Sydenham College

Sydenham College or Sydenham College of Commerce and Economics is an institute located in Mumbai (previously Bombay), affiliated to the University of Bombay, and offering undergraduate degrees in Commerce and undergraduate and postgraduate degrees in Management. The college's motto is ""Labor Omnia Vincit" ("Work conquers all").

History

Sydenham College, the "First College of Commerce in Asia" was established in 1913 and was named after the then Governor of Bombay, Lord Sydenham of Combe, who was instrumental in making the undergraduate degree, the "Bachelor of Commerce", possible in Mumbai. This makes Sydenham College the oldest degree-awarding institution in Commerce. It was only in 1941, twenty-eight years after the establishment of Sydenham, that any other institute started offering courses in the subject.

On the college's seventy-fifth anniversary in 1988, the Indian Post Office issued a commemorative stamp. In 1990, "TIME" rated Sydenham as the "Best Commerce College this side of the Suez"".

Location

* 1955 onwards: Since 1955,Sydenham College is located on "B Road" at Churchgate, very near the terminus of the Western Railway section of the Mumbai suburban railway. It is also close to the Marine Drive sea front onto the Arabian Sea.

* 1922–1955: The college was located in the premises of the present day Sir J. J. School of Architecture in Fort, opposite the Victoria Terminus railway station, and was then known as the Indo-British Institute.

* 1914–1922: the college moved to the Whiteway Laidlaw Building on Hornby Road, near the present-day Handloom House in Fort.

* 1913: the college was run from the Elphinstone College premises in Fort.

Courses offered

* Bachelor of Commerce (since 1913)
* Master of Commerce (since 1925)
* Masters in Management Studies and Post Graduate Diploma in Business Management(since 1983 — under "Sydenham Institute of Management Studies, Research and Entrepreneurship Education" SIMSREE)
* Bachelor of Management Studies
* Bachelor of Commerce (Banking and Insurance) (since 2003)

Associations / Societies/Clubs

Sydenham College is very famous for its extra-curricular activities. There are in all twenty two societies in the college operating actively in their individual spheres.

1) "The Annual Magazine Committee (A-Mag)" - As the name suggests, A-MAG (as popularly known) publishes the College Annual Magazine at the end of each year. In addition to publishing the Annual Magazine at the end of the year, AMAG explores the realm of journalism with a well-received periodical, a newspaper called `SPEAK`.

2) "The Book Circle (BC)" -Aims at promoting reading habits amongst the students. Runs an informal library in the common room and organises other literary events.

3) "Dramatics Society (DS)" - Aims at promoting theatre by organising various plays. Also helps potentials with valuable on-stage experience and professional breaks.

4) "Gujrati Sahitya Mandal (G.S.M.)" - Aims at promoting Gujrati culture and literature.

5) "Hindi Sahitya Mandal (H.S.M.)" - Promote traditional Indian culture and Hindi as a national language. Also organises other popular events and programmes.

6) "Marathi Wangmaya Mandal (M.W.M.)" - Promotes Marathi, the state language both culturally and literarily.

7) "Nature Club (N.C.)" - Promotes love for nature and environment awareness. Organises awareness drives and outdoor trips.

8) "Performing Arts Society (P.A.S.)" - Discovers and encourages potential talent in dance and music. Organises stage events, musical programmes, talent parades and fashion shows.

9) "Planning Forum" - Creates awareness about various aspects of business and commerce through their workshops and seminars.

10) "Public Speaking and Debating Society (P.S.D.S.)" - Promote literary thinking and analytical ability. Organises various competitions, quizzes and debates.

11) "Poor Students' Education Relief Fund (P.S.E.R.F.)" - Aids financially underprivileged students in completing their studies by providing textbooks and funds.

12) "Rapport-The Sydenham Students' News Media" -India's only college news media publishes newspapers, an annual issue, handles two daily changing bulletin boards - the Wallpaper and Happenings and organises workshops and competitions related to creative media.

13) "Social Service League (S.S.L. - N.S.S.)" - A programme initiated by the government and launched by Sydenham College. Organises various blood donation drives, health and AIDS awareness and adult education programmes. Adopts villages to bring about rural upliftment by building schools and such infrastructure. Serving members are granted 10 grace marks by the University.

14) "Sydenham Auditorium Committee (S.A.C.)" - Maintains the college auditorium and allocates it for society events. Also handles the security arrangements for such events.

15) "Sydenham Audio Visual Education Society (SAVES)" - Promotes education and entertainment through audio visual means like laser disc shows and slides.

