Institute of Management, Nirma University, Ahmedabad

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2011-11-28T01:24:00.001+05:30

The official blog of IMNU has migrated to http://imnublog.wordpress.com/ .

Quality Seminar at IMNU

2011-11-24T01:55:00.000+05:30

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.

BANKING - THE ASSET PERSPECTIVE

2011-11-21T21:44:00.002+05:30

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)

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

2011-10-20T02:24:00.002+05:30

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!

GOALZZZ: IMNU declared Champions!!

2011-10-18T00:58:00.007+05:30

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

2011-10-18T00:50:00.001+05:30

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

2011-10-18T00:37:00.003+05:30

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 12^th minute. 10 minutes into the 2^nd 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 2^nd goal in the 35^th minute. In the 43^rd 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 2^nd match of the day, where the home team, IMNU battled bravely against the defending champions IIM-A. IMNU defended solidly for much of the 1^st 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 23^rd 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 48^th minute earning his team a 2^nd 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 6^th, 11^th and 18^th minutes, scoring the first hat-trick of the tournament for himself and giving the team a 3-0 lead. In the 2^nd half, Samyajeet from Somaiya scored in the 37^th minute to make the score 4-0. Just when it seemed like Sydenham would go score-less Kaushal scored for them in the 44^th 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

Football Fever: Goalzzz

2011-10-13T21:20:00.004+05:30

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.

SAMURAI are COPA Nirma champions,again!!

2011-10-10T00:25:00.006+05:30

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!!

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

2011-10-08T23:33:00.015+05:30

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)

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

2011-10-07T19:29:00.007+05:30

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

2011-10-07T11:50:00.002+05:30

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)

2011-10-06T01:34:00.010+05:30

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.

Achievements galore at IMNU!

2011-10-02T22:52:00.005+05:30

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.

2011-10-02T15:49:00.014+05:30

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)

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

2011-09-30T20:14:00.004+05:30

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.

Games and Titles: Another Eventful Week

2011-09-29T17:32:00.003+05:30

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)

Teach For India @ IMNU

2011-09-25T21:36:00.010+05:30

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).

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

2011-09-02T21:13:00.006+05:30

“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

2011-09-02T02:04:00.000+05:30

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.

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

2011-09-01T01:58:00.002+05:30

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

Session on MS-EXCEL

2011-08-29T23:45:00.005+05:30

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, 29^th 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.

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

2011-08-26T23:59:00.021+05:30

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 4^th 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 5^th 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

2011-08-26T00:26:00.002+05:30

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.

SLAMDUNK

2011-08-25T20:40:00.002+05:30

The greatest event of the season SLAMDUNK ended with great thrills on the campus. SLAMDUNK successfully concluded on 19th Aug. with PHAERENIKES (MBA FT (I)) emerging as proud winners defeating VIKINGS (MBA FT (II))by 4 points (28-24).

A brief summary of the final match is as follows:

Quarter 1 – Vikings started off well scoring 5 points in the first quarter thanks to KODELA (big match player) scoring 5 points while Phaerenikes scored 1 point.

Quarter 2 – Phaerenikes came back strongly scoring 11 points to Vikings 2 points. Aman rocked with 9 points and Rajveer scored a 2 pointer with a brilliant solo effort.

Quarter 3 – Phaerenikes consolidated on their lead scoring 9 points. Aman continued with his stellar performance scoring 9 points. Akshay and Mihir were outstanding in the defense restricting Vikings to 3 points

Quarter 4 – When all felt that match is almost over with Phaerenikes leading by 11 points (21-10), Vikings came back strongly scoring 14 points by Tushar who scored 12 points but in the end they felt short by just 4 points.

With this PHAERENIKES won the battle acquiring the first major trophy of the season.Both the teams played the game in Great Spirit and even applauded each other at the end of the game. It was the defining moment of this great enthusiastic and energetic tournament.

Medals were also distributed to the finalists by Ajay and Nirmal of Sportzzz Committee.

(Content Courtesy:Shantanu Nilosey)

IMNUites go gaga with HARE KRISHNA

2011-08-25T14:00:00.003+05:30

On Monday, IMNU saw the fall and rise of rockstars. No wonder it is about the Dahi Handi event celebrated at IMNU on Janmasthmi. The rockstars were none other than the students at IMNU attempting to break the Handi. The students here were eyeballing a day so auspicious in the calendar of IMNU. The first phase of the event took place in the morning at the hostel premises. The place drew over large number of people to pitch in for the fun. A particularly bollywood film affair; the set was at its place. The dhols were set. The amplifiers arranged for the event were ready to accentuate the loud wailings of the crowd. It is said the world is a stage and we all are the actors and the crowd here took this very seriously. The event opened up with each team making an attempt to break the Handi. Some teams managed to hit success in one go while others kept the zest and tried an another effort. Splashes of water and coloured faces with gulaal were all that the crowd could see. The second phase of the event took place in the evening. The crowd snapped again in huge number for the Puja. Everyone was dressed in traditional attires. The crowd chanted bhajans to seek blessings of Lord Krishna. Everyone felt that one should be at such places to soak in the awesomeness of it.

(Content Courtesy: Priyanka Singhvi)

RannBhumi- The Battlefield

2011-08-21T02:50:00.005+05:30

You walk into the auditorium. You smile a big smile. As promised, everyone in your class is in the same colour. Flags in hands, they wave at you. You take a seat with them, you jump out of it and then you cheer till you cannot anymore. Spirited, United and Passionate!


