SIIB - A detailed review

Symbiosis Institute of International Business, Pune is affiliated with Symbiosis International University provides excellent courses to pursue your career in International Business. It offers 2-year full-time MBA residential courses in International Business, Agri-Business and Energy and Environment. Guidance and mentorship from industry experts and professionals provided me with an extra edge to decide on my career path. The admission to this college is through the SNAP exam. The aspirant has to fill the college admission form for SIIB separately while filling up the SNAP form. Then based on the SNAP scores, shortlisted students are called to the campus for group discussion and personal interview rounds. And the final confirmation will be sent to the selected candidate. The forms for SNAP are rolled out in October and the exam happens in December or January, a post that results are rolled out in March and admission process at the campus is held in April-May and regular classes commences in June.

The course curriculum is designed to make the students learn about international business along with traditional marketing concepts. Modern international business courses like foreign trade policy, GST and import-export help create a more practical understanding of these concepts. There are in-house faculty as well as industry professionals are called to take on courses like digital marketing, business analytics and ERP. Most of the faculty members are very experienced in their domain and they use a combination of a theoretical, activity-based and practical approach to impart education.

There are very fewer internship opportunities provided by the college. And there is very less support from the college's end to help students get the internship. I got the opportunity to intern with Asian Paints Pvt Ltd.

From the 3rd semester, students are eligible for placements, there are about 50 companies that came for hiring, most of them were BFSI and IT companies. The placements are below average and there is no such dedicated placement week, the placements happen from the start of the third semester till the end of the fourth semester. 80% of the students got placed with the maximum package to be 18 lakhs per annum and the average package was 7 lakhs per annum.

The fees during my admission were 13 lakhs and it increased by 10% for my junior batch. They provide a quota-based scholarship to international students. The fees have to be paid in two equal instalments which have to be paid at the start of each year during the two-year program. The placements are average where a major chunk of students are placed in BFSI and IT companies. There are very few companies with a Sales & Marketing background that hire from this college.

There is a cultural fest once a year happens around January. The library is well equipped and they will add books on requests too. There is a sports complex, gymnasium and swimming pool on the campus. The university organizes an inter-college sports fest.

Triple sharing rooms with attached washrooms are there in the hostel. The hostel is located 1 km away from the college campus in a separate compound. Three-time meals are provided which are average in taste. There are a lot of restrictions in the hostel and daily attendance is required even in the hostel.

Yes, there was the GD/PI round. GD topics were mostly current affairs, recent economical and political issues that may have impacted the society. The interview panel was of two-person, one from the industry and the other a faculty member from the institute. They checked up on the communication skills, basic business acumen and the reason to select this program and the college. No extra preparation is required for these rounds, just regular brush up of current affairs and fluent communication skills.