[Official] TAPMI PGDM – Sales Program Admission 2020-22 Queries and Discussions

Greetings from TAPMI!

SEVA Stories – 5

Udupi is a beautiful place with many pilgrims and tourist locations. The objective of the project, Responsible Tourism, was to increase the footfall of tourists in and around Udupi district. The plan was to improve accessibility of information on tourism in and around Udupi.

The students had to think from the perspective of all stakeholders. Design thinking approach was used to come up with a plan for tourism and created travelling circuits based up on different segments. An eBook called “Unravel Udupi” and a website containing all the details were presented to stakeholders.

The students understood the cultural importance of places that were just picturesque for a tourist. The tourists would benefit with this easy access to information and the locals as stakeholders would benefit by the increase in revenue.

“Through this project I had the opportunity to interact with various stakeholders and indeed it was a great learning experience” - Shashank Shetty

“Ambition goes beyond academics, and SEVA was one such opportunity to achieve excellence in the field of Social and Environmental Responsibility by proposing business solutions.” - Aditi Sharma

“We take pride in creating a magazine that we wanted when we first came to Manipal.” - Ishita Bajpai

“The experience we had working for SEVA project was very different from our usual projects, it was fun” - Nripendra Singh

“Responsible tourism project has enabled me to understand the business and sustainability aspects of the tourism value chain” - Eranki Raghavendra Sai Praphul

Greetings from TAPMI!

SEVA Stories - 4

The problem statement of our project was to investigate the causes for non-performance of value-added products of DKMU with respect to their marketing mix, and recommend sustainable solutions to improve sales. We visited DKMU’s Mangalore & Udupi Plant, multiple retailers around Udupi, asking user feedback on products at prominent places to gain insights. We recommended creating individual brand identity for products using aggressive advertising, placing product posters along with the prices at the retail shops, and re-designing the existing packaging to improve their sales.

“The project taught me to empathize with users, question assumptions, take risks and experiment. I'm very thankful to have been given an opportunity to tackle complex challenges in the dairy industry” - Dhananjay Dar

"The project provided us a platform to implement our theoretical knowledge in a practical situation. We obtained a deep understanding of the stakeholder requirements and how design thinking can be applied to solve their problems" - Namitha John

“The project proved an excellent opportunity to incorporate our SEVA values and business learnings from first year to help generate a plan for DKMU for business maximization”- Akaanksha Verma

“The project gave me an opportunity to learn about the supply chain of the dairy industry. It was a great platform to practice the principles of design thinking” – Rashmi Dawande

Greetings from TAPMI!

SEVA Stories - 3

Our project revolved around creating alternative job opportunities for specially abled people who are deprived of the natural mental growth due to varied reasons. The key objective of the project was to empower the people to earn a better livelihood. - Sutanuka, FAS P

During our project we got the opportunity to closely observe the challenges the specially abled children face on an everyday basis activities and how it's a hindrance to their livelihood. We made an effort to empathize with them and understand the constraints they face on an everyday basis. - Prateek, FAS P

In the course of our project, we made an effort to identify the activities that these people could do best. We made an effort to come with a platform that could be used to sell the beautiful handicraft items made by them. One of the biggest learnings we had was understanding their constraints, their special abilities and coming up with a solution to empower them by ensuring it was easy for the people to do while meeting the expectations of the Management of the Institutes catering to these people. - Osheen, FAS P

Greetings from TAPMI!

SEVA Stories - 2

The SEVA Problem statement was Horticulture value optimization of Mattu Gulla, a type of brinjal with a unique taste and a GI tag. Among the problems plaguing production is limited shelf life, damage during transit and seasonality of crop despite its round the year demand. We utilized the design thinking process taught to us to reach effective solutions. After multiple visits to the stakeholders we collaborated with WGSHA, Manipal to create prototypes of Gulla products which was utilized in surveys to get feedback from consumers. We were able to create Mattu Gulla products which can be commercialized creating revenue throughout the year and thus, adding value for the farming community.

"The project gave us a chance to visit and learn the ground realities of an agriculture problem. The problem-solving interactions with numerous stakeholders was an eye-opener!" - Vijai Sreekumar

"The project gave us a wholesome perspective towards product development in the rural sector." - Ankita Mohanty

“The product lifecycle was perfectly captured in our project. It was an amazing opportunity to apply the principles of Design Thinking” - Rishabh Mahendra

“Connecting the farmers with the culinary institutes to help create revenue opportunities gave us an understanding of multiple stakeholder benefit and inclusion.” - Disha Shetty

SEVA Stories- 1

"Our SEVA project was on Campus Water Harvesting. The key objective of the project was :

1. To revive the five non-functional borewells out of the nine borewells present in campus and

2. To establish a system which captures the rainwater that runs down the slopes and gets washed away.

Talking about our experience, as we started with the ground study, a major challenge we had to face was the low water absorption capacity of the topsoil layer in the terrain. This meant that despite Manipal’s heavy rainfall annually , most of the rainwater in the peak months of rainfall washes off. 

Due to this constraint, a majority of the solutions for rainwater harvesting could not be implemented within the campus. After several analysis under the guidance of our campus Civil Engineer, Mr. Deepak Hegde, we came across a solution which would be a best fit for the hilly terrain and could also increase the soil absorption rate. The solution was to construct soak pits adjacent to the dried up borewells and beneath the slope, so that the water that washes off could be channelized into the soak pits. 

Summing up, a key learning which all of us had was the importance of teamwork and most importantly to keep going on, even when a problem seems highly difficult. "