Category: Uncategorized

^6TH SEPTEMBER 2015 marked the first official visit of IIM Kashipur batch 2015 – 2017 to the Ashok Leyland plant in Pantnagar.

After a brief introductory presentation we were welcomed to the new age plant which housed the latest in technology and processes, this fully integrate plant (established in 2010) manufactures all future-gazing products across trucks and buses. Spread over 200 hundred acres of land and with an annual annual capacity of 70,000 vehicles, the plant also produces aggregates such as engines, gear-boxes and axles.

We saw the robotic hands perform complicated procedures such as spot welding with ease precision and agility. The plant was established four years ago and has the capacity to roll out a vehicle every 5 minutes.

Their flagship programme ASHIRWAD to give 12^th pass students free education and then induct them in the programme was heartfelt touching and very challenging. They go to remote villages and recruit these children and bring them to their state of the art education center which is within the main campus. A holistic learning which includes onsite training with theoretical knowledge is implemented in the teaching practices here.

The enriched knowledge will always remain with us but moreover we will never forget the brilliance of work ethics and culture shown by this mesmerizing plant.

Human resources need constant development to keep them abreast with the ever changing technology. Indian Institute of Management, Kashipur organised its annual HR conference, Samanvaya 2015 at the college auditorium. Eminent personalities from the world of HR graced the occasion. The event started with a welcome speech from Dean (Academics) Professor Somnath Ghosh and he emphasized on how academia and industry should interact and complement each other.

The event started with a keynote speech from Mr. Abhishek Tiwary (Director HR, KPMG) on the theme – “Challenges of developing a learning culture: Indian context”. He talked about the companies should consider thinking about Return on engagement and not just return on investment. “You are responsible for your own learning. So make it happen now! Don’t wait for someone else to tell you what you should be learning next”, he said. His enlightening speech was followed by a panel discussion on the same topic. It was moderated by Professor Kampan Mukherjee, IIM Kashipur.

The panel included eminent members of the industry including:

Mr. Rajeev Gupta, Managing Director – Resource Development International India Pvt. Ltd.

Mr. Probal Sinha, AGM Corporate  HR – Omaxe Auto

Mr. Rituraj Sar, Vice President and Head – Learning and Development, Lupin

Mr. Samir Mishra, Director Plat operations – Schneider Electric

Post lunch, the second panel discussion was conducted on the topic of Role of Social Media in Recruiting Process. It was moderated by Mr. Bharat Grover, Director Vermalis India. The prominent speakers present in the panel included:

Mr. Rajeev Gupta, Managing Director – Resource Development International India Pvt. Ltd.

Mr. Abhay Kapoor, HR Leader– Escorts

Professor Devyani Chatterjee, IIM Kashipur

Mr. Nikhil Sachan – Director Digital Strategy, ET Media labs.

Mr. Bharat Grover then presented his summarising lecture on the topic. The event was a huge success as it served as a mode of interaction between the students and the experienced corporate professionals.

MPRC: – Sir let me just start by saying that it’s been an absolute privilege to hear your refreshing take on life.

We are honored to have you in our midst and hope that you keep coming again.

MPRC: – Sir since this was your first visit to our college what was the impression the student body gave you?

Mr. Achal: – Extremely positive. The students were interactive, asked questions and were more over high spirited.

Considering the fact that the session lasted till late evening the students were extremely co-operative and were undeterred from answering and cooperating during the session.

Such discipline cannot be instilled within a short period of two months which means that the overall batch has raw talent which will eventually be molded into future leaders.

MPRC: – Sir could you elaborate on one key problem faced by the b – schools that you have toured.

Mr. Achal: The one issue that I have seen common between all the b schools is that the students mostly come with a placement oriented mind set, this to my knowledge is a setback not only because it is possible to get placements out of the campus but also because it diminishes the true learning and experience that the college has to offer.

The second can easily be summed up as the “washing away of all sins”. Students feel that having converted a b school they can get away with any and all kinds of past and present. In most cases this is not true and what should be a ride to a change for betterment is rather wasted in a futile attempt to get by.

Also a word of advice if you pick up a subject that you feel you are interested in you should spend one hundred percent time reading all about it to the extent that your knowledge of the subject is at par with the subject matter expert.

MPRC: – Thank you so much sir I hope we get to see you again.

Mr. Achal: – Definitely thank you.

IIM Kashipur organized a guest lecture by Mr Achal Rangaswamy, CEO of  “Achal Rangaswamy the Coach.” He talked on a wide variety of topics like finding one’s passion, the habit of learning from every experience and also emphasized the importance of personality and suggested a 7 step model to work on it.

All work and no play makes Jack a dull boy, though this is a clichéd statement nobody can refute with the correctness of it. A typical day in an IIM is nothing short of a roller coaster ride, the day is filled with lectures, surprise quizzes, assignments and sacrosanct deadlines. Just for a change in the normal routine and to rejuvenate the students, an exhilarating Outbound was organised for the first year students at Bhimtal (a beautiful hill station in the district of Nainital).

