Sayantee Chakrabarty is a motivated young graduate from PGDM batch of 2015 at KIIT School of Management (KSOM), Bhubaneswar. She is excited about life – both personally and professionally. She has just been appointed as Customer Development Officer Intern with Colgate Palmolive through campus recruitment. For Sayantee, this is an opportunity to embrace her independence which she has longed for long. After a four month stint as a management intern, she will be confirmed as a Customer Development Officer. “I was so excited when I was told about my placement”, she says. “I immediately informed the most important people in my life – my mom, dad and fiancé!”

When Sayantee joined KSOM, it was the first time that she lived away from home. At first, she was terribly homesick, because it was a huge change for her. However, she soon found her footing at the institute, and the transformation in her is palpable. “KSOM and PGDM have given me a lot of relevant exposure”, she says. “Whatever I am today is because of the institute and its rigorous PGDM program.”

In her PGDM, Sayantee chose to specialize in Marketing and Operations. She believes that apart from fostering competencies in a specific domain, specializations play an important role in motivating a student to remain focused on his or her studies. “During our first year when we are studying all subjects, we are often unable to focus and end up getting distracted because we don’t like certain subjects”, she says. “For instance, finance was always tough for me. Once I chose specializations, however, I became more involved and focused”.

The holistic development of a professional necessitates a lot more than academics. KSOM offers a robust mix of academics, as well as academic and non-academic events that groom an individual. On this subject, Sayantee says, “Each year there are three academic conferences at the national level pertaining to HR, Finance and Marketing. During these conferences and conclaves, we get to participate in domain specific workshops and, more importantly, we get the opportunity to interact with academicians and industry professionals who share with us their learning and experience”. The institute also encourages student clubs that organize small events like quizzes and become a platform for the students to participate in events of other colleges. Each event is an opportunity to learn and grow says Sayantee: “I have been in the student organizing team of ‘Kolosseum’, our annual festival for the last two years and I am convinced it has brought out the best in me as a management student and professional.”

KSOM knows the importance of preparing its students. It embraces a holistic approach, but it also understands the importance of preparing students for the recruitment process. The institute, as much as the students, wants the recruitment process to be a success. Each student undergoes an internship project after the first year that has a stringent selection process, which is similar to the recruitment process. Thus, reinforcing the skills needed to get placed in the industry is a priority. In fact, for Sayantee, her internship experience with Emami Ltd. became the main point of discussion in her interview, and perhaps this was the conversation that got her placed.

By Sayantee Chakrabarty,  KSOM Alumnus