Thursday, November 24, 2011

Quality Seminar at IMNU

IMNU jointly organised a seminar on Quality Management with ASQ's LMC Ahmedabad on 23rd November, 2011. The seminar aimed at providing valuable insights in quality concepts and their applications. The seminar was graced by with the presence of delegates from the industry and academia.
The event started with an introductory speech by Dr. Himanshu Trivedi, ASQ Ahmedabad LMC Chair. He gave a brief description about ASQ Ahmedabad LMC and its activities. It was followed by a speech from Dr. Gopalkrishnan, Director, Institute of Management, Nirma University, Ahmedabad, highlighting on the technical advancements and concepts in operations management and their inclusion in the syllabus from the academic point of view.
The first session started with a Presentation by Mr. Ramesh Rajgopal, Manager Operations on Excellence in Quality through total Employee Involvement. Also he mainly focussed on the importance of improving quality of education (operations) to improve on the current standards of Quality in manufacturing and service industry.
The second session was presented through a case study on Nurturing Quality concepts in children - Case study of Anand Niketen School, Ahmedabad, by Ms. Sonal Narang, Academic Headmistress, Anan Niketan School, Satellite, Ahmedabad.  She stressed on to the importance of components of Experiencial learning like act, experience, Analyse and observe in the education system.  She also stated the importance of data handling for children in this informative age.

Presentation by Prof. (Dr.) Rajesh K. Jain, Sr. Associate Professor, Institute of Management, Nirma University and the vice chair for the seminar unravelled the underlying mysteries of Quality. Describing the real value of quality he traversed through the intricacies of quality components making us present to various dimensions of quality.


Mr. Shrikant Mehta, Asst. Vice President, Operational Excellence, ABB Vadodara explained the  
Gemba methodology in the operations management. It’s a Japanese methodology and it Gembi means a place where everything is happening. He further stated the importance of effective communication process and the effective usage of Gemba to improve on the same. Further he also explained how Gemba is used to track safety, material quality, processes, grievance redressal and many other related factors on daily basis.

Organisational excellence through Quality was presented by Mr. Nital Zaveri, CEO Concept Learning System, Vadodara. It was an interactive session and he actually dramatized the complete scenario in the form of discussions on the topic. This provided a practical experience and also a clear picture of the issues faced by the managers at their respective level of control.

Mr. Ramesh Rajgopal (ASQ CSSBB) and Mr. Shrikant Mehta (ASQ CQM) shared their views on  enhancing competence through Professional Certifications. Major part of the discussion was the  need and benefits  of the firms to achieve quality certifications which would not only improve on their efficiencies but also bring about necessary structural changes in the method of functioning of a process. Also they commented upon how important is for the managers to get professionally certified and its implications on their working skills and career.
The Seminar concluded with a Vote of thanks and closing remarks by Prof. (Dr.) Rajesh K Jain, Vice Chair ASQ Ahmedabad LMC. Most of the discussions were carried out with the case base methodology which touched upon the analytical and practical aspects of the concept under discussion. It was an enlightening seminar for the participants and they appreciated the speakers and their content.

Monday, November 21, 2011

BANKING - THE ASSET PERSPECTIVE

Finesse Club organised the event “BANKING – THE ASSET PERSPECTIVE” on 16th November 2011. The speaker for the session was Mr. Dharmendra Surana (Head – Corporate Finance at Corporate Liaison & Advisory Services).
He is an alumnus of IMNU from the batch 2004-06. He has worked with Centurion Bank of Punjab in the SME Dept. He has also worked with Standard Chartered Bank as Head of Medium Enterprise. The 60 minutes audio conference session gave an overview of the following topics:
1) Asset and Liability side of Banking
2) Debt Restructuring
3) Debt/Loan Syndication
4) Responses of banks due to changes in REPO rates.
5) Hedging Strategies.
The session was very interactive and the students took the opportunity to clear their queries related to the Banking – Asset management services and credit policies. The session ended with a vote of thanks by the Finesse Team and a feedback from the participants on the event.
(Content Courtesy: Karan Bhadra)

Thursday, October 20, 2011

CHEHRE's i-EXPRESS brings out IMNU's hidden actors !

