The BITS School of Management (BITSoM), the Mumbai-based new-age business school, has started its first academic session today for the two-year residential MBA degree program with its founding class of 140 students, out of which 35% are women.

The batch comes from some of the best Indian and international undergraduate colleges such as the IITs, BITS Pilani, St Xavier’s College, Mumbai, Jesus & Mary College, Indraprastha College, Shaheed Sukhdev College of Business Studies, Jadavpur University, NIFT,University of Warwick, UK, New York University at Abu Dhabi, Purdue University, USA and McGill University, Canada.

The students were selected after a rigorous selection process that comprised of academics, CAT/GMAT/GRE scores, extra-curricular achievements, and a personal interview.Fifty percent of the class has work experience of two or more years with top companies such as Amazon, Boston Consulting Group, Deloitte, Ernst & Young, Morgan Stanley, TCS, and ZS Associates from across more than twenty industries.

The students of the Founding class are well-rounded individuals, with achievements beyond academics. With roles ranging from being a scriptwriter and a production manager for a movie featured in an International Film Festival to starting their own online mobile accessory start-up and authoring books, a fewhave achieved success at a higher level.The batch also has a swimmer who has won four international medals till now.

BITSoM has already garnered strong interest for summer internships and/or final placements for its students from coveted names such as McKinsey & Co., Boston Consulting Group, Bain & Co., Hindustan Unilever, Pidilite, Swiggy, Udaan, and the Aditya Birla Group.

Commenting on the commencement of the founding class, Dr Ranjan Banerjee, Dean, BITSoM said, "This is a strong founding class. Many of our students have chosen BITSoM over top national and international schools. This is remarkable for a school in its first year. The class has been chosen not only for academic excellence and test scores, but also for exceptional extra curricular interests. We have a diverse, talented and enthusiastic class with strong communication skills. Through our unique curriculum, and personalized development plans, we will now help them realise their potential.”

BITSoM has some of the best global faculty from the top institutes in the world on board. Along with a strategic collaboration with the London Business School, the faculty hasbeendrawn from institutes such as Kellogg, Wharton, NYU, MIT Sloan, Texas Austin, and Cornell. BITSoM has recently added a few more outstanding teachers to its faculty, such as Prof. Leena Chatterjee, Prof. AK Shivakumar, DevduttPattnaik, and Nish Bhutani.

The first week of the academic session begins with a virtual orientation where students will attend workshops on solving case studies, a session on leadershipperspectives by Prakash Iyer the best-selling author, motivational speaker and leadership coach. Prof. Leena Chatterjee, head of the Department of Organisational Behaviour and Human Resources, will conduct the introductory sessions on self-development. Each student at BITSoM will have a self-development plan which will be a first step towards their leadership journey at BITSoM. During the week, a session is also planned for students and their families with Prof Raj Raghunathan, a member of the BITSoM Governing Council and a Professor of Business at the University of Texas at Austin.

In the current situation, classes will begin virtually from 12^th July 2021. After the situation normalises and the government gives permission to educational institutes to resume classes physically, classes will be conducted at BITSoM’s world-class campus at Powai.

BITS School of Management, BITSoM is a new-age global business school under the aegis of BITS Pilani. Located in India’s business capital, Mumbai, BITSoM is inspired by the spirit of excellence and entrepreneurial culture that BITS Pilani has nurtured over five decades. Building on this legacy, BITSoM offers a new age MBA programme with a future-ready curriculum and a transformative experience that will prepare students to be lifelong learners and thrive in an ever-changing business landscape. With a faculty hand-picked from among the best business schools across the world, BITSoM is a school for business and life that aims to bring out the best in the next generation of leaders.