AP GURU

It was indeed a bright and sunny Saturday late afternoon (a little too bright and sunny to be honest.) VibhaKagzhi, the founder of ReachIvy had very enthusiastically arranged this function at the auditorium of Jai Hind College: an interaction with Mr.Dipak Jain, the current dean of INSEAD, France and Singapore, aptly titled ‘Living The Global Dream.’ Reach Ivy is an education advisory that helps students through all the confusing and complicated applications and admissions processes and eventually get accepted into the top global educational institutions.

The minute Mr.Dipak Jain arrived, seeing his calm and composed attitude and his compassionate smile, I knew this wasn’t going to be another ‘Listen to me, I’m so cool!’ lectures. Here was a relatable man who seemed like someone we all know, (in fact he reminded me of my dad at first) with a journey rather extra ordinary and tremendously inspiring.

The first thing I noticed about him was how his name was spelt rather strangely and I said to myself this must be one of the cases of numerology actually working for someone. But Mr.Dipak Jain was quick to retort saying that he didn’t know how to spell his name in English the first time he had to write it on his passport. Now it’s stuck with him even today. Yes, he informed the audience about his modest background from Assam, a state that did not have enough resources. “But whenever there is a lack of resources, the best thing to be is a mathematician.” He declared. His sheer determination and quest for knowledge got him an admission and full scholarship into the University of Texas in Dallas without even appearing for the TOFEL and GMAT exams! Like a little child, he still remembered his flight (and collecting the money to get aboard it from here, there, everywhere). Who knew, today this man is on the board of directors for an Airline Company! It’s been an illustrious journey for him, from a student. He went on to be a free mathematics tutor to other students in his university, kind of like a secret tutorial, which is carried on even today like a legacy of sorts. Then, at the age of 22 (damn, I am 22. I need to pull up my socks), he became a teacher for 26 year olds and started teaching a subject he never heard of called Business Statistics, well at least he knew he loved statistics. Then, he became the Dean of JK Kellog School of Management, Northwestern University on a rather inauspicious day. September 11th 2001, if that rings a bell. And today Mr.Dipak Jain is the dean of INSEAD after refusing an offer to become Dean Of MIT. Phew. I Can already picture a movie based on his life with SRK playing the lead!

Jokes apart, the quality I admired about this man was his down to earth approach-“In times of crisis, the ones that take the best decisions are the ones who have their feet on the ground”. His honesty- “If you don’t know the answer, tell the students you will get back to them but never pretend to know something!” His good and kind nature- “If you can help someone out, never say no. Calculative people never go far in life!” and his wisdom- “Be yourself, people respect you for who you are!”

The lot of the audience members consisted of aspiring MBA students and they asked a couple of questions. Mr.Dipak Jain stressed on Global Education and how INSEAD believed in diversity of students. His dream was to make it the Biggest Global School with branches opening up in the Middle East and the US of A. He urged the students to go aboard and study if they had the resources and they could afford it. He advised the students to not just focus on the top schools in the US as Education there is highly specialized and quality of professors is excellent. The teachers there are co operative and helpful. Also, studying abroad gives you a different perspective on life and that it’s always good to be exposed to different cultures. He appealed to the students in the audience to take the leap and make the best of wherever you go, as it is the quality of students that make the school.

"Follow your own footsteps, believe in your dreams"

With these inspiring words he left the Auditorium as he had a flight to catch. I could see a lot of inspired and encouraged faces in the audience and I was one of them. Reach Ivy had successfully managed to accomplish what was intended. And it was an evening well spent.

ABOUT THE COMPANY

ReachIvy is a premium education and career advisory that helps aspiring students get accepted into top tier educational institutions globally. We have successful admits at MIT, Columbia, Harvard, University of Pennsylvania, London School of Economics, University of Michigan, Oxford, University of Chicago amongst others.

Vibha Kagzi, Founder and CEO, ReachIvy, holds an MBA from Harvard Business School, and a Bachelor of Science from Carnegie Mellon University. She has also pursued courses at the University of California, Berkeley, the London School of Economics and the Indian School of Business.

Our global team of counsellors have also acquired their degrees from premier institutes and are passionate about sharing their experiences with students worldwide.