The aim of the site is to showcase the vibrant student life at IIMK – popularly known as 'God's Own Campus' and the academic excellence of IIMK as reflected in its student community. The site, already gaining popularity among MBA aspirants, aims at showcasing life at IIMK. Apart from this, it also acts as a conduit for all the IIM wannabes to interact with the crème de la crème of the student community - the students from IIMK, and get their queries answered. Anyone curious to know how one can make it to an IIM or how to crack Group discussions/Personal interviews, can hear it straight from the horse's mouth at iimklive.com! Also integrated with the site is Google Apps Education Edition service which allows the registered users to utilize the power and functionality of Google Apps to collaborate on an online community and network with the alumni. One can also get the latest buzz on management with free access to reference material such as consumer behavior papers, market research, financial analysis, sector reports and project reports. There's something for everyone.
* Students use it to showcase life at IIM K
* The Alumni use it to network and stay in the loop with their Alma Mater
* MBA aspirants can get all their questions about belling the CAT and IIMK answered by the students themselves
* Media can get to know all the latest happenings on campus like events, placements and student activities
* Industry interaction with students is supported with job posting by alumni, events, student activities and recruitment brought together at one portal
* Information seekers will be able to get the latest buzz on management and will have access to reference material such as consumer behavior papers, market research, financial analysis, sector reports and project reports.
For more information please visit http://iimklive.com or contact IIM Kozhikode Student Council at [email protected]
This phenomenal growth of the services sector has been driven by an increased investment in human capital. Globalization has resulted in free flow of human resources which accentuates the need to manage employees effectively to gain the much needed competitive advantage in the global marketplace. This dynamic scenario raises many questions and some of the questions that the summit answered included the significance of HR in business strategy, their influence on the 'Work-Life Balance', maintenance of the diverse workforce, the success of mergers and acquisitions and virtual global teams.
The fruitful discussion by the esteemed speakers was on 'Cross-Connection: Mind your culture!' and 'Home-Work: The Perfect Balance!'. The session began with the welcome note by Dr. A. Venkatraman, Faculty at FMS who shared some of his work experiences and spoke about the rebirth of HR covering the thematic issue of cultural inferences and tried to answer the question- 'Why do we behave the way we behave?' Mr. Rajeshwar Tripathi, Senior Vice-President (HR), Mahindra & Mahindra spoke about M&M;'s experiences of an acquisition and joint-venture in China. Citing the learnings from his experiences, he said, “Sending our best brains to China didn't click for the lack of attitude, adaptability and an inability of some of the individuals to understand people from alien cultures.” Of the many adaptations and divergent approaches followed by the company, some included were a balance between a logic-driven and vision-driven approach and a step-by-step way of going about things as opposed to multi-tasking.
The second speaker in line was Ms. Sanchita Singh, Head (O&S;), GE Money. Ms. Singh brought onto the dais her experiences from a plethora of sectors including manufacturing, commercial, technology and the BPO industry. She delved into the 'Flexible Work Assignments' strategy being followed by GE. She cited her personal experiences from the organization and defined Work-Life balance as a sustainable growth in a changing environment. Mr. Vivek Gera, Head HR (North India), Centurion Bank of Punjab, spoke about his experiences of managing the merger of Centurion Bank and the Bank of Punjab and, sharing information about the role of HR in the success of M&A; deals, said, “We need to match designations, salaries, responsibilities, grading structures and pre-plan the processes of integration to eliminate the occurrence of any attrition.
Introducing Work-Life balance as an 'Urban Legend', Mr. Saurav Dey, Black Belt, Process Excellence Team at Genpact, spoke about various myths and inhibitions that we have including more hours in office lead to greater productivity need to be dispelled before a Work-Life balance can be achieved. In a highly interactive session, Mr. Dey cautioned the future Corporate honchos of the 'tail wagging the dog phenomenon' taking place as a result of increased dependence on technological gadgets. The last speaker of the first session was Mr. Vivek Tripathi, Vice-President (Consulting Services), Grow Talent. With an industry experience of over two decades, Mr. Tripathi gave useful insights into the concept of Organizational Culture and the consequences of cross-cultural diversity on the seamless functioning of organizations. He defined organizational culture as 'the personality of the organization - the way things get done in the organization'. Mr. Tripathi described the Edgar Schein's model of organizational culture that consisted of various tangible and intangible attributes of an organization and its members.
The post-tea session was a breather for the students of the two batches of MBA (Management of Services). The session had Mr. Rajesh Jagasia of Art of Living guiding the students towards the path of spirituality to attain the perfect balance between work and life. He said that there was a need to make a trade-off between respect and love and distance and merger. The closing remarks of the speaker were, “Manage your mind then manage your life for the quality of your life is determined by the state of your life”. The event saw active participation from various management schools in and around the National Capital region.
This year, the play, directed by second-year MICA student Spandan Mishra, is called 'Jeeney Bhi Do Yaaron' and is the tale of a storyteller, Chandrashekhar Annasaheb Damle, a patient in the terminal ward of a general hospital, who befriends other inmates of a general hospital.
While they deal with the finality of a slow, painful and lonely death, Chandu's stories - hilarious anecdotes from his own past - give them something to smile about. However, there is a darker side to his stories which he does not reveal to his captivated audience.
The play and its associated activities are entirely student-handled – from the cast of 23 students, to the lights, sets, marketing, media and logistics – are all manned by the students of MICA. Sankalp was conceptualised in 1999 by students of the institute, and ever since, the legacy has remained. MICA students, under the aegis of Sankalp, have been staging plays in Ahmedabad city for over nine years. This year, a series of pre-events have been planned to promote Sankalp and theatre in Ahmedabad. The first event was staged on the 1st of September, at the Gujarat Law Society auditorium, where Sankalp's website, www.sankalp-mica.com, was launched and the Ed Monk play 'Cut' was successfully enacted to a standing ovation.
