Research and Scholastic

Development Team
Annual Report

2014-2015

S Y M B I O S I S I N S T I T U T E O F B U S I N E S S M A N A G E M E N T , PUNE
S Y M B I O S I S K N O W L E D G E V I L L A G E , GRAM: LAV A L E , T A L : M , PUN
U L S H I E -412115,
MAHARASHT R A
Introduction
The Research & Scholastic Development Team is the research and business consulting cell of
Symbiosis Institute of Business Management, Pune. We are primarily concerned with identifying,
conceptualizing and executing live corporate projects and research projects that have the potential to
contribute to the ever changing landscape of business management and we are the centre for building
thought leadership at SIBM Pune.

Vision
To make SIBM Pune the centre for thought leadership and a research hub among the leading B-schools
in India and abroad.

Mission
To create opportunities for students & faculty to apply their knowledge through industry projects,
research initiatives and to promote an environment for management consulting.

Team Members

Co-ordinator: Devashish Sharma

Senior Team (MBA-II)

1. Devashish Sharma Finance
2. Ashwin CT Marketing
3. Bhavna Ganesan Marketing
4. Gaurav Phadke Finance
5. Gopi Tharun Operations
6. Vinit Gandhi Marketing

Junior Team (MBA-I)

1. Anirudh Durbha Finance
2. Madhup Sagar Marketing
3. Mandeep Sandhu Operations
4. Meghna Biswas Human Resources
5. Nikita Jain Marketing
6. Rasdeep Wadhawan Finance
7. Sai Kripashankar Finance
 Overview-RSDT 2014-2015 session

Besides Inclusivity, Collaboration and Knowledge enhancement, expansion of our domain were the
highlights of the RSDT’s work for the academic year 2014-15. This year’s work involved students from
MBA-2 and MBA-1 collaborating together with a strong view on the placement season, as well as a
record number of live projects being offered to students. A host of new initiatives flowered under the
RSDT in addition to expansion of the scale of the existing activities.

The session for 2014-15 began with the launch of the first-ever dissertation competition for students of
MBA batch 2014-16 prior to their joining the college. This was aimed at preparing the students for the
rigorous academic schedule of SIBM Pune and to hone their opinions on key specialization topics.

This was followed by the release of “Beacon Summers” – a comprehensive document on the summer
internship experiences of the second year students. The report was able to guide the first year students
on the nature of work related to each specialisation, thus helping them choose the right specialisation.
The formatting and content of the journal was improved to aid the students to quickly analyse areas
they wished to refer.

In place of the live-screening of the Interim Union Budget 2014-15, we organized an analysis session
of the Union Budget with Prof. Manasi Phadke. This analysis session was followed by an inaugural
Budget Symposium, a panel discussion of eminent industry stalwarts who shared their valuable insights
about the Union budget and expectations about the future route to be followed by the government with
respect to key policies in light of the Interim Union Budget 2014.

The “Beacon Sector Report- Volume 6” provided an in-depth review of IT, Telecom, FMCG, Auto and
the Banking sectors. In addition this year’s journal also included an in-depth analysis of the Indian
economy. The report provided students as well as industry representatives a thorough review of all the
sectors for the Financial Year 2013-14 with extensive data being collected and analysed by our team.
This journal aided the students of MBA I in their SIRP preparation and was widely appreciated by
students of both batches.

The team continued its rigorous work on the SIRP preparatory front through the SEED program. The
team collaborated with the Placement Advisory Team and conducted a series of lectures under a
program named Student Mentorship Program 2014. The program involved students of MBA-2 taking
lectures on specializations for students of MBA-1 based on the knowledge gained during the first year
as well as the cues taken from the industry during the Summer Internship Program 2014. An extension
of the Student Mentorship Program was the CV mentorship wherein the RSDT appointed mentors from
MBA-2 to review the CVs of the students of MBA-1 in order to help them fine tune their CVs for the
SIRP 2014. The team conducted 3 rounds of SEED, as against 2 such rounds last year, one of which
was planned and executed within a record period of 2 days.

SEED, which is a mock GDPI exercise on the lines of the actual SIRP process, was started early this
year with a view on giving the students of MBA-1 additional preparation time for their SIRP. The SEED
was held in three exhaustive rounds, one each in the months of July, August, and September. Both
rounds being judged by a very highly competent set of students from MBA-2. The RSDT also provided
the customary preparatory checklist based on feedback from the industry and the senior MBA batch,
listing important topics which students are expected to know. A comprehensive list of GD topics that
had been given last year at time of Summer Internship Recruitment Process and a few more based on
current affairs were also included.
Scholastic development is incomplete without hands on experience on live projects and this year, the
RSDT has floated a record 18 live projects. The RSDT got projects from both well established
companies and start-ups to give hands on experience to students. Big names included Ernst & Young,
Tesco, Sears Holdings, Accenture Management Consulting, and SBI Mutual Fund. Among start-ups,
we had Maskro, Opstree.com, Oysterconnect, Wiksate Solutions to name a few. Projects ranged from
market research to sector analysis and feasibility study of launching a service.