Color Coded

You had to see it to believe it.
“RannBhumi- the Quest for the Best” was organised by “NiCHE”-the marketing club of IMNU on August 19, 2011. The flagship event of “NiCHE”, in its second year itself, has made its place among the most awaited events of IMNU. True to its name, the event is a battle between the five sections of the first year MBA (Full-Time and Family Business Course) batch. What is at stake? The RannBhumi trophy. Each class has to brand itself. This includes class name, logo, taglines, song performances, dance performances- anything which the teams feel represents who they are.

Five teams namely Crusaders, Igniterzz, Knighthawks, Phaerenikes, and Zephyrs fought hard for the title and the rotating RannBhumi Trophy. With their feisty presentations, the teams battled to claim the spot at the top as their supporters rocked the auditorium with their adrenaline-fuelled cheering.

Phaerenikes sing their anthem

While the Phaerenikes swept everyone away by their enthralling videos, Zephyrs shook the auditorium with their music. Igniterzz lit the stage by the virtue of their presence and Knighthawks did it with their humorous skit. Finally, the crusaders marched their way to a stunning performance. Each class tried to differentiate itself from the others-from painted faces to flags, from videos to class anthems, the event displayed all facets of creativity in the junior batch. Even as they had fun, in each team were visible the marketers in the making.

Finally, the moment came which every team was waiting for and Zephyrs walked away with the trophy, both in the best t-shirt category and the overall performance.

Zephyrs- Storming their way to the top

The event was judged by Prof. Sanjay Jain and Prof. Ashwini K. Awasthi and was a testimony to the solidarity of the IMNU batch 2011-13.

Igniterzz setting the stage on fire

A Visit to Manav Sadhna

2011-08-19T01:30:00.002+05:30

Rotaract Club of IMNU (Institute of Management, Nirma University), known For its focus areas viz. leadership and social causes, visited Manav Sadhna, an NGO functioning from Sabarmati Ashram, on August 7, 2011. The visit was a part of the induction program of the new members of RCIMNU. At the ashram, while interacting with Mr Shirish, Chief Coordinator of the NGO, the rotaractors came to know of Gandhiji’s Sabarmati stay and of the functioning and framework of Manav Sadhna. Thereafter, they went for an exhaustive and guided tour of the ashram. The overall experience was enchanting and satisfying. The students had their share of fun whilst having corn cobs and coconut water and playing antakshari on the way back. RCIMNU hopes to continue its association with Manav Sadhna, which it enhanced last year by initiating a mentorship program with the kids at the NGO.

Go Green @ IMNU!!!

2011-08-19T01:02:00.013+05:30

Rotaract Club of IMNU (Institute of Management, Nirma University) on Thursday organised an inter-class “GO GREEN” contest wherein the students had to plant trees and make posters and slogans for a world with green border. The tagline of the event “Ten Teams, One Cause”, turned out to be true as students came out in huge numbers, all enthusiastic, to support the green drive. There was unity in competition as there was only one colour visible on the students: GREEN. There was enormous support and team spirit with the IMNU faculty joining in for cheering the participants, which kept the event alive and kicking throughout. Catering to one of the judgement parameters, the teams scored heavy on innovation in their campaigns as some wore arm bands with slogans etched onto them while others painted the social networks green by editing their profiles there.

Lights..Camera...ACTION!!!

2011-08-18T21:15:00.003+05:30

How many of us have ever really given a serious thought to what all goes into the making of a movie. How much hard work goes into trying to keep the audience entertained for a couple of hours? To attempt to answer some such questions, Chehre - the Dramatics Club of IMNU organized a Movie making and Distribution Management workshop on Wednesday, the 17th of August 2011. The workshop was conducted by Mr Ritam Bhatnagar, founder and president of the Freeway Film Company.

Mr Bhatnagar adressing the rapt audience

Co-founding the International Film Festival Ahmedabad at the age of 19, Mr Bhatnagar has served as Operations-Head to the country's first private film festival. Mr Bhatnagar also worked with UTV and Taj Enlighten Film Society on several International projects, including one with Shekar Kapur and Anurag Kashyap and has also been instrumental in organizing Mumbai Film Festival and PVR's Greatest Film Festival.

The workshop was an eye-opener for anyone who thought movie making was an easy task. Mr Bhatnagar made the audience realize how much work goes into each of the three stages of movie making - Pre-Production, Production and Post-Production. He explained in detail every single task that the process includes and how the complete sequence of events come together for the final product - the movie to be complete.

And the workshop had saved the best part for the last, probably the part that all the management students were most interested in - career opportunities for an MBA in the film industry. Mr Bhatnagar identified Marketing and Distribution as the two fields in the industry that present the best and most exiting career options for a management professional. He described some of the key challenges that the industry faces and how they present an hitherto untapped potential for management students and professionals.

The CHEHRE team with Mr Bhatnagar

The Q&A session at the end of the workshop brought out some great insights and quite a few of the 50 attendee students would be seriously considering the film industry as a prospective career choice to be sure.

