From Veshti to Victory: A Whirlwind of Community, Culture, and Choices at INSEAD
When I arrived at INSEAD, I knew I was walking into one of the most intense and transformative years of my life.
The intensity of academics beautifully intertwines with the richness of the INSEAD community, offering opportunities for growth and connection in the most unexpected ways.
From founding the Chess Club to performing in a talent show, strategising campus bids, and fostering a collaborative learning environment, every moment has been enriching.
A game of strategy: Founding the INSEAD Chess Club across campuses
One of the most rewarding experiences has been founding the INSEAD Chess Club. What began as a simple idea blossomed into a thriving community of over 140 enthusiasts across both the Fontainebleau and Singapore campuses, coming together to play the 64-square board game with passion and having fun.
It gave me a chance to build a network that bridges continents. It has been incredible to connect with classmates through the strategic dance of chess, beyond rooks and pawns.
Chess at INSEAD enables strategic amalgamation, adaptability, and the ability to anticipate your opponent's moves, fostering friendships through intellectually demanding matches.
Much like life at INSEAD and business itself, chess, a game of strategy, patience, and foresight, became a powerful metaphor for decision-making under constraints.
The force of chess did not spare our dear Dean either, he stopped by to find out how come the newbie club in campus is creating so much ruckus near Freddy's.
Free learning with Suganth (FLS): Collaboration over competition
Recognising the academic rigour of the programme and seeing many of my classmates were struggling, I started Free Learning with Suganth (FLS), dedicating three hours each to five core subjects before P1 and P2 finals. At INSEAD, I learned that success is not about outperforming your classmates; it is about elevating each other.
Witnessing the collective progress and the supportive spirit within these sessions was truly inspiring. P1 and P2 hit hard, fast and furious. My goal was to demystify the academic journey for classmates from non-quant or non-finance backgrounds. Watching classmates walk into the exams with confidence and later hearing that the sessions helped was deeply fulfilling.
For many of my international peers, this was their first brush with Tamil culture. Their curiosity and appreciation reminded me that at INSEAD, every expression—musical, mathematical, or metaphorical—is welcome and celebrated.
By the way, to add authenticity in P2, I wore a traditional Tamil Nadu veshti to simulate the arrival to work of the CEO of Aravind Eye Hospital. I explained its cultural significance, comfort, and sustainability to an international audience.
Three-campus gambit: A game of points & priorities
One of the most intriguing and highly competitive systems at INSEAD is the campus and elective bidding process, where each student receives 200 points to “bid and spend" on campus exchanges and electives. Each bid is a strategic gamble that requires an understanding of who else wants to go where and how much they value it. It is an ingenious way of teaching business in practice, through your own live case study process.
I took this as a personal game theory challenge. My goal was ambitious: to study on four different campuses. I used a combination of analytics, historical data patterns, surveys of classmates, and intuition to optimise my bids. It worked. My quantitative approach ensured that I won all three campus exchange bids with plenty of points left to bid on for electives. Through my recent analysis, I found I am the only one able to embark on this four-campus journey in the class of 25D.
The result will be a truly global MBA journey that will expose me to different teaching styles, business environments, and cultural contexts. This four-campus journey will give me unparalleled access to global perspectives and regional nuances, something few programs and even fewer students can claim. My INSEAD experience is becoming a mosaic of global perspectives that will influence my approach to business long after graduation.
The journey continues
I am proud to say the man who founded a new industry back in 1950's called “Venture Capital”, Mr. Georges Doriot, is the founder of my INSEAD. The VC industry currently boasts handling over $170 billion USD. His statue on campus carries the same aura and presence as it had in 1967 when this Fontainebleau campus was opened. It feels good to stand next to his statue for a picture.
P1 and P2 at INSEAD felt like time compressed into a pressure cooker, but one that simmers into something remarkable. I can see how profoundly it has reshaped my understanding of business, leadership, and cross-cultural communication. It is not just the academics (they are rigorous), or the clubs (they are many), or even the travels (they are exciting). It is the everyday conversations, the moments when someone from a different continent completely gets your point or challenges it with grace.
Looking back, P1 and P2 were a blend of chaos and clarity. INSEAD’s magic lies in its people: the willingness to share knowledge, celebrate diversity, and push boundaries. If there is one lesson so far, it is this: At INSEAD, you create opportunities. As I look ahead, I carry with me the invaluable lessons and the enduring connections forged during these foundational periods. The INSEAD experience is what you make of it. And I have chosen to make it everything it can possibly be by embracing it.