The three-hour play was co-written by Spandan and his classmate, Biswamitra Ray. It was a perfect amalgamation of brilliant acting, sets, costumes, lights and sounds, the CEO of Reliance Communications, , addressed the audience and said that his organization was proud to be associated with Sankalp.
The director of the institute, Professor Atul Tandon complimented the students and the cast who have been putting in sleepless nights over the last two months to make this dream a reality.
The subsequent shows in the city are on December 7 and 8, 2007 at the same venue, and tickets are selling fast. The shows in Mumbai are on the of December 14 and 15, at the ISKCON theater.
For ticket booking details, contact Sajith Naryanan at +91 92255 61525.
Here is a downloadable analysis of JMET and some questions from previous years.
Click here to download the JMET analysis and question bank
(or right click and 'Save as...' before opening it in Adobe Reader)
The tutorial is a shareware item. Which means that if you like it, you promise to share it with your friends who are also preparing for JMET.
Discuss this article in the Forum!
Delhi and Chandigarh, on the given days were abuzz with activity as media stalwarts such as Rajdeep Sardesai, Pankaj Pachori, Anurag Batra, Neelam ManSingh, Richa Gupta, Arpita Gandhi among others, served as panelists. Present also was Prof. Ujjwal Kumar Chowdhury,Dean, Symbiosis International University,Pune.The Delhi chapter of Footprints concentrated on Citizen Media being a power tool for the Audience, while Chandigarh chose to discuss Communication as the Next Big Thing as a professional career.
PRACTITIONERS OF Citizen media opined that it was not a mere tool, but also a reaction to the failure of media in the country.
Asserting that citizen journalism would add a lot of value to the news industry, Rajdeep Sardesai, editor in chief, CNN-IBN, said that this phenomenon would democratize the spread of content.
He opined that journalism was all about telling stories of the ordinary people, of people fighting the system. "Though citizen journalism will not replace the traditional media but it has arrived at the right time to expand the realms of the profession", he said,adding that no one in this country had a monopoly over content.
While welcoming the arrival of citizen journalism, eminent journalist, Pankaj Pachauri from NDTV, said that this idea was still in its infantile stage in the country.
"We are not getting enough response from the citizens and whatever comes is concentrated from urban pockets", he said.
He further stated that internet connectivity, mobile users as well as television audience was primarily concentrated in roughly forty cities in the country. "The telecom revolution is still to reach the villages of India and this has kept a major portion of population out of the democratic loop", he added.
The second panel discussion began on an interesting note with top media honcho, Anurag Batra, CEO and MD of Exchange4Media, making observations, which had the audience in spills.
He was joined by Vipul Kant Upadhyay, founder of merinews.com, India'sfirst and largest citizen news portal.
Batra opined that nowadays media has become very competitive and newspapers and TV channels are latching on to latest buzzwords. Citizen journalism, he said, was not a new idea, "what the newspaper industry is trying to do is to put old wine in a new bottle".
He however admitted that the time had come for democratization of the content and expansion of its reach in all parts of the country. He opined that the right to information act had changed the way information was controlled in the country, adding, "regionalization
and localization of news content would be an important factor in the future.
Emphasizing the fact that citizen journalism had a deeper meaning, Vipul Kant Upadhyaya, CEO and editor-in-chief, merinews.com, said that it was very important that it was not considered a mere source of information by the mainstream media.
"Citizen journalism has arrived as a reaction to the failure of mainstream media which has not been able to meet the expectations of the common man", said Upadhyay, adding that if an organization had conviction and belief, it would be successful both as a true media and a sensible business.
It is not about creating a parallel media but it is the reflection of the perception of the people and the society, which drives the citizen journalism, he stated.
Another panelist, Geeta Malhotra, who has vast experience on developmental issues, spoke about her experience of using community radio as tool to empower the people in far-flung and rural areas. She said that people in Nepal, Sri Lanka and India were benefiting from the community radio initiative taken up by One World South Asia.
The panel discussion was followed by an interactive session where a number of important issues concerning citizen journalism were discussed by the panelists and the audience, including students of SIMC, Pune.
Summing up the first panel discussion, Ujjwal K Choudhary, director,SIMC, said that the citizen journalism could be a potent tool for the media industry to expand the reach and depth of journalistic endeavours. He opined that the advent of technology had facilitated the convergence of various media and this will boost the phenomenon of citizen journalism.
In the CII Auditorium in Sector 31A, Chandigarh, the audience and panelists discussed the theme "Communication is the next big thing for the youth in search of professional careers": Attended by around 240 youth of the city from various colleges. The event,was addressed by Tourism & PR Director of Chandigarh Administration Vivek Atray, My FM station head Richa Gupta, Wizcraft Delhi head Arpita Gandhi, former BBC Broadcaster Col Hatter, former Revenue Commissioner K C Sharma, regional editor of Dainik Bhaskar, Uttam Sengupta, noted theatre personality Neelam Mann Singh, and the Symbiosis International University Dean Prof Ujjwal K Chowdhury. Elaborating upon the social role of media in an increasingly consumerist society, K C Sharma urged the young media aspirants and students to work towards creating media as a change agent in the society. Vivek Atray explained the role of good public relations strategy and skills in creating the Destination Chandigarh brand, and elaborated the need and techniques of PR for young professionals. The resurgence of radio was highlighted by Richa Gupta who applauded the medium as "imaginative, non-intrusive, passive, common man's vehicle of communication, and very hands-on". The need of quality language and voice skills was detailed by Col Hatter, a former BBC broadcaster. Uttam Sengupta talked about convergence in media happening through the internet and the mobile telephony and noted how it will impact upon the speed of news delivery and the skills of the news-men in near future.
The aspect of convergence in media education was detailed by the Symbiosis Dean, Prof Ujjwal K Chowdhury, who noted that the media professionals of the future have to simultaneously work for the audio (radio), the video (television), the interactive (internet) and the static media (print), and hence the skill-sets of the new-generation communication professionals shall be more evolved than what they were earlier. He infused lot of optimism among the youth, whom he noted as the backbone of Indian media of today and tomorrow, since 67 pc of India's population is below 35 years of age today.
