Finance has long been taught as a set of formulas and case studies to memorise — but the finance industry itself has changed faster than most classrooms. Artificial intelligence, real-time data modelling and ESG-driven investing now shape how financial decisions actually get made, and reading about these shifts is no substitute for practising them.
This is the thinking behind CAPXCHANGE 2026, a finance conclave from the Regional College of Management (RCM), Bhubaneswar, built around experiential learning rather than lectures. Ahead of the event, RCM’s Dr. Shraddha Padi laid out why this shift matters — and what it looks like in practice.
CAPXCHANGE 2026 is RCM Bhubaneswar’s finance conclave, previewed by Samayalive in a pre-event interview with Dr. Shraddha Padi. She explains RCM’s shift from theory-based to experiential finance education, covering AI, financial modelling, FinTech and ESG. Organised with FinControl, the two-day event features a Financial Modelling Competition, a FinTech/AI/ESG poster contest, panel discussions and masterclasses led by industry leaders.
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The Problem With Theory-Only Finance Education
For years, finance has carried a reputation as a monotonous, textbook-heavy subject — long on formulas, short on real decision-making. Graduates could recite models without ever having built one against live, messy data. As AI and machine learning reshape how banks, investment firms and FinTech companies operate, that gap has become harder to ignore.
Employers increasingly expect finance graduates to arrive with practical exposure: the ability to work with real datasets, interpret AI-assisted outputs, and reason through ESG and sustainability considerations — not just define them in an exam answer.
The Shift Toward Experiential Learning
RCM’s response is a recurring conclave model that puts students, faculty and industry leaders from finance, HR and marketing in the same room. Students from RCM and partner universities work alongside each other and with practitioners, so that new knowledge gets tested against the curriculum rather than left there. The goal, as Dr. Padi frames it, is for students to be able to add value from day one of their first job — not spend their early months relearning how the industry actually works.
For a long time, finance was considered a monotonous and theoretical subject.Dr. Shraddha Padi, Additional Director, RCM
Inside the Vision: RCM’s Pre-Event Conversation
Samayalive, an Odia news outlet, featured Dr. Padi ahead of CAPXCHANGE 2026 in a conversation titled “ଖାଲି ବହି ପଢିଲେ ପିଲା କିଛି ଶିଖିବେନି, ତାଙ୍କୁ Experience ଦେବା ଆମର ଲକ୍ଷ୍ୟ” — roughly, “Just reading books won’t teach children anything; giving them experience is our goal.” The video also carries a short perspective from RCM finance student Sagar Kumar Sethi.
How RCM+ Programs Extend This Approach
The same emphasis on financial modelling, AI and ESG runs through RCM’s RCM+ specialisations at the degree level, across PGDM, MBA, MCA and BBA:
PGDM+
Postgraduate management, industry-integrated
MBA+
MBA with an industry-facing specialisation track
MCA+
Computer applications, built around emerging tech
BBA+
Undergraduate business, specialised early
Why This Matters for Students and Employers
For students, the value is straightforward: real datasets, live competitions and direct access to people making these decisions professionally build judgment that a textbook cannot. For employers, it narrows the gap between what a graduate has studied and what a role actually demands on day one — which is the outcome RCM’s conclave model, and its RCM+ programs, are designed around.
CAPXCHANGE 2026 is a two-day finance conclave organised by RCM, Bhubaneswar, in collaboration with FinControl, featuring a Financial Modelling Competition, a FinTech/AI/ESG poster competition, panel discussions and masterclasses.
Finance concepts learned only from books or the internet are hard to apply in practice. Experiential learning — through competitions, real data and direct interaction with industry leaders — helps students internalise concepts and use them in real situations.
RCM offers these as RCM+ specialisations across PGDM+, MBA+, MCA+ and BBA+, covering Green Finance & ESG (FinTech), Data Science & Business Intelligence, and AI & Machine Learning.
CAPXCHANGE 2026 is organised by RCM’s finance students in collaboration with FinControl, with participation from industry leaders and firms including EY GDS and Deloitte across panels and masterclasses.
See how RCM turns finance theory into industry-ready practice — through CAPXCHANGE 2026 and its RCM+ specialisations.
Register for CAPXCHANGE 2026 | Explore FinTech & ESG Programs
