July 2013 Volume 3. Edition 1
Beyond Borders
Foreign Exchange Special
The Perspective
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The Perspective of IMT-Ghaziabad Chief Editor Lakshmi Narasimhan Editorial Team Ankit Sharma Dharma Teja Surabhi Photo Credits: Urvashi Chugh Write to us at : ccmrc.imtg@gmail.comp
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The Campus Journalist
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Editor’s Perspective
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The Campus Photo Journalist
08 Student Experiences
20 Cartoon Strip
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Corporate Chuckles
Coming Soon.....
Summer Internship Spl
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Quote UnQuote “When you do the common things in life in an uncommon way, you will command the attention of the world." - George Washington Carver "I have not failed. I've just found 10,000 ways that won't work." - Thomas Alva Edison "You can avoid reality, but you cannot avoid the consequences of avoiding reality." - Ayn Rand "Never interrupt your enemy when he is making a mistake." - Napoleon Bonaparte "Knowledge speaks, but wisdom listens." - Jimi Hendrix "Argue for your limitations, and sure enough they're yours." - Richard Bach "One of the symptoms of an approaching nervous breakdown is the belief that one's work is terribly important." - Bertrand Russell "A little inaccuracy sometimes saves a ton of explanation." - H. H. Munro (Saki)
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From the Editor’s Desk The new academic year is upon us, a year that brings about and means different things to different people. A year that welcomes old hands back to familiar haunts and surroundings where time seems to fly, whether in pursuit of knowledge and excellence or in forging friendships for life, the rocks against which we anchor ourselves while facing the choppy seas of turbulent times. A year that brings in fresh faces, brimming with new thoughts and raw enthusiasm, thirsting for challenges and eager to showcase their mettle, while striving to learn anew, willing to unlearn on the way. The first few weeks at IMT are the some of the most gruelling ones, filled with endless guest lectures, night outs, the recruitment process of the various student bodies, a deluge of information with hardly sufficient time to process it all. Some of the most frequently asked questions addressed to the seniors over the last month pertained to the student exchange program at IMT. In this edition of The Perspective, we have a look at the experiences shared by those students who went on an exchange program to some of the most reputed universities in the world. We also present to you, a cartoon feature that is sure to provide some edutainment and raise a few eyebrows. Well begun is half done or so goes the old adage. Let this academic year be a reboot, let us cast off those old chains and fetters and aspire to scale higher peaks, helping others along the way. We extend a warm welcome to the PGDM batch of 2013-15 and wish them success on their journey ahead and hope that, together, we can create some truly great moments that can withstand the test of time.
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The
Campus
Journalist
The IMT Experience: 7 Lessons learnt in the last 7 days
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CTRL+C and CTRL+V to write reports is a thing of the past During undergraduation, I realized that the wheel wasn’t the most important invention of all time, it was Google. A quick Google or Wiki search gave me the luxury of completing a report at the last minute, and presenting it to my Profs without an ounce of shame. But, Prof. Harvinder Singh’s presentation on Plagiarism made sure that that’s not going to work here. AT ALL. Citing sources, cross referencing software, grade losses… the expression on everyone’s faces by the end of it, said it all.
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CGPA is the new four letter word The moment Mr. Goel said that “A lot of placements short listing is done using your CGPAs”, we knew it wasn’t going to be smooth sailing by any stretch of imagination. An average of 6 courses per term, with multiple grading components, clubs, committees, B-school competitions et al. “Overwhelmed” is perhaps an understatement.
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Guest Lectures aren’t half as bad as people warn you they are. Before coming to campus, I was told that guest lectures were mostly glorified lullabys. And guest speakers considered their session a success if only about 50% of their audience fell asleep by the end of it. Well… I couldn’t have been more wrong. From, seeing a proud IMTian talk about how he ate into Vim’s Market share to the gentleman who ran Mother Dairy, the guest lectures were rich, insightful and honest.
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Murphy will be Murphy and he will follow you to B-school The wise people on the Internet define the Murphy’s law as an adage or epigram that is typically stated as: “Anything that can go wrong, will go wrong”. Its closest interpretation here at IMT will perhaps be “The prettiest faces on campus will always be in the other group, the senior batch or the other programme”.
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Get in line and then Get in line again. So much talk about the batch size before coming here, and it all made sense to me when I first stood in line at the dining hall to get food. Walking into the library or out of it, lunch or dinner, the “GREAT IMTian QUEUE” will be everywhere.
