N.R Narayana Murthy, the iconic founder of Infosys once said that nobody was more bothered about an institute than its own alumni. With over eight thousand registered alumni spread across the world, the well wishes and the voices of support for SPJIMR as an institute are many. The alumni and the institute share a mutual loving relationship and the enrichment of this bond that is entrusted to the Alumni Committee, popularly known as ALcom. The Alumni, who have touched the pinnacles of success in the corporate and social sector globally, still remain rooted to their alma mater for the strong foundation and are always willing to contribute to its growth.
The Alumni Committee is one of the most vibrant and active committees on campus having engagements throughout the year. Led by Prof. Aditi Divatia and Prof. Mihir Ajgaonkar, the committee comprises of twelve students from different specialisations and interests. All the members have definite areas of responsibility but at the same time all converge to contribute towards the overall success of the initiatives of the committee at large.
The ALcom plans and executes several alumni engagement activities through the course of the year.
One of the major events undertaken by the ALcom is CopAL (Coffee with your pAL (Alumni)). This event introduces the alumni to the current batch of students in an informal setting to enlighten them about the diverse roles in the corporate and social sector. It comprises of a small group of 8-10 students having a chat with an alumnus over a cup of coffee. This year the Alcom hosted 15 such sessions on topics ranging from Corporate Finance and Brand Management to Structured Lending and Corporate Strategy. CopAL acts as a stepping stone for many participants, who get an insider’s view of the world ahead and helps them get clarity about the job roles and also allays the apprehensions regarding life in and after B-School.
Another major event that the ALcom organises is the Annual Alumni Meet, SPandan along with the 25-year, 15-year and 5-year Reunions. This is one of the largest events undertaken by the college. SPandan is a gala event, where alumni from different parts of the country and the world converge to share an evening of nostalgia and get together over a warm dinner and some eventful performances. In line with the tradition of recognising and honouring the exceptional achievements of our Alumni, SPJIMR felicitates them with the distinguished Alumni Award every year during SPandan. These awards are given in four categories – Corporate Excellence, Excellence in Entrepreneurship, Social Excellence and Promising Young Alumnus.
The other alumni engagement events that the ALcom undertakes include organising treks with alumni, highlighting achievements of our alumni, creation of city councils and organisation of city-wise networking meets globally and handling of the social media channels of the Alumni Committee. This year the committee is working to introduce a mobile app for the Alumni to be connected on-the-go, building of an Alumni Wall in the campus to highlight Alumni achievements, the creation of feature stories of star alumni on Wiki-pages among other new activities. In the past, ALmart- the SPJIMR Merchandise store, the E-store of ALmart and Alumni Awards were initiatives undertaken by the ALcom under faculty guidance. In this way, the committee keeps adding new ways to enhance alumni engagement with the institute thereby ensuring a healthy connect with the alumni through the years.
All these events are driven by the Alumni Committee along with the Alumni Relations Office. The teamwork and solidarity of the committee ensures that it truly lives and breathes the motto of “Building Relationships, SPJIMR and Beyond”.