Jaya He : A Salute to the Nation

2011-08-17T00:49:00.005+05:30

On the occassion of India's 65th Independence Day, The Rotaract club of Nirma Institutes organized DeshRaag- A Patriotic Group Singing Competition to celebrate the spirit of freedom and independence. The teams from across the disciplines of Nirma University participated in the event and made it a huge success. The event was judged by famous Ghazal artist Shri Atul Brahmbhatt. The audience were overwhelmed with performances which had participants singing to the patriotic tunes of “Desh Mere Desh Mere” and “Vande Mataram”. The event saw the team from IMNU taking the winners medal for a performance that left the crowd in high spirits.

Indulging India : Online Quiz by xQuiZit

2011-08-14T17:10:00.002+05:30

Club xQuiZit organized ‘INDULGING INDIA’ on 10th August to mark our Independence Day.

The quiz was to cover every aspect relating to India from History, Politics, Sports, Business, Culture, Entertainment etc.

It was an online quiz with the following format:

No. of questions: 15

Duration: 25 minutes

NO NEGATIVE MARKING

The response to the quiz was fantastic where 35 teams participated and competed intensely.

The winners of the quiz were:

Winners: Anand Sahasrtabuddhe & Safal Jain: MBA-FT2

Runner up: Saurabh Shrivastava & Amit Bansal: MBA-FT2

The Big Bang at IMNU....TALENT NIGHT

2011-08-09T02:15:00.017+05:30

What do you call a place that is in Ahmedabad and rocks?
IMNU!!!
Saturday night at IMNU was a keeper with the first year batch showing off their talents to their batchmates and seniors. Full of zest and willing to let loose, the IMNU students witnessed one of their most exhilarating nights on the campus. “Jashn-Celebrating you talent” was the annual Talent event of IMNU which the first year MBA batch organises and participates in. And if you go by the turnout, it was an unprecedented success.

As is the tradition at IMNU, the event started off with the Sarawati Vandana performed by Yukti and Kapil and the whole auditorium joining in. The crowd then geared up for dance and song performances, each of them outstanding. The dance-duo Suruchi and Mauli kicked off the celebration on a high note, with many more such performance to follow.

Be it the group dance by “Phaerenikes” or the rock band performances, the audience was thrilled to the core. Music was high on the agenda with at least four different musical treats. The group song performance by Club Fiesta and the solo numbers by Poorvi and Ankit were, to say the least, exquisite. And then there were rock performances, one by Priyam and Shravan and the other by Shravan, Randeep and Mayur who shook the Auditorium at their every beat.

Club Fiesta did it again with their fusion of Hip-hop, Salsa and Contemporary dance and left the audience roaring for an encore. Family business batch also gave enthralling dance performances. Among other highlights of the event were satirical skits; one on Yellow Journalism and Sensationalism in Media by the Dramatics Club “Chehre” and the other on the life of a B-school student.

The biggest high of the event though, was the performance by the kids of construction workers of “Saral Foundation- the Social cell of IMNU”. The crowd was captivated by the spirit and innocence of these underprivileged kids who danced to the tunes of "Phir Bhi Dil Hai Hindustani" and "Koi Kahe Kehta Rahe"
Then came the fashionable young men and women at IMNU, stunned the audience with their attitude and style.

Our faculty was equally enthusiastic and wholeheartedly joined in for a few songs. The flash point of the event was the à la mode Ramp walk by the Fashionistas at the B-school. The blitz and the colour of the two fashion shows, one hippie and the other party-themed, was a perfect climax to this scintillating and splendid celebration of talent. The event was sponsored by People Tree and will be hot topic at IMNU for days to come.

(Content Courtesy: Mahima Singhal)

Guest lecture by Mr. Saurabh Gupta, an IMNU Alumni

2011-08-06T11:53:00.002+05:30

Institute of Management, Nirma University hosted a Guest Lecture by Mr. Saurabh Gupta, an alumnus of IMNU and currently working as an Assistant Professor in MIS at University of Florida. He talked in depth about the importance of education system and its contribution to the development of a sound work force. He also compared the Indian education system with that of the US, saying “There are no regular management students in US at present”, emphasizing on the difference in the methodology and pedagogy followed. He suggested that the pedagogy in India should try and encourage the students to ask questions also stating that “(the) technology has to be weaved into the system to make it more effective”.

He also talked about the need of flexibility in the education system and how the quality of education in India is seriously affected by the lack of funding and the lack of diversity. He emphasized on the skills that an MBA students should possess, stating that “Management education is focussed on soft skills (in US)”. He also said that management education is about learning how to ask the right questions and how to deal with people. He also talked about the change in approach towards management education in India, which is governed by global cues.

This session was followed by an interactive session where various students asked Mr. Gupta varied questions pertaining to the current education scenario and trends in management education.

(With inputs from Saumil Gokhale)

The fortnight that was...

2011-08-06T02:25:00.002+05:30

It’s been a happening fortnight for IMNU with clubs and committees unleashing a barrage of events adding vibrancy to the campus.

To begin with Niche, the marketing Club organized two events i-MAD the AdWAR and Brand-o-Goonj which were major crowd pullers. The event was truly a clash of the creatives and saw several unique and interesting ‘Big Ideas ’for advertisements emerge from the inventive teams of 2011-2013 batch.

