OUTBOUND-TRAINING-(OBT)-FOR-STUDENTS-AND-FACULTY
GITAM Institute of Management organized OBT (Outbound
Training) Program – GURUKOOL for all the new students of its various
postgraduate and undergraduate programmes from 15th July to 11th
August, 2015. Subsequently, a highly successful session was conducted for the
faculty members as well. Each batch accompanied by a faculty member, under the
guidance of experienced trainers from Maven Training Consultants, underwent a
three and a half day training program at Sri Santhi Village Resorts at
Bhogapuram around 30 kms from Vizag, provided with basic amenities and a secure
environment. The program was formally inaugurated in the presence of Prof. K.
Siva Rama Krishna, Dean and Principal, GITAM Institute Of Management.
GITAM Institute of Management is a pioneer in
introducing Outbound Training for the students of Management and has been
successfully conducting OBT for the last seven years. Outbound Training is an
established corporate training tool in Western countries and has gained
popularity in India as well. Based on the philosophy of Dr. Kunt Hahn, OBT is
all about providing opportunities for self-discovery, personality development
and social skills through outdoor exposure. In today's corporate world, the
need of the hour is for smart thinking, swift action and effective people
skills - qualities that are more effectively developed in an experiential
setting than through classroom training. Outbound programs have been found to
be particularly effective in areas that involve interpersonal relationships,
trust and bonding, communication of shared vision and goals, motivation,
behavior modification in response to change, and personal effectiveness.
The innovative experiential learning program is based
on the ancient Indian Gurukul system where princes would be trained to become kings
through real life learning. This training equips students with basic skills to
become successful management professionals. It inculcates true leadership skills with a
human touch and enables the students to rejuvenate in a stress-free atmosphere
away from the mundane world. They learn not only to face new
challenges in difficult circumstances but also to effectively work with people.
It leads to synchronization of mind, body and soul and enables them to develop
fitness, self-reliance, interpersonal skills and bonding though the new
challenges in a new adventure-setting with a new group. A “once-in-a-lifetime”
experience, OBT
is aimed at helping students discover their own inner selves and their goals in
life.
This outbound training left behind lot of amazing
memories for the students. Many physical activities were conducted where
students enjoyed a lot and every activity had a management oriented learning.
The toughest were the military oriented activities which involved march past,
tyre hookers, climb up, crawl down the body, beware of landmine, which
demonstrated how to manage the body by
mental concentration and will-power.
The most enjoyable activities were fire walk and
glass walk where students participated very enthusiastically and learnt how to
face and overcome fear. Other activities like treasure hunt taught teamwork and
planning, water ball taught patience, stick four trained in planning and
coordination, DISC character taught students how to judge a personality in an
organization, blind man tested accuracy of teamwork, coordination and planning,
tribal activity helped students learn how to manage resources in a fun manner.
In this way every activity was related to some or the other management function
and imparted practical knowledge to students.
Outbound training is particularly relevant to today's society
as it demonstrates to people that they in fact do possess the necessary internal
resources required of them; that in spite of differences in backgrounds they
can live and work together; and that it is intrinsic to human nature to be
helpful. It has been repeatedly proven that the participants in a well-designed
outbound programme always find the experience memorable, and the benefits
significant and long-lasting.
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Compiled by Ms. Y. Sruthi, MBA First Year.