The RSDT launched a formal Special Interest Group setup to help peer-to-peer learning at SIBM Pune.
The SIGs will be an ancillary body of RSDT and its weekly activities will be recorded under the purview
of RSDT going forward. For the purpose of streamlining, the SIGs have been demarcated based on
specialization currently. Thus, we have launched 4 official SIGs. Based on the response of these
activities, we may add more such formal clubs (such as: consulting, laws, tax etc.) going forward. A
separate set of students have been made responsible for the efficient functioning of the SIGs. These
heads will have full autonomy to plan and conduct activities. RSDT will be a monitoring body in this
context.

For the first time ever, SIBM witnessed a quiz competition christened as Ridges and Furrows. Ridges
and Furrows: Episode 1 was initiated with the aim of developing a quizzing culture in SIBM. We
endeavour to conduct this quiz annually and hope to make it an inter-college affair from next year
onwards. 86 teams registered for the quiz making it an immediate success in its very first year.

To continue with our aim of scholastic development, the RSDT will be organising live screening of the
Interim Union Budget 2014 along with academic, industry and political experts to help students
understand implications of union budget on the Indian Economy in the next academic year once the
new political leadership is in place.

In continuation of the Budget Symposium 2014, a panel discussion involving eminent academicians,
economists, and industry specialists will be executed in the first week of March. This will be followed
by a debate competition between students of MBA-1 and MBA-2 on the Union budget 2015. We wish
to inculcate and hone the debating skills of our students, the to-be managers of tomorrow through this
exercise.

The RSDT will be proudly launching the Beacon Management Review (BMR), Volume V which is an
exclusive annual research publication of SIBM Pune, on Management Day 2015. This year’s issue will
include research articles on wide range of topics ranging from strategy and finance to human resource
and marketing management to economics and development.

SIBM Pune has carved out a name for itself in the field of B-school and Corporate Competitions. The
final initiative of the year was Inheritance 2014 wherein winning presentations from various
competitions were collated and are in the process of being posted on a single portal developed by the
iSMART (the erstwhile IT Team). This will help the future generation of students to take a cue from
their seniors on preparing winning solutions and presentations for competitions of the future.
Team Responsibilities

Corporate Projects
This year, RSDT has been involved in 18 industrial projects. The RSDT got projects from both well
established companies and start-ups to give hands on experience to students. Big names included Ernst
& Young, Tesco, Sears Holdings, Accenture Management Consulting, and SBI Mutual Fund. Among
start-ups, we had Maskro, Opstree.com, Oysterconnect, Wiksate Solutions to name a few. Projects
ranged from market research to sector analysis and feasibility study of launching a service.

Dissertation Competition
The session for 2014-15 began with the launch of the first-ever dissertation competition for students of
MBA batch 2014-16 prior to their joining the college. This was aimed at preparing the students for the
rigorous academic schedule of SIBM Pune and to hone their opinions on key specialization topics.

Beacon Summers 2014

This was a compilation of internship experience of MBA-2 across all specializations. Seniors shared
their experience at the internship regarding the kind of work they did, the challenges they faces and
what they enjoyed. It was aimed at providing insights into the kind of jobs in each specialization to the
MBA-1 batch in order to facilitate them to choose the right specialisation.

Budget Symposium and analysis 2014

In place of the live-screening of the Interim Union Budget 2014-15, we organized an analysis session
of the Union Budget with Prof. Manasi Phadke. This analysis session was followed by an inaugural
Budget Symposium, a panel discussion of eminent industry stalwarts who shared their valuable insights
about the Union budget and expectations about the future route to be followed by the government with
respect to key policies in light of the Interim Union Budget 2014.

Beacon Sector Report

The ‘Beacon Sector Report- Volume 6’ was a review of FMCG, Automotive, Telecom, IT and Banking
sectors in order to prepare students for their summer internship interviews. It had an in depth analysis
of latest trends in these sectors and also the team’s review of the same. Additionally, we also
incorporated a section on the health of the Indian economy over fiscal ’14.
Student Mentorship Program 2014
The team continued its rigorous work on the SIRP preparatory front through the SEED program. The
team collaborated with the Placement Advisory Team and conducted a series of lectures under a
program named Student Mentorship Program 2014. The program involved students of MBA-2 taking
lectures on specializations for students of MBA-1 based on the knowledge gained during the first year
as well as the cues taken from the industry during the Summer Internship Program 2014. An extension
of the Student Mentorship Program was the CV mentorship wherein the RSDT appointed mentors from
MBA-2 to review the CVs of the students of MBA-1 in order to help them fine tune their CVs for the
SIRP 2014. The team conducted 3 rounds of SEED, as against 2 such rounds last year, one of which
was planned and executed within a record period of 2 days.

