Explore the inevitable

Do you think MBA in an IIM is all about securing good grades and a 6 figure placement offer? Obviously, but not exhaustively. 

There are a plethora of opportunities and the exposure that a student gets here is quite enormous. What if I say, you are the ones pulling up sleeves and drafting up opportunities in terms of Bschool Competitions, Webinars with Corporate giants, Tedx Workshops, Start-up Fests, not a normal scenario in your high school and undergraduate education, but in a student-run campus like IIM Kashipur, you are the frontline strategist planning and executing the initiatives from alpha to omega. 

Name your interest, and we have a club for it. Well, most of us have this one thing that seems to be sweaty and daunting, the art of Public Speaking. You wouldn’t be surprised if I tell you that we have a very active and alive Toastmasters Club that helps you to break the shell that you have been building since childhood. Six months into the club, you will see the difference for yourself. Have you noticed a trend in recent years? I mean, it’s so evident in all the social media sites that the students of IIM Kashipur outperformed and bagged prizes in most of the corporate case study and other major competitions to quite an extent that it called for an organized club, The Corpus. The team of active participants majorly focuses on helping the students to compete and to provide an insight into the competition because the winners know the best!

Hola Amigo ! Bienvenue à la Maison 

Don’t be confused, it’s just a pinch of Spanish and a dollop of French that I have learned in a workshop and I probably want to show off a bit. During your stay at IIM Kashipur, you will come across a unique club and committee that promotes foreign languages and culture on the campus. From celebrating Halloween, language workshops to exchange programs, they inculcate the best practices to bridge the cultural gap and they train us to survive in any corner of the world. 

Take a small peek into the past, growing up, some of us wanted to design our own clothes, some of us even played with the camera toys and posed as serious photographers, some of us even posed a media person. To keep the child in you alive, we have Kaptured to capture the best moments at the campus, the design cell that makes us take pride in an IIM Tag with hoodies and T-Shirts and the MPRC, the media front that glorifies our college to the external world. All these are student-run clubs and committees, and they get exposed to the real corporate world even before stepping out of the campus. 

Every student in their lifetime at least once must have had this entrepreneurial instinct in them, whether the idea is good or bad, you would have dreamt to begin your own startup. To add fuel to your entrepreneurial instinct, we have Ecell with collaboration with FIED conducts workshops and I must mention their flagship event “Uttishtha”, which instills and brings out the hidden entrepreneurs to light. All these activities are done by the cell members, one can only imagine such huge and overwhelming responsibility and the impact that they can induce. 

The color green is associated with prosperity and the lush greenery scenes around the campus are the fruits to the effort of our ecology club, at one point you sip your coffee enjoying the scenic beauty, and indulge in few cheat moments while being still in the hustle and bustle environment. The students of the IIM Kashipur are compassionate and kind to the community surrounding them, through the Parivartan club, they give back to the community in multi-folds. 

A student studying at IIM Kashipur gets a chance to witness his managerial instincts in every possible way, from maintaining accounts, promoting events, and managing people, he puts the theoretical knowledge into practice. Managing clubs and committees is not a piece of cake, the outside exuberance is the result of every student’s contribution to the betterment of the fraternity. Every year the students pass the baton of their responsibility to the juniors to carry forward the legacy left behind, two years of journey embarks a special place in the hearts of every student at IIM Kashipur, it’s not just an IIM, it’s THE ONE TRUE IIM IN THE NORTH. 

About the Author:
Angelin is currently pursuing MBA from IIM Kashipur, with majors in Finance and Marketing. She is a part of the College’s Wellness Team. She is fond of playing Keyboard, going for long drives, cycling and listening to podcasts in her spare time. You can connect with her on LinkedIn

Acing the Cases – From the Horse’s Mouth

Case competitions are an integral part of B School life- not only because you get a kind of exposure but also the enormous amount of learning involved with it. Undoubtedly, academics form the basic ingredient of B School but also fine-tune yourself by participating in several International, National & Corporate Competitions. In one such international competition I participated (Zurich Enterprise Challenge), we did not manage to get into the Semi finale stage, but the problem statement was what attracted us the most. The statement demanded the vision for businesses & multinational enterprises post-Covid world.

Amidst the cramped schedule of a B School life, you would not get the time to do all the cases and do proper justice to them. So, picking and choosing the cases becomes a key aspect. “Pick a case and absolutely slaughter it” – should be the mantra. This indeed goes a long way, as a proper approach to a case requires a lot of research and groundwork & it effectively drains out oneself. Picking up simultaneous case competitions will not be a smart choice as the effort gets divided. There’s no fixed one-size-fits-all for the competitions. The main aim of competition varies on a case-to-case basis – sometimes it’s the PPO/PPI/ personal brand building, sometimes it’s the brand and sometimes it’s just the learning one can get by participating in it.

