DESIGN. INNOVATE. LEAD.
learn through experience

Every course is required to include an industry interface component, for a 20-hour course, typically 2-3 hours are devoted to guest lectures or in-class simulations led by industry experts, making this a near-mandatory feature of every elective.

Beyond individual courses, practical exposure is reinforced through Academic Industry Weeks (AI week 1 and AI week 2), cohort-based industry visits, and short live/academic projects, ensuring theoretical grounding is consistently paired with applied, real-world context.

Curriculum relevance is maintained through direct industry interfaces built into every course, dedicated Academic Industry Weeks that expose students to live industry practice, and Academic Area Advisory Councils that help shape and validate specialization offerings.

The program also pursues certification partnerships (such as with KPMG for analytics) and is gradually expanding into emerging areas like consulting, reflecting ongoing efforts to track where industry demand is heading.

Design Thinking (DT) runs through the program as one of its five core curriculum pillars, rather than being confined to a single course. It follows a three-stage integration model that builds students' capability progressively across the PGDM journey.

Practically, this includes tools and methods such as empathy mapping and customer personas, alongside an increasing AI-first approach to problem-solving, equipping students to apply design-led thinking across functional domains, not just in dedicated DT coursework.

Yes. While every student selects a major, SOIL doesn't offer a general PGDM track but instead, students shape a customised path within its specialisation framework. Choices are floated at the end of Term 2, with the first major formally offered in Term 3, timed so students head into their summer internship with a clear sense of the domain they want to explore.

Students can shape their journey through several combinations across the 14 total elective courses:

• 9 courses in one domain = a major
• 5 courses in a second domain = a minor
• Fewer than 5 courses in a second area (e.g., 3) = counted as a general minor, not a domain minor

This allows for combinations like 9+5, 10+4, 11+3, or a full 14+0 single major. Students cannot split evenly across two domains (e.g., 7+7) — one domain must anchor their 9-course major. Choices must be finalised by the end of Term 4, after which switching becomes difficult due to how credits have already been allocated.

Industry exposure runs through the program at multiple levels:

• Within courses: Every course includes an industry interface, for a 20-hour course, around 2-3 hours are typically devoted to industry-led lectures or in-class simulations. This is a near-mandatory element of every elective.
• Academy Industry Weeks (AI week): In Term 2 (around November), AI week 1 exposes every first-year student to five core domains i.e Analytics, Marketing, Finance, Operations, and Consulting, with a full day dedicated to each, helping students understand roles, tools, and trends before choosing electives. In Term 3 (around January), AI week 2 goes deeper, with 3–4 days focused on the student's chosen domain, each combining an industry speaker with a simulation, case study, or applied project.
• Industry visits: Each AI week concludes with cohort-specific company visits aligned to that domain, giving students direct exposure to real management practices.
• Leadership Series and Experiential Fridays: These provide some of students' earliest touchpoints with industry leaders and practices from the start of the program.

The program is designed to build both transferable and functional skills:

Transferable skills

• Analytical thinking, developed through the Design Thinking course and case-based pedagogy
• Leadership and communication, built through experiential projects and public engagements
• Resilience and interpersonal skills, reinforced through the rigorous Career Development System (CDS)

Functional / hard skills

• A strong analytical foundation for all students through advanced Excel, SQL, and business intelligence tools, with more advanced AI and deep learning options available to those who opt in
• Domain-specific expertise depending on specialisation, for example, financial modelling, security analysis, and portfolio management in Finance; incident reporting and grievance handling in HR; and proposal and contract writing in Sales
• Certification partnerships (including with KPMG for analytics) that add industry-recognised credentials to select specialisations

Experiential learning at SOIL is intentionally designed to develop the whole person, not just professional competencies. It draws on Howard Gardner's theory of the nine multiple intelligences, with workshops mapped to different intelligence types such as numerical, kinaesthetic, and linguistic intelligence, so students can discover strengths and interests beyond the standard MBA toolkit.

Examples include:

• Creative and therapeutic workshops such as dance and pottery
• The Reading Club, which has helped participating students build reading speed and cognitive ability
• Morning Circle sessions, which build confidence and public speaking comfort by helping students move past shyness and inhibition

The goal is for students to leave with a fuller sense of self - their attitudes, interests, and strengths supporting long-term personal growth rather than just immediate placement readiness.

The six-term structure builds progressively:

• Term 2: AI week 1 exposes students to all five core domains (Analytics, Marketing, Finance, Operations, Consulting) before any specialisation decisions are made
• End of Term 2: Students begin selecting their major/minor path
• Term 3: The first formal major is offered, timed just ahead of the summer internship; AI week 2 provides deeper, domain-specific immersion for the student's chosen area
• Terms 3–6: The full elective basket (14 courses) is completed across these terms, allowing students to build toward their 9-course major and up to a 5-course minor

This progression is designed to move students from broad domain awareness, to informed specialisation choice, to deep, applied expertise.

SOIL's curriculum is intentionally built around five interconnected pillars - core management, Liberal Arts, Design Thinking, Career Development System (CDS), and Social Innovation — designed to develop students from multiple angles rather than through management theory alone.

The program's explicit philosophy is to prepare students not just for placement, but for who they become 5 years after graduating. Courses like anthropology and psychology, for instance, are framed as being less immediately useful on day one of a job and more valuable once a graduate begins managing teams. Similarly, courses on mental health, wellness, and conflict management are designed to support students at the stage in their careers when people-management - not just technical execution - becomes central to their role.

SOIL measures this through what it calls a “transformation index,” tracked across two horizons: from entry to graduation, and from graduation out to 5 years. This reflects a deliberate design choice to build not just job-ready graduates, but well-rounded future managers - which is part of why the school says its curriculum resonates with its recruiter advisory board.

Switching a major/minor is permitted only until the student is in Term 4, after that point, there typically isn't enough runway left in the elective calendar to complete the required 9-course major in a new domain. As stated completed 9 courses is a must for a Major.