Retreat and Reinvigorate – Rewinding the first two weeks at Royal Institute of Management

The odyssey from beacon of hinterland Drepung to chandelier of Semtokha stands as a testimony of my perseverance and zeal in pursuit of my dream, should there be one. Qualifying for Post Graduate Diploma in Public Administration at Royal Institute of Management (RIM), Semtokha is one potential way towards that end. As the name suggests, trainees enrolled here, upon graduation are expected to be equipped and skilled in the field of Management – people, projects, information and resources that would propel the ladder for Bhutan to grow, develop and ascend higher for good. While it is privilege to be part of the RIM fraternity, to live up to its expectation is daunting task for expectation if inappropriately dealt becomes a pressure.

Attending the Orientation for almost two weeks helped me bridge with the Institutions rules and norms while going around with friends introduced me to the infrastructure in place and new people thus increasing my social network. The journey from institution’s vision to power point presentation via institution’s history, national etiquette (sgdrigs lam rnam gzhag), academic integrity, academic and policy writing, student learning and moodle was worth for it reminded me of the task ahead by instilling in me the obligation to abide by the prescribed codes of conduct (practice) of the Institution. A retreat, that afforded opportunity to armour oneself against potential casualties that would be brought about by the system in transition.   

In the midst of academic discourse, a discovery was made. However, lack of expertise in that field coupled with my timidity kept the discovery at bay, at least for now. Futsal with friends and acquaintances gave us space to discover each other more while untoward moments made me reflect of the context and the part I played in it. The ‘highs’ and ‘lows’ of Futsal, play and will continue to play major role in my evolution.

As I took the first step into the Civil Service, issues of concern raised, starting from bureaucratic red tape to discrepancy between policy intention and implementation, marred by nepotism and favouritism worried me. Nevertheless, willingness on the part of trainees to grapple with those social evils implanted in me the optimism to do the same.

A retreat that reinvigorated me to push the limit!