Rakhi Sawant (right) accusing Vajpayee of hitting on her!
Ever wondered who would win in a fight between Sunny Deol and Sly Stallone or if ACP Pradyuman himself could get the truth about the "chara ghotala" out of Lalu Prasad Yadav? Bizarre though these situations might sound, students at IMNU brought them to life perfectly on the stage at i-EXPRESS - CHEHRE club's latest offering.
Participants were given their roles and situations on the spot and they gave the audience fits of laughter as they added their own flavors to the already funny situations. As A. B. Vajpayee convinced Rakhi Sawant to vote for him and Sonu Nigam taught Himesh Reshamiya to sing without using his nose, it became a common sight to see the participants themselves bend over laughing in the middle of their acts! Even the usually sober Chatur couldn't hide his smile when a salesman tried selling him "Phudinhara"!

The CHEHRE team with participants
The judges had the hardest task of them all - selecting the winners. The teams that managed to just edge past the others were Akash Tibrewal and Anurag Nahata for the 1st prize and Akshay Tandon and Ankit Mishra for the 2nd prize. All in all it was entertainment at its best!

Tuesday, October 18, 2011

GOALZZZ: IMNU declared Champions!!


The third day of GOALZZZ ’11, IMNU’s national B-school football tournament experienced 3 breath taking matches. The first Semi Final match was between IIM A and SIMSR. IIM A won the match 2-1 to take and grabbed its Finalist position. The first goal of the match came after a long time in the 35th min which was scored by Jonas Langeteig of IIM A. SIMSR came back strongly and scored a goal in the 47th min by Abhilash Nair. Extra time was given and Abdul Rahiman sealed the victory for IIM in the 10th min. 

The second Semi Final clash was between IMNU and MICA. Both the teams showed there desperation to reach the finalist title but IMNU took the game from MICA with a wonderful goal scored by Ashok Pemmi of IMNU in the 9th min of first half and won 1-0. Thus IMNU paved its way towards the finals.
For the two best teams of Goalzz – 2011 i.e. IIM A and IMNU, there was amazing support of the spectators and the atmosphere was vibrant and electrifying. Both the teams played with their best players and the proceedings of the match started with the National Anthem. There was a great sigh of relief for IMNU after a tight first half of 15 mins when Nirmal Patel of IMNU hit a lightening goal from 40 yards when a free kick was awarded to IMNU. There was a sudden eruption of joy and high fives among the crowd and amongst the team members. It was a very tight match and IIM A tried to come hard with a few opportunities but IMNU defended them to their best of the potential. Finally a dream of IMNU came true after winning the GOALZZ finals for the first time in 11 years. The crowd rushed into the ground with the winning whistle and was a very fantastic site to watch for any sportsman. There were mixed emotions on the faces of IMNU team and were not able to express their feelings after having their first ever Goalzz winner’s Cup.

Prof. Amarnani were the guest of honor for the presentation. The ceremony was attended by all the members of the top 3 teams of the series and the crowd cheering for all the medalists. It ended with a very motivating word of Amarnani sir. 
Courtesy: Karan Bhadra

GOALZZZ: Day 2


The second day of GOALZZZ ’11, IMNU’s national B-school football tournament saw one match. In the day’s only match MICA was up against Sydenham (Mumbai). Joseph Jacob of MICA troubled the scorers twice by scoring in the 10th and the 20th minute. At the start of the 2nd half, MICA consolidated their position by a goal from Abhimanyu Roy in the 25th minute. As if that was not enough, Jaimin Trivedi, yesterday’s hero with the stunner put the final nail in the coffin by scoring his 2nd goal of the tournament in the 40th minute of the match. MICA won the match 4-0. The match was extremely crucial as with this the league matches ended. K.J. Somaiya’s Utkarsh is still the leading scorer of the tournament with 3 goals to his credit.


Next up is the biggest and the last day of the tournament with the semi-finals, 3rd place play-off and the final lined up. The atmosphere in the institute is electric. The preparations for the finale are under way and the students are waiting with bated breath for tomorrow’s kick off. The first match starts at 11am with the final scheduled to take place at 5pm.


Courtesy: Anuj Goenka

GOALZZZ 2011: Day 1

The hysteria was rising, the atmosphere was electric and the stage was set for GOALZZZ ’11, IMNU’s national B-school football tournament. As always, teams from across the nation started their campaigns for the coveted title of the ultimate winner. 