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The only person who’s happy when there’s inedible food in the mess, is the guy who runs the IMT Canteen A quick peek at what’s being served at the dining hall and then the walk upto the canteen, is almost a ritual now. Sitting on the stairs outside with a roll, while wearing our superhero costumes (Read: Business formals) is the order of the day. The days when I had food in the mess, I felt as if I was cheating on the Canteen Guy.
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When in doubt, it’s safe to bug the seniors on Facebook In the run up to Day1, we had people hurling queries on our unsuspecting seniors. While that dreaded “P” word (read: Placements) was always the hot favorite, some lesser gems cannot be missed. Let’s just say the seniors let us know that patience is one virtue which B-school teaches you a lot. So, Week One was eventful, chaotic, demanding but a lot of fun. It was the start of something new, something good. Will these two years pass by as quickly as the past week did? Will I survive? Will I never have free time again? Will I never copy-paste shamelessly anymore? I’ll end this with the words of that great philosopher Justin Bieber who once said – one must “Never Say Never” …. - Harinder Singh Pelia, PGDM – FT. Batch of 2015.
The
Campus
Photo Journalist
Joseph Dominic, PGDM - IB. Batch of 2015.
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The Green Gene
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ou know that feeling you have when a friend you’ve known all your life gets a job before you do? When your closest friends return from faroff lands and regale you with tales of revelry and wonder, while you listen agape? When you see near and dear get ahead in life while you’re still trying to find your feet? However hard you might try to suppress it, the feeling boils underneath the surface, festers in your gut and slowly consumes you from the inside – welcome, to the world of jealousy. Don’t be ashamed, being jealous is a natural reaction – everyone has experienced it in their lives at some point or the other. Humans are a complicated species and nobody is immune to the feelings of insecurity, anxiety and fear. More than anything else, the greatest human fear of all is
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the fear of exclusion – and it can drive us to act in ways that we later regret. Recently, one of my friends returned from a student foreign exchange program from Europe – that holy grail of tourist destinations. He had the unique opportunity to visit a plethora of exotic locales across a number of countries as a part of his semester abroad, including all of the “must-see” sites – the Eiffel Tower in Paris, the Swiss Alps & the Leaning Tower of Pisa – among others. His tales filled me with wonder and admiration relegating me to rue what could have been. But more significantly, that green-eyed monster that is synonymous with human nature reared its ugly head again – I was left feeling a tad jealous. How can you fight this feeling? Well, you don’t – it’s no crime after all. To deny one’s natural feelings or emotion is to deny the essence of being human itself.
Rohith Desikan 12DCP-095
No, denial is not the answer – rather, acceptance and recognition of the sensation is the first step to dealing with it. Understanding the reasons behind your reaction is the next step – introspection is what separates men from the lesser evolved forms of life. And with self-reflection, comes wisdom. More often than not, you will find your feelings of envy melting away. Ever heard of the word ‘vicarious’? Living vicariously means to live through others – experience in the imagination through the feelings or actions of another person. Sometimes, living vicariously is the best way to live.
The European A la Carte
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he International Exchange program offered at IMT-G was one of the contributing factors in my decision towards joining this college. I inched a step closer to it by securing the second rank in the selection process and had lots of options at hand to choose from. Since I was very keen on backpacking around Europe I was fixated on choosing a college in Europe itself. After having spoken to seniors and having done my own research I zeroed on Reims Management School (RMS).
Urvashi Chugh 12DM-153
Open book and internet exams based on real time case studies and not bookish knowledge were a new experience and made me realize the actual learning one can undergo by the means of this pedagogy.
rides, learned how to deal with a stolen wallet, sceneries that still make me daydream, new friendships, new languages, the courage to travel alone ( to lose my passport and get a new one), felt smart as opposed to foreign students in class, walked by Having spoken about the studies the riversides, lazed on the beachaspect, I would like to share my es, covered every city on foot, and traveling experience as well. I have thanked my luck for having it made to say it was as much hectic as it it till there! was fun. Making routes, booking hostels in a budget, making train All I know is I would want to go reservations, getting everyone back, for several reasons, maybe to together and the packing-unpack- work in Munich or Hamburg, or to ing – the pre planning involves too take the haunted tour in Prague, or much work! That said, I have to At RMS, I chose to study Marketing to party all night long on the BarceMetrics, Marketing Strategy, Interna- confess that these were probably lona port, or to walk by the harbour, tional Business, Strategy and Corpo- the best three months of my life in or to just learn more about life like I rate Governance and Business Ethics. terms of travel and experiences. I did the last time. Because now more travelled across 10 countries and Five subjects spread over 2 and half than ever do I realize that I will about 30 cities. I read books, lonely never be content with a sedentary months. Unlike IMT, the course schedule was rather intense and each planet guides, things to do lists, ate life, that I will always be haunted by exotic food, street food, indulged course was completed within 5 days thoughts of a sun-drenched elsein fine dining, experienced snow (24-30 contact hours) along with a where. fights, bitter cold, brilliant train mid-term and end-term exam.