The Outbound was for two days and lots of interactive competitions were conducted (by a group of alumni from top B- Schools and corporate), which not only required mental acumen but also physical prowess. At the end of each competition, a valuable management lesson was taught to us and winners were awarded medals for their performance.

What better can it get than playing tug of war in a rainy day on a hill station?!

The second day of IIM Kashipur Leadership Conclave started on the same enthusiastic note that it ended on, on the first day. This is IIM Kashipur’s flagship event and attracts industry bigwigs from various fields every year. A keynote speech by Mr Sudhanshu Tripathi (Group President (HR), Hinduja Group Limited) marked the beginning of the second day of the event whose theme was Industry-Academia Collaboration.

He directed the discussion on leadership assuming a long term perspective and discussed the impact of political and economic changes on the industry. He discussed about bridging the gap between personal and organization goals and about the importance of being a good follower in order to be a good leader.

This enlightening speech was followed by an equally engrossing one by Mr Shantanu Das (Vice President (HR), Emami Ltd) who gave the key note speech on the topic “Leadership Dilemma” and familiarized the students about the three tenets of leadership – credibility, reliability and self-orientation. He shared with students, the various leadership dilemmas that they may face in their career and a leadership framework that could be used in such scenarios.

It was followed by a panel discussion on the same topic with Mr Gitan Shah (Assistant VP, Mphasis), Mr Peshwa Acharya (Founder and CEO, Think As Consumer), Mr Pramod Joshi (Managing Director, Syncata), Mr Vineet Jain (DGM, HCL Technology). The panel discussed at length about the array of choices that a leader faces in corporate world and how important it is to maintain character when in a moral dilemma. The event had plenty of Q&A sessions, where the students got an opportunity to interact personally with the guests and clarify their queries about each topic.

The students were delighted to have close interactions with such reputed personalities from the world of industry. The corporates too were really happy to share their thoughts with the next generation of managers and industry leaders. The event concluded with both the industry and academia getting a glance into each other’s areas of operation and came closer to understanding each other’s dilemmas and issues and working on bridging the gaps to ensure a smooth transition.

The Indian Institute of Management Kashipur today hosted the first day of ‘Leadership Conclave 2014’ in its newly refurbished state-of-the-art auditorium. The Conclave provides a platform for interaction and mutual exchange of ideas and knowledge between the industry and the academia.

Addressing the gathering, Dr. Gautam Sinha, its Director, raised issues that needed to be addressed in the Conclave so as to be able to bridge gap between managerial theory and practice and issues pertaining to managerial leadership relevant in today’s dynamic business environment.

Mr. Ashok Barat (MD & CEO, Forbes Limited) in his inaugural address, raised concerns about the challenges faced by the industry and its implications in terms of supply of Managers to it. Speaking on the occasion, he stated that, “The students of IIM Kashipur are the perfect material for us, however, the industrial society expects much more from management students, more specifically their knowledge converted into skills, and skills into capabilities, so that they emerge as leaders and achieve holistic growth”.

Key note address entitled ‘Bridging the Expectation Gap’, by Mr. Jerome Varman, (Group Director Supply Chain, IFFCO) focused upon the fundamental changes that happened in the industry in key dimensions because of  innovation and technology and the way it changed industry demands. This followed a panel discussion by Ms Lata Menon (Senior Vice President and Head HR, India and Srilanka, CLM Business Unit), Mr Amitava Ghosh, (COO, NIS Sparta) and Mr Bijay Sahoo (Principal consultant Ernst & Young) that emphasised on the core values that industry seeks, like communication, competence, credibility and collaboration. The session was moderated by Dr. Somnath Ghosh (Dean of Academics, IIM Kashipur). It not only talked about what the industry demands from students, but what students demand out of industry, more specifically in terms of growth opportunities.

The address by Mr Himanshu Chakrawarti (CEO, The Mobile Store) recounted how quickly e-commerce, in specific and internet in general, is taking the proverbial cheese away from the old-school professionals and stressed upon the need for them to adapt to the change.

The final panel discussion was moderated by Dr. Kampan Mukherjee (Professor, IIM Kashipur) and had Mr. Praveen Kamanth (Global Head of Talent Transformation, KPO division, Wipro Corporation), Mr Anil Menon (Chief People Officer, Ezone and Home Town) and Dr. Abinash Panda (Professor, IIM Kashipur) in which they talked on the topic – ‘Learn to Lead’. The discussion covered significant nuances of how leadership, unlike the age-old belief, can be inculcated and nourished among individuals and also how it can be embellished in case of those who already had the proverbial spark.

The students left the auditorium with plenty of food for thought and an eagerness to attend the second day of the conclave, to listen to fresh ideas and perspectives.