Ashoka University

Academic Courses
Additional Course I
Business Strategy and Consulting
What interested you in this course? (50-100 words) *
I wanted to learn about the consulting industry. In 2021, I gained international exposure and
learned from industry leaders and professors working in big consulting firms. Imperial
College Business School provided this opportunity through the summer school program for a
month in London. I understood the importance of strategy and how we can solve problems
through analytical thinking and the importance of working in different international teams
and understanding the cultures of the international students. I received a one lakh rupees
scholarship to attend the program because of the motivation I showcased in my scholarship
essay.

Additional Course II
Wine Tasting: Sensory Techniques for Wine Analysis
I was motivated to learn about wines and why they have importance in the cuisine world. The
wine tasting course was a fantastic course to learn more about the Wine Sensory techniques
and how to differentiate between wines, find faults and learn about pairing wine with food. I
learned about different varieties of grapes, wine-producing regions and the job of a
sommelier. I wish to conduct wine tasting sessions and make people aware of various wine
and dining styles. I also received this course for a 100% scholarship.

Additional Course III

Introduction to Virtual, Augmented and Mixed Reality
I have had a passion for the virtual reality field since childhood. This course helped me
explore the tools and technologies that support the features and applications of VR, AR and
MR. I Learned on this course discovered the basic concepts of creating VR, AR and MR
experiences and the ethics involved in developing these kinds of applications. I wish to work
with some of the startups in the VR industry as this is an emerging technology, and it will
evolve in the next few years.
Previous Work
What are your main responsibilities in this position? (upto 100 words) *
I learned about the stock market trading floor and how to manage the portfolio of the stock
traders and take calls from the customers in terms of buying and selling the stocks. I worked
with the MBA candidates interning along with me there. I understood the stockbroker's role
in everyday transactions on the NSE and BSE. I was also appointed to acquire new customers
to trade through the IIFL platform. I worked with the InvestorQ (IIFL subsidiary app)
developers to address bugs and reviewed the app in the testing phase and provided feedback
for necessary changes.

Reason for change: (upto 100 words) *

I interned for two months at IIFL Office in Thane City. I utilized that knowledge to develop
my final year black book project comparing IIFL Securities with the competitor ICICI Direct.

Non-Academic Activities and Engagement

HPAIR
I was selected as a Delegate from India at Harvard College Project for Asian and
International Relations (HPAIR) 2021 Conference from 9100 applicants from the world
through a rigorous application process. The HPAIR conference was a perfect opportunity to
build trustworthy relationships with great people from all over the world. I got the
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opportunity to hear from former heads of state in Asia, Fortune 500 business executives,
renowned celebrities, and thought leaders driving high impact in the social sector through
keynote sessions, executive masterclasses, and fireside conversations. The conference has
expanded my access to diverse opportunities in important world sectors.

Rotaractor
I worked with the Rotaract Club on the weekends. I took the responsibility to work as a
Human Resource Director. I was responsible for recruiting new members, training them, and
developing their social skills through mentoring and personal feedback. My notable
contribution to the club is that I increased the headcount from 8 to 40 participants in 2 years
since its inception. I conducted the recruiting interviews through Zoom and Google Meet. I
actively collaborated and participated in more than 25 projects in 2020 through Zoom and
other digital platforms.

National Service Scheme

As a volunteer in the NSS Committee, I hosted and organized various social events related to
social awareness and community development at intra and intercollegiate levels. I actively
got involved in social work through NSS and it helped me develop a sense of empathy
towards the less privileged. As part of a camp, the NSS team adopted a village to develop the
community and provide access to essential resources. We dug and built water banks to save
water and provided education to small children in the Vasind village in the Thane district.
Additional Interests
I like listening to audiobooks and till now I have listened to more than 365 audiobooks
through the Blinkist app. I like Esports and I have played many competitive tournaments
during inter-college festivals. I also go on some treks on the weekends. Apart from these, I do
gratitude journaling every day about my day to day learnings. In 2018 I completed a
certificate course in mobile repairing and ranked 1st in the class. As a hobby since lockdown,
I have completed 150 plus certificate courses from various MOOC websites such as
Coursera, edX, LinkedIn Learning, FutureLearn, etc.

Name of the Book

How to Win Friends & Influence People Dale Carnegie
Atomic Habits: An Easy & Proven Way to Build Good Habits & Break Bad Ones James
Clear
The McKinsey Way Ethan M. Rasiel

Essays
Tell us about your personal journey so far. (upto 300 words) *
Growing up in Mumbai has provided me with enormous opportunities in my life so far. And I
was privileged to learn in the prestigious colleges in Mumbai during my high school and
undergraduate degree. I have been lucky to have my parents backing me up in every decision
of my life. As I was not interested in Engineering, I decided to get an education in
management and business. Management studies was a new career path for me. But during
this process, I was proudly supported by my parents. In the final year of graduation in 2020, I
was preparing for my black book project when the lockdown happened. During this period, I
explored knowledge beyond my horizon and wanted to learn something different from
management. Firstly, I enrolled in the MOOC program of Harvard College on Computer
Science called CS50 and was granted a 90% fee waiver for the course through a scholarship
application. I was learning to code and was putting in hours to understand the basics of
coding. The CS50 Course was just the start of what would define my journey in online self-
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paced MOOC learning. I learned from all the prominent universities and websites and gave
my 100% to complete these courses without leaving them incomplete. I learned about various
domains ranging from virtual reality, personal branding, management consulting,
communication, problem-solving, leadership to coding, networking, mindfulness, growth
mindset and lifelong learning. This knowledge helped me secure admits for masters programs
in the UK. But I withdrew these applications due to health issues. While recovering, I started
preparing for competitive exams in 2021. And along with it, I was admitted to a summer
school program of Imperial College London but attended it from home. The journey of these
crucial two years has helped me develop my overall character.

