NEPAL INTERVIEW

Hult Prize at KUSOM | Interview with Campus Director Sadikshya Pandeya

Hult Prize at KUSOM | Interview with Campus Director Sadikshya Pandeya

Kathmandu University School of Management (KUSOM) is the best business school in all B-Schools ratings in Nepal. With a motto of ‘Ahead in Management’ KUSOM is leading the way in Management, setting quality standards and innovative trends for other business schools and providing high quality managerial, and entrepreneurial graduates every year.

Sadikshya Pandeya is the Campus Director of Hult Prize at KUSOM 2022, studying in 7th Sem, BBA Hons with finance specialization in KUSOM.

ICT BYTE had a quick conversation with Pandeya and here is its summary.

What is the main objective behind this year’s challenge “Getting the world back to work”?

The pandemic has hit us hard in every possible way. The data of the World of Work & Covid-19 even reveals that, as of January 2021, the world has faced 255 million job losses and more than 1.6 billion informal economy workers were also significantly affected. So, as so many people are currently struggling, it’s high time for us to Get the World Back to Work.

So, highlighting the necessity and addressing the SDG (Goal 8): Decent Work and Economic Growth, the Hult Prize Foundation came up with the challenge of “Getting the World Back to Work ” where the participants have to build a business idea that will employ at least 2000 people by 2024 while creating a positive impact on the world. And the word positive impact here is tied to the revenue of the business. Like, if you make more money from the business, you will have a greater impact. 

What is the main focus area that will be judged in the business idea of the participants?

The team presenting will basically be judged on the basis of identification of a real problem and the viable solution to the problem that will answer this year’s Call to Action of “Getting the world back to work”.  Further, the judges will be basing their decisions on the level of impact of the team’s business idea. And as said, the impact should be positive which means the existence of the business should benefit the employees and society at large.

Although we were planning to organise the Oncampus program in a hybrid-mode, with the traces of pandemic still hovering, we again opt. out for the virtual events. The event management team of Hult Prize at KUSOM 2022 have prepared a proper timeline of the event up to the On-campus Finals, and we would be moving accordingly. Apart from the orientation sessions, and the Briefing sessions for the Organizing Committee, the Hult Prize has KUSOM has also recently concluded the Info sessions in respective 5 schools, and the grand webinar on ‘The Entrepreneur in You’ in a virtual mode.

Is there any alternative plan created by the organizing committee for the participants if they are tested positive for covid-19 during the duration of the event?

As we are moving with virtual mode, I don’t think we will necessarily have to face this. But staying on a safe side, we will be contacting the registered team time and again for updates, if any such issues are to be found in any of the team members from the team of 4, the other 3 members of the team can handle it well as the minimum requirement for the team to be registered is to have 3 members and the max. 4 in their team. In case of the teams having 3 members, if one faces such issues, then the team themselves can opt.out for the alternative team member as a replacement of the member. 

And for those who really want to participate but do not have a team, the Hult Prize at KUSOM will soon roll out the registration form for the individual participants, and we will be forming the teams out of the individual participants.

How has the budget for the event been allocated and managed in comparison with the previous year event?

The very first thing I would like to highlight is, previously, our former CDs were titled under Hult Prize at KU and from this year onwards, to ease the participants, we are having the Hult Prize KU, Dhulikhel and the Hult Prize KU, School of Management (KUSOM) as two different Oncampus Programs.

Moreover, compared to the previous year’s Oncampus program, this year our team has come up with many virtual events, like Quizizz, workshops, webinars to keep up the zeal of the participants and to facilitate their personal & professional growth after joining the Hult Prize at KUSOM.

We have partnered with many organizations for the event, and for now we are really seeking sponsors. Our team has been constantly trying to reach out to different houses looking for sponsors. So, right after the sponsorships, the team will be segregating the budget in terms of recurring costs and emergency funds for the events.

What are you struggling most with planning a virtual event?

Apart from missing the fun of meeting new people and emotionally connecting with them, I don’t think I really had to struggle with virtual events. It has actually facilitated me with strong networking and connections. Talking about the events then, definitely, the technical issues come first in the list but the solutions to it are quite handy.

What are your expectations for the projects from the participants this year?

15 teams have already registered for the On-campus program at Hult Prize at KUSOM, still hoping for more. For now, I expect the teams of Hult Prize at KUSOM 2022, to come up with realistic business ideas that they could actually work on and create a high impact for themselves and the societies. Other than that, we will be guiding the teams to their vision, with the impact-focused events, training, workshops and for that, I suggest every participating team keep an eye out for it and don’t miss any chance to be part of every event we organize and keep on maintaining the zeal to change the world around them.

About Author

ICT Byte