Interaction with Dr Manvi Chadha: PGDM (Healthcare Management) student at IIHMR Delhi

Careers360 brings you an interview with Dr Manvi Chadha, a first-year student pursuing postgraduation in Healthcare Management at IIHMR Delhi. In her interview with Careers360, Dr Manvi shares her experience at IIHMR Delhi, activities at campus, medical facilities, placements, companies that come for campus recruitment and more. To know more about IIHMR Delhi from a student's perspective go through the complete interview of Dr Manvi Chadha.

About: The International Institute of Health Management Research (IIHMR), New Delhi is allied to the ‘Society for Indian Institute of Health Management Research’ which was established in October 1984 under the Societies Registration Act-1958. IIHMR Delhi was established in 2008. IIHMR Delhi courses include PGDM Hospital and Health Management and FPM. To be eligible for IIHMR Delhi admission to PGDM, candidates should hold a bachelor's degree in any discipline with a minimum of 50% marks (45% in case of candidates belonging to reserved category) in the qualifying exam. In addition, they should appear in one of the Management Aptitude Test like CAT/ MAT/ XAT/ ATMA/ GMAT/ CMAT/ NMAT/ GPAT followed by group discussion and personal interview.

Q. Tell us something about yourself such as from which place are you from?

A: I am Dr Manvi Chadha, a 26 year old dental graduate. I was born and raised in Jaipur, Rajasthan.

Q. Presently which course are you pursuing and in which year are you?

A: I am currently pursuing my postgraduation in Healthcare Management, from IIHMR Delhi. I am a first-year student.

Q. Did you face any difficulty in the initial months when you joined the institute?

A: Fortunately, no I didn’t face any difficulties at all, in fact to my luck, I found it easy and comfortable to dwell into the institution’s decorum & regulations, thanks to the welcoming atmosphere offered by the faculty and seniors.

Q. What activities are offered in the institute? Are there any clubs etc for the various extracurricular activities? Which ones have you taken up and are a part of?

A: The institution offers a decent amount of co-curricular activities. I’m the cultural representative of my batch and the cultural committee with the support of our staff members host and take up as many activities alongside the festivities as possible. For instance, by celebrating Independence Day, Teacher’s Day, and hosting Diwali and Garba night, the students get to be a part of wide range of activities. Moreover, the institution also held a sports week that included both outdoor and indoor games and activities.

Q. Describe a typical day at your institute – what do you do from the time you wake up till you go to sleep?

A: A typical day in my institute goes such, that I start my day at 6:30 am, work out a bit, and leave for the college around 8:30 as I have to commute for almost an hour to reach college (Dwarka) from Gurugram. The lectures start at 10 am and the run time of the first session is till 1 pm at noon with one tea break of 15 minutes within the session. Then it's break time from 1 pm- 2 pm and I often eat my lunch either in the canteen or rarely order from outside the campus. The second session begins at 2 pm sharp and runs till 4:30 pm - 5 pm with 1 tea break of 15 minutes in between the lectures. I have to then commute back to my place for another 1-1.5 hours. After the college lectures, I teach tuition to a seventh and a third grader for about an hour, hour and a half & after that, I spend some time with my family. Later before I end my day I read a bit either what has been taught in the class or sometimes just a novel. That’s vaguely what my regular weekday looks like.

Q. Tell us about the faculty-student ratio here and about the teacher-student relationship in your understanding.

A: The teacher: student ratio in IIHMR-D is just fine according to my understanding. In the first month of admission, 6-8 students are allotted to each faculty member based on the overall strength of the batch, for the next two years in the college which in my opinion is a great initiative by the university to make the students feel habitual, comfortable and more secure in the beginning days of the college. The concept of mentor-mentee also helps in improving the quality of the bond created between students and teachers & also provides exposure to the students based on the best knowledge that the respective faculty can offer.

Q. What all facilities do you have on campus? What do you like here the most which you feel is unique and differentiating?

