Inception'22: 3 days of stimulating competition and engagement at SXC, Kolkata

“Inception is the finest event for the first-year students at SXC, Kolkata, incorporating a multitude of business domains as well as providing a rigorous corporate experience to and for them.” - Pratham Mittal and Vasisth K Bafna, Joint Secretaries, Xavier’s Commerce Society, 2022-23.

The spirit of competition buzzed the air on the 14, 15, and 16 September 2022, as it marked the dates of Inception 2022 for the students of St. Xavier’s College (Autonomous), Kolkata. Following a distinguished legacy, Inception 2022 witnessed enormous enthusiasm from students across the college, garnering over 900 registrations for the event. Inception is an event conducted by Xavier’s Commerce Society, exclusively for the incoming freshmen of the new academic session, to provide them with exhilarating corporate exposure, and various crisis management scenarios as well as introduce them to their college life!

The Xavier’s Commerce Society is the representative body of the Department of Commerce, St. Xavier’s College (Autonomous), Kolkata. With its motto of ‘Dreams. Development. Destiny.’, it has always sought to inspire and motivate students to learn critical lessons before they step into the corporate world. The society undertakes to reach for distinction with every initiative it conducts, and seeks to enhance, augment, and advance its capacities with every passing day.

Inception has always revolved around a central theme, and the 2022 edition of Inception focused on the captivating narrative of gang wars - encapsulating elements of the struggle for survival, the inherent desire to rise triumphant amongst the competition, and emerging as the sole victor. Hence the event was christened aptly as ‘Inception 2022: Rise of the Invincible’.

The commencement of Inception 2022 on the 14th of September witnessed throngs of excited freshmen turning up for the first event of their college lives - awaiting action-packed rounds and challenging discourses with a lot of enthusiasm and fervor.

The Group Discussion Round was the preliminary round of the competition, with every registrant taking part in debates around pressing issues and demanding innovative ideas. The upcoming Personal Interview Round sought to test the candidates’ grit and nerve, facing a barrage of questions from a panel of XCSers, and learning important skills along the way.

Post this, the Case Study Round saw the participants grappling with challenging case studies and facing questions on their pitches. The round tested their spontaneity, crisis management aptitude, and public speaking ability.

Day 3 witnessed the 4th Round of the event - a finely crafted Board Game contested amongst the Top 5 participants of Inception 2022: Rise of the Invincible - Aditi Agarwal, Akshat Choudhary, Kashvi Khaitan, Sahil Mehta, and Yash Tulsian. It tried upon their strategic thinking ability, quick and effortless financial understanding, and overall competence.

The last round was the Stress Interview Round, which tested every last strand of aptitude of the participants to decide the best of the best from the incoming batch of students. Culminating on the 16th, Inception 2022 was a grand success in every sense of the term, with appreciation from the participants, dignitaries, professors, and all the stakeholders involved in the smooth conduct of the event.

However, this was not the end! 19th September saw Fr. Depelchin Auditorium brimming with excited crowds of students for the Closing Ceremony of Inception 2022: Rise of the Invincible. The Closing Ceremony featured a Speaker Session by a renowned personality, Mr. Biju Paul Abraham, Professor of Public Policy at the Indian Institute of Management, Calcutta. Sir spoke at length on issues of modern management, the dynamism of the managerial environment around us, and the way to handle contemporary business issues in the most efficient way. His gracious presence was very much appreciated by one and all.

The Speaker Session gave way to the Closing Ceremony of Inception 2022 - a two-part ceremony with the Investiture Ceremony of the XCSers and the flag bearers of the academic session 2022-23, followed by the most awaited announcement of the winner of Inception 2022.

The Investiture Ceremony was solemnized in the presence of Rev. Fr. Joseph Kulandai, SJ, Vice-Principal of Commerce (Morning), Rev. Fr. Peter Arockiam, SJ, Vice-Principal of Commerce (Evening) and Management Studies as well as other dignitaries and professors. The Ceremony laid down a lot of responsibilities in the hands of the XCS Board and Core Committee, with each of them promising to uphold the society and its reputation in good stead for the upcoming year.

With this, the announcement of the winner of Inception 2022: Rise of the Invincible took place. Akshat Choudhury, a student of B.Com. (Morning) was declared invincible, with several awards, mementos, and a cash prize of ₹5,000. The event drew to a close with a cheer for XCS, and a pledge to keep delivering to the college and its students to the best of its ability.