The IIMA logo carries a one-line motto, 'vidyaviniyogadvikasah'. This imperative, added in 1967, exhorts IIMA to 'apply (or distribute) knowledge, for development'. One way in which students have tried to live up to this motto is by reaching out to people who might benefit from their skills and knowledge. The initial efforts, in the 1970s, coalesced around FORSAW, the FORum for Social AWareness. Students reached out to social action groups and tried to learn from them while also contributing to improving their practices. Even though the forum faded away, many students, as part of their project course work, have contributed to improving practice in social and development organizations. These projects number in the hundreds. Prof. Anil Gupta, who retired in 2016, recalls a significant project: a plan to rehabilitate people who had lost their handcarts in the 2001 earthquake; "Madhabi Puri Buch [the current SEBI Chairperson] worked on one such project--she worked on street children and their educational needs." Another student project in the early 1980s tied in with work on tribal development. Organizations that benefited from such projects included the large ones like SEWA as well as very small organizations. This kind of work was in evidence even during emergencies, During the 2001 earthquake, IIMACORE, a temporary organization set up by IIMA faculty and students, undertook relief work using CR 324 (the present Yoga Centre) as a godown and control centre. This group dealt with about 200 voluntary organizations, receiving donated material at night, and some students and faculty members getting the material ready for shipment by early morning. This went on for a month, up to March 1, 2001. Soon after the earthquake, some students visited the airport and saw the chaos there--relief material was piling up and no one seemed to have a clue about what to do with it. Within a day, they had prepared a computer-based program to track supplies; this was given to the Relief Commissioner. At his request, the students also made a simple website on how to respond to aftershocks. This included data on forecasts of aftershock waves--and had advice on how to respond to tremors; for example, by highlighting that the corners or the doorframes were relatively safe places.

SOMA

A second way in which students reached out was through SOMA, Student Organization for Managerial Assistance. This was founded in 1972--Sowinder Singh (PGP 1970-72) was one of the founders. For about a decade, it executed projects for organizations in various sectors. Then there was a lull, before it was revived in 1992-93. That year it undertook five projects: Revitalization package for Kishore Vadilal Enterprises, Streamlining the technology transfer process at ATIRA, Rationalizing the workflow in the publishing department at ATIRA, Revival Strategy for Surgiplast and Marketing Strategy for a new service introduction by Thermax. A few faculty members used to attend SOMA meetings. Prof. Gupta recalls: "When students did not do well, the client would feel bad, and so we wanted to guide the students when things were not going right. We did not want the outsiders to feel that their confidence in our students' capability was misplaced. Our students generally did a good job, but very rarely some groups would fail. We would then apologize, and find others to complete the job. Then the Forum for Industry Interaction (FII) came up in the early 2000s, and this attracted many students. For a while, the two groups, SOMA and FII co-existed." To avoid confusion in the clients' minds, it was proposed that FII would have a social wing (for non-profit organizations) and a corporate wing that would look at private entities. By 2005 FII had established itself firmly as the 'student consulting body'.

FORUM FOR INDUSTRY INTERACTION (FII)

FII represents a more sophisticated and structured phase in the students' attempts to apply their knowledge, 'for development'. Its activities were organized well, and it managed to undertake projects in a variety of functional areas. A 2006-07 report has the following to say:

Forum for Industry Interaction (formerly known as Students' Organization for Managerial Assistance, SOMA) propagates world class managerial practices to fledgling businesses, NGOs, and established business houses. FII has successfully carried out consultancy projects in finance, strategy, operations research, marketing strategy, start-up ventures, informational technology, and organizational design for clients as diverse as Bosch Rexroth, RPG, Symphony Air Coolers, Shoppers Stop, Ingersoll Rand, Blue Star Diamonds, CEON, CRY, SEWA, AMC, and Disaster Mitigation Institute. Students get a chance to apply their academic concepts to solve real life issues and clients get access to cutting edge solutions from future leaders of the corporate world.