Entering the IMT gates with a slightly racing heart, with a manila envelope in hand, I realized here begins another tale that I would possibly tell in future. Next day, on 18th January as 300 odd students were heading to the auditorium, I could feel the anticipation and excitement of everyone in air.

The inaugural ceremony started with lighting of the lamp by the Director and Chief guests, followed by Saraswati Vandana. Director delivered the opening address highlighting the importance of discipline, curiosity and continuous learning, followed by addresses from chief guests and faculty introduction. Inauguration ended but the day was not over yet, everyone was introducing themselves, getting familiar with each other, groups were forming, and campus was buzzing with laughter till late night.

What followed next were icebreaking sessions, and introductory lectures for subjects and tools like Excel. They were designed to help students from diverse backgrounds to adjust to the upcoming course and for faculty to get a read on new cohort. Everyday lectures were followed by Distinguished Speaker Series. Every speaker was good at knowledge and advised students on a variety of topics for future corporate life. “Learn, Unlearn, and Relearn” by Shri Partha Pratim Dasgupta seemed like a life philosophy to follow. Dr. Gautam Sinha showed how to look into the future and keep us relevant regardless of entropy. Every speaker session was followed by Q&A session which gave students a precious chance to directly interact with speakers.

Another important part of MOP was outdoor activities. Hidden Castle was focused on team building and enhancing students’ ability to work in groups while also being a fun adventurous outing. Field visits were composed of visiting nearby NGOs for students to be aware of real-world problems and remain in touch with roots while achieving big dreams. We visited the Leprosy referral center, Lepra Society, it was truly humbling to see doctors fight the oldest disease in world and stigma surrounding it.

All these activities, sessions, and classes acted as coagulants among not only students but also staff and students as well and laid foundation for the upcoming course. Finally, MOP ended with an assessment and everyone having at least a hazy outline of how their life for the next 2 years would look.

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