Great Lakes Institute of Management, Gurgaon, recently hosted its annual management fest, Crest 7.0, at its Manesar campus. The seventh edition was based on the theme ‘PALAESTRA: Rise and Grind’. The event witnessed participation from 76 teams from business schools across the country including top schools, such as IIM Lucknow, XIMB, MDI, IMI Delhi, Amity Business School, SRCC GBO, IIFT, NITIE Mumbai, Delhi School of Economics, SIBM, and Fore School of Management, who competed in the final round of various events and showcased their talent, wisdom, acumen and business skills.
The preliminary rounds had 900 teams with over 2,000 participants registering for the nine events.
Disruptive technology
The event began with the lighting of lamp by the chief guest, Sandeep Bhatnagar, Managing Director Accenture Consulting. The opening ceremony was presided over by Umashankar Venkatesh, Professor and Programme Director-PGPM, and Ahindra Chakrabarti, Professor and Programme Director-PGDM, Great Lakes Institute of Management, Gurgaon.
Delivering the keynote address, Bhatnagar shared his views on the disruptive technologies that are shaping a new world. He said that massive urbanisation, advent of disruptive technologies and huge investment flows are creating opportunities of growth. The disruption caused by new technologies creates new opportunities but also has threats.
These opportunities can be exploited by continuing to focus on the basics of business such as reducing the cost, increasing the revenue and expanding the market along with, most importantly, driving an innovation culture. He said, “What you focus on, determines what you don’t see.” Thus, we should overcome the uncertainties by having a clear vision of our goals. He concluded by highlighting how execution is the key and it is essential that any initiative is driven to closure in the most effective manner.
The fest was filled with energy and enthusiasm demonstrated by all participants and industry guests. Many industry professionals were part of the event to share their perspectives and judge the various events. The list of judges included Sandeep Bhatnagar; Joy Bhattacharjya, Project Director LOC FIFA U-19 World Cup 2019; Deepak Goel, Founder, Karma Circle; Vinod Kumar, Professor of Finance; Jahnavi Mahanta, Co-founder, Deeplearningtrack; and Manmohan Bhutani, COO, ACS Global Tech Solutions.
Different events
The flagship event was the B-plan competition. This year it was called ‘Innovacia’. Each participating team had to pitch their innovative business ideas in detail in front of potential investors and industry guides. The feasibility, ROI, target segment and market share of the business presented by the students was quite novel and the best idea received a cash prize worth ₹30,000, which was bagged by the team from IMI Delhi.
This was followed by an event called as ‘Extrapolation’, where each participating team had to play with data and numbers. A time to test real analytical skills, interpret the data and solve real-time business problems. This event became the spotlight as Bhattacharjya was the guest. He has been part of IPL since its inception in 2008 and was also former director of Kolkata Knight Riders. All the students were thrilled to hear his experience. The winner of this event was Great Lakes, Gurgaon and the runner-up was KJ Somaiya.