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Greece – A Vivid Sojourn
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enning down my experiences on the exchange program at ALBA Business Graduate School, Athens, I can’t stop my mind from wandering on to the streets of one of the most beautiful islands of the world. Known as the land of Troy and Sparta, the museums and monuments all over Greece keep visitors highly fascinated. If that is not sufficient, the beauty of Santorini and Mykonos islands attract tourists from all over the world to visit Greece again and again. While selecting universities, I was looking for a university that could add value to my prior work experience. ALBA was a perfect fit.
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Accredited from the prestigious AMBA & EPAS, and funded by American government, ALBA can boast of having well renowned professors from American universities. There, we had the opportunity to witness a style of teaching at entirely another level. In few of the courses, the true meaning of CLASS PARTICIPATION became truly evident. And for those of us, who are more interested in sight-seeing, the mesmerizing sceneries of Athens and the coasts have more to offer than one could possibly only dream of! The blue water, the white sand and the calm sea along the shore and
Abhinav Saxena 12FN-004
the sun setting into the sea was a treat for the eyes. The night life and crowd, at Athens, was equally happening. Walking on the streets of Athens at night, travelling in their new metro and gazing at the gorgeous crowd was a sheer delight. Then there was the Greek delicacy, Souvlaki: my saviour in Greece. That experience, in a Carrefour super store, when the shopkeeper doesn’t understand English and you have to use only hand-signs to interact with the shopkeeper and still you are able to get all the items you were looking for, can never be forgotten.
“GREECE, YOU WERE BEAUTIFUL”
A Teutonic Testimonial
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went to HHL Leipzig Graduate School of Management, Germany as an exchange student from IMT, Ghaziabad. It was the singular, most unique experience of my life. I stayed in the small yet musically inclined city of Leipzig (an active hub of spell-binding orchestra and opera performances), situated close to Berlin. Describing my experience as just enjoyable would be a gross understatement; I was awestruck with each and every aspect of German society. For the first time I had the opportunity to work, collaborate, learn and compete with global colleagues in a completely different education setup.
were encouraged at each step to connect theory with practice. It is one thing to read about a developed nation and an altogether different thing to live in one. The latter exposes you to the subtle nuances of everyday life which makes a nation what it is. Apart from the obvious reason of economic strength, it is the attitude of the people which is developed.
Chetna Singhal 12DM-047
It is not just the cars that show the characteristic traits of German precision and efficiency. The commitment of each and every individual and of the society, as a whole to the principles of punctuality, work ethics and high performance standards is the very foundation of the majestic might of this proud nation. Auf Wiedersehen!!
Class strength ranged from 15-20 students and the teaching methodology was different for different subjects. Where on one hand, a senior journalist from Financial Times was teaching us Public Relations course, on the other, top management and consultant executives used to attend our project presentations and give feedback and anecdotes from real life experience. From a guided tour of the biggest mall in Leipzig as a part of Retail Management course to a guided tour of Amazon’s huge warehouse and internal operations as a part of SCM course, students
“Students were encouraged at each step to connect theory with practice.� 11
An Exchange to Remember
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f you look up the meaning of the word “experience”, you will find something similar to “active participation in events or activities, leading to the accumulation of knowledge or skill”. A student exchange program lives up to this definition and adds the element of fun to it as well. I had the opportunity to live this experience and go on exchange to BI Norwegian Business School, Oslo, which happens to be the largest business school in Norway and the second largest in all of Europe. The experience was an eye opener on many counts and started within minutes of me reaching Oslo. The sheer cold temperatures and the blanket of ice covering the roads did shake me up a little but the calmness and the serenity of the surroundings makes you feel in a mystical land. The campus accommodation with a single room and an attached bathroom is worth a mention simply because of the relative luxury!!
