SMS Alumni

The Colloquium Series, led by distinguished guest, Ms. Leetha Prajesh, Head of Talent Acquisition, APAC & India at Amadeus on a compelling Use Case titled “The Great Resignation.” Five groups presented solid ideas to tackle the challenges, each backed by strong reasoning. She gave invaluable feedback, highlighting strengths and weaknesses, and concluded with impactful takeaways. Her insights on Indian Job Market, Booting Your Career & Making a Difference were invaluable.

The School of Management Studies hosted Mr. Brajesh C. Kaimal (PMP, DASSM, CDAI), for a session on Project Management. Mr. Kaimal shared valuable insights on the project lifecycle, the importance of a project mindset, and how industry leaders like E. Sreedharan have applied these principles in large-scale projects like the Delhi Metro.

The Colloquium Series by Mr. Venu Gopal Nair, Founder & CEO of Ideascape. He delivered an impactful presentation on “The Importance of Advertising & Brand Management.”He began his session with a thought-provoking question: Can you imagine a world without advertising? He highlighted the evolution of technology & its impact on advertising, and also delved into brand evolution, content creation, AI & Ads.

The Colloquium Series, led by Mr. Gopikrishna M, Consultant & Business Coach, who worked in the Tata Group for 11 years in Blockchain Tech. His talk was on the compelling topic “Design Thinking: Implications in FinTech Entrepreneurship.”He spoke at length above Meaning of Design Thinking (DT), going further into the basics, process & mindsets, its application in FinTech & its benefit and 6 Steps to Results in DT.

In an unprecedented move, an innovative "Giving Back" series is being conceived, organised and delivered by the Batch of 1984 alumni. The stalwarts unveiled a host of year-long initiatives including mentorship, career guidance and collaborative projects with the school. These initiatives that emphasize the importance of giving back to the alma mater, are bound to forge a strong alumni-institute connection. The inaugural event began with Sunanda Muralidharan’s (Former Chairperson – Amrita Business School) engaging talk on ‘How to Get the Best from Your School’, where she emphasized the importance of resilience, adaptability and an appetite for excellence. Her insights and towering presence resonated deeply with the students.

In another engaging session on life lessons, Mr Raj Kalady (CEO, Pallium India) recounted his ordeal of being stranded in Hurghada, Egypt, after losing all his belongings in a liveaboard fire. He shared how interdependence, acceptance of reality, focus, and patience helped him overcome the crisis. Mr.Kalady also stressed stepping out of comfort zones and nurturing hobbies.

The Fuller Life Series by the Class of 1984 hosted yet another enlightening session on Personal Branding and its importance in today’s career landscape, led by esteemed alumna Ms. Renuka Nair. In her talk, she emphasized the importance of defining a unique personal brand and aligning it with one’s values and strengths

SMS CUSAT takes immense pride in remaining connected to our alumni from across the globe. Through our ambitious Alumni Mentorship Programme (AMP), the institute now reaches out to interested alumni members for student support and progression. Each chosen alumni personally mentors two students throughout their time at SMS, thereby equipping and enriching them to take on bigger roles and responsibilities. The faculty team collects regular feedback from both mentors and mentees for continuous process improvisation. Following the immense success of the first mentoring batch in 2023, we are all set to extend the programme’s benefits to a larger pool of students in the subsequent batches.

SMS is the alma mater for the largest alumni network in south India. This legacy is its greatest glory. Every Year the SMS Fraternity and Alumni association welcomes the Alumni to its very own home coming event La Nostalgia, which is one of the most anticipated events at SMS. La Nostalgia 2022 was replete with exciting moments with more than 250  alumni from across the globe including Vietnam and even U.S in attendance.

The function was graced by elite dignitaries like Mr. V.K Mathews , Founder and executive chairman of IBS group and Mr. Rajkrishnan director and  digital strategist at Microsoft Illinois US, who shared their two cents on digital transformation. The talks were followed by a gala dinner and an evening of entertainment with power packed cultural performances by the alumni in association with the present students. In hindsight, the occasion was an unforgettable one with something for everyone- emotions entertainment, cuisine, knowledge and Nostalgia.