Noting that the events industry is growing at a whopping 18 pc annually and is likely to be close to Rs.2000 crores by 2010 in India, Arpita Gandhi undertook a very interactive session on what skills would the event managers need to have to take advantage of this rapidly expanding section. She showed heart-warming videos of IIFA awards night and Commonwealth 2010 preparations, both of which are Wizcraft event management projects. The art and craft of theatre, the need for theatre in a fast paced urban life, and the beauty of dramatic expressions were eloquently put forth by Neelam Mann Singh. There were references to the art, aesthetics and social impact of theatre like Moulana by Tom Alter in Urdu, Dabi Chingari by Mallika Sarabhai in Hindi, Madonna by Sharon
Prabhakar in English, and Nathabati Anathbat by Shaoli Mitra in Bengali.
In written feedbacks, more than 150 youths of the city noted that the event taught them the basics of communication careers and expected more of such interactive, visually enriching seminars which can expose them to the profession even before they have gone into it full hog.
The series includes interactive sessions and talks by corporate doyens. An alumnus of prestigious institutions like the Doon School, IIT Kharagapur and the Harvard Business School, MR. Malhotra, prior to leading Headstrong, was Chief Executive Officer and Chairman of TechSpan, which merged with Headstrong in October 2003.
A true pioneer of the Indian IT industry, Mr. Malhotra founded TechSpan in 1998 with funding from Goldman Sachs and Walden International. The merger of TechSpan with Headstrong has built an end-to-end services organization. Mr. Malhotra led the seamless integration across businesses and cultures, resulting in Headstrong's recognition as one of the fastest-growing IT-based Financial Services companies.
Mr Malhotra broadly spoke on the following four aspects- What it makes to be an entrepreneur, the environment at IIT, the Indian way of doing business and the HCL story. The author put laid great stress on going out and making the most of an opportunity and said, “Interviews are like exams; the more you do them, the better you get”. Mr Malhotra urged the future managers from the batches of 2008 and 2009 not to run after money. According to the doyen of the IT industry, “Money should be a by-product of success and not the reason for success”.
The speaker also gave useful insights into the difference between working hard and working smart- “Real life is all about competing with peers who are smarter than you. You need to survive, differentiate and perform”. This was one trait which the speaker felt that Indians lacked. Mr Malhotra felt that Indians make good entrepreneurs predominantly because of their inherent nature to tolerate frustration, ambiguity and are highly innovative but suppressed. This is coupled with a need for job security and lack of self-confidence.
Mr Malhotra shared his thoughts on the changing face of business processes in India and gave a peek into his own entry into the business of doing business during the crestfallen days of the license raj in India. The honoured speaker shared numerous insights into the ways of doing business. The speech was highly interactive and was filled with numerous anecdotes some of which were humorous but had a moral beneath them.
Implementation of fiscal reforms has witnessed continued lowering of tariff barriers world over. Revolution in IT has made the world smaller and there by introduced quality competition in products. Competitiveness has led to continuous innovation and need for cost consciousness. This has led to the trend of outsourcing in business. As the world has grown smaller, consequent socialisation and sharing of affluence by the developing countries like India and China has created a new situation. Huge population for Asian countries is no more a liability. It has rather turned into a boon because of availability of cheap labor in these countries. Simultaneously, there has also been boost in migration of population as skilled labor force is being lured by the developed countries from the developing ones. There has been constant dilution in immigration legislation by the developed countries as cheap skilled labor is in heavy demand every where.
Mr Chaturvedi however, warned that the new situation though comforting for developing nations, has posed quite a few dangers and challenging situations. With fruits of prosperity being shared by the so far 'have nots', the share for those living in developed states has shrunk creating unemployment situation for many. Pruning of monopoly has left these so far affluent groups with a bad taste and many racist hate groups have emerged protesting against migration of foreigners and some calling for complete halt to migration of people from other countries.
Mr Chaturvedi said APROS conference delegates should debate all the issues consequent to globalization and come out with far reaching solutions.
Earlier, welcoming the delegates to the conference, MDI Director, Dr Sujit K Basu said, the world today is passing through an interesting phase and technological revolution has made the concept of global society a reality. Optimality of scales and costs being of extreme importance today, emphasis is on continuous innovation.
Dr Basu said, 20 per cent of global commerce today is contributed by China, India and countries in Central and East Europe, and Latin American countries. Time is not far when these so far unheard of share holders should command even 50 per cent share of the global commerce. India that had growth rate of meager four per cent not much time back, now commands 10 per cent growth today.
Mr Basu stated that Indian economy though at par with economies of some of the developed countries today, faces some serious challenges. One of them is in the field of education. As both domestic and foreign industries have become knowledge based, there has to be much higher investment in education sector. He also called for importance to be given to health care especially in rural areas. Industry now has not only to be sensitive to practical issues like safe and salubrious working conditions, but also be providing active participation to workers in delivering health care opportunities.
Dr Basu called upon the APROS to analyze and attempt solutions to various issues consequent to the changing fiscal scenario and global practices.
More than 200 delegates from South East Asian and Latin American countries and India are attending the 12th APROS conference. The three-day conference will conclude on December 12, 2007
To most people in college, ideas are nothing new, discussed at dinner tables, over coffee and at parties; and then discarded. Rarely do we see an idea being passionately heralded into the world. BITS Pilani has been a thought-leader in this field.
An experiment by BITS' Center for Entrepreneurial Leadership, called Conquest, five years ago is today one of the most prestigious business events from India. Famous entrepreneurs and VCs have held workshops for Conquest participants in its previous editions. Last edition of Conquest saw participation from five continents. Finalists of Conquest also get intensive legal and business mentoring for over a month. The prize money for Conquest 2008 is INR 1.5 lakhs. The winners not only get an opportunity to pitch their business plan at various TiE (The Indus Entrepreneurs) conventions across the country but also on www.foundercontact.com which is a global networking organization for entrepreneurs and venture capitalists.