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However the real experience begins when all the exchange students are made to introduce each other on a common platform. The introduction takes place over dinners, common outings organized by the host university and so on and it was heartening to see that the local students were more than ready to make us feel welcome in their university as well as their country. Considering that the university had a batch of 150 exchange students from all over the world, it was a melting pot of global culture and provided a platform for not only promoting your country but also learning about the intricacies of others. A very simple example of my learning’s’ from these interactions include realization of the fact that Indians and Portuguese are very similar when it comes to using abuses in our day to day language. This might not be the most knowledge fact one would expect to know but it is precisely the fact that one should learn on programs like these.
Jugal Wadhwani 12DCP-047
We can travel the world as tourists but how often do we get the chance to know people from such far off places in such a better fashion. This exchange also provided us with an opportunity to learn about the country, Norway, its culture and its people. Although the Norwegians are known to be very shy people, their helping nature and their compassion and zest for life cannot be ignored. They value work-life balance to a level which was fascinating even for the other Europeans on exchange. Also, Norwegian girls are known for their beauty and I stand as a testimony for that. Yes, I attended classes there as well and the faculty was very good. All in all, one of the most memorable experiences of my life and something which I hope to remember forever.
Foreign Exchange: One of the best decisions of my life
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was clear about going to Germany right from the beginning of my B school journey. As it turns out, IMT Ghaziabad did have an exchange partnership with HHL Leipzig, ranked #1 in Entrepreneurship in Germany.
The PR course changed my perspective on lobbying and how it’s a necessary evil. We also met an influential lobbyist from Stadtwerke Leipzig GmbH and discussed German energy situation.
To be in a class with students from every continent made the class interactions very rich. Almost every I chose Entrepreneurship as one of the courses because of my long point made by the participants gave a whole new dimension to the issue term interest in a startup. Addibeing discussed. I can safely say that tionally, I chose Efficient MarI learnt the art of presenting in my keting Mix Planning and Public exchange term. The great attention Relations, along with bunch of other really great subjects. The PR to detail paid by German students to professor was a FT journalist for a the presentations made us realize the decade before getting into academ- importance of slides and how to make them more illustrative and engaging. ics and gave us amazing insights.
Rahul Jha 12DM-109
As I reminisce the good old days of being in Deutschland, I was lucky to have made the decision of taking the leap of faith and going on an exchange, despite the additional expenses required. I have amazing stories to share in almost every context, and friends from all over the world. For a person who gets lost in his hometown in Delhi, discovering a new city all by himself was indeed a life changing experience. I am pretty sure lot of friends who chose to stay in IMT regretted their decision after seeing my Facebook posts from all over Europe
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A Mexican Medley
Indrani Chakraverthy 12HR-037
Lady at the Taxi-Stand: “Hola! Buenas Tardes!” Me (Desperately hoping someone would understand English!): “Umm, I want a taxi to Ascal…wait what was it? (Takes out a chit from her wallet) Yes, to Azcapotzalco!”
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hat was my first step into Mexico City, Mexico for what was to be a truly enriching experience in IPADE for the next three months. Six students from IMT got an opportunity to go to this FT-Top 100 ranked B-School, as part of IMT’s Exchange Program.
One can actually feel the romanticism in stories of the country’s past. During the program, I also got to interact closely and network with students from Canada, US, Italy, Poland, UK, Pakistan, China, Japan and Russia among others! I thoroughly enjoyed learning about them and their unique cultures.
IPADE offers a well-rounded curriculum and lays lot of emphasis upon the Case method and creative delivery of lectures. We got the unique opportunity to study under internationally acclaimed faculty. We studied Sales-force Management from Prof. Vincent Onyemah, who has been a consultant to The World Bank and EC and is an INSEAD, France alumni. We learnt negotiation skills from Prof. Nieves Confesor, the Dean of the Asian Institute of Management, former Chairperson of the ILO Governing Body and a Harvard alumni. Further, we had an exhaustive one-to-one interaction with the famous Career expert Daniel Porot. Overall, it was an amazing academic journey at IPADE.
All of this would not have been possible without support from IRC at IMT and Faculty and Staff at IPADE. I thank IRC team for ensuring the whole program goes as smoothly as possible throughout. At IPADE the support and hospitality extended by the staff, professors, and students was appreciable beyond words.
But academics were just one part. My travel experience in Mexico made me seep in the aura of a romantic, musical, fun-loving, and homely culture.
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I am glad I got this opportunity and will cherish it for all times to come. “Hasta pronto mis amigos de todo el Mundo!”
