Workshops & Projects in SIES

Introduction

SIES COMS makes sure that the curriculum of all its three PGDM courses is designed in such a way that not only it help the students to grasp the academic concepts in an easy way but also enable them to implement the concepts effectively in real-life scenarios. Hence, apart from the traditional assignments and presentations conducted over the course of a trimester, the professors also try incorporating new ways of assessing students in the respective subjects.

Academic Evaluation Methods

The faculty assesses a student via role plays, extempore speeches, live projects, corporate mentorships, etc. Innovative teaching methods such as management films, mock group discussions, book reviews, corporate immersions, news analyses, business simulations, etc. are also implemented from time-to-time by the college faculties. To state an example, those opting for “Entrepreneurship” as an elective witness about 80% of all their learnings happening in the form of experiments and case studies.  

Major workshops and projects that were held

The contemporary subjects are updated as regularly as possible to ensure it remains in perfect sync with the current trends of the corporate world. There is a concept named Market Based Projects (MBP) which lets students gain an early exposure to the customers, marketplace, and other market dynamics. This allows them to bridge the gap between their academic curriculum and the real-world scenarios. SIES also organizes continuous interactions with the industry via a weekly-theme based Corporate Interaction Series (CIS), Conferences, and Seminars. It also conducts workshops, research colloquiums, and conferences that happen year round, and help in aiding corporate development of students. SIES COMS also facilitates an intensive research-based program named “Idea Research Program” that inculcates an essential research acumen in the students’ minds.

USP of SIES COMS workshops and projects

Corporate mentoring is considered to be a crucial way of letting students implement their classroom learnings into real-world business challenges and gain immense amounts of valuable learnings along the way. This mentoring is done by the college alumni who propose a business challenge to a small group of students and guide them in coming up with feasible as well as effective solutions. The live projects usually remain ongoing in the form of “Capstone Projects” and “Concurrent Projects” which either the students undertake themselves or are allotted by the professors. Then, there are some special projects named Skill Linked Immersion Projects (SLIP) which helps a lot in instilling the vital domain and functional skills in the students. SLIP is bifurcated into two phases: the first aims at improving a student’s crucial soft skills, while the second lets the student undertake a certification course of his/her choice. SIES is also known for its IDEATHON that helps students to foster out of the box thinking.

Global Immersion Program

When it comes to the USP of the SIES curriculum, it incorporates the Global Immersion Program (GIP) which provides exposure to the students in understanding the economy, major sectors and businesses, local cultures, and some key aspects of carrying out a business outside India. This GIP comprises of about four lectures conducted on the campus, followed by roughly a week’s stay in the state’s rural areas. This leads to a good blend of classroom lectures, company visits, and cultural activities, making the students equip with all the essential traits of becoming efficient as well as empathetic leaders. As a part of the Institutional Social Responsibility (ISR), SIES has adopted two villages in the Thane district of Maharashtra, wherein the necessary infrastructure is created to provide employment opportunities to the local villagers.     

Conclusion

SIES COMS, through its unique mix of contemporary as well as innovative teaching methodologies, aims to incorporate a lateral thinking mind-set among all its students. This would help them in gaining the necessary ways to analyse and troubleshoot a problem, discover newer ways to think and explore smarter ways of problem solving, among others.  

About the Author: I am Abhishek Desai, and I'm a Welingkar alumnus of the 2018-2020 batch. I take keen interests in writing, reading, trekking, outdoor sports, and listening to music.

Note: The views expressed in this article are solely author’s own and do not reflect/represent those of Shiksha