Students at KIAMS Pune from Successful Interns to Competent Professionals

The time of internship is the time of “cruel realization” for students when they look around their dorm rooms and realize that the comfort of the college will not last forever. Whether they like it or not, they will be finally forced out of the student’s shell to take plunge. However, when you are a student of a college that offers its assistance to help you gently nudge into the future, the journey from the student to intern and then to the real job world becomes extremely easy. Students of Kirloskar Institute of Advanced Management Studies (KIAMS) are lucky to belong to such an institute.

Archana Prakash, currently an intern with the HDFC Bank’s Private Banking division in the area of Customer Satisfaction, shares her experience of journey from a student in KIAMS to an intern in HDFC. When asked about the reason for choosing KIAMS as her B-School, she said “The two-year, Post-Graduate Diploma in Management at KIAMS is designed to prepare you for careers in the industry, across various functional areas. The programme equips you with strong conceptual skills to manage businesses in an integrated manner. The emphasis is on developing a holistic manager with a vision to take on the challenges of the future. It also hones your analytical and problem-solving skills to enhance your decision-making capabilities and prepares you to meet the future challenges of the corporate world.”

She is thankful for the varied curriculum at KIAMS that helped her prepare to face the various challenges during internship. “The curriculum at KIAMS is designed in such a way that it engaged me in several activities at the same time and this allowed me to face the pressures and other challenges with ease during my internship at HDFC Bank. The curriculum is spread over six trimesters of which the first three are devoted to foundation courses across the core areas of management. Subjects like Business Communication, Research Methodology, Statistics, Managerial Economics, Marketing Management, Financial Accounting, Cost Accounting, Business Ethics and Corporate Governance are aimed at providing the conceptual understanding of the functional areas and were a big help when the concepts had to be practically applied during my internship”, she quoted.

Another student at KIAMS, Preeti Agarwal is an intern with BMA Wealth Creators where she’s studying what impact the financial performance of companies listed on the NSE has on their stocks. Explaining about her internship experience she said, “In my internship I am required to analyse the financial performance of all the companies listed on the National Stock Exchange and see how it affects the stock price of the companies. At the same time I try to take technical and fundamental calls on the stocks of the companies so that investors can make profitable investments.”

Giving the credit to KIAMS in helping her prepare for the internship she said, “The trimester system followed in the programme has facilitated the flexibility required to engage in several activities and has enabled me to confidently face the pressures and challenges during my stint at BMA Wealth Creators. Subjects like Business Ethics, Corporate Governance, Research Methodology, Organisational Behaviour, Operations, MIS, Accounting and many more incorporated into the curriculum have exposed me to the inner workings of the corporate world, and have sharpened my thinking skills to innovate with ideas and solutions in the light of various limitations.”

The management and faculty at KIAMS assist students at all levels to prepare them for achieving best in their career. Through internships, placements, real-life projects, and a number of other services KIAMS works with hundreds of students every year to ensure that each student is enriched with all the skills that they needed to establish a successful career after graduating from their B-School.

Life at KIAMS (Kirloskar Institute of Advanced Management Studies )

Looking for the right campus can be a matter of measureless repute and good stress in a student’s life. And then there is one. One last semester left, that’s it. It’s hard to believe that we are approaching the home stretch of this intensive two-year PGDM program and that in just five short months we will remerge wearing our working hats into the corporate world. Since I started the KIAMS Post Graduate Diploma in Management (PGDM), time has just whizzed by. While lately I’ve started feeling a strange mixture of anxiety and relief, it seems like only yesterday that I landed at the Bangalore Airport, anticipating the crucial second round of Personal Interview battle! yes that’s true... a necessary evil to kill before gaining access to the hallowed campus of KIAM.

Now business learning is not the same as academic learning. I can’t say that I would be able to answer questions about all the intricacies of what I learned. But the advantage is that business learning, especially conducted under the appendage of a corporate sponsored (Kirloskar Group) is by nature designed to be directly applicable – it focuses on what managers actually do and how they do it. And this is where our institution aspires to quickly rise to being one of the best B-schools in the region, thanks to its well rounded and carefully thought out management curriculum.

