KIAMS Hosts Its 17th Convocation Day

On April 9th, Kirloskar Institute of Advanced Management Studies (KIAMS) organized its 17th Convocation ceremony in the presence of leading names from the industry and the world of academia. The bright, new graduates were joined by their family members and proud faculty members at the Pune Campus of the Institute. Mr. Sanjiv Bajaj, Managing Director, Bajaj Finserv Ltd., was the Chief Guest of the ceremony and his Convocation Address was one of the highlights of the day.

The convocation was the culmination of two years of hard work by the PGDM 2016 class. In all, students received their diplomas. The convocation also saw medals awarded for merit – Shruti Hariharan was the winner of the Gold Medal (Overall), while the Silver Medal (Overall) was awarded to Karen Saldanha. There were also four Gold Medalists (for each specialisation) from PGDM Batch 17 – Shruti  Hariharan (Human Resource); Karen Saldanha (Marketing); Bimal Raj (Operations) & Vinay Maurya (Finance).

The President, Mr. Rahul Kirloskar, declared the 17th Convocation Day of KIAMS open at eleven in the morning as the convocation procession entered the venue. In his welcome address, he said, “It’s a mixed day for us at KIAMS having to see so many beloved students leave us, while the sense of pride in them and our best wishes for their future make it a very grand occasion”. With this, he also introduced the Chief Guest, Mr. Sanjiv Bajaj.

Dr. C. N. Narayana, Principal Director, KIAMS, then presented the Director’s Report. It had been a noteworthy year for KIAMS with two national level awards and one international level award under its belt, including the “National Education Award for best B School with Industry Related Curriculum in Marketing.” It also won the “Top Business School of India” award given by the renowned CSR magazine, along with several other recognitions for excellence in management education. For the first time, KIAMS made it to Top 50 private Business Schools of India (Business World 2015) and overall top 50 Business Schools of India (including IIMS and FMS by Outlook and the 32nd position in Career 360 ranking).

Dr. Narayana mentioned different initiatives like the introduction of ‘Expert’s Day Out’ with renowned academicians from IIM-B, Washington University, and Howard University. To give students exposure, the institute has started accepting corporate challenges, such as devising the advertising campaign for Onida. The results have shown in the placement season, which maintained the Institute’s consistent track record with more than 90% of students placed by the 31st of March. Over 70 companies took part in placements this year and the highest CTC package was a substantial Rs. 14 lakhs.

Dr. Narayana then wished the new graduates good luck, urging them to realize their dreams as they become future ambassadors for KIAMS. “There is a paradigm shift in education sector because of the advent of technology, he said. “KIAMS has tried to keep up with that with innovative tools to offer our students the best modern learning experience. We hope you will build on that and scale new heights of success as you represent your B School that will remain proud of you”.

Congratulating the graduating students in his address, Mr. Bajaj advised the students “this is your day and you should make the most of it. You all will disperse after today and you need to make the most of your time together today. Tomorrow, a new chapter of your life begins.” The graduates were then handed their diplomas by the Chief Guest. Mr. Rahul Kirloskar.

With a formal Vote of Thanks and presentation of the Memento to the Chief Guest, the ceremony was drawn to a close. Students then got together for the Class of 2016 photograph. They leave campus with cherished memories of the two years spent there and an eye firmly fixed on their future.