Finesse club took the initiative to dispel all fears about accountancy for those who are new to the subject. The event Asset=Liability was an interactive session conducted by Chintan Bhandari (FT-I) who is also a Chartered Accountant. In the session the concepts of accountancy were brushed up and all doubts regarding the different case studies were clarified. The objective was to provide a strong foundation so that students can build on in later courses across the spectrum of financial management. The session was truly helpful and instilled confidence in all to face the approaching exams.

As its ice breaking event, Swayam- the entrepreneurship club organized a grand Treasure Hunt competition which saw 22 groups of three members each, putting on their thinking caps and relentlessly spanning the length and breadth of IMNU in search of the elusive treasure. The team of Shantanu, Randeep and Anurag (FT-I) were the first to find their way to the treasure through the maze of tricky clues on entrepreneurship and were declared the winners. The second prize was bagged by the team of Nakul, Punit and Dhrumil (FB-I)

The Cloth Drive organized by Saral was a huge success. Saral members and IMNU folks celebrated the birthday of Kajal, a 7 year old kid from the basti. The basti kids have no idea about their birthdays so Saral started this tradition of celebrating the birthday of one Saral kid along with the birthday of Saral members. Kajal started attending school from last month owing to the concerted efforts of Saral members to encourage the construction workers living in the basti to send their children to school. Special thanks to Manoj Jacob, Rajiv Mehra and Zubin Tilwankar for making it musical and memorable for KAJAL and all those present outside mess to celebrate the occasion.

Imprints-the HR Club went a step further by providing platform for the students to combine their analytical left brain with their artistic and creative right brain in the event ‘Spicture’. Here the teams were shown a picture that is actually a combination of two personalities. The teams had to identify the personalities and then link the two in an entertaining manner through role play, mimicry, poetry or any other means. It was an out-and-out fun event enjoyed by all.

Right now the 2011-2013 batch is gearing up for Jashn, the Talent Night which promises to be a grandiose event with sparkling display of grace, talent and verve. All the best to all juniors!!!

Blood Donation Camp organized by Rotaract Club

2011-08-06T01:16:00.002+05:30

The Rotaract club of IMNU organized a Blood Donation campaign on 19th July, 2011 in association with Prathama Blood Center. The event saw the participation of over 300 blood donors with actual 217 valuable contributions.

This is a historic figure reached by any blood donation camp on single day at Nirma University. The enthusiasm showed by Nirma University as a whole was phenomenal.

The creative and innovative Rotaract members brought out colourful posters highlighting the importance of blood donation with catchy slogans which motivated the students to come forward and donate blood. The event was promoted in an organized and timely manner, the promotional campaign leveraged social networking sites, e-mails, video advertisements, banners and personal communication to create awareness and impelled students to come forward and participate in the noble act.

We are thankful to Prathama Blood Center for agreeing to come to the campus. The doctors and the staff of the blood bank extended their fullest cooperation to make the camp a success. We congratulate and compliment the students who participated in this noble project. The donor’s contribution was appreciated and acknowledged by Prathama Blood Center by distributing certificates to them. We hope this camp will inspire more students to participate in such humane acts.

Events Galore at IMNU

2011-07-18T01:10:00.000+05:30

Well it has been one awesome fortnight at IMNU with so much action taking place in the campus.

It all began, when Niche, the Marketing Club of IMNU held its first event of the year called 'Cine-Teasement'on 6th July, 2011, an introductory event to the club for the newly joined 2011-13 batch. 'Cine-Teasement' was a fine blend of Cinema and Advertisements. The participants participated in teams of three, where they were supposed to pick a movie and a product at random from a list provided by the club. The bottom line was to create a concept for an entertaining advertisement for the product chosen using the theme of the movie. The event saw around 20 teams participate in the elimination round, from where 7 teams made it into the final round where, Aakash and group were declared the winners of the event.

As the rains splattered the campus; Finesse, the Finance Club of IMNU, conducted a session on "Introduction to careers in Finance and Credit Rating" on 7th July, 2011. The speaker for the event was Mr. Mohit Moradiya, an alumni of IMNU, who is currently working with Credit Analysis & Research Ltd. (CARE). The event saw a total participation of 54 students. In the event, the speaker talked about the various certifications available for finance professionals and also touched upon the basics of Credit Rating, i.e. why is it important from the industry perspective. He also enlightened the attendees on the financial industry's structure.

After much delay due to the weather, the much awaited 'Ice Breaking Tournament' orgainzed by Sportzzz Committee finally began on 13th July, 2011. This year chess was replaced by Table Tennis while Volleyball and Throwball were the usual crowd pullers. The 4 day event stalled all other activities at IMNU as juniors as well as seniors showed up in large numbers for the electrifying matches. Volleyball finals proved to be the most watched match with a turnout of over 150 students as newbies FT-I, Sec B shocked the tournament favourites Vikings in a 3 set thriller. Throwball provided an equally enthralling final as Samurai girls came from one set down to crush the Falcons.FT-I, Sec B set a show down against Vikings once more in the tournament for the Table Tennis final. This time Vikings took the revenge of their Volleyball loss with a scintillating victory over the most promising junior section in sports. Ice Breaking Tournament once again sparked the fire for the yearlong sports mania.

