News

VITBS, the Business School at Vellore Institute of Technology – an Institution of Eminence as recognized by the Govt. of India, has successfully launched many virtual technology-driven workspaces in the recent past. Another addition to its impressive portfolio is the Virtual Student Managed Investment Fund (VSMIF), powered by ALPHABETA. Based on a superior, state of the art platform, VSMIF will be professionally run as a classroom-in-a lab infrastructure. 

ALPHABETA is the first platform to use true visual collaboration to bring together students, practitioners and consumers in financial markets through unique immersive user experiences with a common vocabulary.

As finance actively morphs into FinTech, ALPHABETA has created these unique active learning spaces integrating the Financial System Interpretation Framework (FSIF). In managing the VSMIF, students “learn by doing” - deploying some of the most advanced technologies to “Change the Bank” and “Run the Bank” models that prepare them for the future of work in finance. The student fund will run as a professionally managed investment fund with mandates and key performance indicators (KPI) with students playing various roles of research analysts, fund managers, marketing and HR professionals. The VSMIF is one such “Run the Bank” experience bringing both finance and non-finance students together. The fund performance statistics - Alpha, Beta, Sharpe ratio and MRAP – will aid the students to self-assess their progress and study the impact of their decisions on daily basis. In addition, it will help them in making business presentations to professors and also a wider audience.

As has been seen globally, COVID-19 has corroborated its relevance and utility - replicating the multi-dimensional classroom experience in an online synchronous experience which is a key challenge for the current generation educators. Initiatives like these, built on the foundation of cutting-edge technology will provide tremendous learning opportunities for the students.

Business schools that will be able to create an experiential and engaging learning environment for their students and enable them to practice and apply the key concepts discussed in the classroom, will thrive in the times to come. The industry has also recognized well rounded and skill-set ready talent and is ready to partner with such institutes for research, training and placements.

 Dr. Anand Samuel, Vice-Chancellor, VIT said that “Technology is revolutionizing education. VITBS has taken multiple progressive steps to ensure that students' learning environment is conducive and prepares them for the changes in industry. One such initiative is the launch of our courses on FinTech. Given that VIT is one of the prestigious universities and is in the coveted list of Institute of Eminence declared by the government of India, we bring in the best curriculum design and learning for our students. Our MBA programs are updated regularly in line with the industry changes. This lockdown has NOT contained our academic pursuits and our endeavors to add value to our students. Change is the only thing constant; we are in a continuous pursuit of making our students ready for the industry needs”. 

 Sathyanarayanan Palaniappan, MD, APAC, ALPHABETA INC, said that “ALPHABETA endeavors to enhance the effectiveness of e-learning through technology. We are proud to launch Virtual Students Managed Investment Fund (VSMIF) in association with VIT Business School. Running the fund on an ongoing basis will enhance the students' understanding of the asset management, industry movements and the nuances of day to day operations to get prepared for the challenges in a rapidly changing sector. We hope to extend such platforms beyond the business schools to include engineering and liberal arts disciplines to create a multi-dimensional and holistic team-based decision-making process and foster an entrepreneurial mindset.”