How the campus to corporate journey has evolved for students in the last two years

Anitta Jo Mathew

A journey takes several turns, and each turn marks the beginning of a new journey. One such turn in life is that which leads to the campus to corporate journey. From switching between books and classrooms to taking up responsibilities in a professional environment, it is essentially a transition that transforms you to be equipped for greater challenges that await.

Every crisis provides an opportunity to evolve and innovate. With the COVID-19 pandemic giving no signs of leaving soon, the paradigm shift has been evolving and altering its focus to latent soft skills over the past two years.

● Leadership and quick decision making: There is a general misconception that leadership is limited to managing and supervising others. Students are no longer trained to be managers but leaders who are self-aware, and who exhibit accountability by building cohesion. With leadership also comes the ability to make quick decisions which at present is one of the most sought qualities in this VUCA world. Student curriculum has been modified to include simulations so that they get a taste of the unpredictable corporate world by making quick decisions via these virtual platforms. 

● Innovation or Improvisation: You never know when the road ahead poses a new challenge. As long as the search for “something new or different” prevails, the need to innovate/improvise couldn’t be emphasized more. The future workforce should be able to utilize their creativity in effectively navigating the firm through multiple challenges.     

● Adaptability: The batches of 2021 and 2022 have been the pioneers to witness the massive transition from offline to online within a span of few days. It not only disrupted their lifestyle, but also created a huge level of discomfort. Similarly, the transition from campus to corporate leads you to a difficult choice of giving up your comfort zone. The trick is to embrace the discomfort and be psychologically prepared to lead a disciplined and simplified life. Today flexibility in workplace is no more the “ability to relocate”. Instead, it means having open-mindedness, ability to work under pressure and prioritisation of tasks, and the ability to take up initiatives.

● Risk mitigation: An important lesson that the pandemic has taught everyone is the unpredictability of the future. From governments to corporates, nobody was prepared for handling the crisis. The past two years witnessed everyone channeling efforts for identifying and mitigating the risks. Collaboration among student committees also led to the creation of a web portal to facilitate the smooth conduct of operations during quarantine.

● Communication skills: Communicating the right content at the right time to the right people is a strenuous task, especially in a virtual environment. Students are once again revisiting the basics of mailing etiquettes and managerial communication. As many of us continue to work from home, clarity in emails and virtual meetings is critical to maintaining trust and productivity. 

As we welcome another new year, focusing on these traits would help the students to ensure a smooth transition from campus to corporate. And as for future leaders, we are not just ready, we are excited!

The writer is  student, PGDM Program, 2020-22 Batch, T A Pai Management Institute (TAPMI), Manipal