Meanwhile, Chehre, the Dramatics Club conducted 'The Dumbcharades Championship' on 13th July 2011. 17 teams in teams of 3 participated in this event, having 3 rounds. In the first round, each team was given two Bollywood movies and they were given a time of 3 minutes to guess both the movies. There was intense competition between the teams which lead to a tie-breaker. After the tie-breaker, 7 teams qualified for the 2nd round. In the 2nd round the teams were given a Hollywood movie and they had to guess it in 2 minutes. 3 teams qualified for the Final round. In the Final round, teams were given a Hollywood movie and a Bollywood movie. Here, one member had to enact the movie to the 2nd member who in turn had to guess the movie and enact it to the third. They were given 4 minutes for the same. The event was a great success and the participants enjoyed it a lot.

While these events were taking place, the Clubs and Committees of IMNU held their Interviews and soon we'll be seeing fresh faces organizing some exciting events on planet IMNU.

(Content Courtesy: Niche, Finesse, Sportzzz Committee, Chehre and Nikunj Garg)

The Fiesta Carnival begins its journey with a blast !

2011-07-02T02:35:00.000+05:30

FIESTA - The Music & Dance Club of Institute of Management, Nirma University kick-stared 'The FIESTA Carnival' with a bang.The first slice of this was held on the 29th of June, 2011 in the campus. It was an Interactive Session which was an effort on the part of the club to bring together the entire MBA 2011 - 2013 batch of IMNU and provide a fun filled platform to help them get to know each other better. It was for them to make the most out of this event which had interactive games, musical games, etc...

The event was very well received by the new batch and was appreciated so much that they are waiting eagerly for the other portions of 'The FIESTA Carnival' which are 'The Dance Workshop' & 'Jamming Sessions'.

Club FIESTA promised that the new batch will have ample opportunity to participate in a lot of such events in the months to come, the next being the dance workshop...!

(Content courtesy: Rohit Adukia on behalf of 'Fiesta')

Back to IMNU Vs Welcome to IMNU

2011-07-01T10:01:00.000+05:30

Well as the summer set in, it was time for some hard work for the Batch of '12; though the place and environment was totally different from IMNU. After slogging their way through the Summer Internships the Batch of '12 landed on planet IMNU and the lectures for the new 'Senior Batch' began from 20th June. The usual cacophony and excitement was in the air as friends met discussing over the time spent in the last three months and pondering over how the new 'Junior Batch' would be like.

Well, they didn't had to wait for long, as the Batch of '13 filled the campus by 22nd June and the usually heard noise grew larger. Fresh faces with enthusiasm and glitter in their eyes were everywhere to be seen. People walking in large groups together and larger queues in the mess at lunchtime were good enough signs for the carefree, that the 'Junior Batch' had arrived. Then, began the usual interaction between the two batches and long chats on Facebook or quick replies on PagalGuy became the starting points of new friendships. The anxious, puzzled and inquizitive juniors met their match in the calm, carefree and helpful seniors.

The interaction has just begun, but there is a feeling that this bond will go stronger by the day as is the tradition at IMNU. Oops I almost forgot..
The Batch of '13, Welcome to IMNU!

Sumantra organizes 'Shabdanjali', a Hindi-Gujarati poetry recital

2011-02-27T17:19:00.000+05:30

Institute of Management, Nirma University (IMNU) organized its annual event ‘Shabdanjali’, a Hindi-Gujarati poetry recital program on Sunday. It was a gentle attempt by the students of the institute to keep alive the literary interests in the people and to encourage them to explore the cultural heritage of these languages. Mrs.Giraben Bhatt, a well known Gujarati writer/poet graced the occasion with her presence. Poets and young writers from all over the city participated in the event, presenting self-written poetry; with the youngest participant being a 15 year old girl. The poetry presented ranged from subjects like, politics and love to motivation, success and college life. The event was conducted by Sumantra, the book club of IMNU.

Highlights of Pre-Budget Session

2011-02-26T19:07:00.000+05:30

Finesse, the Finance club of IMNU organized a “Pre-Budget” session on 24th February, 2011. The session aimed to analyze the current economic situation of the country and compare it with the past. It also aimed to make the audience aware about the budget making exercise of the Government. An attempt was made to forecast the measures that the Government might take in the upcoming budget to tackle the current problems and take the economy forward.

The eminent speakers for the session were Prof. Bindi Mehta and Prof. R J Mody and the session was chaired by Prof. Mallikarjun. Finesse members (Jay Joshi, Mitesh Jain & Manan Pamani) gave a presentation on the state of the economy, comparing it with the past 4-5 years.
Prof. Bindi Mehta gave an insight into the process of the constitutional exercise carried out every year by the Indian Parliamentary system. She talked about the intricacies in the preparation of the Budget. She also explained the fiscal and monetary measures that the Government takes to control the economy.

A macroeconomic analysis of the Indian economy was done by the students. It covered the overall health of the economy and compared the fiscal deficit, inflation and balance of payments with the past 4 years. The impact of windfall gains from 3G auction and sensitivity analysis with respect to this aspect was carried out. The important taxation announcements in the past 3 years that affected the countrymen were explained.

Prof. Mody talked about the major causes of inflation and the measures required for controlling it. He explained that the inflationary pressure is from supply and distribution side constraints rather than demand-driven. He compared the Indian economy with other countries and highlighted how it is different from them. He also tried to give a picture of what to expect from the current budget.

Prof. Mallikarjun concluded the session and the insightful questions were taken up. He explained that high current account deficit should not be cause of worry and it should not be compared with other countries as India is fundamentally different from other countries.

