The week saw a gamut of events and initiatives by JBIMS students that not only brought to the forefront the institute's close corporate ties, but also showcased the all round development at JBIMS. The events included Strategym 2008, Samanvay, and Prayaag. MBAUniverse.com was the Official Management Portal of the initiatives. Here is a round-up of the Knowledge Week @ JBIMS.
Strategym 2008 (October 20-21)
Strategym is a platform for the students of JBIMS apply their knowledge and business acumen to find solutions to contemporary management issues. In-house researched papers by students are discussed by the best from the industry and in the past many have been adopted by renowned corporations like LIC, UTV & Birla Sun Life Insurance.
Strategym 2008 was conducted on 20th -21st of October at ITC Grand Maratha, Mumbai. The theme for the year was "Hope: In Current Turbulent Times". Continuing with the tradition of raising the bar each year, this year too witnessed an array of papers from diverse sectors. Among the 8 finalist selected from the elimination round, papers like Social Security in India & Weather Derivates introduced new concepts to be implemented in India, while papers like Economic Footprint & Diagnosing Corporate Sickness provided newer methods to analyze a company. Papers like Reorganizing Indian Retail, Indian Railways, Home Equity Liquidation and Connecting Bharat suggested improving and leveraging on the already present infrastructure.
The paper on Connecting Bharat proposing to connect urban India with the rural India won the top honours in Strategym 2008. Papers on Home Equity Liquidation and Social Security in India were the first and second runners-up respectively. The level of research and the maturity shown by the students presenting the papers were highly appreciated.
Strategym 2008 also witnessed "Triumph", the annual quiz testing the knowledge of students in diverse field, a trait extremely vital for future business leaders. It gave the students a wonderful opportunity to formulate the ideal approach of knowledge gathering as they come face to face with intriguing questions that cater to current business avenues and challenges.
With Mr. Kewal Handa, MD, Pfizer as the chief guest and corporate bigwigs as panellist discussing the papers, it was truly an enriching experience not only for the students presenting the paper but also for the audience. "The experience coupled with the panel's comments was truly insightful" said Mr. Preetesh Dixit, a member of the winning team presenting the paper on Connecting Bharat. "The research done for the paper was phenomenal and the breadth covered by them was truly commendable" said Dr. Rupa Rege Nitsure, Chief Economist, Bank of Baroda, panellist for paper on Economic Footprint.
Samanvay (October 23)
Since its inception, JBIMS has been at the forefront of management education consistently producing top notch business leaders. The driving force behind this has been the rigorous academic environment and a corresponding level of learning beyond the classroom by providing avenues for student-corporate interaction. In keeping with this tradition, Samanvay 2008, JBIMS' Annual Corporate Symposium saw corporate luminaries with rich industry experience sharing their valuable insights with the students. Theme of the event this year was 'Hope: In Current Turbulent Times'.
Samanvay 2008 kicked off with Mr. Samir Sain, CEO & MD Future Capital Holdings addressing the students on the current global financial turmoil and its bearing on Indian economy. He mesmerized the audience by creatively using the analogy of a party hangover to the aftermath of subprime crisis. He mentioned the role of complex financial instruments and the inefficiency of credit rating agencies leading to the current financial crisis. He opined that Indian economy will be affected by the crisis but would still grow at a healthy 7% GDP growth rate. Specifically, he encouraged students to see this bearish phase as an opportunity to start their career at the bottom of the economic cycle and gain crucial learning during such turbulent times, thus underlining the theme 'HOPE'.
Mr. Sudip Bandyopahyay, Director & CEO, Reliance Money, started his address by giving a brief on the global financial crisis. He lauded the swift steps taken by Indian policy makers to counter the ill effects of crisis on the Indian economy. He believed India had the mettle and sound fundamentals to grow consistently even during the turbulent phase.