During my 2 years in IIM Kashipur, one thing I effectively learned is “perseverance holds the key to success.” In the first year, I did not participate much effectively in competitions except the only one in which our team won the title of National Winners in IIM Trichy. I felt that with the second year in the fold, it was wise to participate in the competitions that were restricted only to the first years. 

In the second year, it becomes clearer as the domain gets selective – for example, in the second year, I mostly participated in Marketing, Consulting, and Strategy competitions. Moreover, you learn a lot from your mistakes, in fact, the bitter pills you swallow shape up for the upcoming ones. In one such corporate competition organized by Infosys, a minor mistake from our end did cost our entry to the next round. So, these competitions, indeed serve as a replica, to what one might expect from the corporate world – “there are no free lunches incorporated.” One great aspect of participating in various case competitions is that you get to know in-depth about specific sectors you work in while preparing for the cases. The cases are handpicked live industry cases where the participants work towards developing a feasible and sustainable solution.

Lastly, one key aspect of nailing case competitions is having a core team that is well aware of their capabilities & weaknesses. There would be issues cropping up, arguments but the key is the light at the end of the road – a potentially feasible solution. A good team can indeed be a game-changer. Everybody must have set, defined roles within the team.

With this, I ended up with 2 National Winners, 2 Runners Up, 1 National Semi-finalist, and 3 National Finalists in my tally. Of course, you win some and lose some, but the key thing is “Never Stop, Never Settle.” The entire journey of participating in several competitions (National/ Corporate/ International) plays a pivotal role in shaping up one’s journey. For me, it was about going beyond the stereotypes, building and rebuilding myself. Always remember “What brought you here, won’t take you there.”

Each individual has a different story to tell, but selecting the right atmosphere is of utmost essential. I would like to thank IIM Kashipur and the stakeholders for putting up commendable effort and providing individuals with the right kind of atmosphere in which they can rebuild and transform themselves throughout their stay.

About the Author:
Rahul is an Electronics & Communication Engineer by qualification & completed his MBA from IIM Kashipur (19-21 batch). He has been recognized as the Top 100 Competitive Business Leaders’2021 by Dare2Compete and has been featured in Forbes India. He is an IT professional with 2 years of experience in Cognizant. In his past time, he likes solving puzzles & binging on OTT platforms. You can connect with him on LinkedIn.

Acquiring PPO in Flipkart by acing Flipkart Wired 4.0

Corporate competitions had always been a key area of focus in my MBA journey as they gave me a platform to take my classroom knowledge to the real world. Having worked in a fortune 500 organization I was always fascinated with the use of technology to elevate the human experience and hence E-Commerce was a domain of my interest. When Flipkart launched its flagship B-School competition Wired I pounced on the opportunity to apply my acquired management knowledge backed up with my technical skills to solve challenges faced by a giant like Flipkart. Since I was preparing for this competition for a long time (and well yes, the chance of scoring a PPO made it more lucrative), I was closely following the developments in the E-Commerce supply chain industry regularly. After understanding that how crucial E-Commerce had become to an average Indian in the times of COVID-induced lockdown, I wanted to dive deep into the sector and develop models on how E-Commerce can penetrate in a challenging country like ours.

The case competition required us to develop a model using which Flipkart could cater to the Tier 2 Indian customers with their day-to-day purchase needs. Understanding the importance of this problem statement in the context of Flipkart’s business situation and the national lockdown scenario, our team’s objective was to design an easy to implement supply chain model that could be easily replicated across the country within a time frame of 1 year. After clearing a series of rounds our team had the absolute delight to reach the national semifinals of this coveted competition. The very fact that this competition provided me with a platform to present my solutions and ideas to the top leadership of a dynamic organization like Flipkart tremendously added to my learning curve.

Having missed a chance to be a part of the National Finals, I was overwhelmed when I was called up for an interview with Flipkart in the form of a pre-placement interview (PPI). Well as Flipkart rightly claims “Ab har wish hogi poori” they certainly fulfilled my wish by providing me a chance to kick start my career with an organization like theirs. The interview process which had three rounds (a general aptitude test followed by 2 rounds of interviews) gave me enough opportunities to understand how I as an individual could contribute to Flipkart (technically and behaviorally). The interviewers were very keen on understanding what skill sets I bring to the table and what do I look for in terms of growth and opportunity. After those three rounds of virtual interactions, I finally got to experience that most sought-after day of MBA life when finally Flipkart offered me THE job!