The tournament kicked off with a match with the MICA team dominating the last year’s runner-ups K J Somaiya with a 3-0 win. JaiminTrivedi, from MICA, scored a spectacular goal from the half-line by in the 12th minute. 10 minutes into the 2nd half, K J Somaiya compounded their problems by giving up a penalty due to a hand-ball. Suhail Kapur didn’t miss the gift, giving MICA its 2nd goal in the 35th minute. In the 43rd minute Pratap Gaul took the match away from K J Somaiya when he netted a through ball from the half line.
Emotions ran high for the 2nd match of the day, where the home team, IMNU battled bravely against the defending champions IIM-A. IMNU defended solidly for much of the 1st half and caused IIM-A plenty of trouble. The home side goal-keeper Pranav made some valiant saves. But IIM-A’s superior possession and constant penetration into IMNU’s defenses finally paid off in the 23rd minute when Luca’s cross deflected into the net from the far post. IMNU’s dreams were still alive till the death when IIM-A’s Abdul finished off the match in the 48th minute earning his team a 2nd goal. The match ended with a score-line of 2-0 and 2 points in the bag for IIM-A.
In the day’s final match, K J Somaiya recovered brilliantly from its defeat earlier in the day to win with a score of 4-1 against Sydenham (Mumbai). Utkarsh gave Somaiya their first 3 goals in the 6th, 11th and 18th minutes, scoring the first hat-trick of the tournament for himself and giving the team a 3-0 lead. In the 2nd half, Samyajeet from Somaiya scored in the 37th minute to make the score 4-0. Just when it seemed like Sydenham would go score-less Kaushal scored for them in the 44th minute and the match ended with Somaiya winning with a score of 4-1 and earning 2 precious points.
At the end of the day, MICA, IIM-A and K J Somaiya had 2 points each. Somaiya’s Utkarsh was by far the leading scorer with 3 goals to his credit.


Courtesy: Chintan Dharmani

Thursday, October 13, 2011

Football Fever: Goalzzz

The football fever is on. Institute of Management, Nirma University is organizing “Goalzzz”, its annual inter-college football event, which has attracted participation from the leading B-schools of the country. The event kick starts on Friday, October 14th 2011 with qualifying matches on the first two days and the finals scheduled on Sunday, October 16th, 2011.

This year, besides the home team IMNU, the B-schools which will fight for the trophy are, the defending champions Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad, Sydenham (Mumbai), K J Somaiya, (Mumbai), MICA (Ahmedabad) and NITIE (Mumbai). This high-adrenalin event is a major hit among football aficionados in B-schools and has been successful since its inception 8 years ago.

Monday, October 10, 2011

SAMURAI are COPA Nirma champions,again!!

In a fiercely fought game, SAMURAIS defeated PHAERENIKES 4-3 on penalties to clinch the coveted COPA NIRMA title. This is SAMURAIS second COPA NIRMA title.

SAMURAIS started the game well and scored in the 8th minute owing to a fumble by the PHAERENIKES goalkeeper. In the 12th minute, The PHAERENIKES equalized against the run of the game through a lack of judgment on the part of SAMURAI goalkeeper. As the game went on, the midfielders came to the foray and created opportunities only for the strikers to miss their targets.
In the second half SAMURAIS kept most of the possession but could not create much opportunities due to a resilient PHAERENIKES defense. In the extra time, the best chance of the game went to the PHAERENIKES when the ball hit the post through a free kick. As the game entered the sudden death, SAMURAI used their experience and composure to win the game and the title!!

Saturday, October 8, 2011

Pravartan 2011, Institute of Management, Nirma University- Day 2



The second day of Pravartan 2011 – The HR-Conclave at the Institute of Management, Nirma University began with the guest speaker Mr. Mahesh Iyer, National Head – Talent acquisition at Financial Inclusion Network and Operations (FINO). He has been ranked among the top 10 panelists at the SFIMAR awards for the most innovative and idealistic HR professional for refocusing on the HR strategies and the OD in the year 2010. He talked about the change in human capital in the organizations, the elements of transformation and tools needed to change the human capital. He highlighted the changing role of human resource manager as a business manager and the challenges faced by them. He stressed on the need to have a modern, effective, credible and value driven Performance Measurement System to gain sustainability in human resource management.


