The journey starts with competing close to sixty thousand students taking the snap test, getting into the first two percentile of students and finally clearing the rigorous GD-PI-WAT process. Finally, the day had come to be the part of one of the few prestigious B-Schools in India SIBM Pune. The scenic ride to the hill top campus gives you the positive vibes that affirm that the upcoming two years are going to be memorable.
The hilltop location itself is the first unique thing that this B-School has. The flora around is not only scenic but brings you close to nature. One forgets their stress and fatigue in such an environment.
The campus showcases some world-class facilities. Be it academic or recreational, it has it all. From state of the art computer labs and Bloomberg terminal, modular classes and a huge and resourceful library to a picturesque cricket ground, international standard swimming pool and squash & badminton courts, all of them offer a plethora of facilities at a campus so beautiful.
What makes it most unique are its people. Apart from an amazing director and faculty, the support staff is always there working throughout the day so that there is not a single lag in the smooth functioning of the institute. The diversity among the students speaks for itself. It has a pool of multi-talented people from all over India and abroad, who are not only good with academics but are proficient in various other skills. From the best dancers to singers to sportsmen to artists, you name it and the students have it.
A hundred out of these two hundred super talented students form a part of the most celebrated Students Council and Special Interest Groups. They form the backbone of the institute. The councils are its lungs and the institute cannot breathe without them. This makes this B-School a highly student-driven institute and that gives the student real-time management experience even before entering into a corporate. The learning through these activities is immense and helps to develop managerial skills and a “never say die” attitude in the students.
SIBM Pune is one of the very few B-Schools in India that freezes the specialization in the first year of MBA itself. That allows students to dive deep into their subjects from the very beginning of their course. It creates a big ease and advantage for students to pick up suitable companies for thein summer internships and get an experience in a relevant industry.
The institute has recently started an MBA program in Innovation & Entrepreneurship that comprises of some of the most talented budding entrepreneurs in India. The program inculcates startup building skills and is open to incubate innovative ideas that the student comes up with at the incubation center. The program has gained pace and the batch size is increasing year-on-year. This kind of program is not offered by any of the competing B-Schools in India.
The ideology of “Vasudev Kutumbhkam” i.e. the world is one family in this age of protectionism and SIBM Pune incorporating the value in its culture is in itself is a unique quotient that the B-School has.
Which ABG company would you like to work for and why?
I would like to work in the Branded Apparel sector i.e. Aditya Birla Fashion and Retail Limited. ABG has a lot of brands in the apparel sector and all have a good market presence such as Pantaloons, People, Forever 21, Peter England, Van Heusen and many more. I would like to do a market research on the feasibility of a apparel brand that can be launched for the rural sector that could be marketed as a low price but high quality product as compared to the other apparel brands available for that segment of market.
- Kunal Gupta
Marketing, SIBM Pune