Graduation 2015 at MYRA School of Business was a very memorable event.  It was special, because it was the graduation of the founding batch of the 2-year AICTE-approved Post Graduate Diploma in Management (PGDM) and the second batch of the Post Graduate Program for eXecutives (PGPX).  Indeed more special, because the graduating students represented 22 different states of the country.  The Graduation Day had ‘Royal’ written all over – right from the procession marching to the tunes of the Karnataka Police Band, Mysuru, to the Mysore Royal Turban to the silver medallions individually presented to the graduating students . Not really surprising though, as MYRA is Mysore Royal Academy. 

MYRA’s graduating students -46
from the PGDM & 14 from the PGPX cohorts, and the invited guests were hugely
impressed by the ceremonial treatment, the grandeur of the Athena Auditorium,
and the sun-swept Poseidon Plaza with water bodies where the lunch was served
in true Mysuru Royal style by the liveried waiters.

Students were preening with pride
as they were congratulated by the Trustees and other members of the Royal
family who graced the occasion.  Aptly,
the Chief Guests – Shri Gopalakrishnan, Non-Executive Director, Tata Sons, Dr. Rishikesha
T Krishnan, Director, IIM, Indore, the Founder Chairperson, Prof. Shalini Urs, and
Trustee, Mr. Kantharaj Urs, donned the traditional royal head gear – ‘peta’ to suit the style and occasion.

The ceremony commenced with a grand
procession marching to the processional tune played by the Karnataka State
Police Band, Mysuru.  The procession
started from the Arrival Hall of the Campus to the Athena Auditorium – led by
Prof. Shalini Urs, the Chief Guests, with faculty and others – followed by the
graduating students of the 2 cohorts – Post Graduate Program for eXecutives (PGPX)
and Post Graduate Diploma of Management, (PGDM).

Congratulating the institution
and the graduating students, Dr. Rishikesha T Krishnan, in his Convocation
address, said that it is indeed a challenging task to set up an institution,
keep it going and sustain it; MYRA School of Business has done it very effectively.  He had heard about MYRA a couple of years ago
and said that students at MYRA are indeed lucky to get to listen to a panel of
experts from across the globe coming to MYRA and sharing their expertise; such
opportunities are not even provided at IIM’s, he said. 

The essence of his address to the
students was to focus on talent and skills to excel in the job market and not
to equate a degree in Business Management with higher pay packets.  He emphasized that ‘impact’ is more important
than the ‘money factor’.  He cited a
couple of examples to underline this, making a special mention of Ms. Rashmi Bansal,
an IIM alumnus, who chartered a different path and has created a social
impact.  Incidentally, Ms. Bansal was inducted
to the ‘Women Achiever’s Hall of Fame'(WAH) at MYRA in March 2014.  He urged the
students to become T-shaped professionals – professionals who possess deep
disciplinary knowledge in one or two core areas, accompanied by a breadth of
knowledge and an ability to integrate across disciplines and to solve problems.  This, he said, is the need of the era.  Embrace ethics, strive fully for
sustainability and make an impact through your work and attitude, he emphasized
and concluded.

Shri Gopalakrishnan, Non-Executive
Director, Tata Sons, formally announced the conferring of the degrees and handed
out the diplomas individually to all students. 
In his address, responding to Prof. Urs’ direct pitch – asking Tata Sons
to consider MYRA’s graduates for job opportunities, and taking the analogy from
the Mahabharata, he said that Tata Group of companies is in the eye of every
‘Arjuna’ – every student who aspires to reach the pinnacle, and said that with the
‘focus’, they can definitely make it to Tata group.

The key elements of his message
were – be ‘positively angry’; recognize unearned luck; spot the curious
coincidences of life; and understand the subtle difference between ‘success’
and ‘happiness’.  His talk was full of
stories -he narrated the historical stories of the withdrawal of the PL-480
(Public Law 480) which generated a positive anger and translated in to the
Green Revolution by Dr. M S Swaminathan and his team.  In the 1980’s India’s supercomputer program
was halted due to an arms embargo imposed on India, and this positive anger led
to CDAC building the PARAM 8000, the world’s second fastest super computer.

The event began with the National
Anthem being played by the Karnataka Police Band, Mysuru.  The welcome address was given by Dr.
Abhinanda Sarkar, Associate Dean and Director of Research, MYRA.  He said that MYRA’s efforts have been in the right
direction of producing managers with skill sets required to change society in a
positive way rather than just solving a technical problem or understanding a
balance sheet.  He said he looked forward
to the day when he would get an opportunity to be employed by one of his
students from MYRA.  Dr. Sudhendar Rao,
Dean – Student Affairs, introduced the guests to the gathering. 

Prof. Shalini R Urs in her
address on ‘The Journey of MYRA’ acknowledged the positive roles contributed by
her faculty, colleagues, trustees and her family in  stepping closer to her vision and mission of
MYRA.  She made a special mention of the
‘Trust and Faith’ that the parents and her students reposed on a new
institution -MYRA and thanked them immensely. 

Dr. Wolfgang Messner, Professor
of International Business Management at MYRA, in a very engaging style,
compered the event speaking to the audience, keeping their interest and
enthusiasm high. 

The top ten students of the
graduating PGDM cohort – Mr. Karthik Dasari, Mr. Chankey Agrawal, Mr. Nishant Shekar,
Ms. Ragini Sharma, Ms. Surya Vadhana B, Mr. Ashutosh Kar, Mr. Ananth S, Mr.
Srinivasan M and Mr. Bharat S – got a special mention for getting into the Dean’s
List. 

Mr. Srinivasan M, from the PGDM
cohort on behalf of the graduating student groups, shared some special moments
of joy and learning during the valedictory address.  Prof. Sumant Bakshi, Advisor, MYRA, delivered
the vote of thanks to conclude the event. 
The event was followed by a lavish luncheon for all invitees served in
style.

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