The second session was addressed by Ms. Bahroze Kamdin, Director at Deloitte Haskin & Sells. She stressed that HR is an “Investment in man” which is done through education, training, work experience, migration and health. Ms. Kamdin discussed two path-breaking surveys conducted by Delloitte in the field, exploring the revolutionary and evolutionary trends experienced by the organizations. The trends like cloud-based HR solutions, diversity and inclusion, women in the workforce have emphasized the need of Chief Operating Officer for Human Resources and Chief Information Officer. 
 

Mehul Pandya, Senior Vice-President, CARE Ratings, addressed the third session presenting his views on transformation in an organization and organization culture. In the interactive session, he spoke about the three pillars of organizational transformation viz. initiation, resistance and adoption. He dispelled the myth that introducing change is easy. “"The day all members in an organization think of themselves as leaders, transformation is bound to follow", he said.

Mr. Abhay Joshi, AGM, Human Resource, Tata Motors addressed the valedictory session of the conclave and spoke on the theme- Building a Performance Culture- in a multi-national organization. An organization needs to build its Human Resource pool and continuously nurture talent through commitment and technology.  He talked about Talent Acquisition and Management and the need to maintain relationships with the employees. 

The session concluded with a vote of thanks by Dr.C.Gopalkrishnan, Director, Institute of Management, Nirma University and Prof. Sameer Pingle, Event Chairperson.

(Content Courtesy: Anu Shukla, Chintan Dharmani and Mahima Singhal)

Friday, October 7, 2011

Pravartan 2011, Institute of Management, Nirma University- Day 1


The ball was set rolling on Day 1 of Pravartan, 2011, the Human Resource Conclave organised by Institute of Management, Nirma University, by Jim Rose, Former Head of Human Resource, Johnson & Johnson, addressing the inaugural session. “Our first responsibility is towards our customers, the second is towards the employees, the third towards the society. If we do this well, as an organisation, we will deliver”, Mr. Rose said. Emphasising the need to change to accommodate diversity in the organisation, he talked about the hidden resistance in the employees to diversity and the measures which Johnson & Johnson took to overcome these. Johnson & Johnson got recognition all over the world and became one of the most preferred place to work in. “Our turnover rates reduced, productivity and promotion rates increased” Jim added. Jim Rose is also a member of Sawan Kirpal Ruhani Mission and he seamlessly integrated spirituality with the Human Resource concepts.


The next session was taken by Mr Babu Thomas, Head of Human Resource, GVK EMRI who spoke on how human resource function drives the performance of an organisation and about the importance of nurturing talent in an organisation committed to saving lives. As the HR head of a not-for-profit organisation he emphasized on values like empathy, modesty, reliability and integrity (EMRI). Further, he spoke about the culture of EMRI i.e., empowerment, continuous communication and delegation. In Gujarat every one hour a baby is born in the ambulance provided by EMRI and in every 40 minutes a life is saved by EMRI and its workforce. There is a strong HR leadership and strategy focus as reflected in the Sense – Reach – Care model (Trinity Model) employed by EMRI.


The speaker for the last session – Mr. Aniruddha Khekale, Director HR of Emerson Process Management emphasised on how to manage business excellence through effective implementation of human resource support across the organization. He also spoke on importance of HR Strategies, change management and how to maximize performance without compromise. He said that it is better to measure Human Capital in terms of individual and organisational capabilities.

(Content: Anuj Goenka, Akshu Thula & Mahima Singhal)

Pravartan 2011- The HR Conclave, Institute of Management, Nirma University


Human capital refers to the productive capabilities of people. Skills, experience & knowledge have economic value to organizations because they enable it to be productive & adaptive. This is why people constitute the organizations’ Human capital. With the ever changing global economy becoming more and more knowledge based, the importance of acquiring, training and retaining superior human capital is emphasized with every passing day; the objective being the sustenance of the firms in today's competitive scenario. As the function with primary responsibility for human capital management,HR needs to be involved from the beginning when major organizational change initiatives are being developed.