The entire experience of participating in corporate competitions, learning bit by bit in each of them is a continuous journey. A journey that I believe is different for every individual. I cannot be thankful enough to be a part of an institute like IIM Kashipur where the entire atmosphere focuses on making you ready for real-world challenges. With competitions taking the center stage of academic focus it was my institute that played the pivotal role in grabbing my dream job opportunity.

About the author :
Pranav Bhardwaj is currently pursuing MBA from IIM Kashipur, with majors in Analytics and Marketing. He is a part of various student bodies like the The Consulting & Strategy Club, TEDx IIM Kashipur and Prep Cell. You can connect with him on LinkedIn.

Kites fly high in the sky at IIM Kashipur

It was a lazy Sunday morning at IIM Kashipur. People pulled themselves up from the bed and crawled to the mess before 10 am lest they miss the breakfast. I was no different. On reaching the Mess I saw some artistic paperwork in the form of kites hanging from the roof. The colorful papers had the word “X-KITEment” written on it. I got to know that it was supposed to be an event organized by some students who are aspiring to be in the Sports Committee of IIM Kashipur.

The first thought that came to my mind was that the event was not for me because it had something to do with the KITES. I come from the part of the country (North East) where Kite flying is not very popular. But I could sense the excitement among the other people who were very keen to participate in the event. No matter how rigorous the days become for the students at IIM Kashipur they always capitalize on the opportunities available to have some fun.

It was 3PM. The stage was set. The lazy Sunday was not lazy anymore. People thronged the amphitheater in large numbers. Students from both PGP1 and PGP2 participated in the event. Team X-KITEment had everything covered. The arrangements were perfect. There were kites of different designs and colors. And there was music as well. Even the weather God was kind to the team as it was a bright sunny day, unlike the previous rainy days. The people who were fond of kite flying loved the event. According to them, it was very unique. People like me who had no prior experience of kite flying also tried their hands on the art. The members of the team have to be applauded for taking the pain of teaching us the art of kite flying. There was also a game of “Tug of war” between the PGP 1 and PGP 2 students which was won by the PGP 2 students. There was also some Gujrati flavor in the event with the people grooving to some Garba music at the end.

The event was a success. It proved to be the perfect stress buster for the students. The team “X-KITEment” has proved some serious credentials to be the part of the Sports Committee.

 

This article is written by Tapan Deka, PGP 2018-20, IIM Kashipur

IIM Kashipur through EX-Placecommer Lens

Two years back, I was equally excited about the WAT/PI results. Rounds of discussions were going about new IIMs & comparisons were done with very little knowledge about them.

Fortunately I received call from only one institute and that was IIM Kashipur!! With career change (Technical to Management) as a motive and faith on ‘IIM’ tag I joined IIM Kashipur. If you had asked me at that time, would I be proud alumnus of IIM Kashipur, my answer would have been NO. But today, I sat down to write this article feeling proud & happy and eager to contribute to my alma matter in whatever way I can.

Okay, coming to the substance, I was part of one of the important committee at IIM Kashipur i.e Placement Committee. On a lighter note, if you are a placecommer, you are bound to get a feel of ruling party 😉

My senior (2^nd batch of IIM Kashipur) were 40 in strength and from no where, it got three folded and the strength of my batch was 127 [300% increase]. Yes, from 40 to 127. But then b-school life and arrangements by the Institute management helped us in settling down quickly.

Given my nature and eager to take up responsibilities, I joined (recruited actually) placecomm team. And what we have achieved as a team today, is like a dream come true. Internship for my batch were completed in record time and top companies started noticing us by end of 1^st year.

The real challenge was target of 127 final placements. We as a team kept a monthly target and achieved it almost every time. The momentum picked up in January and continued till convocation. All this was possible because of the environment in which we were. We had the belief of achieveing the maximum always and the no. of final placement process which took place at our campus for my  batch was more than 80, yes , 80. One should back himself / herself to get placement out of these many processes.

Apart from placements, I would suggest to take a look at the faculties, electives offered, infrastructure, faculty – student ratio, Independent campus (Out of new IIMs , only ours have independent campus and in a year time, campus should be functioning permanently) and Kashipur as a place. By being in Kashipur and inspite of rigrous schedule & placecomm stuffs, I did end up covering Nainital, Rishikesh, Almora, Chopta, Shimla, Manali, Mussorie, Auli – scenice beauties all were.