We all have seen ideas completely change our world, and the way we live in it. Google, Apple, Microsoft, Yahoo, HP, Sony, Dell, Domino's and lots more like them started as ideas by young minds, under the age of 25, at college. They built teams, gained experience, became role models and created a place of their own – they started with none of them. Just the willingness to stick on to their dreams, grab opportunities, risk failure and of course make big money! Or probably something they call 'the entrepreneurial spirit'.
The last date for submission of entries for this year is December 23, 2007.
To participate in Conquest 2008 and get a head start for your venture, visit www.celbits.org for more details.
As many as 910 candidates have been shortlisted by the Delhi and Kolkata based Indian Institute of Foreign Trade (IIFT) for the group discussion and interview stage for admission to MBA (International Business) class starting 2008. Candidates shortlisted in the results would next appear for the group discussion and interview phases for final admission to the IIFT campuses at Delhi and Kolkata.
The IIFT entrance test held on November 25, 2007 was taken by 47,500 candidates across 50 centres in 20 cities across India, IIFT's Dr LD Mago told PaGaLGuY.com.
"The shortlisted candidates would now be asked for their preference between the Delhi and Kolkata campus. Depending on the final merit list after the group discussion, they would be offered a campus," he added.
While IIFT Delhi has 120 seats, IIFT Kolkata has 60 seats in their MBA(IB) programs. "The selection ratio is 1:6," Dr Mago said.
In case you are having trouble accessing the IIFT result on their site, you may download it at the following link.
Click here to download the IIFT Entrance Test 2007 Results
(or right click and 'Save as...' before opening it in Adobe Reader)
Here are some useful links to help you in the aftermath of the result. You can participate in the IIFT Results 2007 discussions, or you can get an insight into campus life at IIFT Delhi. What is an IIFT Group Discussion like? Read real life IIFT interview experiences here.
Perspective, the academic contest began with KNOWLYSIS: the Paper presentation. There were total 18 entries out of which 9 were short listed. The topic of the presentation was “Power Shift and the Common Man”. Institutes like IIM-C, K.J. Somaiya, IIFT, IRMA and IMNU participated in the event.
The other contest was ANWESHAN- Book review contest. The idea was to relate fiction novels with management concepts. Reviews were given for the books like; The Godfather, The Jungle Book, Gone with The Wind, Madhushala, Da Vinci Code. The event got many entries out of which 10 were short listed. The major participants were from ISB Hyderabad, MICA, IRMA, IMNU, K.J. Somaiya. The day witnessed various other events like Chaosorter- the Case Study competition. The main attraction of the day was Adventure- a contest in which a team had to sell 21st century product in Stone Age. Various innovative products like “bee-jali” - bulbs lit by fire flies, were campaigned with innovative marcom tools. A GK quiz, brand crossword and a picture puzzle were also keenly contested by future managers.
The evening was rocked by the sizzling performance of “Bombay Vikings”. Neeraj Shridhar enthralled the audience with his pulsating numbers and latest Bollywood hits. The night also saw the performance of the dance troupe of Shaimak Dawar. The chilly open air star nite ended with some great fireworks. The students look forward to the second day of the event and hope for more enjoyment!
Dr. C.S. Venkata Ratnam, Director, IMI and Dr. Sun, Han Seung , President, Korea Labor Education Institute agree to voluntarily cooperate according to their respective roles and competencies in establishing a cooperative relationship.
While signing the MOU, Mr. Park, Janghwan, Secretary General said that “KLEI works to promote the genuine values of labor education for various bodies and key players in and outside Korea. The tie-up will help establish a leading labor education system going hand in hand with the rapidly changing labor environment. He added, “By establishing a cooperative system with IMI, KLEI will actively exchange information and enhance the contents and quality of education programs by making every effort to understand various education needs.”
Speaking on the momentous occasion, Dr. C.S. Venkata Ratnam, Director, IMI said, “Both the signatories to this Memorandum of Understanding shall aid in developing a new project of education and training for sound labor-management relations and sustainable economic development. Also this MOU will help in implementing a personnel exchange program for human resource development in both countries.”
Also present at the MOU signing ceremony from KLEI were Mr. Shin, Keon-ho Director Labor Management Education Service and Mr. Chiwhan Lee Programme Coordinator, Education Service for Labor Administration Enhancement and from IMI Mr. Rajat Kathuria Professor & Registrar; Mr. A K Singh Professor and Dean (Corporate Relations) and Mr. Himadri Das Professor & Dean (Academic).
Both the institutes agreed to voluntarily cooperate, according to their respective roles and competencies, as follows:
1. Establishing a cooperative relationship in developing a new project of education and training for sound labor-management relations and sustainable economic development in both countries.
2. Implementing a joint research, educational program and international seminar related to the interests of both institutes.
3. Developing another activities related to any projects mentioned above.
Prof. Ishwar Dayal, former founder director of IIM Lucknow and keynote followed by Dr. Roger Stough from the School of Public Policy, George Mason University addressed the event. During the next few hours the dais saw the likes of Mr. John Walsh from Shinawatra University, Bangkok discussing ICICI Bank's business policy. Ms. Sudha Rani Ravindran & Ms. Geeta S. Hegde from PSG College of Technology, Coimbatore, Tamil Nadu presented their views on 'Dealing with the Dealers: The Finolex Cables Way'.
The HR vertical saw a number of cases being presented such as 'Control vs. Flexibility – A Case Study of UNITAR' by Mr. Kamal Kishore Jain from UNITAR, Malaysia (presently IIM, Indore). The cases on service operations too were numerous and were chaired by world renowned expert, Mr. Iijima Masaki from Aichi-Gakuin University, Nagoya, Japan and Mr. A.D. Kodwani. Entrepreneurship found a representation too, with one of the cases being discussed being 'Cupola: Empowering Women Artisans' by Ms. Tapati Bandopadhyay from ICFAI Business School Bangalore and Mr. Pradeep Kumar Garg.
