IIM Tiruchirappalli (IIM-T) conducted its annual management conclave ‘Nishtha’ on February 10 and 11. The two-day initiative facilitated interactions among experts, academicians, business leaders, entrepreneurs and management students. A series of panel discussions, competitions and workshops were conducted as a part of Nishtha.
The event was inaugurated by Chief Guest Dr C Jayakumar, GM & Head, Human Resources, Divisional Corporate, L&T Construction; Dr Bhimaraya Metri, Director, IIM Trichy, Prof Sirish Gouda and Prof Vijaya. Dr Jayakumar spoke of his experiences related to the functional areas the hosting clubs represented (FinvesT, Persona and E-cell). He outlined the various people-skills candidates could employ to set themselves apart from their peers. Director Metri commended the progress IIM-T has made as an institution as it reached new heights.
Market and economy
This was followed by a panel discussion conducted by FinvesT, Finance and Investments Club of IIM Trichy, on the topic “Are markets shadowing the Indian economy?” The panelists were Pramod Kasat, Country Head, Investment Banking Advisory Services at IndusInd Bank; Jitendra Gohil, Head of Equity Research, Credit Suisse; Dick Mody, CEO, Ethical Advisors; and Prakash Gaba, Technical Analyst and Guest at CNBC-TV18, CNBC Awaaz.
The discussion was moderated by Rupesh Sharma, a research student of Finance and Accounting at IIM Trichy. The panelists spoke about how markets were forward looking and were fuelling growth in the economy, not shadowing it.
Reskilling amid digitisation
The second panel discussion conducted by Persona, HR and OB Club of IIM Trichy was about “Reskilling in the era of Digitisation”. The panel comprised Lakshminarayanan KV, Head, Organisation Development, Infosys; Lionel Paul David, HR PMO Leader, RR Donnelley; V Sivaram Prasad Akkineni, Executive President (HRD & Services); The KCP Limited; and John Sekar, Group Head HR, Kauvery Group of Hospitals.
The discussion was moderated by Padmavathi Shenoy, research student in OB & HR at IIM Trichy. The panelists were from diverse backgrounds and experiences and brought forth unique perspectives on the ubiquitous nature of technology with HR playing a dominant role in these changing times.
Entrepreneurs Club
The concluding panel discussion conducted by E-Cell, IIM-T’s Entrepreneurship Club, was on “What start-ups need to do to be innovative?” The panelists were Sibabrata Das, Co-founder, Atomberg Technologies; Manick Rajendran, Founder, iMMi life; Srinivas Mahankali, Blockchain Professional and CEO of First Tech Labs, US; Gita Chengappa , GM, TREC-STEP; and Prof V Gopal, Faculty In-Charge of E-Cell. The panel focused on how startups can innovate and what they need to do to promote the innovation culture.
The B-plan event saw participation from all over the country and the team from LIBA Chennai were declared winners.
E-Cell also conducted a guest speaker series. Dr Aniruddha Malpani, Director and Founder Malpani Ventures, spoke about "What an investor wants an entrepreneur to know?” TN Hari, author of “Cut the Crap and Jargon: Lessons from the Start-up Trenches” and HR Head of Big Basket, spoke about “Scaling start-ups without the wheels coming off” and CK Kumaravel, CEO & Co-founder, Naturals Saloon and Spa, gave the valedictory speech.