FMS students contribute to society with silent auction

The silent auction is a unique tradition at FMS wherein the students of the flagship MBA program offer innovative items for sale like special classes in accounting and private equity, and even dinner-dates, which are bid for by the students. The proceeds from the auction go to NGOs. FMS students raised a sum of Rs 65,000 this year.

Each student puts up an item on offer at the Auction and other students bid for them. The Silent Auction, started 2 years ago, has become one of the most awaited events in FMS. The team that managed the Silent Auction, Vihaan, expected a modest growth of 20% over last years collections. But what happened surpassed all expectations - This year the silent auction was a grand success superseding all previous records as a whooping Rs. 65,000 was collected within two and a half hours, an increase from Rs. 21,000 last year.

According to Jindal Haria, President - Vihaan, the money raised through the auction would be distributed to two or more NGOs. His team is currently evaluating offerings by a few NGOs and will be shortlisting some in a week or two. Last year the money collected was used to sponsor the education of girl children through Deepalaya and Vihaan plans to continue the tradition, though they intend on adding new dimensions to it.

For the new batch, i.e. batch of 2010 it was their first experience with the Silent Auction and the juniors were floored by the entire concept. As an incentive to encourage and involve the students to participate, there were two cash prizes; one for the highest spender and one for the student who helps raise maximum revenue. Another new concept was that the students were allowed to bid collectively; and both these concepts had a large role in collection of the record-breaking amount.
The single item that raised the highest amount this year was accounting classes, which was sold for Rs. 5000, an increase of over 60% from last years figure. A dinner date by Nikhil Jain was sold for Rs. 4000, a feat never accomplished at this auction before; setting record as the costliest date at FMS!

The other well fought bids included a trip to old Delhi, Mantras of success at FMS by a senior, Salsa Classes, Private Equity Classes, Notes and Assignments and Chit-Chat and Gossip Sessions many more.

According to Pavitra Gupta, a second year MBA student at FMS, the silent auction serves as a perfect ice breaker between the two batches, as this was the first informal event after the hectic induction fortnight. This was a perfect platform to boost camaraderie and long-lasting friendships within the FMS fraternity with an increasing number of dates and bike rides on offer. It was very exciting to see 200 bright individuals battling each other in an attempt to outbid one another, all for the benefit of the society at large.

The auction not only brought forward innovative ideas of the budding managers of FMS but also reinforced the fact that the youth of today is socially responsible.