Scheduled on October 7 and 8, 2011, the theme of Pravartan’11 – the HR Conclave at IMNU is ‘Transforming Organizations through Human Capital’. The two day event will focus on each of the three major elements of Human Capital – Intellectual Capital, Social Capital and Emotional Capital

The prominent speakers that will be a part of the event are Mr Jim Rose,  former Head – HR  for Johnson & Johnson from the United States; Mr Mahesh Iyer, the National Head for Talent Management at FINO Ltd.; Ms.BehrozKamdin, Senior Director with Delloite Haskin & Sells; Mr Abhay Joshi, AGM-HR with TATA Motors; Mr Prem Singh, Senior VP, HR with Piramal Healthcare; Mr MehulPandya, Senior VP with Care Ratings; MrAniruddhaKhekhle, Director – HR with Emerson Process Management; Mr Babu Thomas, Head – HR with EMRI.

(Content Courtesy: Chintan Dharmani)

Thursday, October 6, 2011


ALUMNI DAY CELEBRATIONS - Revitalizing the treasured memories at IMNU


An opportunity to coalesce the memorable experiences of the past with the present at a spur of moment is what connects an alumni to the place where once he acquired his learnings and grew to be the one he aspired to, in the past. Yes, IMNU is no exception and it extends the same opportunities to its students who once were such aspirational pillars at IMNU. The talk is about the 2-day alumni day event at IMNU. The event was graced by some 180 alumni turning up for the event at IMNU. The event was organized by the Kaizen Committee of IMNU. Accommodation facilities for the ease of the alumni were taken care of and a huge support from all students and the college as a whole prevailed for the whole event. The alumni interacted with the faculty members and shared the blissful and some gloomy odd moments they witnessed in their walk of life.



There were dance performances, rock band performances and skits to entertain the alumni. Executive dinner was prepared for the alumni at night which was followed by the graceful garba event where everyone including the alumni danced like no one’s watching them! Sports events were organized for them wherein for some events they played cameos as participants while in some other they were enthusiastic spectators. The alumni felt as if they are re-living their golden days at IMNU.



Indeed, it was a rendezvous that added elements of joy and freshness amongst the alumni! Cheers to the IMNU family on the whole.





(Content courtesy: Priyanka Singhvi)

Sunday, October 2, 2011

Achievements galore at IMNU!

It seems victory is the mantra at IMNU these days. In a span only seven days, IMNUites have seen three big achievements. While a team of IMNU students cleared the western leg of the AIMA organised "Chanakya", more IMNU students proved their talent elsewhere. Rajesh Sawant and Rahul Garg (MBA-FT 2010-12) won the B-Plan competition at I-Fest 2011, the annual National Level Techno – Management Symposium organized by ISTE-NIT. They beat students from all over India to claim the top-spot. On the other hand, Vikram Kumar (MBA-FT 2011-13) won for IMNU the PaGaLGuY B-school Photography Contest. The photograph taken by Vikram captures a relaxed moment in the campus and is one among the best four chosen by PaGaLGuY for the first prize.


YET ANOTHER BOMBASTIC EVENT AT IMNU - THE "HUNT FOR MONEY"

The evening of 29th September 2011, IMNU experienced an event which brought along with it a sense of vibrancy in the Campus. The title of the event was “HUNT for MONEY” and was organised by Finesse- The Finance Club of IMNU. The concept of this game had a flavour of strategy based on the basic know-how of finance. The game was developed by Saumil Gokhale, a Finesse Club member along with other members of the Club.

This event witnessed a magnificent turn-out of 14 teams, each comprising of 4 members. The enthusiasm of the participants increased as the game moved on. There was not even a single lethargic moment in the game and it was an amazing feeling for the organizers to see the die-hard spirits of the participants for winning the Game. The champions of the game were the "Money Minters" - Anuj Goenka, Sanyukta Kabra, Ruchit Ranpuria and Ruturaj Thacker.

This event was a big hit at IMNU and soon became the talk of the people here.


(Content courtesy: Karan Bhadra)

Friday, September 30, 2011

Team IMNU wins the western leg of CHANAKYA, qualiifies for the Nationals!

