KIIT SCHOOL OF MANAGEMENT (KSOM) is one of the premier institutes of India. Ranked 22^nd in the country and 6^th in Eastern India, according to National Institutional Ranking Framework conducted by Ministry of HRD, KSOM is holding a world full of opportunities for those students who want to make it big in the corporate sector. Situated in the number one smart city of India, i.e. Bhubaneswar, KSOM is nicely connected with each and every transport means. It’s a perfect nursery of budding managers having more than 4000 proud and well placed alumni all over the world.  Highly qualified faculty members belonging to some of the best B-schools of the country and having prior corporate experience, and world class infrastructure with a lush green 35 acre fully wi-fi campus, is what one can get as student of KSOM. 

Why KSOM?

Although as a present student I can mention numerous reasons, here I am describing only the top ten outstanding facts of KSOM.

1. Excellent infrastructure

From technically advanced classrooms to a world class 3 storied library building, a state of the art open air amphitheater (OAT) to an advanced computer lab, KSOM has everything that a management student can desire for. Its gigantic 35 acre campus area holds a beautiful sculpture park along with a picturesque rose garden. It has a 500 seated auditorium right at the centre of its campus. Lush green outfield and a group of excellent hostels are the highlights of this campus. It has been equipped with top-class sporting facilities like swimming pools, gymnasiums, indoor courts and lawn tennis courts.

2. Faculties

KSOM has 60 full time faculty members. More than 50% of KSOM faculties come from premier institutions like IIMs, XLRI and IITs. Most of the qualified faculty members bring with them decades of corporate experience resulting in courses and pedagogy which practical oriented. The teacher to student ratio is 1:10 which is one of the highest in the country. This also reflects in the strong bond shared between faculties and students and helps the students in developing their individual personality.

3. Hostel life

Life in the KSOM hostel is undoubtedly a remarkable one. The hostel wings have been equipped with world class facilities. Rooms are fully furnished, air conditioned, and the mess food is hygienic and above par in terms of taste and services.

4. Academic pattern

4 semesters of MBA program here contains domain oriented and specific quizzes, assignments, in class activities, presentations and other interactive pedagogies, which not only help in increasing a student’s knowledge but also improves their interpersonal and presentation skills. Apart from all of these, there are numerous activities for the students to enhance their learning program in an effective manner.

5. Personal care of students to make them corporate leaders

The best part of KSOM is that each student has been assigned to a faculty member (Mentor). A mentor in KSOM is a person who is responsible for a student’s complete development and growth in all aspects. This is another wonderful example of KSOM’s rich interaction between students and teachers.

6. Corporate relation

The enriching environment of KSOM enables the students to have a wonderful career, besides pursuing academic activities, internship and corporate connect. KSOM has a four way connect between corporate professionals, alumni, academicians and the students. Every year many big companies visit KSOM campus to recruit students in diverse sectors like banking, FMCG, IT and retail. For instance last year KSOM was visited by many reputed organizations like TCS, Khimji Ramdas LLC, Colgate Palmolive, Dabur, Aircel, Mahindra & Mahindra, Karvy Finance and Bluestar. Companies like Peppertap, Café Coffee Day, Avendus Capital, Infinite Computer Solutions, Zee Entertainment were few of the first timers. The salary varied from Rs 4 lakhs per annum to Rs 15 lakhs per annum.

7. Summer Internship Program

KSOM is well known for its Summer Internship Program (SIP). As SIP and live projects play a crucial role in getting students placed in top level corporate, KSOM emphasizes strongly on quality internships. Due to its strong connection with the corporate world, student do their summer internships in companies like TATA technologies, Burger paints, Asian paints, Britannia, Aditya Birla and ITC. It not only provides them with the best possible corporate experience but also helps them in learning real-life corporate skills.

8. Corporate exposure programs like KONFLUENCE and KONFIDANT

KSOM’s very own and innovative learning program ‘KONFLUENCE’ is designed to expose students to corporate professionals and their professional experiences. As part of this program industry professionals share KSOM courses, both with respect to course design and course delivery. It ensures that students learn while being exposed to challenges and excitement of real world problems. It is planned and designed in such a way to develop the managerial skills of every student through various tasks and activities.

Another critical industry exposure program for students is Konfidant. HR managers from over 24 companies visit the campus to guide then and share business insights. Students are divided into groups for group discussions, and apart from that replica of real life challenging situations are provided to them to enable role-plays. This helps them adapt to industrial problems that may arise in corporate world. Interviews are conducted and a feedback mechanism is created as each student is mentored by a corporate mentor and faculty mentor over a period of one year. The feedback mechanism helps the students to learn and rectify their mistakes.

9. Conclaves and workshops

KSOM organizes three national conclaves every year in its campus. HR conclave, Marketing conclave and Finance conclave are annual events which are attended by top level corporate dignitaries. Some of the high profile key note speakers who have been part of KSOM national conclaves are Shri N Chandrasekaran, Tata Sons Chairperson, Dr Aditya Puri, MD HDFC Bank, and Mr Prahlad Kakkar, well-known ad film maker.

10. Holistic development

KSOM not only influences its students to do well in the academics but also emphasizes on being a part of various curricular and extracurricular activities which are conducted by various clubs. Some of the official clubs of KSOM are Marketing Club, Finance Club, HR Club, Cultural Club and Media club. Clubs are active throughout the years and responsible for overall growth of a student. Apart from all these club activities, KSOM also organizes its annual B-School festival ‘Kolosseum’ – which is one of India’s largest B-School festivals. Each year Kolosseum witnesses arrival of thousands of students from numerous national and international institutes who come to participate in various formal and informal events. It also helps in developing KSOM’s relationship with other colleges.

These 10 points are only a small part of what KSOM provides its students but to experience KSOM holistically one needs to be part of its journey. What KSOM provides to each and every budding manager is way more than what is mentioned here. We, at KSOM are guided, mentored and most importantly provided a platform from where we have the power to shape our own lives and careers. That’s what we are. We are KSOM.

-by Suraj Chhatoi, MBA II