Tell us about a challenge that you have faced and how you overcame it. What did you
learn from this experience?(upto 300 words) *
In the 2020 lockdown, living in isolation reduced my social interaction and only interacting
virtually was fatiguing. I lost my communication skills as there was minimal interaction. I
started doubting my capabilities and this made me lose confidence. No more expressive
behaviour was possible through screen to screen interaction. To overcome these personal
problems, I started writing my gratitude journal in 2020 and started learning soft skill courses
through MOOCs. This learning phase helped me get a tremendous amount of knowledge and
I developed a new perspective to look at social skills. How creative writing can be a mode of
expressing thoughts and ideas structurally. I learned about the Pomodoro Technique and
started using it in my study sessions. I was timeboxing my routines and habits. In 2021 after
graduation, I started preparing for my competitive exams. I used to put in a lot of hours every
day and sometimes used to go out walking in the park to relax and get my mind refreshed.
But my results were poor as I failed in all the competitive exams I prepared and could only
fetch an average percentile or rank. I was feeling dejected. I overcame my fears through
support from mentors on LinkedIn. I started to approach the exams more systematically. I
learned that I have to be resilient and patient at the same time because only through
perseverance can I attain the desired goals. Backing out after a loss will not help me learn
something. But only through failing and getting back on my feet I will learn from my
mistakes and try again using a different strategy and knowledge from the previous failure. I
learned the importance of adaptability in constantly changing situations and ambiguous
circumstances. An agile student can inspire others if he has an optimistic mindset.

What are aspects of the YIF programme that you are most excited by? How might they
align with your aspirations or goals for pursuing the YIF? (upto 300 words) *
At YIF, I want to get the opportunity to explore my writing skills and take them to new
heights with the help of the Critical Writing Workshops. I want to represent Mumbai
University at a national level. I want to thrive in the Ashoka ecosystem with fellows from
various backgrounds. I want to learn from peers who are brighter than me and from different
industries and varied backgrounds. At YIF, mentors can be invaluable as they can provide
enormous support in terms of ideas and perspectives. They can guide me in a new direction.
YIF will provide me with great learning opportunities from the best professors around the
globe and learn the practical aspects of liberal arts education. Rigorous course work, group
discussions, training sessions, workshops, cultural activities, research, networking events
with fellows and alumni can add to my knowledge wealth. Networking on a personal and
professional level with a diverse pool of students, teachers, careers teams, alumni, and the
rest of the staff will help me understand different ideas and perspectives. I want to start my
career in the consulting industry. YIF is a great platform, as it provides access to consulting
industry leaders such as McKinsey, Bain, and BCG. Also, the Graduate Career Center
advisors will help me reach my goals through personalised feedback and valuable tools to
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help me prepare for interviews. These opportunities will allow me to improve my CV and
applications for Graduate jobs. I also want to be a part of the post-fellowship pathway. YIF
can guide me towards an international educational program. During this program, I want to
develop selflessness, empathy, emotional intelligence, intellectual humility, perseverance,
and coaching to become a good leader in the future. I want to inspire the people around me
and work towards helping the people in need.

What matters most to you and why? (upto 150 words) *

Having been part of many groups and communities and getting involved in leadership
activities, I want to redefine the idea of leadership in the 21st century. 'It's about how you
make the most of every opportunity to support each and every person around you.' I realized
that - if you take others along with you, you will do well for yourself. My leadership
attributes include - Emotional Intelligence (EQ) and Cultural Intelligence (CQ) and these
three skills are perseverance, humility, and taking people along. I use EQ to build self-
awareness, self-management, social awareness, and relationship management. Use CQ as the
capability to relate and work effectively across cultures. I find pleasure in other people's
successes, and I also feel a sense of pride that I can contribute to their happiness. To me,
leadership at its core isn’t about leading people but about unleashing other people and
facilitating their personal growth.

If you have any gap periods in your academic or professional journey, do use this space
to elaborate on the same. This is an optional question, only attempt if relevant to you.
(upto 100 words)
In 2021 after graduation, I decided to go for international masters programs but I cancelled
the admits due to major health problems concerning my family and me because of COVID-
19. I took the gap year to study for the competitive exams. I am currently using the gap
period to prepare for the GMAT exam.

Please use the space below to share additional information, which has not been captured
anywhere else in the application, and might help us understand your candidature
better. This information can include circumstances or situations that might have led to
educational, social or economic disadvantage. This section is not mandatory. (upto 200
words)
On the personal front, I stay with my grandmother and support her every day with household
work. I cannot go out for a full-time job outside the house because she feels isolated and
lonely alone. My father is retiring in June 2022 then I can have the mobility to join the
program or work full time to support my family members.