An Enriching European Journey
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cole De Management Strasbourg Business School established for almost a century now, is located on the border of France & Germany and is very close to Switzerland, making it the perfect location to discover various nations. With good feedback from seniors who went there last year to my best friends from IMT choosing the same college, what more I could have asked for. Travelling to France for studies was like a dream come true. The first day of class and the diversity in the batch: ‘Tremendous’, students from all over the world studying together and bringing in their different views and cultures from their countries. Interacting with people from different nationalities was a truly exhilarating experience. The flexibility the college gives you in choosing your subjects is overwhelming, hence I chose subjects from Finance, Marketing, Operations & HR domains. Faculties being French, German & American make you think outside the box and understand the bigger holistic picture.
Saurabh Garg 12FN-115
It was not just academics for those 3 months, there was much more to it…! TTravelling around 17 countries within 90 days, even though at times, made us feel like nomads, was ‘The Utopian Euro trip’ for me.. Now I know why French wine is so renowned, why the Germans boast about their cars, what made Switzerland the perfect shooting place for DDLJ, why Spain is truly called ‘The party place’, why Belgian beer & chocolates are so famous: though a deadly combination to try . I am grateful that I got this opportunity to go for this exchange program which has actually changed my perspective; the way I perceive things and people is on an entirely different level now. Kudos to IMT, my fantabulous friends who accompanied me there and not to forget my parents for sponsoring the trip .
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Mexico – An Exchange That Inspired Change
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ike every other student on campus I had a dream of going to one of the best foreign schools. Fortunately I ranked number 1 in the IRC foreign exchange list and had a plethora of options to select from. IPADE Business School that ranks among the top 100 B-schools in the world was an obvious choice for me. Going to a country like Mexico made me apprehensive initially, but when I reached there it made me realize that it is was one of the safest places I had ever been to till date. The B-school as expected had world class facilities and each faculty at the school was an expert in his/her own field and came from renowned schools around the world like Babson Business School, IESE, etc. The experience of being in a class of such great professors and talented peers who were handpicked from the country was an experience that I would cherish all my life. The school followed pedagogy that strictly included case based discussion. The professors pushed and tested the abilities and skills of each one of us in the class. The highlights of the term was a one week course on “Doing Business in Mexico” where a group of 250 students from all around the world brainstormed on how was doing business in Mexico different than any other country. The experience that changed my life at IPADE was when I got an offer from Cinepolis for an international internship. It has been one of the proudest moments of my life. The country is known for its exotic destinations. The pyramids, beaches and the underground rivers called
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Raunak Narang 12DM-117
Cenote are some of the special places to visit. In all, it was an enriching experience that helped me change not only my thought process but also change myself as a person.
The Faking News
Vol 2, Edn 2
Sleepless at IMT- as far from Seattle as it Gets The inhuman heat that is ravaging parts of North India has been keeping the students at IMT awake as well. The coolest part of the 24 hour cycle however has its own share of problems including blood sucking mosquitoes and seniors.
hardly find time to interact with our classmates let alone, the remaining 540 odd people” whines one student to the accompaniment of a mosquito. “B-schools are places where you get a clue on your life goals. Between weather, academics and seniors, I do not even get time to meet Students have also expressed prospective partners, business grave concern at the attitude partners, I mean” clarifies a of various professors devoid wannabe entrepreneur. of care about the difficulties Moans yet another, “Due to faced by them. Adding insult exhaustion, even food does to injury were the various stu- not taste the same. I could dent body recruitments with hardly enjoy the Rasmalai their forced “open” “houses” served in the mess the other which went on during the night.” When told that there nights and left people with was no Rasmalai served that sleepless days. The rigours of night or indeed, in the recent class participation, quizzes past, the student broke down. and assignments depriving students of precious hours of sleep are now unethical in the eyes of students. Finding that anonymous emails are of no avail, students are planning to openly voice their displeasure. “The best advantage of a huge batch size was networking and interaction amongst our batch mates; with academics taking up all the time, we
“Now even our food is being taken away from us, feeding substandard food to exhausted people is a great cost cutting measure, great balancing of P&L” he wails. Rumours abound that students are planning to address the press in the near future in presence of eminent witnesses. However, the press, teased to the limit with half stories, are boycotting IMT on the 13th of August. A rumour heard on mentioning the above rumour was that no separate transport facilities would be arranged for CDLites.
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Corporate Chuckles - The FMCG Sales Career
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“PaGaLGuY.com is India’s biggest online network of MBA applicants and students. Visit www.pagalguy.com”
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