A: The institute offers all basic amenities and IIHMR Delhi facilities include clean and sanitised washrooms, hygienic canteen, centrally air-conditioned floors and classrooms, technically and digitally equipped lecture rooms, parking area, and many more such facilities. The unique feature of the institute according to me is their open-minded approach towards personality enhancement within the programme and not being too rigid and confined towards only the textbooks.

Q. How comfortable are your hostels and how about the cleanliness factor over there?

A: I visited the hostel once during my admission to IIHMR Delhi and I found it to be just fine to accommodate a good number of girls. However, I can’t comment much about the hygiene maintenance in the hostel as I am a day scholar.

Q. What about the medical facilities? Can you avail requisite medical attention if needed in an emergency?

A: The medical room of the institute is very well equipped and is updated from time to time. It is cleaned daily and everything kept in the medical room is sterilised. Yes, one can avail emergency services & first aid as well from the institute. Nevertheless, Venkateshwar Multispeciality Hospital is just a few minutes away from the institute and can be approached if at all required in any severe circumstances.

Q. How do you balance your studies, projects, exams and other activities?

A: To be honest, being a cultural representative, it has been a little too overwhelming for me to manage my presentations, studies and other activities altogether, but only and only because of the support and a little relaxation provided by my faculties, I manage to endure it all at once. It is also because of a great group of colleagues that I am blessed with, that I have been able to learn teamwork with great compassion.

Q. Tell us about the clubs and societies at the campus and how significant are they from your point of view or students' point of view.

A: All the committees formed in the college are designed by keeping students in mind, and are very student-oriented, I believe. There is a placement committee that handles building connections & bringing about more and more companies for their batch. Then there is an Alumni Committee, a sports committee, a cultural committee, a synapse committee, a student grievance committee, an anti-ragging committee, etc. There’s also another committee named IQAC which has been created specifically to address the issues faced by the students. However, all the committees are operated by 4 representatives (per committee) elected by the students of that batch and have the liberty to control and manage the activities within the hands of the representatives, but a close eye towards the functioning of each and every committee is kept by the faculties. I believe that these committees play a vital role in the personality development of an individual because being a part of one or the other committee, a student faces a lot of hurdles while managing their responsibilities & learns how to balance various aspects of their lives simultaneously.

Q. Is there any in-house magazine or journal for the latest events or happenings at the institute?

A: Yes, there is an in-house magazine of IIHMR Delhi that reports all the activities, events and conferences taking place in the organisation. The synapse committee formed is solely for this purpose.

Q. What are the popular hangouts at the institute? What, according to you, are the most-visited places nearby?

A: The most happening spots of the institute are the badminton court, cafeteria & table tennis hall. The most visited place near the institution is the food court near Sector 12 Dwarka metro station.

Q. How do you spend your leisure time at the campus?

A: My leisure time on the campus is spent mostly when there’s any cultural event planned and we have to conduct practices for the students/ participants.

Q. Do you have any Facebook page of your campus where the students express their views jokes or ideas, or maybe even a blog where they write about their experience of life at campus?

A: Yes, apart from the official Instagram handle of IIHMR-D, there’s another page named IIHMR ROAR on Instagram that captures all the moments on and off the stage during the preparations of any and every event happening in the institute.

Q. What type of companies come for campus recruitment and what percentage of students get placed every year? How is the recruitment process here?

A: Since we have three domains of specialisations, namely the Public Healthcare Management Sector, the Healthcare IT Sector and the Hospital Administration Sector; therefore the kind of companies approaching the institution for IIHMR Delhi placements varies from hospitals like Fortis, Max, etc. to Big 4s like E&Y, PWC, Deloitte & KPMG to Public Healthcare Organisations like NHA, UNICEF, NHM, Piramal, etc.

Disclaimer: This content was distributed by IIHMR Delhi and has been published as part of Careers360’s marketing initiative.