A team of first year MBA students from Institute of Management, Nirma University have shown their prowess by winning the western leg of CHANAKYA, an event organized by All India Management Association in Lonavala. The team of Shravan Kemtur, Shubhra Sharma, Ankit Shah and Vaibhav Maheshwari stood first in the Business Simulation game. Business simulation is a technique for developing, testing, and evaluating business strategies in a virtual environment before committing real money and effort in the marketplace. They will represent IMNU at Coimbatore for the finals in October.

Thursday, September 29, 2011

Games and Titles: Another Eventful Week

IMNU had a hectic yet fun-filled week as it saw two exciting events back to back. The HR club "Imprintz" and the "Expressions" club organised successful events, both of which saw great turnout and participation from the IMNU batch.
Imprintz- The HR club of IMNU organized its second event of the season “Funterviews” on 27th September, 2011. Focused on team work and co-ordination among the team members, the event consisted of two rounds- the first about an HR game and a second interview round. The game was about connecting the jumbled letters in a word by the blind folded member of the team who was guided by the other member. Then in the interview round, the participants were interviewed in a team, but there was a catch, the participants had to be humorous and creative in their answers. Out-of-box thinking was mandatory. The candidates were judged on the criteria of humor, creativity and co-ordination in giving answers with the team members. The event saw a good participation and was flawlessly executed. It was judged by the “Imprintz” club seniors and the top spot was claimed Hardik and Hiren of MBA-FT 2011-13.
The other highly anticipated event, War of Clubs and Committees, organized by the Expressions Club, was held on Thursday, September 28, 2011. It also saw an amazing response from the first year students. Participants were extremely sacrosanct about their respective teams and the roar could be heard far away in other classrooms. The event had fun-filled games like picture-based memory test, taboo and movie quiz to the participants' and audiences' delight. The audience too cheered their favorite teams throughout. This time NCNC (No Club No Committee) of Phaerenikes walked away as winners whereas Sportzcomm did an encore by standing 1st runners-up. There was audience participation as well through games like boys wearing saree while girls were directing them.
 To sum up, one can say that IMNU arrived, and it arrived big!!


(Content:Ankita Agarwal and Anuj Goenka)

Sunday, September 25, 2011

Teach For India @ IMNU


Teach For India (TFI) visited IMNU Campus with the intent of creating awareness about the working model of TFI on Aug 20th 2011. The session was conducted by Mr. Yajur Taxali, Recruitment Associate of TFI.
Teach For India is a nationwide movement of outstanding college graduates and young professionals who will commit two-years to teach full-time in under resourced schools and who will become lifelong leaders working from within various sectors toward the pursuit of equity in education.
Mr Yajur began with an overview of India’s educational statistics and emphasized on the contribution of India’s youth towards society at-large. “There is immense potential in the Indian youth” he said. The audience showed keen interest throughout the session and asked intriguing questions. The event was co-ordinated by Anshul Talokar (Campus Ambassador - TFI).

Friday, September 2, 2011

Prayaag 2011 – The Management Conclave, Institute of Management, Nirma University-Day 2

“If you want to learn, learn from the best”. Ravi Dixit, Vice President, Research and Strategic Planning with UTV, was referring to Google’s IPO letter for shareholders as an exemplary governance initiative of a corporation in digital space.
At Prayaag 2011, the annual Management Conclave of the Institute of Manegement, Nirma University, Ahmedabad, he talked about ‘Digital, Social Media and Corporate Governance’ and highlighted the ever increasing quantum of effect and hence, responsibilities of the digital media. 



Mihir Joshi, MD, Gujarat Venture Finance Limited talked about how corporate governance is involved at all stages of venture capital life cycle from raising capital to harvesting returns. He also highlighted how independent directors play an important role in today’s business environment. “Dilution of shareholders, insider trading and the undue advantage that the promoters have in Mergers & Acquisitions are some of the governance issues that plague the Indian economy”. To deal with such issues, he suggested making “Integrity, Ethics and Compliance a part of promotion, evaluation and compensation process as well". He added, “We (at GVFL) expect transparency and highest level of corporate governance from the businesses we seek to fund. Otherwise there is a high probability that we’ll lose our money.”