The evening ended with Dr. Stough delivering a closing address but the event was far from over yet. It began on a fresh note on the 4 th morning. This time the focus of attention was corporate social responsibility and quite a few voices were raised in this context. Ms. Sonu Goyal & Mr. N. Linthoingambi from IMT Ghaziabad portrayed how Coca-Cola India was losing its fizz while other cases were also brought to the forefront.
This was followed by a valedictory session wherein all the delegates were felicitated. Dr. G.D.Sardana , Dean (Academics) of IMT Ghaziabad, then requested them to share their observations about the event and the words of Mr. Ari Happonen from Lapeenranta University of Technology, Finland summed up everybody's feelings. "It was a most enjoyable experience and an enlightening one at the same time. It was truly great to know [you] all, and I hope we can meet more often."
The ISB has invited students from B-schools and IITs to come up with viable business plans to take these innovations to the market so that it can be made available to Indians across the counter. Metamorphosis is a unique competition where students will vie with one another to help an Indian innovator make it big. The team of students will not only design a business plan but also become the 'startup management team' for the business. The WCED at the ISB will then mentor and support the entire team in their future venture.
Speaking about the competition, Dr V Chandrasekar, Executive Director, Wadhwani Centre for Entrepreneurship Development (WCED) at the ISB, said, “Indians are intelligent people , we are bright and creative. We have fallen short in transforming ideas into action. Metamorphosis is a step in bridging this huge gap. I hope this will spark creativity in making the ideas work for the common good in a viable and sustainable way.”
The competition has attracted 135 teams of students from various B Schools and IIT's from across the country. Out of these, 15 teams have been selected for the final round of the competition which will be held on December 17, 2007 at the ISB campus. Senior officials from NABARD, IIT Mumbai, among others will be the judges for the event.
The Government of India has identified several inventors and has supported them with initial funding to develop their idea into a well functioning prototype. Of these, 15 innovators have been chosen on the basis of the potential of their innovation to become marketable products. The inventors come from small towns such as Junagadh, Mohali, Madurai, Nellore, Sangli, and Pune, as well as from Chennai and Hyderabad. The ISB is taking them to the next step by providing them with business opportunities and to reach out to the public.
Sharing his experience of developing a business plan, Mr Kranthi Kiran, who invented the active heating/ cooling apparel said, “I am excited to be a part of Metamorphosis, which is supporting me to become an entrepreneur. As a student myself, it has been a great experience working with some of the brightest minds in our country. Their business acumen is complementing my creativity to make my dream project into a reality.”
Some of the interesting innovations that feature in the final round of the competition are:
· Sanjha Chulha – large stove for large-scale cooking that uses crop waste as fuel. This saves fuel cost and limits pollution emissions.
· Auto Distractor - equipment used for correcting congenital defects like short or deformed limbs, polio disabilities and defects due to accidents.
· Active Heating/ Cooling Apparel – user controlled cooling and heating apparel which can maintain a comfortable body temperature and protect it from extreme weather conditions.
· Mini Tractor - a small size tractor ideal for farmers with small land holdings and offering multiple benefits in cost and maintenance
There are so many different routes to market and selecting the optimum route requires diligent business research, planning and a smart strategy. It is this thought process that Metamorphosis will focus on to bring out the best from these teams of B School students and innovators working together.
The companies where students interned were from diverse industries. FMCG companies like Britannia, Dabur, Coke, Henkel, Cavin Kare, ITC, GlaxoSmithkline etc. gave interesting marketing and logistics profiles, while manufacturing companies like TVS Motors, L&T;, Tata Steel, Volvo India, Voltas etc. offered projects in the field of supply chain management.
Says Great Lakes, "Despite this being just the second year for the one-month Fall Project, Great Lakes was able to build in capabilities and create opportunities for students with different kinds of jobs that they loved to do. The Fall Project again stood testimony to the interest that industry has shown towards this concept of one-month internship."
The Banking & Financial sector companies that visited the campus included the likes of CITIBANK, Deutsche Bank, UBS, Kotak Mahindra Bank, HDFC Bank, CRISIL, ICRA, DBS Cholamandalam, Karvy Stock Broking and NCDEX.
In the IT industry, there were plenty of offers for Great Lakers with multinationals like Microsoft, Symantec Corporation, Frost & Sullivan, Bharti and technology companies like TCS, L&T; Infotech , Satyam , Mphasis-EDS, Reach Technologies, Photon Infotech, Ramco Systems offering consulting and strategy projects.
Marketing, media & advertising companies like Oglivy & Mathers, ESPN Star, Webchutney Studios, Worldspace Radio, Times Internet, Fashion Networks and Castrol also offered internships and roles for interns. Great Lakes informs that some of their interns were directly reporting to the CEO.
"This year saw not only a significant growth in the number of companies coming for internships but also a great diversity in the companies which offered internships" says Mr. Swaminathan Murthy, Placement Director at Great Lakes.
Says Great Lakes, "Despite this being just the second year for the one-month Fall Project, Great Lakes was able to build in capabilities and create opportunities for students with different kinds of jobs that they loved to do. The Fall Project again stood testimony to the interest that industry has shown towards this concept of one-month internship."
The Banking & Financial sector companies that visited the campus included the likes of CITIBANK, Deutsche Bank, UBS, Kotak Mahindra Bank, HDFC Bank, CRISIL, ICRA, DBS Cholamandalam, Karvy Stock Broking and NCDEX.
In the IT industry, there were plenty of offers for Great Lakers with multinationals like Microsoft, Symantec Corporation, Frost & Sullivan, Bharti and technology companies like TCS, L&T; Infotech , Satyam , Mphasis-EDS, Reach Technologies, Photon Infotech, Ramco Systems offering consulting and strategy projects.
Marketing, media & advertising companies like Oglivy & Mathers, ESPN Star, Webchutney Studios, Worldspace Radio, Times Internet, Fashion Networks and Castrol also offered internships and roles for interns. Great Lakes informs that some of their interns were directly reporting to the CEO.
