The brighter side of online MBA -By Arpita Samanta from DMS, IIT Delhi

As the coronavirus pandemic hit across the globe, everything came to a standstill and our lives changed dramatically. From Virtual Orientation to Virtual Exams, the Batch of 2020-2022 has seen it all. Although online or virtual MBA came with its own set of challenges like high screen time, poor internet connectivity, lack of physical interaction and body movements, it has opened a vast pool of opportunities. Here are a few benefits of online MBA - 

Saves time 

In the virtual world, our day revolves around the study table and bed. Since we are not required to travel 1-2 km from the hostel to the classroom building every time, it saves an immense amount of time. Also, all those time spent on getting dressed up and grooming can be wisely spent in a virtual MBA. 

Hassle-free classes

In a virtual class, one can easily attend an 8 AM class, after waking up five minutes before the class. Whereas in a physical environment, one needed at least half an hour to get ready for class and attended classes mostly without breakfast after rushing to the class and apologizing to professors for being late. Who would have imagined doing an MBA and still enjoying the warm, delicious breakfast prepared by Mom every day; not to forget the warm cozy bed instead of the hostel’s broken cot - MBA from home surely brought us a lot of comforts. 

Better industry reach and networking

Business Leadership webinars in virtual MBA are not limited by the physical availability of business leaders. With efforts from various committees, we connected to business leaders from all across the globe, from Australia to the UK and many others. This empowered us with a broader understanding of business challenges, not only within India but also globally. 

Availability of lecture recordings

This is probably one of the greatest benefits of online learning. We could readily access the classroom recordings later whenever in doubt. An advantage like this was not available in physical classrooms. 

Advanced collaboration tools

Online MBA has also pushed students to adopt collaboration tools like Moodle, MS Teams and MS Sharepoint. The benefit of such tools is that now all our class notes, our assignment, and term paper submissions are properly organized and available anytime, anywhere for ready reference.

Efforts by faculty members

Let’s not forget those who had put the maximum effort to smoothen the change and ensured that students are actually learning. Yes, I am talking about our dear faculty members. Some of our very old professors with no prior exposure to online media prepared the course material in an absolutely reader-friendly manner. Another professor invested money to buy a visualizer so that he can draw and explain the subject matter during online MBA classes. We learned how extremely compassionate our faculty members are towards their students.

There are surely certain learnings that we will carry forward even when things are back to normal. We have seen many benefits of a virtual MBA; however, despite that, physical interaction and campus life are crucial elements of an MBA journey and I hope things are back to normal soon and we are able to live the campus life before we pass out from college.

Check out other articles:

• Impact of COVID-19 on MBA admissions - Digital competitions and modern solutions
• Should you pursue MBA after engineering? Weighing the Pros and Cons
• The difference between MBA and PGDM: Which one should you choose?
• Answering the eternal question: Is work experience important before an MBA?
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