I was fortunate to be associated closely with the flagship event “Leadership Conclave” of IIM Kashipur, wherein, we invited around 50 corporate senior leaders and on one occasion, I shared the dias for a discussion on “CSR”. It is these kind of moments that shape you and your career. And at IIM Kashipur, in its growth stage, the initial batches are the foundation pillars and one who decides to join will have plenty of opportunites at bay to develop themselves and also to showcase their skills and start contributing to the Institute.

In a nut shell, 18-20 months at Indian Institute of Management Kashipur will provide you an excellent education, atmosphere and facilitate your progress for a great career by end of the course.

(Senthil Kumar P, Alumnus PGP2013-15 batch, currently working as Asst, Manager –  Strategy & Planning at Larsen & Toubro Ltd, Chennai.
https://in.linkedin.com/pub/senthil-kumar-p/3b/956/581
Senthil.pgp2013@iimkashipur.ac.in)

Guest lecture by Mr. Vikram Sampat

Indian Institute of Management Kashipur welcomed Mr. Vikram Sampat, Vice President, Reliance Industries limited. The topic of discussion was ‘Driving excellence in refining & petrochemicals and India’s energy challenges’. Mr. Sampat discussed the deamand trends over the past century and different types of petrochemicals produced by Reliance Industry and their market share. He also shared his valuable expereince from the industry.

Green MBA at IIM Kashipur

Dr. Yogendra Saxena, Chief Sustainability Officer, Tata Power Ltd and Dr. Aditya Batra from Centre for Science and Environment, New Delhi addressed the students and answered queries on employment prospects and course contents on the Green Management courses.
Dr. Saxena shared how the word ‘green’ is being misused around the world and what are the challenges that lie ahead. This course in association with The World Bank will be offered at IIM Kashipur and will be the first of its kind to be offered among B-schools across India

Neev: Annual Symposium on Operations Excellence

Neev- the annual symposium on Operations Excellence was hosted by IIM Kashipur on 29th November, 2014 in partnership with State Bank of India. This year the theme was “Lean to Win”. The chief sponsors being India Glycols Limited and Punjab National Bank. The bigwigs of the industry graced the campus with their presence so as to share their experiences on the application of lean in day to day industrial practices. The speakers of the occasion were

1. Mr. Bishwambhar Mishra, Director, Mahindra institute of Quality

2. Mr. Subroto Ghosh, Director and Head of performance improvement, Barclays

3. Mr. Vikas Sarangdhar, Director of research (Supply Chain group), Gartner

4. Mr. Rajesh Pednekar, Head distribution, Pfizer

5. Mr. Devdatta Ratnakar, Ex-CEO, Innoventive Industries Ltd.

The event started with the lighting of the lamp by the Director of the Institute and the guests. Thereafter the event kick started with director’s welcome address. This was followed by Mr. Bishwambar Mishra’s keynote speech and a presentation on ‘My experiments and exploration with lean.’ He shared with the students the rise of Punjab tractors Ltd. post Mahindra’s acquisition in 2007.

The second speaker for the day was Mr. Subroto Ghosh. His young and enthusiastic demeanor was welcomed by the students; he further elaborated the concept of lean management in the services industry. Thereafter there was a panel discussion involving Mr. Vikas Sarangdhar, Mr. Rajesh Pednekar and Mr. Devdatta Ratnakar with Prof. Kampan Mukherjee of IIM Kashipur as the moderator. The panel discussed the importance of quality, control and the application of lean in the industry.

The event witnessed a national level case study competition in partnership with Schneider electric which saw participation from over 180 teams across India. The top 5 teams presented their analysis to the judges in the event.

Later in the afternoon a session on industry best practices was conducted by industries like Ashok Leyland, Mahindra and Minda group. It witnessed over 70 people from industries in and around Kashipur. The event concluded with a vote of thanks by Prof. Kunal Ganguly of IIM Kashipur.

IT Conclave 2014

An IT Conclave was conducted as a platform for interaction between IIM Kashipur fraternity and corporate leaders from the IT Industry. The theme for panel discussion was “IT Industry – Challenges for future managers”. The speakers at the occasion were:

1. Mr. Manmohan Bhutani, VP, Fiserv Global Services

2. Mr. Vishal Singhal, VP, Kellton Tech solutions

3. Mr. Subrata Mandal, AVP, HCL Technologies

4. Mr. Sashikanth Mohanty, Region Head (APAJ), Hewlett Packard

The keynote speech was given by Mr. Subrata Mandal, HCL Technologies and was followed by a panel discussion on the various challenges faced by the Managers in IT Industry.

Integrity March

IIM Kashipur organized Integrity march in memory of IIM Lucknow Alumnus Manjunath Shanmugan, who lost his life fighting against corruption in oil industry. Let us all pledge to uphold the values of integrity in our daily lives.