KIIT School of Management (KSOM), KIITDU, carried forward all activities related to the academic semesters in September and October 2023 in all programmes i.e., BBA, MBA, and PhD. Apart from regular academic activities, this period also witnessed best practices followed by the school to engage with corporate counterparts regularly and meaningfully. The 14th edition of the Marketing and Finance Konclaves were held during this time. The overarching keywords for all Konclaves hosted by the school in 2023 were ‘Sustainability’ and ‘Inclusion’. These keywords helped KSOM host four domain Konclaves in HR, Business Analytics, Marketing and Finance on topical themes. The Marketing and Finance Konclave held in September 2023 were executed on a grand scale. They were preceded by student competitions with participants from premier institutions all over the country. These events provided our students a much-required platform to engage with industry experts in engaging panel discussions and small immersive workshops.

A warm welcome was planned and executed for the eager, enthusiastic students of BBA first year (Batch 23-26) to help them acclimatize to a new environ.The inaugural ceremony themed “Khrysalis” was graced by Hon’ble Founder, KIIT and KISS, Prof. Achyuta Samanta whose words always inspired students to achieve their optimum. KSOM also welcomed its doctoral scholars in October 2023 through an informal welcome ceremony. The admitted scholars brought the right mix of diversity from academia and corporate. Pro-Vice Chancellor, KIIT School of Management and KIIT School of Rural Management, Prof. Tapan Panda welcomed the scholars.

Mentoring students in all aspects of academic life formed the bedrock of academic excellence at KIITDU. To augment mentoring activities, KSOM hosted the 7th edition of its corporate mentoring programme- ‘Konfidant’ where a corporate mentor was assigned a group of students from MBA-1 and worked in-depth with each one of them to design individual development plans. These plans served to inculcate a fervour in students to polish their skills for the upcoming internship processes in campus. Konfidant also helped to build relationships between students and their mentors over a period of two years. Konfidant 2023 hosted 33 corporate mentors from varied industries and companies.

Significant faculty and student achievements were a highlight during this period. KSOM has had holistic approach to research. Research workshop, research discussions and publications by faculty in our inhouse journal and other journals of repute helped promote a research culture in the school. As we near the completion of the autumn semester, we strive to keep abreast with our corporate and academic peers by relevant industry ready courses and updated pedagogy. As KSOM prepares for mega cultural fests in the upcoming months, we aim to provide a holistic experience to each student above and beyond the classroom.