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MBA vendors
SUREKHA KADAPA-BOSE
They are studying to be corporate executives of the future, but a part of their training involves selling like the street vendors do. And so, one recent day in Mumbai saw about 250 first-year students of the NITIE Business School selling educational toys on the streets.
Called Mandi, this is an on-field marketing exercise meant to initiate the business students into marketing at the grassroots , rather than corporate, level. Interestingly, the toys on sale were manufactured by the Mumbai-based NGO Navnirmiti, which works with underprivileged children. All the toys have several parts that can be separated, twisted and rejoined to get various shapes that help schoolchildren learn mathematical concepts in an easy manner.
The Mandi event is the brainchild of Dr T. Prasad, associate professor of general management at NITIE. Besides giving his students hands-on experience in doing business, the event helps contribute to the efforts of Navnirmiti in transforming the lives of children who lose out on basic education, says Dr Prasad.
"This experimental method of teaching integrates the theoretical principles of managerial economics, marketing and basic market research with practical application, for a socially responsible cause," explained first-year student Rajat Tandon of the Student Media Cell - Impress.
The event saw a collection of Rs 2.5 lakh in a single day and the amount was donated to Navnirmiti. The Mandi sales were flagged off by Nokia India chief Shiv Kumar, former Miss World Yukta Mookhey, and actor Mukesh Rishi. Appreciating the manner in which the event was planned and executed, Shiv Kumar said, "It's a great initiative by NITIE, I am sure Mandi will go places in the years to come."
And the Mumbaikars on the street, rushing along on their daily business, paused to take in the interesting sight of the executive-types attempting to be `street smart'.
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