47 professionals graduate from IIMB Exec Ed’s BAAI Programme with industry-ready AI solutions
The BAAI Symposium and valedictory ceremony showcased 13 capstone projects developed with industry partners
23rd July, 2026, Bengaluru: The Data Centre and Analytics Lab (DCAL) at IIM Bangalore hosted the BAAI 16 Symposium and Valedictory Ceremony on 10th and 11th July 2026, marking the successful completion of the sixteenth cohort of the Executive Education Programme in Business Analytics and Artificial Intelligence (BAAI). The symposium was inaugurated by Programme Directors – Prof. U Dinesh Kumar, Director-in-charge, IIMB and faculty of Decision Sciences, and Prof. Ananth Krishnamurthy, IIMB Chair of Excellence and faculty of Decision Sciences. The two-day DCAL event brought together faculty, industry partners, project sponsors, alumni, families, and friends to honour and celebrate the achievements of 47 graduating professionals, whose work exemplified the programme's commitment to academic rigor, innovation, and practical industry relevance.
Throughout the programme, participants developed 13 industry-sponsored capstone projects addressing complex business challenges across sectors including automation, logistics, aviation, fashion retail, energy, waste management, sales and marketing analytics, healthcare, and enterprise operations. Leveraging data science, machine learning and artificial intelligence, the graduating cohort demonstrated how data-driven solutions can address real-world challenges while delivering measurable value for organizations.
The symposium was attended by participants from academia, industry professionals, and students from the forthcoming Batch-17 of the BAAI Programme. Project sponsors also participated to support the student teams and provide constructive feedback. Notable attendees included Praveen Shetty of Honeywell; Saurabh Marda, Radhika and Arvind Agarwal of Freyr Energy Services; Latha Ponnuswamy of UiPath; Shobha Raghavan of Saahas Waste Management; Soumavo Roy Choudhary of Titan; Lohith of UPL; Kashif of Flamon Cloud Tech; and Utkarsh Bhargava of Wrixte Infosec.
Project teams earned strong commendations from sponsors for delivering impactful solutions to their problems. Project sponsors commended the teams for delivering solutions with tangible business relevance. Several noted that the projects had the potential to improve operational efficiency and decision-making, with some organizations already integrating the proposed models into their workflows. Sponsors recognized the project teams with mementos during the symposium, acknowledging the quality and practical value of their work and reinforcing the programme's focus on experiential learning and broad industry engagement.
Excellence in project execution was recognized through the Best Project Awards. The First Place was awarded to ‘Airline Crew Scheduling: FAA-Compliant Crew Pairing & Rostering Optimization’, developed by Anupama Chekka, Jaya Viva Kindo, Rashmi Kanchan and Raghuram Ramiya Krishnaram for its innovative optimization approach to one of the aviation industry's most complex operational planning challenges. The Runner-Up Best Project Award was presented to ‘Optimizing Sales Performance Through Predictive Lead Analytics, Conversion Intelligence and Effort Efficiency’ developed by Garima Gupta, Rahul Kumar, Shubhangi Jha, and Aashish Garg, for its impactful application of predictive analytics to enhance sales effectiveness and business performance.
The symposium also celebrated academic distinction, with the Best Academic Performer Awards presented to Sindhu A Raj and Harendra Sahu in recognition of their exemplary academic performance throughout the programme.
As the BAAI Batch of 2026 joins the programme's distinguished alumni network, they carry forward the knowledge, leadership capabilities, and purpose to drive data-informed decision-making, accelerate AI-led transformation, and create meaningful impact across industries.
47 professionals graduate from IIMB Exec Ed’s BAAI Programme with industry-ready AI solutions
The BAAI Symposium and valedictory ceremony showcased 13 capstone projects developed with industry partners
23rd July, 2026, Bengaluru: The Data Centre and Analytics Lab (DCAL) at IIM Bangalore hosted the BAAI 16 Symposium and Valedictory Ceremony on 10th and 11th July 2026, marking the successful completion of the sixteenth cohort of the Executive Education Programme in Business Analytics and Artificial Intelligence (BAAI). The symposium was inaugurated by Programme Directors – Prof. U Dinesh Kumar, Director-in-charge, IIMB and faculty of Decision Sciences, and Prof. Ananth Krishnamurthy, IIMB Chair of Excellence and faculty of Decision Sciences. The two-day DCAL event brought together faculty, industry partners, project sponsors, alumni, families, and friends to honour and celebrate the achievements of 47 graduating professionals, whose work exemplified the programme's commitment to academic rigor, innovation, and practical industry relevance.
Throughout the programme, participants developed 13 industry-sponsored capstone projects addressing complex business challenges across sectors including automation, logistics, aviation, fashion retail, energy, waste management, sales and marketing analytics, healthcare, and enterprise operations. Leveraging data science, machine learning and artificial intelligence, the graduating cohort demonstrated how data-driven solutions can address real-world challenges while delivering measurable value for organizations.
The symposium was attended by participants from academia, industry professionals, and students from the forthcoming Batch-17 of the BAAI Programme. Project sponsors also participated to support the student teams and provide constructive feedback. Notable attendees included Praveen Shetty of Honeywell; Saurabh Marda, Radhika and Arvind Agarwal of Freyr Energy Services; Latha Ponnuswamy of UiPath; Shobha Raghavan of Saahas Waste Management; Soumavo Roy Choudhary of Titan; Lohith of UPL; Kashif of Flamon Cloud Tech; and Utkarsh Bhargava of Wrixte Infosec.
Project teams earned strong commendations from sponsors for delivering impactful solutions to their problems. Project sponsors commended the teams for delivering solutions with tangible business relevance. Several noted that the projects had the potential to improve operational efficiency and decision-making, with some organizations already integrating the proposed models into their workflows. Sponsors recognized the project teams with mementos during the symposium, acknowledging the quality and practical value of their work and reinforcing the programme's focus on experiential learning and broad industry engagement.
Excellence in project execution was recognized through the Best Project Awards. The First Place was awarded to ‘Airline Crew Scheduling: FAA-Compliant Crew Pairing & Rostering Optimization’, developed by Anupama Chekka, Jaya Viva Kindo, Rashmi Kanchan and Raghuram Ramiya Krishnaram for its innovative optimization approach to one of the aviation industry's most complex operational planning challenges. The Runner-Up Best Project Award was presented to ‘Optimizing Sales Performance Through Predictive Lead Analytics, Conversion Intelligence and Effort Efficiency’ developed by Garima Gupta, Rahul Kumar, Shubhangi Jha, and Aashish Garg, for its impactful application of predictive analytics to enhance sales effectiveness and business performance.
The symposium also celebrated academic distinction, with the Best Academic Performer Awards presented to Sindhu A Raj and Harendra Sahu in recognition of their exemplary academic performance throughout the programme.
As the BAAI Batch of 2026 joins the programme's distinguished alumni network, they carry forward the knowledge, leadership capabilities, and purpose to drive data-informed decision-making, accelerate AI-led transformation, and create meaningful impact across industries.