Mr. Arun Maira, Director Boston Consulting Group, made a presentation on 'Transforming Capitalism'. In the Indian context, he talked about the disparity in what we boast as the demographic dividend. He viewed that though statistically we have a large young working population but in reality the major section of this is still undernourished & illiterate. He showed the need of a different governing model to enable India achieve its dream to be a world leader. In essence, he talked about a model which encompasses the concept of 'Business for the people, by the people and of the people'. He strongly urged business leaders to become the torchbearers of this proposed model of inclusive capitalism and make a positive difference to the world.
The event ended with an elaborate round of Q&A with Mr. Arun Maira.
Prayaag (October 24-26)
Prayaag, JBIMS' annual inter B-School corporate festival witnessed corporate and students engaging in intellectual war through various events. Prayaag 2008 consisted 16 events spread across 3 days.
ENIGMA, the online gaming contest, was a prelude to Prayaag, which included some exciting games like Sherlock's Oblivion, Gray Matterz, Treasure Hunt and Bid-2-Win. It received international participation thus making Prayaag a truly global event.
Prayaag kicked off with 'Trojan War Drum' which was a strategy game that tested the mettle of the participants to think on their feet in a do or die situation with limited resources. This was followed by the Athena Ergane which was the Business Plan Paper Presentation event that brought to the fore some of the great and innovative business ideas of the future leaders of India.
Epic Cycle (Ad Mad) was one of the most sought after events because it gave an excellent opportunity to the participants to show-case their creativity to the fullest. "Competitions like the Epic Cycle serve the dual purpose of Fun and Learning and hence are very popular among the students," said Mr. Arun Sehgal, one of the esteemed visiting faculties of JBIMS and also the judge for the event.
Demeter – Nurturing Spirits was the last and perhaps the most-awaited event of day 1 with a huge participation not just from within the college but outside the college as well. It was an event which helped simulate situations as they are while trading is done in the commodities market. The event revolved around teams vying to buy the right stocks in terms of crops, agricultural tools, seeds, fertilizer, and pesticides and also anticipate various calamities.
The flagship event "Quest to reach Olympus" was the ultimate test of brains as well as brawn. It consisted of multiple rounds to check the nerve, intellect, quick-wittiness and most importantly the determination of the candidate. The event was held in association with State Bank of India, and judged by an esteemed panel of judges from diverse backgrounds. With just 12 participants short-listed from the best B-schools all over the country, it was truly battle amongst the best from the best and as a matter of great pride a Bajajite emerged the undisputed leader, the one and only Olympian!
If the first day was for the Marketing gurus, the second most definitely was for the Finance connoisseurs. "Deal ya no Deal" was the perfect event to bring out the Investment Banker in students. M&A, Synergy, Fair Price, Deal Financing, Strategy and cultural integration were all pillars of this event. It was the only event that allowed the student to pick up a deal wherein either the target or the acquirer was an Indian company, in the likes of the $4.6bn Daiichi-Ranbaxy deal or the $12bnTata-Corus deal, study it and present his/her views on the deal.
Last but definitely not the least was "Kwizkraft", Prayaag's signature event, where the best of the student fraternity were pitted against the best from the corporate world. It saw participation by over 70 corporate teams from companies like Citibank, HUL, Essar, TCS, Accenture, Deutsche Bank, IBM, Kotak Mahindra, Nokia, Crisil, GE, Asian Paints and many more. The event was hosted by noted quiz master Mr. Dhananjay Shettigar.
A wide array of entertainment activities like Mimicry shows, Dance competitions, Dart Quiz, Dance Mela, etc. constantly kept the participants on the move.
Prayaag witnessed participation from students from colleges all over India like ISB, the IIMs, XLRI, NITIE, SP Jain, FMS, MDI, SIBM, SJMSOM and many more who enthusiastically participated in the varied events hosted through the days. It was truly a battle for supremacy with over 1500 students from across 70 colleges competing against each other.
"Prayaag has always provided a platform for bright minds across the country to showcase their talent by competing with the best. It is truly a test of their skill and character; but at the same time it brings along with it loads of fun and excitement," says Ankit Bafna of Team Prayaag, JBIMS.
MBAUniverse.com, India's leading management portal, was the Official Management Portal of the JBIMS initiatives. Stay tuned to MBAUniverse.com for highlights from India's best knowledge event.