(Content Courtesy: Manan Pamani on behalf of Finesse Club)

Aavjo, the Farewell Cricket series to begin on the 27th Feb

2011-02-26T01:24:00.000+05:30

Aavjo, the farewell Cricket series kicked off in style with the opening ceremony on 24^th February at IMNU Auditorium. The ceremony a precursor to the cricket tournament which begins on the 27^th February began with an introduction to the theme and the concept behind the much awaited series. This was followed by an enthralling performance by Messy Business, the IMNU Rock band which made the audience go wild. After these the four competing teams, i.e. Northern Knights, Western Warriors, Eastern Eagles and Southern Superstars each displayed a team video sounding a warning to their rivals. This was followed by Faculty allocation to each side and distribution of team bands to all the players.

The battle on the field begins on 27^th February when the Northern Knights take on the Western Warriors in the opening game.

For more details check out the Aavjo website:

https://sites.google.com/site/wwwaavjocom/

Budgetary sessions by Finesse

2011-02-23T14:23:00.000+05:30

Finesse, the Finance Club of IMNU is organizing sessions aimed at analyzing the 2011-12 Union Budget and its implications on common people and industries and the managerial perspective of these.

The 1st of these sessions, the Pre Budget Session will be organized on the 24th February, at 2.30 pm in the IMNU auditorium. The session will be chaired by Prof. R.J. Mody who will be accompanied by Prof. M. Malllikarjun and Prof. Bindi Mehta. The session will provide an insight on the Budget of the past 4 years and the expectations from this year's Budget.

The 2nd session will be held on the 3rd March, at 2.30 pm in the IMNU auditorium. This session will aim to analyze the 2011-12 Budget. The speaker for this event will be Mr. Saurabh Soparkar an eminent Law Practice Professional from Ahmedabad and Prof. R. J. Mody.

Finesse invites one and all to attend these sessions.

“Shabdanjali”-Gujarati/Hindi Poetry Recitation Program by Sumantra”- The Book Club of IMNU

2011-02-22T23:26:00.000+05:30

“Shabdanjali ”- is “Poems for the People - Poems by the People”.
It’s a platform of expression, recognition and appreciation of creativity.

It’s not just for B-Schools, any one and every one with creativity and love for poetry is invited. It’s a platform to share your original Gujarati/Hindi Poetry with poetry lovers all around.

Please send in your poems to sumantra.imnu@gmail.com by 25th February, 2011. (Maximum of 2 poems per person) . Also mention your full name, address, phone numbers, e-mail id and current occupation in the email.

SUMANTRA WARMLY WELCOMES ONE AND ALL FOR THIS PROGRAM!!

Date-27 th February,2011
Time-9:00 Am
Venue-Institute of management Auditorium,
Nirma university

Parakram 2011

2011-02-15T02:08:00.001+05:30

Parakram 2011, the 2 day National level sports extravaganza organized by Institute of Management, Nirma University kicked off on 13th February 2011. Teams from top B-schools like IIM-I, MICA, IMNU, IRMA etc. participated in the event. Each B-school had a team of 30 players who participated across Team Games (cricket, football, volleyball, basketball and throw ball) and Individual Games (tennis, table tennis, badminton, athletics and chess). A squad of total 30 students with at least 9 girls was required from each B-School. All the games were officiated by referees from Sports Authority of India (SAI).

Large crowds came to support their respective college. All the matches were full of excitement and high adrenaline. The spectators were treated with some breathtaking performances, all the B-school teams showed great endeavour and enthusiasm to emerge victorious and walk away with the crown.

Day 3: Richter10 and Perspective

2011-02-15T01:18:00.000+05:30

A grand kavi sammelan marks the end of Richter10 - 2011 and Perspective 2011 which saw plethora of events. Richter10 and Perspective offered a platform for students to present their ideas in front of industry stalwarts and receive constructive feedback and put to practice all the fundas learnt in B-school. It provided a wonderful blend of fun and learning which tested not just the IQs of the participants but their EQs too which is absolutely necessary to survive in this world of cut throat competition.

Navreeti was a Case Study contest with focus on applying IT strategies for business. Based on the initial analysis of the given case, eight teams were shortlisted for the final round where they presented their detailed analysis in front of a panel of eminent judges with years of industry experience. It provided the participants a platform to showcase their investigative skills and knowledge of best business practices in IT to find an innovative solution for a complex problem.

Shutter Bucks was for all the people who love seeing the world with the lens of their camera and always find picture perfect moments and scenes to capture whenever and wherever they go. In this on campus photography contest each participant submitted five photographs on three themes given to them on the spot. The brilliant technique, artistry and originality of the photographs received reflected the creative energy and spirit of the participants.

For all those who have strong opinions and even stronger reasoning skills to prove their point, The Big Fight was the perfect platform to meet the best debaters of various B-Schools and wrestle with them with words. Strong arguments and counter arguments were eloquently presented by the participating teams on the topic “Are the actions of Wikileaks justified?” The top five teams proceeded to the next round which was an intense group discussion on social networking. The teams were judged on the basis of creativity and originality, voice, body language, leadership, group behaviour and listening skills.

