The Vedica Scholars Programme for Women (VSPW) is a unique alternative to the traditional MBA programme, which will create a cadre of successful women professionals for the 21st century. Vedica’s mission is to prepare women with potential to achieve fulfilling careers.

It is an 18-month full-time, residential, post-graduate certificate programme offered jointly by the Vedica Foundation and the Sri Aurobindo Centre for Arts and Communication. This re-imagined pluridisciplinary programme has been carefully crafted to the expectations of employers today. Vedica is a combination of classroom learning, hands-on work experience, mentoring and coaching by some of the most inspiring academics and professionals of our times. The programme weaves together the objectivity of management principles with complementary perspectives from the liberal arts, an emphasis on personal growth through leadership training, and the impact of thinking and communicating effectively.

This innovative and pioneering approach to management education promises to launch every Vedica Scholar into a career of distinction. Here we are in a conversation with Nithya Palaniyappan who is  a Vedica Scholar

Can you give us a brief introduction about you ?

Hello, I am Nithya Palaniyappan. I hail from Salem, Tamil Nadu. I am basically an engineer specialised in Robotics and Automation engineering from PSG college of Technology, Coimbatore. Currently ,I am in Vedica Scholar Programme for Women. I  completed 10 months here.

What was your inspiration behind joining Vedica Scholar Programme for Women?

After my engineering, I wanted to go for Management since I was involved with my own start-up in my college days. But I didn’t want to do a conventional Management Program which was completely corporate centred. I was very inclined towards social sector as well,  I have been a Bharat scout in my school days and have won the President’s medal. At the same time I wanted to become an entrepreneur. Basically I wanted a combination of both; that is when one day my senior happened to suggest me Vedica Scholarship for Women. When I checked it on the website, the curriculum really appealed to me. Vedica Scholar Programme  has a unique curriculum which combines both liberal arts and management. I read about the founders of Vedica, one of them was the founder of Indian School of Business

Can you just give me a brief introduction about Vedica Scholarship ?

It is a program entirely for women. Its aim is to create successful women professionals by imparting them with world class exposure. It is a 18 month long, residential program and you will be awarded a PG certificate towards the completion of the course. There is very brilliant governing council for coordinating the activities of Vedica Scholars. It consists of eminent persons from India and abroad.

Can you tell me about the selection procedure ?

• Firstly, the selection process consist of an online application. It requires you to complete four essays. For example, write a brief essay on a women leader who inspired you. Other question asked are about myself like what is the most valued thing in your life
• Next step is the interview. If you are based in cities like Delhi, Mumbai, Bangalore, Chennai, etc you will have personal interview. Other will have online Skype interview. In interview they ask you questions about yourself, like what you want to be, where you see yourself after five years, what kind of women you want be, why Vedica attracted you etc.

Any do’s and don’t s?

One thing I would suggest would be you should be genuine. They want to know if you are emotionally connected to what you are saying and writing. Vedica values you for the person you are. It doesn’t matter if you were scoring 95% or 80% , they see it like 95 is good but 80 is also good.  Marks doesn’t count alone, they look at your holistic development. So, if you have a lot of extra-curricular experience, that will add a lot of value to your profile when they assess you. If you had held any leadership position in college that adds more value. I had a lot of extra-curricular activities in my life. Irrespective of what you are, they will respect your individuality.  

One things they asked everyone is, “Have you ever failed in your life ?Did you go back and correct the failure or did you  do something differently?” , I told them about my failed attempt at a start up when I was in college. It was a failure in the beginning I told them how I revamped the whole thing in my third year and presented it all over again.

Can you share some amazing and unforgettable experiences  during your fellowship?

In our liberal arts curriculum, we have rural exposure session. It was organised by Pradan NGO, where we had a session with village women. They were uneducated but they earned money through micro-financing. Their annual earnings amounted to even Rs.1.5 lakh. Micro-financing is a subject taught to us and there we saw the application of the subject. It was really inspiring to talk to those women and learn from them. Also, the discussions in class room are the most meaningful and exciting ones that I have ever had. That helps you a lot and teach you a lot things. The discussions in class are something that I cannot forget.

Can you tell me about the curriculum in Vedica Program ?

Management Practises, Liberal Arts, Communication and Personal Growth are the main themes of our curriculum. In management we deal with a lot of core management courses, in liberal arts we are exposed to subjects like economic, political science , International relations and lot of other subjects, in communication classes are taken by media we were taught a lot on networking skills etc,  Personal growth is essentially about improving your skills and you as a person.

What did you do there in the last ten months ?

The first three months they focus on your personal growth. They make you self-aware, they put you through a lot self awareness, it helps you find your strength and work on it ; lot of training to amend your weakness by expert consultants. The next three months we dealt with management, liberal arts, and communication. Mostly the morning sessions  deal with management and afternoon and evening in liberal arts .We had many sessions that really build you up as a person and your skills. I would like to talk about one session called Project Manager Series, during which an expert from McKinsey came down and gave us their caste study and asked us to solve it as consultants. You will be exposed to such real life experiences in Vedica Scholar Program for Women.  We have a program called Shadow a CEO in which you are going to literally shadow a women CEO. You will be going with her everywhere and learning from what she does. She will be your personal mentor.

What are the skills you acquired during this program ?

All my skills have improved. I have good networking skills, communication skills, management skills. Since you are learning from real-life simulations, you will really attain professionalism in management.

What are the future perspectives of Vedica Scholar ?What is your dream ?

Vedica has guaranteed you hundred percent placement. We are connected with the best in the world. We can go to corporate sector or non-corporate sector. I am planning to start my own start-up after I gain experience.

Lastly, What do you think is most unique feature of Vedica Scholar Programme for Women?

I think the most amazing feature of this programme is the curriculum itself, which is a  mix of management and liberal arts. At the same time it focuses on your personal growth too. You are taught by world class faculty, CEOs of famous corporate firms, faculty from foreign universities, also experts from various sectors. Also you are exposed to real life simulations. You will be going through amazing Programs like the Project Manager series and Shadow a CEO that we have already discussed about. More than anything else, it is creating women leaders of tomorrow. I think this is an opportunity that all the high aspiring women can look forward to.