The final session of the conclave was conducted by Dr. Shreekant Sambrani, Founder Director, Institute of Rural Management, Anand, India. He has also headed his own management research and consultancy organization, Management Analytics Pvt Ltd and has served as a faculty at IIM-A. Drawing from the Amul success story, he emphasized the dictum of inclusive development. Referring to the sub-prime debacle, he said, “In 2008, young MBA’s like you were too taken by the tenet of profit-maximization and it being equal to maximization of shareholders' wealth.” His speech on the subject of corporate governance touched many issues and gave IMNU students a comprehensive view of governance.

The management conclave- Prayaag 2011- was concluded by a vote of thanks by the director of the institute, Dr. C. Gopalkrishnan. The 2-day conclave was an unprecedented learning experience for the students and its lessons will be a topic of discussion in the halls of IMNU for days to come.


(With inputs from Anuj Goenka)

Prayaag 2011 – The Management Conclave, Institute of Management, Nirma University


Ahmedabad- September 1, 2011- With reforms underway to eradicate corruption and governance deficit in the country’s government, it is the perfect time to question the very same in the corporate world too. The Management Conclave - Prayaag 2011- at Institute of Management, Nirma University will throw light on the very same issue.

Inauguration by Mr Rajesh Huddar
The event was inaugurated by the chief guest for the session, Mr Rajesh Huddar, Head –Information Security Practices, Mahindra SSG along with Prof. Dr C. Gopalkrishnan Director, IMNU, and Prof. Ashwini Awasthi.

Mr Huddar spoke on corporate governance from the Risk Management viewpoint. He categorized the risk in an organization as coming from three main spheres, the Physical assets, the Human assets and the Information Technology assets. He also emphasized the increased risk due to the exponential increases in use  of outsourcing social media and technology. He talked about the “Holistic” approach for corporate governance and concluded saying “One needs to set a baseline to get to the next level of governance.”

The next session was taken by Mr Sunil Jhaveri, Chairman – MSJ Capital and Corporate Services Pvt. Ltd. He is a Chartered Accountant with 26 years of experience in the financial markets. He gave the students an insight into how the financial industry functions with respect to Corporate Governance. He used audiovisual media to demonstrate the same. He strongly opined that ‘There are no shortcuts to making money’. Mr.Jhaveri said, ‘Do not treat your customers as mere numbers’, he stressed on the need of good service along with quality products.


The sessions were enriching for the students as they provided a corporate perspective about the topic. The students could link the academic knowledge with the actual practice and hence it broadened their horizons. The interactive sessions helped students clarify the nuances and provided clarity of thought which would be of utmost importance once they enter the corporate world.

Thursday, September 1, 2011

Prayaag 2011 - Management Conclave, Institute of Management, Nirma University


With reforms underway to eradicate the corruption and governance deficit in the country’s government, it is the perfect time to question the very same in the corporate world. In the last few years, the country’s economy was hit as much by the scams in the business houses as by the ones in the government and thus it is imperative that we find a way to ensure good corporate governance. The Management Conclave -Prayaag 2011- at Institute of Management, Nirma University will explore the very same issue.

Scheduled on September 1 and 2, 2011, the theme of Prayaag 2011 is ‘Corporate Governance: Transparency to Transformation’. The two day event will ponder on the various issues related to governance like the auditor’s independence, corporate transparency and its effect on product market decisions and judicial activism.

The conclave also features various sub-themes like whistle blower policies, role of boards and independent directors, corporate governance in banks and financial institutions and evolution of corporate governance.

The prominent speakers that will be a part of the event are Rajesh Huddar, Head, Information Security Practice, Mahindra Special Services Group; Savan Godiawala, Director and Financial Advisor, Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu India Pvt. Ltd.; R. Bhaskaran, CEO, Indian Institute of Banking and Finance; Ravi Dixit, VP Strategic Planning & Network Research Head, UTV Broadcasting; Devang Nanavati, Advocate and TOI Lead India finalist; Mihir Joshi, MD, GVFL; Sreekant Sambrani, Chief Executive, Manan Management Analytics Pvt. Ltd.; Sunil Jhaveri, Chairman, MSJ Capital and Corporate Services Pvt. Ltd.

