not at all strict and tried to help the students in best possible way. The faculty made sure that even though the syllabus was lengthy, they took their time in explains each subject in detail. On Sundays, which was supposed to be our rest day, if any single student has raised a doubt the faculty will call all the students to come and attend the classes again. The industrial demand and how to adjust in corporate culture were all taught to us by our experienced faculty members. I am in touch with many of my classmates and one known face you must be watching in CNBC daily, Harsh Malu was our junior then. The college has produced some of the finest CEOs who are working in top firms. All this wouldn’t have been achieved if we didn’t have such great faculty members.

I was interested to have a job in bank and thankfully there were 4-5 banks that came for campus placements. I got placed in HDFC and will thank the faculty and placement cell of the college. During final semester I did a 2 months internship with Kotak Securities and all these opportunities were provided by the college. The average pay package then was some 7-8 lakhs which I am sure would have raised by 30 percent for sure. Excluding 4-5 students all got job offer letters.

The college has just 1 hostel building and that too for boys. In our batch there were 30 girls and it would have been easier for us if there was a girl’s hostel in place. Mira Road as we all know is not a safe place and therefore, I had to travel all the way from Andheri to Mira Road daily. The hostel mess was open for all and it was the one that took care of our lunches. Gave light food as they must have been ordered to not prepare heavy food as we had to spend 3-4 hours post lunch as well.

The high-tech glass building is the main building and the one next to it is where classes took place. The campus in terms of area is quite small but given the little strength of the college it was enough. The classrooms were air-conditioned and so was the library. One floor was dedicated for practical’s to bring in some fresh air into the students. The library was small but even I issued books from library twice or thrice in entire 2 years. Before leaving we do use to sip a cup of coffee at the canteen and discuss our day. The college was equipped and with new partners in place the campus has become more vibrant.

From morning to evening we have to be in the classroom. The lunch break and tea breaks were the time when we used to jump out of the classes to relax. The fresher party which has been a tradition at the college was warming and so was the farewell party. Talking about campus life, I don’t think we have spent time in campus other than classrooms and canteens. In a nutshell, Dalmia College is highly underrated and understandably so because of the area it is located. I had some of the best study experience and now enjoying working in a big corporate and that is all because of the efforts of the college they put in to make students.