The Coimbatore (Main) branch of Bank of Baroda is in a perpetual state of “busy-ness”. The flow of customers – both current and potential – is unceasing. Amidst this maze, there is one section that gets the maximum traffic – the Credit Department. While this could easily be unnerving for any other summer intern, Venugopal is loving it. As he has learnt time and again during his first year at SCMS-Cochin School of Business, it is very easy to adapt when you love what you do.
“It is nearly one month since I began my internship at Bank of Baroda. This transition from business education to business practice has been seamless, because the culture in SCMS is very similar to that of a corporate entity.”
After completing his B.Tech from his state of residence, this youngster from Guntur, Andhra Pradesh, decided to move out of his comfort zone. As luck would have it, Venugopal bumped into a few alumni of SCMS, quite high up the corporate ladder in reputed organisations. It didn’t take Venugopal long to realise that there was more to SCMS than being the best B-school of ‘God’s Own Country’. The added bonus was that if he got through, he would get the opportunity to pick up the finer points of the rich Kerala culture.
“By the end of my first year – before we moved out for our SIPs – all the factors that are required to survive in the corporate world had been well taught to me at the SCMS. I think that if you simply follow the rules of SCMS, you can easily survive and thrive in the corporate world.”
Coimbatore is famous for small-scale industries and Bank of Baroda is one of the major banks financing these industries. As part of the Credit Department, Venugopal has acquired a fairly wide knowledge about the working of these industries. He is at his workplace 10 A.M sharp every morning. His main job is to process the documents given by customers for availing of loans and, after analyzing all the pros and cons, arrive at the eligible credit facility. Over the month-long association with the Credit Department of Coimbatore (Main) Branch, Venugopal has established a good rapport with almost the entire team of 40 employees.
“Quite frankly, getting an SIP with Bank of Baroda was a smooth process. I forwarded my resume to the bank, applying for the summer internship, and was given an approval by the Zonal Office, Chennai, to do my summer internship in Coimbatore.”
Venugopal is conscientiously aware of the importance of his role in Bank of Baroda. The core business of a bank is very much in the hands of the Credit Department in disbursing loans and credit to the customer. There is a certain amount of ‘calculated risk’ which officials of this department take in selecting the customers. Venugopal applies all his learning at SCMS to bring down this element of risk considerably.
“My mentor, Prof. V. Srinivasan, is very helpful to every member in our group at SCMS. Through his corporate experience he has given us a fair idea of the nitty-gritties of a corporate organisation, and how to behave with our bosses. Add this to the stress on subject knowledge and punctuality, and you know why products of SCMS shine wherever they go.”
For Venugopal, each day in SCMS brings a new lesson, which is of immense help. He believes that anybody who follows the principles of SCMS-Cochin School of Business is bound to be successful anywhere he/ she goes.
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