Cases, Change, and the Great Resume Race: Term 4

Term 4 went by and came back before I could even spell “placement.” It’s that mysterious phase in the PGP calendar where time moves faster than logic; caffeine becomes currency, and suddenly everything in life revolves around a single sheet of paper- the résumé.

This was also the term of electives - finally, courses we actually chose. That alone felt empowering. No more compulsory Ops & Stats nightmares. I picked subjects that genuinely sparked my curiosity: Change Management, New Product Development and Marketing, Corporate Development: Mergers & Acquisitions, and Sustainability and Ethics.

Between resume reviews, pre-placement talks, and staring at Arial fonts for hours wondering if “achieved” sounded more powerful than “delivered,” the electives kept me sane. Or at least academically engaged while I spiraled into job-application madness. 

Sustainability and Ethics 

If I had to pick the most relevant course so far, Sustainability and Ethics wins hands down. It didn’t just teach us concepts; it made us question how business fits into the world’s sustainability puzzle. Circular economy, the triple bottom line, tragedy of the commons- suddenly, jargon had meaning.

The course began with each of us calculating our personal carbon footprint. Mine was 5.5 tons, not exactly Nobel-worthy, but at least not villain-level either.  

My favorite moment was the class discussion on Impossible Foods. As a vegan, I had more than a few thoughts to share, and for once, my dietary choices became academic ammunition. I got to contribute meaningfully, and it felt good to merge personal passion with classroom debate.

We also did a fascinating simulation managing a hotel business, where we had to pick its location and plan carbon-reducing initiatives, all within a fixed budget. I placed my hotel in New York City (because go big or go home), and balancing profits with carbon impact was oddly thrilling. It even made me rethink the “business vs. planet” equation.

We wrapped up the course with a podcast project on a sustainability-related issue. Unique, creative, and the perfect end to a course that made us think beyond PowerPoint slides. 

Change Management: Expect the Unexpected 

Change Management was less of a class and more of an experience. Every session felt like a social experiment in disguise. The highlight? The art experiment. We had to paint our vision of ourselves five years down the line -  sounds simple, right? Except the professor decided to unleash chaos midway, making people swap tables and take over each other’s paintings. It was messy, hilarious, and painfully accurate as a metaphor for real-life change.

Somewhere between change frameworks and creative chaos, we also did something refreshingly different - the Belbin Assessment. Unlike personality tests, Belbin measures behaviour- how you actually show up in a team.

First, you take a self-observation test, and then you nominate six people you’ve worked closely with to assess you too. The system then generates a detailed report outlining your dominant team roles basically, who you are when the group project panic hits.

The cherry on top? It even counted toward our grades, possibly the easiest marks I’ve ever earned. For once, self-awareness literally paid off.

A guest session by the MD of Deloitte India was another high point. His biggest takeaway: when leading change, focus on quick wins and fail fast. Probably the most practical MBA advice I’ve received yet. 

Mergers & Acquisitions: Where Cases Got Serious 

This course flipped my understanding of case discussions on its head. Gone were the comfort zones of predictable frameworks and easy summaries. Here, every class was a deep dive into industries from movies to pet food to manufacturing and the only way to survive was to think like a P&L statement.

The case readings for this class were something I actually looked forward to  and that’s saying a lot in the middle of resume chaos. Each one pulled you into a different industry, forcing you to rethink assumptions and build arguments that held up under serious scrutiny.

The professor didn’t “teach” in the traditional sense; we drove the class through our analyses. And trust me, earning class participation points in this course was rare, valuable. Every comment had to count. Every word needed substance. By the end of it, I didn’t just learn M&A; I learned how to think differently;  sharper, more structured, and a little more like an M&A consultant (minus the paycheck). 

New Product Development & Marketing 

With just around thirty people in class, this one felt almost intimate like a think tank disguised as a course. Every discussion was interactive, and ideas bounced around like a brainstorming sprint on steroids.

We explored growth hacking, development risk, and the beautifully chaotic fuzzy front end of product development in that phase where everything is possible, nothing is certain, and post-its rule the world. It was equal parts creativity, marketing logic, and chaos theory in practice. Easily one of the most engaging courses I’ve taken so far. 

One Page to Rule Them All 

The resume chaos was real. The entire campus looked like a scene out of a productivity meme: people glued to their laptops, endlessly editing one-page Word docs, debating bullet points like they were policy decisions. Half the time, someone was on a call with an alum, seeking that golden feedback or insider tip.Some were still on their master dump, while others were already polishing their eighth draft.

Post-class hours turned into a blur of pre-placement talks, informal networking events, and company deep-dives that everyone suddenly cared about. The term was as placement-oriented as it could possibly get and yet, everyone knew this was just the beginning. The real grind was only warming up. 

Term Highlights & The End of an Era 

Between electives, resumes, and caffeine overdoses, Term 4 still found ways to surprise us with some of the most memorable experiences of ISB life. 

AIKYA 

We had AIKYA, an event where ISB students host local Hyderabad business families for dinner  an evening of stories, and business wisdom straight from the source. The family I was mapped to were industry stalwarts their company had already gone public and was a major manufacturer of equipment for the agrochemical and pharma industries. The evening was hectic - one of those MBA moments that remind you how much there is to learn beyond the classroom. 

Awards Night & Section Party 

To add a bit of sparkle to the end of the term as a section, our class hosted an Awards Night- a lighthearted celebration where everyone got awards based on their quirks. I proudly took home the “Most Caffeinated” title -  no surprises there, given my unbroken streak of showing up to class armed with green tea throughout the core terms.

The night ended with our final section party, which felt like any other ISB party,  but with that bittersweet realization that this was the last one as a section. It really did feel like the end of an era. 

Clay Modelling Evening 

After weeks of spreadsheets and case preps, just sitting down to shape little figurines out of clay was oddly therapeutic. No grades, no frameworks, just laughter, conversation, and the joy of creating something with your hands. 

Neon Marathon 

Then came the Neon Marathon, the grand finale of the Sports Wars series. I hadn’t run such a long distance in over five years, so finishing that race felt like a personal victory. The dopamine rush was unreal, a reminder that sometimes, physical exhaustion feels better than mental burnout. 

The Lasts 

And then came the goodbyes - the last assignment with OGSG, the last class activity where we thumb-printed on canvas sheets as keepsakes. It hit differently.

Somewhere between those fingerprints and farewells, it struck me how much I’d grown into my section - the people, the chaos, the inside jokes.

Once a Bobcat, always a Bobcat.

As Term 4 faded into memories of late-night resume edits, it left behind something deeper than just grades or placement prep. It left traces of who we were becoming. Between clay on our hands and fingerprints on that final canvas, we weren’t just closing a chapter; we were leaving our mark on something bigger than ourselves.