Summer Internship Recruitment Program Effectiveness and Efficiency

Development Program (SEED)
SEED, which is a mock GDPI exercise on the lines of the actual SIRP process, was started early this
year with a view on giving the students of MBA-1 additional preparation time for their SIRP. The SEED
was held in three exhaustive rounds, one each in the months of July, August, and September. Both
rounds being judged by a very highly competent set of students from MBA-2. The RSDT also provided
the customary preparatory checklist based on feedback from the industry and the senior MBA batch,
listing important topics which students are expected to know. A comprehensive list of GD topics that
had been given last year at time of Summer Internship Recruitment Process and a few more based on
current affairs were also included.

Preparatory Checklist
RSDT also provided a preparatory checklist based on feedback from the industry and the senior MBA
batch listing important topics which students are expected to know. Each specialization was provided
with a specific checklist targeted at their specialisation. A few GD topics that had been given last year
and a few more based on current affairs were also included.

Bloomberg Assessment Test

The Bloomberg Assessment Test (BAT) is a global, standardised online test which measures students
(undergraduate and graduate) knowledge and a variety of skills and abilities relevant to the world of
professional finance. It tests students on topics of Finance and Economics.

Ridges and Furrows: Episode 1

A highlight of the team’s efforts this year was a quizzing event ‘Ridges and Furrows: Episode 1, SIBM
Pune’s very own Annual Business Quiz. With the hope of activating and unleashing a quizzing culture
in SIBM. The event had 2 rounds, an eliminator prelims conducting on the spot with 86 teams. 6
shortlisted teams were put on stage and were faced with 4 more challenging rounds.

Prelim Round 1: 86 teams fought it out to answer 25 challenging questions, 6 of which were star marked
to distinguish between teams having same points
Stage Round 2: A compelling finale comprising 2 rounds of infinite bounce, a theme based round and
an LVC round.
Budget Symposium 2015 and a Debate Competition
In continuation of the Budget Symposium 2014, a panel discussion involving eminent academicians,
economists, and industry specialists will be executed in the first week of March. This will be followed
by a debate competition between students of MBA-1 and MBA-2 on the Union budget 2015. We wish
to inculcate and hone the debating skills of our students, the to-be managers of tomorrow through this
exercise.

Beacon Management Review: Annual Research Journal of SIBM Pune

Beacon Management Review (BMR) is an attempt to showcase SIBM’s students’ acumen in
understanding the business environment and their interest in research. RSDT is yet again proud to
launch the Beacon Management Review (BMR), Volume V which will be released on Management
Day 2015. This year’s issue included research articles on wide range of topics ranging from strategy
and finance to human resource and marketing management to economics and development.

Inheritance
SIBM Pune has carved out a name for itself in the field of B-school and Corporate Competitions. The
final initiative of the year was Inheritance, wherein winning presentations from various competitions
were collated and are in the process of being posted on a single portal developed by the iSMART (the
erstwhile IT Team). This will help the future generation of students to take a cue from their seniors on
preparing winning solutions and presentations for competitions of the future.

This year’s Milestones

1. A record 18 live projects with the biggest names in the industry such as Ernst and Young, Tesco,
Accenture Management Consulting etc.
2. The Student Mentorship Program and SEED received a great response from students and they were
able to use the feedback for preparing for their summers
3. The team formed formal SIGs based on specialization, a long awaited dream finally realized
4. First-ever dissertation competition for students about to join SIBM Pune
5. Inaugural Budget Symposium series, to be followed up with Budget Symposium 2015 in the first
week of March
6. Inaugural edition of SIBM Pune’s very own Quiz and Debate competitions
7. Helping the PAT by sharing the burden of placements by taking charge of CV verifications of
I2MBA to begin with. The team will own up the responsibility of CV verification for the MBA batch
from the ensuing year
8. A new initiative Inheritance, wherein winning solutions of various competitions are collated and
stored in a repository and provided to forthcoming batches
9. Increased collaboration with teams for various events, which is only slated to increase in the coming
years
Annual Expenses (2013-2014)

Particulars Amount
Photocopy expense 14450
Local Conveyance 7000
Food, Tea, Refreshment 4750
Beacon Management Review 35000
In-house expenses (auditorium, guest house etc.) 65000
Total 126,200