"This year saw not only a significant growth in the number of companies coming for internships but also a great diversity in the companies which offered internships" says Mr. Swaminathan Murthy, Placement Director at Great Lakes.
B-school students will also have to fight it out with corporate houses across the country this year, thus intensifying the battle for the spoils. “The greater corporate participation levels this time will definitely widen the learning arena as we move forward with a much bigger platform for students, academics and the industry to interact and build familiarity amongst each other”, said Harish Shashidhar, a member of the Backwaters organizing committee. “This also gels well with the theme for the event this year – 'Evolution' that basically represents the evolving nature of the competitive spirit of Backwaters”.
The flagship event of Backwaters 2008, scheduled from January 11 to 13, 2008, will be Reliance White Knight - an event that is conceptually unique across all B-school fests. Now into its second year, it brings together the best minds of the country to solve the nation's pressing problems. If the theme for last year brought forth innovative ideas to make the Indian growth story inclusive, the Urban Development theme for White Knight 2008 will bring the problems associated with our burgeoning urban settlements into sharp focus. Students from leading B-schools will be asked to work on a business plan that will help alleviate some of the problems facing urban development. Apart from the glory of being crowned the champions, the winning team shall take home a whopping 1.5 lakhs with an equal amount held in trust by IIMK and released to an NGO as and when the idea gets into implementation mode.
Backwaters, this year, will also feature a new business simulation game, spread across all verticals and organized in collaboration with a foreign university. While the simulation shall give an opportunity for participants to apply their classroom concepts to the real world, a huge online treasure hunt has been organized to keep them guessing throughout December. Various informal in-campus games and cultural events will also mark the three day extravaganza which shall culminate with the annual IIMK alumni reunion called 'Nostalgia'.
International participation this year is also expected to go up, with more than 25 international B-Schools taking part, including universities that IIMK has tie-ups with, for student exchange programs.
Backwaters 2008 is being sponsored by Reliance Industries, Freudenberg, Deloitte, Bristlecone, CapGemini, TCS, Vodafone, Lenovo, ONGC, RPG, SET, Gold Simulations and Paymate. The Week will be the official print media partner while Pagalguy shall be the online media partner for the event.
For more information, please visit www.iimkbackwaters.com or contact Harish at [email protected] or Jotinder Singh at [email protected].
The flagship event of Backwaters 2008, scheduled from January 11 to 13, 2008, will be Reliance White Knight - an event that is conceptually unique across all B-school fests. Now into its second year, it brings together the best minds of the country to solve the nation's pressing problems. If the theme for last year brought forth innovative ideas to make the Indian growth story inclusive, the Urban Development theme for White Knight 2008 will bring the problems associated with our burgeoning urban settlements into sharp focus. Students from leading B-schools will be asked to work on a business plan that will help alleviate some of the problems facing urban development. Apart from the glory of being crowned the champions, the winning team shall take home a whopping 1.5 lakhs with an equal amount held in trust by IIMK and released to an NGO as and when the idea gets into implementation mode.
Backwaters, this year, will also feature a new business simulation game, spread across all verticals and organized in collaboration with a foreign university. While the simulation shall give an opportunity for participants to apply their classroom concepts to the real world, a huge online treasure hunt has been organized to keep them guessing throughout December. Various informal in-campus games and cultural events will also mark the three day extravaganza which shall culminate with the annual IIMK alumni reunion called 'Nostalgia'.
International participation this year is also expected to go up, with more than 25 international B-Schools taking part, including universities that IIMK has tie-ups with, for student exchange programs.
Backwaters 2008 is being sponsored by Reliance Industries, Freudenberg, Deloitte, Bristlecone, CapGemini, TCS, Vodafone, Lenovo, ONGC, RPG, SET, Gold Simulations and Paymate. The Week will be the official print media partner while Pagalguy shall be the online media partner for the event.
For more information, please visit www.iimkbackwaters.com or contact Harish at [email protected] or Jotinder Singh at [email protected].
This five-day programme is designed to give the opportunity for senior business executives and government officials to examine current strategic issues in corporate finance. It aims to build participants' understanding of the interaction between strategic decisions and corporate finance, and provide the tools to ensure maximum alignment between corporate strategy and financial structure, decision-making and management. Participants will gain new insights into mergers and acquisitions, value-based management, risk management, corporate governance, strategy map, capital budgeting, and capital structures in the context of modern, global financial markets including China.
Renowned professors from Cambridge University and The University of Hong Kong will speak at the programme, along with local business experts and leaders with strategic finance responsibilities to share their vision and strategies.
Professor Peter Williamson and Dr Simon Taylor will serve as faculty members from Judge Business School, whilst Professors Y.K. Fan, Shih Chi-Ping, Peter Fong and Peter Pang will represent The University of Hong Kong. In addition, several prominent business leaders, Dr. David Li, Chairman and CE of Bank of East Asia, Mr. Paul Chow, Chief Executive of Hong Kong Exchanges & Clearing Ltd, and Mr. George Leung, Advisor of HSBC will also speak at the programme. Delegates will visit the HKEx and HSBC during the programme.
Dr Larry Abeln, Chief Executive Officer, Cambridge Executive Education commented: “We chose to partner with The University of Hong Kong because they are one of the premier management education schools in Asia with an extensive amount of experience in the executive education market, and appropriately enough for the course content, Hong Kong serves as a major financial centre in Asia, a region that is seeing dramatic financial innovation and growth. This programme is part of a strategic development to increase the scale of teaching and research in the field of business finance at Judge Business School.”
