SIBM Pune Wins ITC Interrobang

As afternoon turned to evening on August 22^nd, the students of Symbiosis Institute of Business Management (SIBM Pune) rejoiced in the Symbiosis International University auditorium as the representatives of their institute were declared winners of the Pune cluster of the ITC Interrobang competition.

ITC Interrobang is an annual case study competition which is open to final-year HR students. It is an initiative through which ITC aims to engage with students on campus as the students themselves learn how to critically analyse real world scenarios.

Representatives from ITC were on campus on August 22^nd to judge the best analysis of the case study from the two institutes participating in the Pune cluster – SIBM Pune and Symbiosis Centre for Management and Human Resource Development (SCMHRD).

An institution that prides itself on encouraging students to participate in various such corporate competitions, students of SIBM Pune have proven their mettle time and again. This achievement marks one more landmark moment in SIBM-P’s illustrious track record.

The atmosphere was electric as the event began, with Team Sparx facing off against Team 4 Ka Shor from SCMHRD. The final presentations of both teams were met with enthusiastic response from students of both institutes. However, it was Team Sparx that stole the show with their comprehensive analysis of the Industrial Relations case study.

The case dealt with the setting up of a new plant, and required the teams to create a financial and feasibility analysis and propose new strategies for employee engagement and maintaining Industrial Relations functions in the plant.

The members of Team Sparx, with their excellent presentation skills and evident knowledge of the ins and outs of the measures they had proposed. In spite of technical glitches in the middle of their presentation, the team proceeded and completed their delivery with confidence. Their in-depth financial analysis, the ease with which they took all questions posed to them, and the aplomb with which they demonstrated total awareness of their content, helped the team make a mark.

“We divided the work early on, which ensured that there was no friction amongst us. I took on the role of facilitator, Shilpa Saraogi and Vrinda Khanna did the research and execution, while Saurabh Kumar was our Creative Head,” said Tarun Girdhar, one of the winning members of Team Sparx.

The event also presented a golden opportunity for the students of SIBM Pune to interact with SCMHRD, who came in second in the Pune Chapter of ITC Interrobang.

The students of MBA II HR at SIBM Pune has been working on the case study provided by ITC since the competition was launched on July 20^th.

“When we heard that we had beaten the stars of our batch, we knew that there was a seventy percent chance that we would make it. We considered ourselves the dark horses. So it feels awesome to stand here now, winners of ITC Interrobang – we didn’t expect it!” said Tarun.

While on campus, ITC also felicitated the Winners of Interroquiz with vouchers from Wills Lifestyle worth Rs. 2,000. The Campus Runner Up team received vouchers from Wills Lifestyle worth Rs. 16,000. The winning team, which comprised Saurabh Kumar, Shilpa Saraogi, Tarun Girdhar and Vrinda Khanna – identifying themselves as team ‘Sparx’ – were awarded a cash prize of Rs. 1 lakh and Pre-Placement Interviews with ITC.

The presentations were made to an avid audience of both the batches of HR students, from both institutes, in addition to the judges themselves.

“Team Sparx had a really unique concept, and I felt privileged to be there in the audience,” said Neha Sodhi (MBA I HR). “SIBM Pune is all about learning outside the classrooms – and I think that our attendance of the ITC Interrobang finals was a wonderful example of that.”