The first glance of the Prof. T Prasad aka 'Prof. Mandi' (as emphasized by himself) and first question asked by him indicated precisely, right at that very moment, as to how the entire course of the lecture was going to be.The 4 hours spent in the class were actually more like a roller coaster ride , the only difference being that this was a knowledgeable joy ride where in you learn so much.Right from the inception of the class, he was actually emphasizing on entrepreneurship development in the youth of our country. Most of the things said by him were related to 'DHANDHA'.The slogan of 'SOCHO BECHO,BECHO SEEKHO,SEEKHO SOCHO!!' is going to stay in the realms of NITIE for eternity.
The show stealer was 'Another brick in the wall' ,a PINK FLOYD number played in the class with
the sole motive of enlightening us with the problems being faced currently by
the youth which indirectly affect the growth of the nation as a whole. Since
there are many expectations from the youth, for the brighter future of the
country , the youth should not waste its precious time joining the rat
race and following others blindly in what they are doing.The video
demonstrated, and was used as an analogy to study the behavior of teachers
against students which made them xerox copies of each other without any unique
USP of their own.This attitude has to be changed for individual progress and
progress as a whole .
Mandi sir also brought some innovative toys to the class
which taught basic mathematics and physics in a practical manner. These toys
were actually sold in 'Maha Mandi' which is an event that originated in
the laps of NITIE and whose seeds were sown by Dr. Mandi himself. The event is a brainchild of Dr. T. Prasad and was
conceptualized to help every student understand and discover management wisdom
for himself. For the last 5
years it has been nurtured by Dr. Mandi and the students of NITIE who
willingly take part in it.We were given a brief snapshot of the event in
the form of a small video whose protagonist was again our professor.The theme
of the event is basically to promote Sales and Marketing skills among the students.All
the students participating are given certain innovative products which need to
be sold in the market.Students learn core concepts of marketing such as market
segmentation,branding and sales.The people to be targeted for such toys could
be mothers who would feel the emotional connect and thus generate profit for
us; this is a classic example of successful segmentation.The concept of 4P's
helps in decision making.The innovative toys hold an advantage and are worth
the cost as children would get to understand the basic concepts of mathematics
and physics by playing with these toys . The toys are designed by some
Engineering and MBA students.
So this kind of creative thinking is necessary in students to
earn.Even a cheaper toy can be sold for higher price, because this toy is
making a child learn the concepts easily, their parents do not have any problem
shelling out some extra money for the sake of their child .
The mantra for this campaign he is using is "Aaj ki roti , aaj hi kamana hai"
.
The class went on with other different activities, games and
discussions .The session on a whole was quite unique and this was the first
class where people were willing to participate and learn without even knowing
that they are learning management concepts in a pristine and immaculate manner.