Dr. Peter Fong, Head of the Centre for Executive Development, The University of Hong Kong commented: “This new corporate finance programme for senior executives is a great example of how top-tier universities can collaborate, sharing resources and expertise and integrating global and local perspectives to produce an outstanding executive education offering.“
Mr. David began the session with the poem – The Piped Piper of Hamlin. He read the entire poem and invited discussion on the metaphors that the story, the characters and the community held for us in today's life. As he questioned the audience over the roles and actions of the actors in the story, there were responses about the rats being the everyday problems that one faces in the workplace; the mayor who had power of the position but irresponsibly executed it; the piper who seemed like a customer or consultant who was unfairly treated; the children who represented the future and its preciousness; the community that did not use the power it had in numbers to make sure the right thing was done and who may have succumbed to the disease of fear of speaking and peer pressure. He highlighted the malady of groupthink when working in teams and how one could remedy it in the organizational context. His message was that when we deal with the issue of governance, we deal with a personal issue because corporate governance can only be put into practice at the point of the individual's decision to take the higher moral path over the easier, profitable yet many times immoral way.
Mr. David's insights revolved around how the actions of one individual could create the 'tipping point' in a situation. He said any issue, especially one involving people, would turn messy unless one moved from the subject (person) of the situation to the object (issue) of the situation. Thus, one migrates from event to concept. He said that more than physical courage, it was moral courage that was necessary, especially in governance issues, and urged the students to find their definition of moral. It has been his experience that the person who stands up for the right solution would always be respected; however his dissension may be swallowed. His take on the role of H.R. in dealing with good corporate governance was to facilitate a culture that would focus on customers and investors, ensure transparent communication with clear financial reporting along with independent directors.
Spiced with anecdotes and laughter, Mr. David's message came across easily and effectively and the session was an enjoyable and great learning experience.
Mr. David's insights revolved around how the actions of one individual could create the 'tipping point' in a situation. He said any issue, especially one involving people, would turn messy unless one moved from the subject (person) of the situation to the object (issue) of the situation. Thus, one migrates from event to concept. He said that more than physical courage, it was moral courage that was necessary, especially in governance issues, and urged the students to find their definition of moral. It has been his experience that the person who stands up for the right solution would always be respected; however his dissension may be swallowed. His take on the role of H.R. in dealing with good corporate governance was to facilitate a culture that would focus on customers and investors, ensure transparent communication with clear financial reporting along with independent directors.
Spiced with anecdotes and laughter, Mr. David's message came across easily and effectively and the session was an enjoyable and great learning experience.
The seminar was organized by MBA-Management of Services students on December 15 and 16, 2007, in Delhi. The seminar gave the students and participants got an opportunity to have useful insights from different leading corporate leaders including the illustrious Mr Douglas Baillie, Managing Director & CEO, HUL.
Day1:
The seminar was divided into specific sessions like 'Value Space: Escaping the parity game', 'Expansion Beyond: Creating synergy across boundaries' and 'Servepreneurs: Drivers of New India'. The event also included presentations on competitions including Taksha- The Paper Presentation, Dwandh-The Battle of Views, The FaMouS Cribler, Servepreneur- The B-Plan Contest Mark Thy Alter Ego- Surrogate Ad-making contest. Some of the premium B Schools that took part in these events included IIMs, ISB, MDI, SPJIMR etc.
In the first session titled 'Expansion Beyond: Creating synergy across boundaries' Mr. Douglas Baillie gave an insightful keynote to kick start the fourth edition of Serveskriti. Looking at services through the lens of a CEO, Mr. Baillie said that the innovation sandbox must constantly be on the go, striving to keep up with the challenges of an ever changing work environment. Mr. Baillie concluded with a thought-provoking line from Robert Frost, “Two roads diverged in a wood, I took the one less travelled and it has made all the difference”.
Mr. Atul Dhawan, Partner, Deloitte Haskins and Sells, introduced the belief here that change is the common denominators to organizations, their processes; the consumers , their expectations and value creation. He gave the 'Blue Ocean Strategy' as a solution to the breaking free from the parity game.
Mr. R. Balakrishnan, Chief Creative Director- Lowe India, gave the marketers perspective of the consumers value space. He said, “The intangible component of an advertisement is more important than the features of the product itself”. The ad-man who also directed the movie Cheeni Kum exemplified the same through some of his memorable TV Ad campaigns for leading brands like Bajaj Avenger, Surf Excel and Lifebuoy. The common feature of all these ads was the subtle way in which they communicated an attitude and not the product per se.
Ms. Charulata Ravikumar, Managing Partner, JWT India spoke about the trends in the Communication and advertising space and said, “In the communications space, organizations have to deal with synergies across cultural, geographical, demographic, religious and psychographic spheres” and gave instances of integrated brand communication strategy with instances from Nokia campaigns for different segments of the Indian consumer.
Day 2:
Afresh from the knowledge-sharing sessions of day 1 of Serveskriti, the students of FMS and other participants got their share of knowledge on the topic 'Servepreneurs: Drivers of New India'.
The first speaker of the day mesmerized the audience with a speech that was dotted with anecdotes and witticisms. Mr. Harish Bijoor, CEO of Harish Bijoor Consults gave a panoramic view of the Experience economy. He said that different products have different service avatars. According to Mr. Bijoor, “Service is a cutting-edge differentiator and a momentary value ultimately. He also introduced the concept of PVC- Perennial Value Creation. Mr. Bijoor also spoke about the evolution of customer service to customer satisfaction to customer delight and now to customer ecstasy.
Closing his speech Mr. Bijoor said, “Brand loyalty is a myth and service loyalty is a reality of the future”. The next speaker in line was Mr. Mukul Kansal, Head, SaReGaMa India Ltd., an alumnus of the Faculty of Management Studies, emphasized on the fact that change creates opportunities for entrepreneurship and thus entrepreneurs. He said, “The entrepreneur always searches for change, responds to it and explores opportunities”. He gave the perspective of the Service Industry in general and the Entertainment media industry in particular.
The post-session part of the second day of Serveksriti was marked by the successful and overwhelming conduction of Certamen- The B-School and Corporate Quiz which was gracefully hosted by renowned Quizmaster Mr. Joy Bhattacharya. The event saw participation from teams from leading B Schools in and around Delhi and a rush of corporates as well. As part of the cultural event that was sponsored by Radio Mirchi, the well-known theatre group Pierrots Troupe presented a comic play titled Big B that was based on a play by Premchand and was a satirical yet comic depiction of relation between two brothers.
