The Indian Institute of Management (IIM) Sambalpur celebrated its 12th Foundation Day on Saturday and inaugurated the 11th edition of its annual business conclave, Marmagya 11.0, at its campus. The event was held on the theme “Societal Impact of B-Schools”, while Marmagya 11.0, being held on October 3 and 4, focuses on “Thriving on Business Disruption and Turbulence in an Interconnected World.”While addressing the event, IIM Sambalpur Director Mahadeo Jaiswal announced that the institute has incubated 35 startups, with nine of them receiving seed funding of Rs 40 lakh.The institute also recognised its top performers, including 10 BS students and 16 MBA students, who received plaques and prize money of Rs 1 lakh each. The nine startups incubated under the IIM Sambalpur I-Hub Foundation received Rs 5 lakh seed grants each, while four alumni-led startups signed incubation MoUs with the institute.From 49 students and a temporary campus in 2015, IIM Sambalpur now has more than 1,500 students, over 175 PhD scholars, five MBA programmes and 10 degree programmes, the director said while highlighting the institute’s growth over the past 11 years.Today, IIM Sambhalpur has a student strength of over 1,500, with more than 175 PhD scholars on its rolls. At present, the institute offers five MBA programmes and ten degree programmes in total, including dual-degree PhDs, and has also become the first IIM to offer a bachelor’s degree, the director said.Under its master weaver programme, IIM Sambalpur has mentored more than 70-80 weavers in digital marketing and is working towards developing a “Bunkar Valley” in Sambalpur. It also announced plans to establish a Centre for AI.Along with Jaiswal, the 12th foundation day of the institute was presided over by Saurabh Garg, Secretary, Ministry of Statistics and Programme Implementation (MoSPI), as the chief guest. Several senior district administration officials and industry leaders also attended the event.