On the hostel front, well everyone has a different living situation - no two freshmen are 100% compatible, and problems with the roomie are inevitable. Mine, for example, was a member of a god knows which ‘rock band’, a guy who composed his own music and had a fetish of jogging his guts out. I used to have to clean up handfuls of cheesy Cheetos balls that he left around the room – which I hate to admit, I terribly despised, but then needed to tolerate. Despite our differences, we managed to get through the year with much less than a few minor arguments. Heck ! We even had some good times. The point is – we ultimately learned to live with ‘us’, and even celebrate, our differences – and I’m grateful that, for one year each, I could have had a small part in lives that are going to take this world by storm.

Some Useful Information for Students seeking Admission in KIAMS –

Considering the much-publicised placement reports of every top B-school – and the queries I kindda receive from prospective students, I’ve put together below a few brief points in favour of students from an insider’s perspective. The truth is that KIAMS holds an excellent placement record. In fact for the past two years it has given 100 % placements at an average which now comes around 4lkh per annum approximately. Whereas it absorbs only 50 -60 students every year, it is known for its infrastructure where many b-schools actually lag. In fact –

- KIAMS sprawls over six acres of landscaped and natural surroundings on the banks of the Tungabadhara, 240 kms from Bangalore (think of the long-serene walks you can have by the river)
- Is recognized by the All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE) (no spamming here!)
- Conducts Industry related internships from the first year onwards (work your butt off dude, there’s no escaping)
- Events and lectures from prominent visiting faculties all year round. (they will just not leave
you alone!)

- Follows CGPA system for evaluation which evaluates students on overall performance along with academics. (I knew I could be a writer and manager both!)
- It has compulsory jogging and sports session (I think that’s why my roomie was here!)
- Peaceful environs, yet hectic schedules which prepares us for the corporate environment( Strategy of life)

KIAMS MAKES INROADS INTO INDIA’S EDUCATION CAPITAL

KIAMS: Dr. Janaki Naik answers questions

KIAMS (Kirloskar Institute of Advanced Management Studies) is the newest campus in Pune for aspiring MBA students. It comes from the well known conglomerate – Kirloskar group of companies. A name backed by over a hundred years in the industry. The new is actually an extension of KIAMS Harihar, and is equipped with the best infrastructure and has the same experienced faculty in both locations.

Dr. Janaki Niak, Director, KIAMS, discussed the institute with Ameeta Agnihotri and talked about plans, unique features and offerings that will make a huge difference to the students and the industry alike. The Pune institute is now ready and waiting for students who begin classes in July 2011.

Q. What stage of completion is the KIAMS Pune campus before start of the batch in Jul’2011?

It is ready and operational for classes to commence in June 2011. Hostels are also ready for occupation from June 10th 2011.

Q. What is the objective behind setting up KIAMS Pune?

Pune has been on the anvil for quite some time. It is the head quarters of many corporate houses and at the same time an educational hub. Given our vision ‘To provide Society a center of learning that excels in Management Education, Research, Training and Consultancy’, Pune is logically the right choice for us. We can pursue all the activities to fulfill the vision and have greater Industry Interface through guest speakers, live projects, study visits, training and consultancy. In short it will help us to get the business environment into the classroom.

Q. What will be the strengths on which the institute will build itself?

KIAMS Pune has the complete support of the Harihar campus as well as the Kirloskar Group Companies. Being a part of the illustrious house of Kirloskar is in itself a strength. Our institute is built on strong academic pillars: a good faculty pool, a multidisciplinary and integrative curriculum, live industry projects and a pedagogy which blends theory and experiential learning.

Q. What kind of Mentorship will KIAMS Harihar give to KIAMS Pune?

KIAMS Harihar and KIAMS Pune work as a single unit in two locations. Faculty from both the campuses teach in both the locations, curriculum is common and admissions, evaluations as well as placements are common. So you see it is more teamwork than mentoring that takes place in this case, unlike the case of the new IIMs where the new IIMs are on their own when it comes to evaluation and/or placements.

Q Will there be a common teacher pool? Alum pool?  Placements for students, etc.?

Yes as mentioned above both campuses work together. In fact Pune campus has already hosted an alumni get together, faculty have been teaching at both campuses in the academic year 2010-11 and summer placements were common for the class of 2012.

Q. Any advice to students looking to consider KIAMS Pune?

Yes, if you would like to use the two years of post graduation fruitfully KIAMS Pune is the place for you. Be prepared to work hard and play hard. Remember the time for action is now. It’s never too late to do something.