The first of its kind event Saanidhya brought together the social cells of IIM-A , MICA and IMNU. The kids for which the social cells Prayaas (IIM-A), Jaagriti (MICA), SARAL (IMNU) and ManavSadhana (NGO at Gandhi Ashram) are working, were invited to IMNU to spend a fun filled day. The kids were given a tour of the college followed by a crafts workshop. Shortly afterwards a talent show was organized in the IMNU Auditorium where the kids unleashed their tireless spirits and gave some breathtaking performances which were indeed a treat to the eyes of the volunteers; music and dance was in the air. Finally sports and fun activities organized in the IMNU back lawns kept the kids entertained. It was a memorable day for the kids and provided them the determination to study hard and find entry to the portals of IMNU and other reputed institutions and prove their mettle.

Treasure Hunt made the participants span the length and breadth of IMNU and every nook and corner of IMNU saw huge footfall of unrelenting participants determined to reach the treasure however complex the path may be.

The highlight of the day was the Hasya Kavi Sammelan by Dr. Kumar Vishwas, Dr. Surendra Sharma and Shri Saral Sampat . They exuded an aura and appeal that totally transcended all age barriers and captivated the audience throughout their performance with their brilliant satires and adorable poetries. The audience went into peals of laughter and gave standing ovation to many of their compositions. The poetries ‘Ek Koi Deewana Kehta Hai’ and ‘Ek pagli Ladki Ke Bin’ by Dr Kumar Vishwas were received with roaring applause. This was the first time that a kavi sammelan was organized in IMNU and it was a delightful evening indeed, the audience captured their golden words in their cell phones and digi-cams to keep those wonderful moments alive for years to come.

Kudos to Cult Comm and all those who were involved in working out the nitty gritties of the various events of Richter10 and Perspective and making it such a big success. !

Day 2 : Richter 10

2011-02-13T05:14:00.000+05:30

Snapshot of the day's events:

Aagaz was the individual Karaoke singing competition which drew lots of enthusiastic participants and offered quality music to the audience. The event consisted of two rounds, an elimination round in which participants were asked to sing for 2 min utes any song of their choice and a final round where five shortlisted candidates gave a karaoke performance for a song given to them on the spot. The first and the second prizes were bagged by John Magos from IBMR and Aniket Vipat from IMNU.

Another event which attracted major participation was The Scavenger Hunt. Teams of 4 were supposed to ‘Hunt ‘for enlisted objects within the stipulated time. The list kept the participants on their toes and really tested their spontaneity, agility and coordination skills.

mIMNUrma organized by the Quizzing club of IMNU was a truly national level quiz competition for MBA aspirant s. The event saw a huge response with over 280 teams across the nation participating in the first round which was an online quiz contest. In the second round the top six teams battled it out to be crowned “Quizzing Wizards”.

Masquerade- the face painting competition provided opportunity to the pa

rticipants to speak through colours on a living canvas. The participants creatively portrayed a theme allotted to them in a span of one hour and were judged based on the creativity and the intricacy of the design and the coherence with the theme. The breadth and depth of ideas depicted by the participants was truly mind boggling.

The fest witnessed a variety of informal events including Matki Phod, Blind Date, Tambola, Who Dares Wins etc. These events drew huge crowds and saw massive participation.

The gem of the crown was the DJ Night which offered abundance of thrill and mind boggling music, just enough to break the dance floor. The DJ spun some popular Bollywood and Hollywood songs and kept the audience entertained, it was a night to enjoy the flavour of music and let you body and soul groove to the DJs tunes.

Day 2 : Perspective

2011-02-13T04:54:00.000+05:30

Snapshots of events of the day:

Bouleterion – conceived and organized by the HR Club of IMNU truly tested the intelligence, decision making ability, creativity and team working ability of the participants. The participants were given a platform to propose and present their ideas to formulate a post Kyoko Agreement. The game had a setup similar to the COP16 summit that took place in Cancun, Mexico. Every team was assigned a country and based on some news flashed on the screen about different countries the participants had to defend their respective country’s stance on that particular issue. They had to convince other nations (teams) about the proposals of their interest and these proposals were subsequently voted in the meet. Proposal was deemed passed only when it has majority and “Yes” from all the five veto powers. The teams were evaluated based on the arguments, counter arguments, clarity of thoughts, concerns and feasibility of implementation.

Quizmos-The business quiz hosted by ‘The Daily Grill’ had 42 teams fighting for the trophy of merit. Teams from the top B –schools across the country viz. NITIE, MICA, IMNU, SIBM-P were a part of the battle. The Quiz was hosted by the founders of The Daily Grill, Mahit Vyas, Raghav Rastogi, Harshal Modi and Neha Sharma. The elimination format of the quiz was based on the Cricket world cup 2011.

The Longs and the Shorts was an insightful competition where the participating teams had to pick up any stock which is listed either NSE or BSE with a market capitalization of equal to or more than Rs. 500 crores and create a detailed Equity Research Report containing Clearly Defined BUY or a SELL recommendation on the stock, Price Target, Clearly defined Price Target End Date, Negative Drivers and key downside risks to Price Target, Detailed Company and Industry analysis and the valuation of the stock based on sound assumptions. The participants created comprehensive considering various parameters such as size of the business, its sustainable competitive advantage, profits and profitability, relationship with the employees and marketing prowess of the company among other things. The report was then presented by the participants in front of a panel of eminent judges with expertise in the same domain.

