Assistant Professor, JIMS, KALKAJI
Experiential Training has been adopted by the B Schools today to bridge the gap between corporate and educational institutions. Management Schools focusing on a marketing, finance and human resources have given an extra edge over enhancing the understanding and application of concepts learnt through experiential learning. Experiential, as the word describes is gaining experience while you are learning. A very famous proverb says “Tell me and I ll forget, Show me and I may remember but make me do it and I will surely remember”. Gaining learning through experiencing through engaging activities is the need of the hour.
So there have been numerous studies now to find out on this aspect and some of them speak about methods like activities, games, simulations amongst many others. JIMS,KALKAJI has also adopted the model of letting the students be given the liberty to express in the most natural environment as it can be rather than through route learning for which the impact has been felt for a temporary period. JIMS,KALKAJI has adopted the model and is giving their students a wholesome experience learning through live projects, demonstrations, internships programs, student exchange programs , with a constant interaction with the external turbulent environment .By involving them in the organization and management of different events of the Institute, JIMS,Kalkaji has been able to inculcate a lot of soft skills along with hard skills. While learning the management skills technically they are able to learn the skill development necessary for application and this has been made possible through technology and experience case based learning methodology. To bridge the gap further, today JIMS,KALKAJI has been taking an extra leap towards gaining the expertise straight from the corporate leaders in the classrooms through studying real time case studies and undertaking problem solving in real time. This can take the learning curve for students gaining exposure right at the onset of their career where they can engage and participate to learn the rigorous process of the real world problems and suggesting solutions creatively. Organizations today also prefer to cut short the probation period by undertaking the training during their last leg of education and giving them enough exposure and understanding beforehand
Varieties of student development & activities promote learning professionally and personally. It empowers their independence and their ability to believe in themselves. The objective is to provide a 360 degree approach to holistic education. It is only through involvement in leadership programs, live projects, games, initiatives, research projects and major campus events that student learning and development is enhanced.
Generally soft skill development and experiential learning can be performed under different forms through workshops and labs, training sessions, projects , internal and external competitions, seminars ,company visits, study tours, internship and on the job training. Many skills that are enhanced in this process are :
- Communication skill
- Problem-solving
- Personal skills
- Professional ethics
- Self-awareness
- Creativity/Innovation
- Social skills
- Teamwork
- Negotiation
- Conflict Management
- Leadership
- Culture Adaptability
- Adaptability to change
- Dependability
- Work ethic
- Analytical skill
- Decision making
- Management skills
A Comprehensive approach to getting students practice the skillets along with conceptual knowledge further facilitates the learning process. Organizations are constantly innovating on methodologies for accelerating the process through using simulations, games, project applications and analysis from a practical standpoint.
Students are able to experience the benefits of gaining first hand information which is ready to apply in the industry. Today technology has made a progress to enable students in witnessing their performance change over a period of time .There are metrics and applications through which the measurement of skill sets learnt is measured and monitored over a period of time. There are several benefits of experiential learning in management schools today as the bridging of gap that existed for generations has lapsed and there are creative innovative ways through which students are industry ready. The specializations of marketing , finance and human resources along with data analytics also have standalone case study based methodologies for learning the real world situations and thereby students are offering practical strategies and solutions. This has strengthened their decisions making abilities and empowered students with the confidence that in spite of being fresher’s, they have an insightful understanding of the industry .
