Top Industry Collaborations at Sona School: In today’s competitive business world, academic learning alone isn’t enough. Students need real-world exposure, meaningful interaction with industry leaders, and opportunities to test classroom theories in corporate settings. At Sona School of Management, the Corporate Connect Series 2025 is a flagship initiative that bridges academia and industry, offering students hands-on, immersive engagement with leading companies.
This year’s edition has brought a wave of innovation, collaboration, and opportunity. Through workshops, case challenges, live projects, and mentorship, Sona is equipping students with skills and insights to thrive in dynamic business environments.
Building Strong Industry Links
Sona’s Corporate Connect Series is designed to foster deep and ongoing partnerships rather than one-off events. The school selects industry leaders across sectors—from finance to technology, manufacturing to healthcare—to engage with students across multiple touchpoints.
These engagements include custom workshops that reflect current industry trends such as digital transformation, supply chain resilience, ESG strategy, and analytics. By working closely with corporate teams, students gain perspective not just on what businesses are doing today, but on where they are headed.
Experiential Learning Through Live Case Projects
One of the most powerful elements of the series is live case projects. Instead of studying fictional scenarios, students work directly on corporate challenges, framed around real pain points and business goals.
For example, an FMCG company invited student teams to assess the market potential for a new product line in Tier-2 cities. Teams conducted primary research, prepared detailed market entry strategies, and presented a final proposal to business managers. These activities improved their research skills, teamwork, and presentation ability while providing immediate value to the company.
Mentorship That Matters
Beyond formal workshops, Sona pairs students with industry mentors who guide them through internships, academic projects, and career decisions. These mentors come from diverse backgrounds—banking, logistics, manufacturing, tech, and consulting.
Over the course of the year, mentor–mentee pairs meet regularly to set learning goals, review progress, troubleshoot project issues, and explore career options. This kind of personalized support helps students understand industry expectations and shape their professional identity.
Skill Workshops for Emerging Roles
The Corporate Connect Series includes workshops focused on skills vital for the future of work. These include sessions on:
- Artificial Intelligence and Data Analytics, where professionals taught students how to analyze datasets, build dashboards, and uncover business insights
- Digital Marketing & Social Media Strategies, covering influencer campaigns, SEO, and targeted ad management
- Agile Project Management, including sprint planning, scrum roles, and stakeholder engagement
- Design Thinking, where students learned customer-centric brainstorming, rapid prototyping, and user testing
These workshops are practical, interactive, and connected to current business use-cases.
Leadership Forums and Fireside Chats
Sona regularly organizes fireside chats and leadership forums that allow students to interact with CEOs, CXOs, and successful entrepreneurs in a casual, Q&A-style environment.
In these sessions, guests share their journeys, discuss career experiences, reflect on leadership challenges, and answer student queries. The open format encourages authentic conversation, letting students ask follow-up questions, seek advice, and receive personalized feedback.
Industry-Initiated Hackathons
To encourage collaboration and innovation, Sona holds industry-backed hackathons where students from different disciplines form teams to solve real-world problems under tight deadlines.
In a recent hackathon, students designed a logistics optimization system for an e-commerce firm. Over 48 hours, they built a mock dashboard, coded route suggestions, and presented a future-ready prototype to company judges. Winning teams earned internships and project assignments.
These intensives help students build soft skills—communication, leadership, delegation—alongside technical know-how.
Internship and Placement Pipeline
Sona’s Corporate Connect Series helps students convert learning into career opportunities. Many participating companies recruit interns during workshop modules or case sessions. High-performing students are often invited to join summer internship programs immediately after the event.
This pipeline approach allows students to build a track record and create lasting relationships with companies, some of which serve as gateways to full-time placement offers.
Alumni–Industry Reunions
Alumni of Sona often stay connected as part of the Corporate Connect Series. In addition to speakers and mentors, alumni return to campus to host panel discussions, judge competitions, and share their post-MBA experiences.
These alumni act as relatable role models. They bridge student aspirations with real-world possibilities, showing how skills and connections gained at Sona paved the way for startup launches, promotions, or leadership roles.
Enhanced Industry Ready Curriculum
Insights from the Corporate Connect Series inform Sona’s curriculum. Faculty and members of the corporate council regularly update courses based on emerging trends, compliance standards, or market shifts.
If companies show demand for skills like blockchain knowledge in finance, renewable energy strategy in operations, or soft skills in leadership, Sona has the flexibility to integrate guest modules, add workshops, or invite industry speakers to address those topics.
Measuring Impact and Student Outcomes
To ensure the program delivers value, feedback is collected from students, faculty, and participating companies. Surveys cover workshop effectiveness, application of learning, and satisfaction levels.
Student reflections often highlight real shifts in mindset, confidence, and clarity on career choices. Some students land internships or jobs directly through contacts made during the Corporate Connect Series.
These results shape future editions—refining workshop topics, selecting partner companies, and ensuring relevance.
Student Voices from Corporate Connect 2025
Students describe the series as transformative. One remarked that working on a real supply chain problem helped them see the difference between theory and corporate reality. Another said that mentorship conversations changed their career plans, opening doors they hadn’t previously considered.
These voices reinforce the value of immersive, applied learning that the Corporate Connect Series provides—ensuring students graduate with both skills and confidence.
Planning for a Broader Corporate Ecosystem
Looking ahead, Sona plans to deepen its partnerships. The school aims to:
- Expand collaborations with emerging sectors like fintech, renewable energy, and healthcare technology
- Increase international corporate participation through virtual forums
- Launch alumni-led mentorship networks in new geographies
- Offer micro-internships and part-time roles during the academic year
- Include industry certification programs as part of advanced courses
These initiatives reflect Sona’s goal to offer a comprehensive corporate engagement experience that matches the pace of change in business.
Final Thought
The Corporate Connect Series 2025 at Sona School of Management isn’t just an add-on—it’s a transformational engine. It empowers students to think beyond textbooks, gain practical insight, and make meaningful connections with industry. Whether you’re crafting a data-powered marketing campaign, solving logistics challenges in real time, or refining your startup pitch, this series offers a unique gateway to professional growth.
If you’re considering an MBA with hands-on industry exposure, this initiative is worth exploring. Drop your questions below to learn more about workshops, internships, or partnership opportunities. And if you found this useful, share it with peers who are on the same journey.
