The philosophy of SIESCOMS this year has been to migrate from doing conventional things in a traditional manner to doing some new things in a different way. The objective is to undertake business process re-engineering with a view to move towards excellence. This is imperative in order to survive in an increasingly globalized and competitive environment. Some of the initiatives taken / proposed to be taken during the year 2003-04 are as under:

Foundation Module:

The students in a business school come from varied background. The heterogeneity causes some initial problems in case the usual subjects start all together. With a view to bring about convergence in thinking as well as knowledge level, SIESCOMS from the current academic year (2003-04) decided to have a unique approach of having a Foundation Module before the actual classes begin. The foundation module is of two-week duration with five introductory subjects as under:

• Financial accounting

• Introduction to communication

• Basics of mathematics and statistics

• Introduction to computers

• Introduction to business environment (reading business news papers)
  
  

  Student Involvement in Institute Activities:

Involvement of students in all activities of the institute is a new strategic initiative this year at SIESCOMS with a view to achieve the desired goal of moving towards excellence. Firstly, it ensures student ownership of the institute. Secondly, this helps the institute grow through emergence of new and refreshing ideas from the youth. And finally, it develops administrative skills among the students as it is they who have to plan and implement the ideas and activities relevant to the committees. The various committees to be formed in this regard are:

• Academic committee

• Corporate relations committee

• Placement committee

• Industry lecture series committee

• Library committee

• Internal events committee

• Upkeep committee

• Journal committee

• Computer committee

• Events committee
  

• Culture & sports committee

• Alumni committee

• Code of ethics committee

• Quality management committee

The detailed activities of the various committees have been compiled in a compendium and circulated to the students. The activities of the various committees are proposed to be coordinated by a member of faculty / staff. There is also a concept of Best Committee Award at the end of the year.

Personality Development Program:

Development of the overall personality of a student is one of the prime objectives of any management program. It has, however, been observed that many students at the initial stage find it difficult to migrate from the graduate syndrome to post-graduate climate of learner-centric environment. This impedes their learning propensity as well as ability. It was, therefore, thought that at the initial stage itself the students will be exposed to structured inputs / games / exercises facilitating them to come out of protected environment and make them feel free to work in teams / groups. Every Sunday one batch of students will be exposed to this highly interactive personality development program. If necessary, this will be repeated after three months or so.

Leadership Trait Development Program:

SIESCOMS has always believed in a differentiating strategy so as to stand out from other B-schools. One such strategy is the proposed Leadership Trait Development Program (LTDP) that is aimed at developing leadership traits through a structured intervention. The objective is to develop leaders, not mere managers, who can take control of the business organizations in turbulent times. Six leadership traits have been identified and the program aims to develop them through various activities that include experiential sharing exercises, outbound activities, leadership summits, seminars to inculcate individual and organizational integrity and probity, working with non-governmental organizations, among others. The participants are also expected to maintain a diary of their experiences that would help them reflect and assess themselves longitudinally at the end of two years. The curriculum would also include discussions on Emotional Quotient (EQ) and Self-Management.

Yoga and Meditation:

Inculcating Indian values and beliefs along with learning Western management thoughts and paradigms will possibly bring out the best among the management students. The Nerul complex of SIES has a massive meditation centre built in an astounding climate of serenity and natural beauty. From this year onwards (2003-04) it is proposed to start Yoga and Mediation on a regular basis for students of all management programs. To start with, this is going to be on voluntary basis.

Foreign Language:

In an increasingly globalized world, learning a foreign language is always going to provide additional advantage to a manager. This is particularly true when mobility of labour across the globe is going to be a commonplace phenomenon. Considering the importance of this factor, SIESCOMS last year (2002-03) started the experimentation of teaching a foreign language on a voluntary basis. Business German was the language chosen. 21 students participated in the experiment. Considering the huge success of the venture, the institute has decided to carry it forward this year (2003-04) as well. This will start shortly in the month of August, 2003.