Two Locations... One Campus... All 'Outbound'!

Online, November 6, 2012 (Newswire.com) - With the introduction of the 8-credit course called the Professional Personality Programme (PPP) at KIAMS this year, OBT - or 'Outbound Training' - has become the in thing! With a strong focus on the 'two locations, one campus' philosophy, the 15th batch of KIAMS (Harihar and Pune combined) came together as a tight-knit unit for the OBT conducted on the 28th and 29th of September 2012.

"Our exams ended on the 25th of September, and to celebrate this we were partying in the hostel till 4 AM," recollects Chitransh Srivastava from the Pune campus of KIAMS. "Despite that, we managed to depart at 8 AM for Harihar. The journey too was quite enjoyable, with the music system on the bus helping us continue the party!"

By the time the students from the Pune campus reached KIAMS Harihar, it was nearly 11.30 PM on the 26th of September. However, they were pleasantly surprised to see their Harihar batch-mates waiting to give them a warm welcome, along with hot meals even at the late hour.

27th September was an easy day so that the KIAMS students from Pune could rest and recoup after the long journey. In the later half of the day, the programme coordinator, Professor Priya Venkatesh - who had in the recent past adventured all the way to Antarctica and back - briefed the combined strength of 127 students from both the KIAMS campuses, on the OBT.

"We basically divided the entire course into two groups," elaborates Professor Priya Venkatesh. "The division was random and not campus-wise, as we wanted them to establish new bonds and come together as a course. We wanted them to understand the meaning of co-operation, leadership and resource management, in every step of the OBT. One of these groups did their OBT on the 28th; the other group went on the 29th."

The day started early for the Outbound group, which gathered at the KIAMS Harihar gate at 5 AM. In fact, the OBT started at the gate itself. Just one 35-seater bus was made available to the students. The group was further divided into 2 sub-groups. While sub-group 1 took a morning walk for the first 6 kilometers, the bus dropped sub-group 2 six kilometers short of OBT camp, to trek the rest of the way. The bus then returned to pick up the first sub-group.

"Two members of Ozone Experiential Learning (programme organisers) practically herded us along, urging us to move quickly on our feet," recalls Alok Kavthankar from the Harihar campus of KIAMS. "Our first realisation was 'We are so unfit!' The 6km trek on the tar road did feel long, once the initial excitement had settled. I am sure a lot of us vowed to walk everyday from that day. I am equally sure no one actually did!"

By 7.30 AM, all 65 students of the first group had reached the camp - a lush green haven that looked like the perfect picnic spot, with a big lake in the backdrop and tall green trees all around. The group was further divided into 8 teams. Each team was handed a tangled rope, which they had to untangle by using just one of their hands. Once untangled, the rope had to be shaped into a five-pointed star. This too had to be accomplished by the use of just one hand and without lifting the rope off the ground.

"The task looked childishly easy to us," recalls Titir Ghosh, from the Harihar Campus of KIAMS. "But the situation soon turned chaotic. The teams planned, thought, applied and failed - repeatedly! After several attempts and reworked strategies, all teams finally ended up with their respective stars - and we earned our breakfast!"

One of the activities was to work in teams of 10 to pass around marbles through plastic tubes cut in half, or troughs, and collect them in a vessel without dropping them on the way. Again, this looked deceptively simple, but very soon the managers of the future were seen running after marbles that refused to stay in the troughs or in their hands.

Similarly, there was 'mission rafting'. Despite the demonstration - which made it look like a cake-walk - when it came to building their rafts, each team seemed to be 'inventing' a different design! Hands were bruised, backs went sore and yet when the bamboos were tied together, the resulting rafts did not inspire any volunteers within the team to demonstrate its sturdiness in the middle of the lake!

"The OBT brought out the best in us," sums up Chitransh Srivastava. "We were compelled to work as a team, choose leaders and accept orders from them, to perform these tasks efficiently. It made us see our classroom concepts in a more practical light."

The OBT activities went on till the evening, after which the KIAMS students returned to the Harihar campus for a leisurely evening. The combined batch 15 enjoyed various 'Harihar Versus Pune' tournaments; be it cricket, or a LAN match (Counter Strike 1.6). The facilities of KIAMS Harihar were thoroughly explored by the students from the Pune campus - especially the swimming pool. Students of the sprawling Harihar campus proudly showed their counterparts from Pune around, indulging in a lot of 'cherry picking'.

Undoubtedly, lessons were learnt at the OBT, and relationships were forged between the future managers from 'two locations but one KIAMS Campus '.