With my educational background in manufacturing engineering and more than 5 years of experience in manufacturing industries in India and South Korea, I believe I can make a highly substantial contribution to the Carey community.
While rigorous undergraduate studies sharpened my analytical skills, industrial experience honed my technical competence. From a practical standpoint, I can say that it reinforced the theoretical lessons I learned in class. As an engineer, I have worked using the latest technology; I have managed sophisticated testing facilities, worked on advanced and computerized psychometric chambers, and gained expertise in 3D Modeling and drafting software such as Uni-graphics and AutoCAD. My core job responsibilities also gave me valuable insight regarding different domains, namely Research & Development, quality assurance, and sales engineering practices regarding the business processes in the manufacturing industry.
The complexities of making and selling a product are not lost on me. Having worked with a number of ＂Cost Innovation” projects, I had to bring down project costs by at least 30%. The reason behind this is the Japanese saying “ 3% is not possible but 30% is possible. While in Japan, I had the opportunity to work within the manufacturing process of Toyota. Here I learned the various tools relating to manufacturing process improvement, something that I look forward to sharing with my prospective classmates at Carey. These concepts which I learned can easily be applied not only to the manufacturing sector but can also be tweaked in order to be usable in various business areas as well.
The 5 years I spend working at both LG and Anest Iwata also offered me insights into the dynamics of the consumer product industry. It is my hope that I will be given a chance to share my awareness of the potential catalysts that drive the growth of certain industries, such as in this case, the air conditioner industry whose current global growth rate is only 4-5%, with my classmates and professors alike.
Though my above-mentioned contributions are primarily, work-related, I also hope to add value by sharing knowledge that I gained through other non-technical aspects of my professional and personal life. Having worked with project teams, I have an understanding of the importance of working towards a common goal and the value of positive vibes amongst team members. The work culture at LG taught me the importance of the quality and timely execution of tasks.
Lessons learned at the ‘Innovation school’ and ‘Blue Ocean School’ training improved my ability to be patient, learn to endure, and most importantly work flawlessly under pressure. As a graduate student, I hope to use these skills while working on real-time projects and managing club activities such as placements, sports events, guest lectures, and social gatherings.
My international job opportunities centered mostly on the Japanese and Korean manufacturing sectors. These leaders of their respective industries offered me a chance to interact and learn about their varying cultures. Such kinds of exposure introduced me to the global perspective of business and how it is run. I believe that these life experiences contributed more to shaping who I am today more than my academic experiences.
It was during my time spent working in South Korea that I gained valuable learning experiences. The choice to relocate to Korea was mine alone and I did it because I wanted to voluntarily participate in preparing food for poor people during the winter season. This allowed me to immerse myself in the local culture and their way of life. I helped organize sporting events and the celebration of various Indian festivals with the help of other Indian employees within our organization. It was activities like those that built our camaraderie and friendship, something that I hope to emulate with my classmates at Carey using the same sense of initiative and civic spirit.
I have always had a seemingly insatiable desire to learn. I love to learn. This explains why I learned to speak a total of 4 languages fluently. Due to my linguistic ability to speak Hindi, English, Korean, and Punjabi, I felt free to travel the world and live with people from Russia, China, Thailand, Vietnam, and Korea. Such travels and cultural exchanges gave me a broader personal outlook and helped me increase my varying degree of knowledge regarding those countries and their nationals.
By working with people of various social and cultural backgrounds, I have come to understand the challenges posed by cultural differences and why they must be used in a positive way for self-enhancement. By bringing various cultures, values, assumptions, and expectations to the business table, we learn to accept this intrinsic difference. We view everything surrounding us with open minds. Such openness allows one to become more productive in business and daily life.
Thus, I expect that while I attend Carey, I will be given the honor of sharing my diverse experiences with all its accompanying wisdom in order to contribute to a diverse and more open and accepting learning environment.