16) "Sydenham College Co-operative Stores (Co-ops)" - A co-operative company solely managed by students. Promotes hardcore business skills among students. Its three divisions include an on-campus retail outlet, C3 - the Computer Centre and La Pub - a publicity agency.

17) "Sydenham College Gymkhana (Gym)" - Co-ordinates all sporting activities in college and maintains the sport infrastructure.

18) "Sydenham College Students' Council" - Regarded as the apex body of students, the Council represents the student community to the management and serves as a channel of communication between the two.

19) "Sydenham Computer Centre (SCC)" - Manages the computer lab in college besides organising programmes related to information technology and provide internet service to the students of the college, as well as manage website of the college. 20) "Sydenham Photographic Society (SPS)" - Promotes photography as an art, science and a profession. Also provides a Platform for amateur photographers and models through competitions, Workshops and exhibitions

21) "Sydenham Foreign Trade Association (SFTA)" - The Sydenham Foreign Trade Association is the representative council of the foreign trade course in the college. Its conducts Annual Workshops and Summer Training.

22) "Sydenham Advertising & Event Management Organisation (SAEMO)" - SAEMO, the newest entrant in college was formed in 2003.It is a non-profit organization which solely caters to the benefit of the students. SAEMO hosts intercollegiate events and fests.

23)Sydenham Banking and Insurance Society (SBIS)- It is a society that works for the students of banking and insurance and acquaints them with the various developments in the field of banking and insurance.

Notable alumni

There are a number of alumni from Sydenham who hold senior positions in corporations large and small. There are also a number of celebrities who have graduated from Sydenham; here is an indicative list.
* Deepak Parekh, chairman of HDFC
* Uday S Kotak of Kotak Mahindra Bank
* Pranlal Bhogilal, Industrialist and World's largest single collector of Rolls Royces
* Vijaypath Singhania, Industrialist (Raymonds)
* Dr. Jagdish Bhagwati, eminent economist & University Professor of Economics at Columbia University
* Navin Agarwal (Industrialist, Vedanta Resources)
* Indranil Deb (Investment Banker and Senior Vice President, Sagacious Financial Services Ltd)
* Ashok V Desai, eminent columnist
* Jawahir Mulraj, eminent investment columnist and Financial Consultant
* Kumarmangalam Birla, Chairman of Aditya Vikram Birla Group of Companies
* Harsh Mariwala, chairman of Marico Industries Ltd
* Vasavadatta Birla, who belongs to the well-known industrialist Birla family of India
* Ronnie Screwvala, Chairman, UTV
* Vinod Khanna, an Indian film actor
* Akshaye Khanna, an Indian film actor, son of Vinod Khanna
* Juhi Chawla, an Indian actress
* Hrithik Roshan, an Indian actor
* Fazila Allana, notable TV producer, founder and MD of Sol
* Rahul Bose, an Indian actor
* Suchitra Krishnamoorthy, an Indian pop-singer and actress
* Gita Johar, Meyer Feldberg Professor of Marketing, Columbia University
* Gayatri Joshi, an Indian actress known for her role in Hindi film Swades
* Uday Chopra, an Indian actor
* Arundhati Ganorkar, model and television actress
* Sanjay Gupta, film director
* Atul Agnihotri (Director) and actor in Hindi films
* Shiamak Davar, dancer and singer
* Aditya Chopra, film director and producer
* Sameera Reddy, an Indian film actress
* Sheetal Mallar, an Indian supermodel
* Shamita Shetty, an Indian film actress
* Omar Abdullah, politician
* Milind Deora, politician
* Karishma Tanna, an Indian TV actress
* Pooja Madan, an Indian TV actress
* Lymaraina D'Souza, Femina Miss India-Universe 1998 & 7th Place, Miss Universe 1998
* Emraan Hashmi, an Indian actor
* Aditya Hitkari, an Indian actor and MTV VJ
* Akash Tulsiyan, NRI and an Australian CPA
* Nishit Zaveri, NRI and Australian Chef
* Ritika Hiranandani, Entrepreneur for India-US business Also Founder of CricketforIndia
* Indu Shahani, Principal of HR College and present Sheriff of Mumbai
* Zeenat Aman, an Indian film actress
* Dilip Piramal, an Indian Industrialist (Blow Plast)
* Niranjan Hiranandani, Hiranandani Group
* Vallabh Bhansali, BSE Trustee
* Rajen Kilachand, Chairman of Dodsal Group
* Hoshang Billimoria, CEO NGPL
* Darryl D'monte, former editor of TOI, Indian Express