Mahindra Rise Challenge IIFT Winner Nishchal Pasari’s Story

Mahindra Group, one of the leading Indian multinational conglomerate organised the Mahindra Rise Challenge 2022 (MRC) to take first-year B-School students on an exciting journey fueled by creartivty, imagination, and innovation. The MRC was a 8-hour long virtual experience which tested students from 13 top Indian B-Schools on various skill sets in a beautifully crafted challenge. And Nishchal Pasari from Indian Institute of Foreign Tarde (IIFT), New Delhi was titled the National Winner from amongst 3,572 entries. Let’s hear it from the winner how he navigated the competition to land the top spot. 

The buzz for the Mahindra Rise Challenge 2022 started in August and kept on building as the assessment date- 10 September 2022 for the competition approached. A series of diligent email reminders and intimations from Unstop helped me in keeping track of the assessment date and make preparations accordingly. The entire process was very seamless with no difficulties in understanding the instructions and no technical glitches throughout the assessment window. It was a great experience, something that will stay with me for years to come. Especially the moment when I saw the title ‘National Winner’ next to my name. I was completely spellbound and out of words; gratified that my hard work had finally paid off. In this article, I will share some key strategies, learnings, and insights I gathered through this enlightening experience. 

The One-of-its-kind MRC Structure

The competition was open to bona fide first-year B-School students pursuing a two-year core (flagship) PGP/ MBA program from the top 13 B-Schools. Being a part of one of these esteemed institutions gave me the opportunity to participate in the challenge, and I grabbed on with both hands. 

MRC 2022 is a one of its kind B-School competition that aims at assessing an individual on various parameters and pushes them to think and take decisions after considering the entire problem in a holistic and real-life manner. This unique quality in the structure/ framework was definitely noteworthy. According to me, it was a marathon competition that called for small durations of high-level concentration accompanied by the right amount of cooling down periods to help avoid prejudices from the previous round from affecting the upcoming ones.

The competition had 5 rounds and the first thing I did was to critically read through the details provided for each one of them and create an order in which I would attempt the entire challenge. The rounds were:

Round 1- The Dark Knight, an online quiz assessing the candidate’s knowledge of Mahindra brands.

Round 2- From the Future, an online business simulation round exposing candidates to real-life problems to showcase their business acumen.

Round 3- Energize your Senses, a fun gaming experience to help highlight the candidate’s workplace traits.

Round 4- Spinning Wheels, brand stories round.

Round 5- Inside Out, a communication skills assessment round. 

The challenge was framed in such a way that it promoted creative, on-the-spot, and highly critical thinking and at the same time provided a platform to portray brand awareness, time management, and real-life case-solving skills. I feel this mix of 5 different rounds brought out the best in me and also ensured that the judgment quality remained on point since the overall evaluation was based on just one, but multiple personality traits.

Also read: Challenge Yourself With These B-school Competitions

The Winning Approach

After closely analyzing the structure of different rounds, I moved on to decide a time slot during which I would attempt the round in the 8-hour window. This helped me in creating a roadmap for the entire competition and give my 100% to the round at hand. 

Another thing that worked for me was that while attempting the various rounds, I tried to think as much as I could from the perspective of the various stakeholders who were responsible for making such decisions in real-life situations. For eg. in round 4 and the virtual caselet round, I tried to create a brand image in my mind and answered the questions from that perspective. This strategy of approaching everything in a planned manner sure worked well for me.

Prepare Well in Advance

One thing that I’d to say is, when taking part in such competitions it is best to make preparations in advance, wherever possible. I started preparing for the challenge well in advance and read in detail about the Mahindra Group which helped me in answering questions during the online quiz. The other rounds did not allow much scope to prepare anything in advance which was the biggest challenge, as I had to be very proactive and fast in understanding the guidelines and attempting the challenge in the best possible manner. However, participating in these rounds was just as much fun. 

Key Learnings 

The entire 5 round challenge was a great learning experience. Each round tested a different skill and helped in honing my ability to take high-impact managerial decisions. 

To begin with, this challenge helped me learn about the Mahindra group and how it’s creating a long-lasting impact on society through its various brands. Then the online business simulation made me feel like a CEO and taught me how various domains and departments are interconnected and the impact which even a small decision can have on the entire working of an organization. The virtual caselet round was also a treat. It gave a sneak peek into 2 Mahindra brands and the problems they face in real-life situations.

Tips to Crack Business Simulation Round

Maintaining the same amount of energy and concentration from the beginning to the end of the 8-hour window was very crucial and posed the biggest challenge. And since I decided to attempt the business simulation round in the end, I initially regretted my decision. The business simulation was the longest assessment and required maximum concentration whereas exertion had started creeping in as I was juggling various tasks throughout the day along with the challenge. 

The round was filled with various data points and the decision window was very small. I made a few judgment errors initially and was feeling nervous. But, by staying calm throughout the process and by understanding the impact each decision had on the entire financials of the group, I was able to sail through the rest of the simulation easily. The realization after I had cracked how to drive the simulation was one of the awesome moments throughout the process.

The entire process was an immense learning experience that helped me in developing time management skills, learn about prioritization, and also build concentration abilities. All in all, the Mahindra Rise Challenge 2022, was a brilliant journey that assisted me in understanding myself even better and tapping deeper into my skills and abilities.

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