The principal partner for the fourth edition of Serveksriti was Vodafone. Oil India was the knowledge partner for the annual seminar with Zee Networks as the exclusive TV media partner. IFFCO-Tokio and Oil and Natural Gas Corporation Limited (ONGC) were the associate partners for the event. Radio Mirchi is the partner for the cultural event and leading MBA portal MBA Universe is the online media partner.
Placements for the batch 2006-08, started in the early hours of December 14, 2007 and ended late in the evening the next day. During the intervening hours, 119 students from different academic backgrounds with varying work experience were placed in 40 companies.
GIM, which has always been a favorite haunt of IT companies, has a different story to tell this time. Giants like Hindustan Unilever Limited, State Bank of India, Marico, Vodafone, Mercer Consulting, Thomas Cook, Deloitte and Citiglobal straddling across various domains made a beeline to grab the GIM talent. Regulars like Wipro Tech, Infosys, and Cognizant were joined by newcomers like CapGemini and EDS.
A total of 194 offers were made to 119 students. In order to gear up for the forthcoming challenges expected to emerge from the liberalization of banking sector post 2009, leading banking and financial institutions like SBI, HSBC, Kotak, Centurion Bank of Punjab etc made a total of 55 offers. Out of the 72 companies which registered with GIM for the recruitment process, only 40 could recruit.
The real story of Placements '08 is students rejecting fatter pay-cheques in favor of their dream profiles. Moving higher up in the value chain, GIM students managed to attract stellar profiles like Transition Managers, Arbitrage Strategist, Treasury Functions, Investment Research, Risk Management, Valuation Services, Branding and Strategic HR consultancy.
The average salary showed an increase of 15.62 percent to Rs. 7.4 lakh per annum this year as against Rs.6.41 lakh last year. Similarly, the highest (annual) salary offered is Rs. 9.5 lakh. The median salary this year is Rs. 7.5 lakh, with the least salary offered being Rs. 5.5 lakh.
Things look even brighter next year with big names like Yahoo!, Deloitte and Marico having offered summer internships to students with stipends as high as Rs.45,000 per month.
The main objective of this event is to create awareness and excitement among students about Entrepreneurship, creating a synergy between academia and the practitioners, and aligning entrepreneurship with management education. The speakers for the events include eminent IIMC alumni entrepreneurs and other stalwarts from the industry. It is expected to be attended by several faculty and heads of institutes and hundreds of students from across the region.
The event would showcase amongst an array of programs, finer nuances of Entrepreneurship through sessions that would be conducted by role model entrepreneurs known in the domain for setting high standards in business excellence and noteworthy achievements. The speakers includes Mr. Sridhar Iyengar, Ex-Chairman and CEO, KPMG India who will deliver the Keynote Address; followed by a session on 'Facilitating the Entrepreneurial Mindset' by Mr. Ajit Balakrishnan, the Rediff CEO, and Ms. Laura Parkin, the Executive Director at NEN and Wadhwani Foundation. Subsequent speakers include Mr. Pradeep Gupta, Chairman & MD, Cybermedia, Mr. K. Ganesh, CEO, TutorVista.com, Mr. Kanwaljit Singh, Co-founder & MD, Mr. Helion Ventures, Mr. R. Thulasiraj, Executive Director, Aravinda Eye Hospital, Mr. Saumen Chakraborty, CEO, INTELLISYS Technologies, Mr. R. Sriram, Consultant, Ex CEO Crossword Bookstores Ltd on topics such as 'Starting Up', 'Scaling Up' and 'Identifying Future Opportunities'.
IIMC's situating the summit on the eve of the annual alumni meet, scheduled for the 24th and 25th, targeted towards strengthening the alumni interaction with current students, with particular focus on entrepreneurship motivation and mentoring. Prof. Anjan Raichaudhuri, the faculty co-ordinator for the event from IIMC says, "Entrepreneurship has been a major catalyst in transforming our economy, and IIM alumni have contributed significantly in new venture creation. This summit is a celebration of the Spirit of Enterprise, by bringing together prominent personalities, including IIM alumni, to inspire & motivate young minds ."
Within a year of existence in Bengal, the National Entrepreneurship Network already has 49 institutes in its fold within the region. NEN currently has a nationwide membership of 287 academic institutes across 30 cities of India, and reaches over 2.9 lakh young people in India.
Laura Parkin, Executive Director, NEN says, “NEN is proud to be associated with IIM Calcutta for this summit. The summit is a great example of how academia is equipping young people to make the most of opportunities today, by bringing together experts and students. We're also delighted to see that this event has become a networking platform for the students and faculty of the different NEN member institutes in Kolkata. Connecting these young people with the entrepreneurial community is a critical step towards building a vibrant and supportive ecosystem for the next generation of entrepreneurs. With the intention of creating awareness and excitement around entrepreneurship in West Bengal, the summit will go a long way towards motivating future entrepreneurs in pursuing their own entrepreneurial ambitions.”
INTELLISYS Technologies and Research Ltd. is aiming to promote an entrepreneurial eco-system in the country from the students of the engineering and management institutes. Mr. Saumen Chakraborty, Managing Director and the entrepreneur behind the consortium of beautiful minds, says “As India moves up the value chain from a services economy to a knowledge economy innovation would be the key to entrepreneurial success in the country. It would be a necessity to foster an entrepreneurial ecosystem in the country through research and development for creating Intellectual Property Rights (IP) in all fields more specifically in IT. I wish IIM Calcutta and the NEN all the best in its effort to create the entrepreneurial ecosystem in the country through the Entrepreneurship Sumit '2007.“
Indian Institute of Management (IIM) Auditorium, Joka, Kolkata–700104, Date: December 23, 2007, Timing: 08.00 a.m. to 05.00 p.m.