Deeksha Gupta

Why did you choose the Master of Professional Studies in Insurance Management at the Columbia School of Professional Studies? 

I wanted to get a 360-degree view of the Insurance industry, as I have always worked with Insure-techs and felt this course could give me a deeper insight into the industry. Insurance has never been taught in schools or colleges so we all had no other option but to learn it on the job. This is the first time an Ivy League launched this as a comprehensive Master's course thus helping us build our knowledge across different departments. This program will surely help students who want to pursue a career in Insurance, as now they have an option.

How were you able to build meaningful relationships in this online program? How did you engage with faculty, students, and guest speakers? 

Residency has played a massive role in ensuring we get a personal level of connection with other students and faculty. Regular office hours have helped me to have meaningful discussions with the professors. The other thing has been the group work that mirrored how we work in teams at our job. Also, the group members were rated for each assignment which ensured that we ended up working with almost everyone. The guest speakers have always encouraged us to approach them as needed. Connecting them via professional platforms or meeting them in person in residency has strengthened the bond.

How have you been able to integrate what you have learned in the program into the workplace? Please give a specific example if applicable.

The best part was I applied learnings from the program as we went along and did not even have to wait for the course to be complete. This course made me confident to ask the right questions to the stakeholders and think holistically about how each vertical can impact our vision for launching new insurance products. This program helped me to connect the dots better to understand why, what, and how behind every decision was taken by Underwriting, Marketing, Actuarial, Legal and other departments. I can visualize this program helping me when I switch careers in future as well.