SP Jain Mumbai’s DMM Batch 03 cohort recently undertook an educational visit to Dubai between 9th to 14th October 2017. The visit was planned keeping in mind the overall benefit each student would gain in terms of exposure to a different country, their work culture, and the global opportunities in Digital marketing. The agenda of the visit was well-balanced with sessions ranging from technical to soft skills. The trip consisted of industrial visits, guest sessions, and conferences that had speakers from the top management of digital marketing companies.
SP Jain Mumbai’s DMM Batch 03 cohort recently undertook an educational visit to Dubai between 9th to 14th October 2017. The visit was planned keeping in mind the overall benefit each student would gain in terms of exposure to a different country, their work culture, and the global opportunities in Digital marketing. The agenda of the visit was well-balanced with sessions ranging from technical to soft skills. The trip consisted of industrial visits, guest sessions, and conferences that had speakers from the top management of digital marketing companies.
The cohort started their visit with a tour of the SP Jain Dubai campus, or the ‘happiness campus’ as it is called. The campus walls were filled with vibrant colours which added to the fun vibe of the campus. The highlight of the week was when the DMM Dubai batch met with the DMM Mumbai cohort and interacted with them during their joint lectures on Consumer Behaviour.
What did the day-wise itinerary look like?
DAY 1
Ms. Megna Kalvani & Dr Kirti Khanzode met the students and gave them a brief idea about the campus life. It was followed by a campus tour by Ms Anusya Das. Students were taken on a desert safari after the session, post which they spent the evening watching performances by traditional artists.
DAY 2
The day started with Ms Bijal Oza’s session on “Power of Emotions on Business” and Dr Kitri Khanzode’s session on Negotiations. After lunch, Prof Nitin Patwa conducted a simulations workshop, where students were divided into teams of four and each group acted as OPEC supplier and distributer. They gained a first-hand experience of how the price of a commodity, Oil in this case, is decided. Their business acumen and negotiation abilities were put to test in this session.This was followed by a team building activity organised by Megna Kalvani at the Al Serkal Avenue in Al Quoz. The students then proceeded to explore the Medinat Jumeriah in the evening. The day ended with a walk at the public beach.
DAY 3
The students had the pleasure of attending one of the biggest fairs in the world related to technology, GITEX. During the fair, they interacted with the heads of Twitter, Instagram, Kareem and Carrefour, who gave their insights and understanding of the industry. They then headed out to attend a Start-ups of Dubai meeting by Satish who runs Telr, an online gateway for payments.
DAY 4
The first half of the day was spent by the students for their personal recreational visits. While some students headed to the Dubai Palms for an adventurous sky dive, others visited the Dubai Mall for shopping. The second half was allocated for Industry Interactions with Alexandria Maia (CEO and Founder, House of Social) and Vipul Vikash (Senior Branding Consultant, Viola Communications). SP Jain’s Postgraduate cohorts also joined the DMM students for these sessions.
DAY 5
The 5th day saw a combined session on Consumer Behaviour by Bartlomiej Kurzyk (Poland) which was attended both by the DMM Mumbai and the DMM Dubai cohorts. From the Cola wars to the strategy of a famous toothpaste company, the faculty helped the students with concepts like halo effect, scarcity effect, and contrast effect, important in understanding consumer behaviour.
The session also helped the two cohorts interact with each other, and work on a workshop which was a part of the lecture. The students then proceeded towards the Burj Khalifa, seeing the city from the 124th floor.
DAY 6
The students were transported to Old Dubai in the Al Fahidi Neighbhorhood where they were served traditional Emirati breakfast and given a cultural understanding at the Al Ahmedia Heritage guest house. The rest of the day was spent in Bur Dubai while some of them shopped at the Mall of Emirates.
Here’s a look at what the students had to say about their visit:
“Sand dune bashing, camel rides and the Arabic cultural performances gave us some exposure to the real Dubai culture. What a great way to spend the first day at the Emirate! I cannot thank SP Jain enough for this opportunity.” -Swathi
“The whole day at GITEX was literally the land of opportunities. We interacted with some of the biggest players in the Digital Marketing world and saw a complete different side of the industry. Dubai has been an amazing experience when it came to exposure.” – Shubhika
“Our host, Miss Dahlia Kayed, gave us a brief information about the Arabic culture and their style of living in olden days. She explained the different traditions such as the importance of coffee, food being served by the youngest male member of the family, etc. We had lots of queries about the culture of Dubai which were answered by the host in a most humble manner. The whole session was interactive followed with the Arabic delicacy.” - Debanjali Ghosh
“We were totally amazed at the lady who took us through the entire process of chocolate-making at Mirzam chocolate factory, Al Quoz. It was surprising to know how much can go behind making a beautifully wrapped piece of chocolate that sweet lovers crave to buy from the counters of shops around the world. From Soft Skills to Chocolates to Escape Rooms, our day was truly dynamic!” - Sangeeta and Rahul
“A key highlight point of the GITEX conference was the fact that if used in a right way, IOT, or technology, will increase the functionality & utility of products and services that companies have to offer. The Etisalat Counter was just mind blowing, what was interesting was that a telecom company was showcasing everything else but its core products, there was no mobile phones or sim card sales. They were showcasing how the internet has changed our lives, smarter cars, and robots serving you food. Technology will soon enable companies to make personalised products and a personalized ecosystem around that product for each of its customers.” -Karan Gugale
“On fourth day of our visit, we attended a class with Alexandra Maia (CEO and Founder of House of Social) who gave us insights into the world of social media. She shared various examples, spoke about her life experiences, and told us the story of how she started her business to make a difference.” - Shambhavi
*The above article has been written with inputs provided by Nidhish Purohit, Swathi, Shubhika, Karan, Shambhavi, Debanjali, Sangeetha, Rahul, Shruti and Kanishka, students of SP Jain DMM Batch 03, Mumbai.
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