#Dhandha (which is Hindi for business) is an annual fest conceived and organised by participants of the Post Graduate Programme in Family Managed Business (PGP-FMB) at SPJIMR to celebrate the spirit of doing business.
The highlight of the fest is an annual consulting competition that brings together next gen family business leaders enrolled at SPJIMR’s PGP-FMB programme and future managers and leaders enrolled at two of SPJIMR’s full time residential programmes – PGDM and PGPM. The consulting competition is the only of its kind that facilitates cross-programme integration and learning, leading to exciting explorations and possibilities as students attempt to crack real world problems of small and medium enterprises.
Now in its fifth year, the fest and the competition have become an important part of the SPJIMR calendar, touching over 1000 participants and nine FMB batches so far. This year saw 189 students participate across the three programmes – FMB, PGDM and PGPM. From a programme perspective, students of the PGDM/PGPM programme get an opportunity to work on live business problems of SMEs, which as a group are a large part of the business eco system in India. FMB students, on the other hand, get an opportunity to participate in structured problem-solving as professional managers use models and frameworks to negotiate challenges thrown at them.
The challenges come in the form of live cases offered by FMB students, who dig into their own businesses and bring up opportunities for consulting. The consulting is done by a team comprising three PGDM/PGPM participants, together with one FMB participant. The event is student-led and student-managed, with a core organising committee responsible for the planning and execution of the competition. The competition runs for two days but the groundwork stretches over three months.
The teams are required to present their Consulting Report (problem identification, solutions etc.) in the form of a presentation to a panel comprising up to three jury members. The jury consists of faculty and senior FMB alumni. A preliminary elimination round witnesses the short-listing of four top teams, which proceed to battle it out in the final round the next day.