Content Courtesy: Mahima Singhal

Monday, August 29, 2011

Session on MS-EXCEL

After its insightful session on stocks and IPO "Ride the Bull", Finesse –The Finance Club of IMNU organized a session on MS-EXCEL for the students of IMNU on Monday, 29th August. The session was conducted by Professor Neeraj Amarnani. The session was the first of the two sessions that will be taken by Professor Neeraj Amarnani. The idea behind the session was to familiarize the students with the functionality in EXCEL. The functions such as hlookup, vlookup, match were covered in the session. The session also touched upon use of referencing for the ease of calculation. The session saw students getting hands on experience on the various facets of EXCEL.

Friday, August 26, 2011

PRAGAMAN’11, The Entrepreneurship Conclave at Institute of Management, Nirma University: Day 2

Entrepreneurship conclave, on its second day, continued enriching the audience with insights into entrepreneurship through its eminent group of speakers.

Kamal Surana and Dinesh Jain
The 4th session was addressed by Mr. Sankalp Bajpai, AVP (Projects), GVFL. The session was chaired by Prof. Chugan.
Mr. Bajpai began by elaborating the role of a venture capitalist in pushing the dreams of an entrepreneur.  He also shared his knowledge on various external sources of finance, its different stages and investment. Mr. Bajpai mainly focused on Private equity financing and Angel Investors. 
He also shared the different views of famous venture capitalists like, George Doriot and many more. Mr. Bajpai also shared insights on what are the Dos and Don’ts of venture financing. 
He went on to explain the intricacies of venture capitalists funding and the decision making process. According to him, an ideal Venture Capitalist is the one who has good industry networking, knowledge in finance and core industry, and ability to multi-task, with more than one investment rounds. 
Mr. Bajpai also busted many myths that surround Venture Capitalist funding. He emphasized that the growth of a venture mainly depends on the passion and ability of the entrepreneur himself.  He ended the session by explaining to the future entrepreneurs how they can go about approaching and selecting their venture capitalists.
The 5th session was graced by the presence of Mr. Dinesh Jain & Mr. Kamal Surana (Alumni Batch 2009).It was chaired by Prof. Satish Nair.
Mr.Dinesh Jain is working for his own Family business, that of Textile, by the name of Parshvanath Printex.  Mr. Jain talked about the various changes that he thought were needed in his business. Bringing in new ideas that are contradicting the old ones is never easy, but it is that thinking process that contributes to one’s learning.  He also spoke about the various strategic decisions that he had to make initially were great learning experiences.
Next to address the session was Mr. Kamal Surana. He started his own enterprise- SMS Idea, that mainly deals with sending out ‘bulk corporate messages’. He began by telling the audience about his business and how he came up with the idea. He wanted to start his own business instead of joining his own family business. Riding on the strengths of his innovative ideas, he started his own firm. He said that continuous improvement and learning is of utmost importance. 

With this another successful session of PRAGAMAN’11 concluded on a high note.

(Content Courtesy: Yash Pandya)

PRAGAMAN’11, The Entrepreneurship Conclave at Institute of Management, Nirma University: Day 1


The Entrepreneurship Conclave at Institute of Management, Nirma University was inaugurated on Thursday, August 25, 2011 at the hands of Mr. Mahendra Patel, President, GCCI. The event was chaired by Dr. C. Gopalakrishnan, Director, IMNU who delivered a fitting welcome address, emphasizing the need for nurturing, training and pushing today’s entrepreneurs. He also extended credit to the entrepreneurs as a whole, for giving a much needed push to the economy.




Mr. Mahendra Patel, President GCCI

After, the official inaugural of PRAGAMAN’11, Prof. Swarup Datta welcomed the dignitaries and all the guests present. Prof. Datta, explained the theme of the conclave, driving home the significance of Entrepreneurial attitudes towards self and others. Mr. Patel was then invited to address the session and begin the Entrepreneurship conclave.


Mr. Patel’s address to the audience was a study in the don’ts for an entrepreneur, including Lack of Punctuality, Selfishness, Lack of Clarity, Lack of Humility and Lack of Communication. At the end of the session Dr. Bindi Mehta delivered the Vote of Thanks.

The 2nd session for the day was delivered by Mr. S.S. Pillai, Manager Commercialization, NDBI, NID and chaired by Prof. Sari Matilla. Mr. Pillai spoke concisely about the relevance of business incubation and their efforts in the field aimed at promoting local entrepreneurship.