The literary event Sahitya consisted of poetry competition and completing loose end stories. With the first round concluding online, there were a total of ten teams fighting it out for the top spots. The second and final round had three phases, the first one being the online book review, the next phase was a loose end story writing competition with the story of an entrepreneur riding through the streets and seeing something unexpected. The teams came up with spectacular stories which left even the judges surprised. The final phase was a poetry competition with the title “Who Am I”. The poetry session saw some of the most talented participants from various colleges like IMNU Ahmedabad, SIBM Bangalore, SIBM Pune, NITIE Mumbai and EDI Gandhinagar.

Money Messiah, the online stock simulation game organized by Finesse Club in collaboration with Clique Club, concludes today. It provided an opportunity to the participants to get a feel of the volatile and tricky waters of the stock market trading without investing real money. All the teams were provided a fixed sum of 25,00,000, the biggest challenge here was to create a portfolio of investments based on performance, future expectations of the company and periodic news that was flashed during the course of the game. Some participants earned upto 95 Lakhs, the results are awaited with loads of curiosity and enthusiasm.

Prayaas – The Endeavour, the social marketing competition, attempted to raise social consciousness among B school students by offering a platform to the brilliant minds to articulate social marketing strategies for different social causes. In the elimination round the participating teams submitted a report identifying a social problem, frameworks used for investigation, primary and secondary research data along with a self explanatory video of 10 minutes depicting the policy issues. The shortlisted entries from the first round presented their idea to a panel of eminent judges in the second round.

Richter'10 Day -1

2011-02-12T01:03:00.000+05:30

Institute of Management, Nirma University kicked off its annual Cultural Fest ‘Richter-10’ today. The three day festival began with ‘Guerrar’, a LAN gaming competition featuring the popular game Counter Strike. Participants in teams of 5, fought in a virtual battlefield to be crowned ‘Gaming Wizards’. This was followed up by ‘Kabad Wars’, where participants depicted a Casino using waste and other craft materials. The major event following this was ‘Showtime’ a movie making competition by Chehre, the Dramatics Club of IMNU. Saurabh the coordinator of the event told that this event provided the participants a perfect platform to express their feelings and give them shape, color and sound.

The day ended with a bang with a Rock Night featuring rock bands from across the country including On Second Thought, Scandal Night Dinner, Messy Business, Ash Q and Logik. The bands performed songs ranging from Classical Rock to Punk Rock and Heavy Metal to Sufi Rock. The music left the audience spellbound as everybody grooved to the fantastic display of rhythm and beats.

Other events that were organized included Rok Tok (Just a minute Competition), and an Antakshari Competition.

Perspective - Day 1

2011-02-12T00:19:00.000+05:30

Perspective, the annual Academic Confluence of Institute of Management, Nirma University started today with overwhelming response. Participants from various schools across the country battled it out in competitions aimed to test their knowledge, creativity and confidence.

The day began with Bellatus Ultimus (Best Manager Competition) that featured 8 grueling rounds to find out the most competent manager conducted by ‘Imprintz’, the HR Club. The event was judged by Ms. Chandni Joshi, a participant of MTV’s Roadies 8.0, along with Dr. Manaswini Acharya, a former faculty at IIM-Lucknow and present faculty at IMNU, and Ms. Kajal Patel, a fitness expert. Harshil Kothari, the event coordinator said that this event featured the true test of skills that any manager would experience in his life.

Alongside this Bizzart, an Integrated Marketing Communication competition was organized by Niche, the Marketing Club, that featured teams from IIM-Indore, IIT-Kanpur, NITIE and NMIMS, Mumbai amongst others. Gaurav Somani the event co-ordinator contributed the successful completion of this event on the hardwork and dedication put by his Club members. The winners for this event were Ad Wizards from SIESCOMS, Mumbai while Foodies from NMIMS, Mumbai came second.

‘Swayam’, the Entrepreneurial Club of IMNU organized, ‘Srijan’ the B-Plan Competition, based on the theme of Social Entrepreneurship. The judges for the event were Mr Ronak Shah, Director-Brand Communication, Mudra Communication; Mr. Mahesh Goel, Assistant General Manager, State Bank of India; and Mr. Arvind Modi, Associate Vice President, Gujarat Venture Finance Limited – A VC Fund Company. Team Invincibles from MICA, Ahmedabad won the 1st prize while Team VCS from IRMA, Anand were the Runners-up. The highlight of the event was that the top two teams and one more team got funding offers from Mr. Ronak Shah. These three teams also received offers for mentorship support from the Mr. Arvind Modi. This has happened for the first time at IMNU that the teams had received such offers from industry czars at the B-Plan event.

The other event for the day was Money Messiah conducted by ‘Finesse’ the Finance Club, an online trading event that will take place over Friday and Saturday.

IMNU to host its 1st ever Inter B-School Sports Festival from Sunday

2011-02-10T17:31:00.000+05:30

Institute of Management, Nirma University is organizing ‘Parakram’, its 1^st Inter B-School Sports Festival on 13^th-14^th Feb. The festival will see players from different B-schools across the country participate in various individual and team sports. The B-schools scheduled to take part in the festival include IIM - Indore, K. J. Somaiya, Mumbai, School of Petroleum Management, Gandhinagar, B K School of Business Management, Ahmedabad and Mudra Institute of Communication (MICA), Ahmedabad. The participants will take part in the following events: Basketball, Volleyball, Football, Cricket, Throw ball, Badminton, Table tennis, Lawn tennis and Chess.