IMI Kolkata organized the 5th National Alumni Meet, 2018, on 8th December 2018, Saturday, in the institute campus, followed by the evening at Vivada river-cruise on the Ganges. It was a day with a plethora of activities to reminisce the old days for the Alumni. With IMI Kolkata on the cusp of getting into the next continuum, the 85 alumni members who participated in the Meet, some of whom had travelled in from various parts of the country, expressed solidarity in their support to their Institute’s aspirations.
INAUGURAL CEREMONY
To mark the auspicious beginning of this event, the ceremonial lamp was lit and Director,Professor Arindam Banik provided the welcome address. He pointed out the completion of eight years of the institute and took pride in acknowledging growth in terms of placement, infrastructure and in making a place in the national scenario. Mr. Subhasis Mitra imparted his message to the present and the past students by emphasizing on how sheer hardwork can make one achieve anything in life. He focused on the relationship building and networking being key to being successful in life.
“Your pride makes the institute shine”, said Professor Mohua Banerjee, Dean Alumni Relations. She presented the Annual Activity Report and the success of AlmaConnect, an online networking platform for the alumni of IMI Kolkata wherein there are already 217 registered members, out of the total of IMIK’s 345 alumni. The first edition of the Annual Alumni Magazine was launched by IMIK team along with Mr. Thomas Joseph, Pan-India President and Mr. Piyush Pagaria, Kolkata Chapter President.
AWARD CEREMONY
An evening full of awards and accolades gave an energetic start to this event. As 2018 is the Fifth Alumni Year, four categories of awards were initiated to acknowledge the good work of the alumni. The Star Alumnus for Corporate Excellence Award was given to Mr. Abhishek Pal (PGDM Batch 2012-14), Tata Consultancy Services. The Rising Star Alumni Award was presented to Mr. Dhruv Chakravarty (PGDM Batch 2015-17), Reflexions Digital Private Ltd.
The Star Alumnus for Entrepreneurial Excellence was accorded to Mr. Nimesh Shukla (PGDM Batch 2012-14), Founder & CEO of Nimesh Energy Solutions Pvt. Ltd also known as SunEncore. The Star Alumnus for Institution-building Activities was awarded to Mr. Abhimanyu Mazumdar (PGDM Batch 2014-16), Management Consultant at Mott MacDonald. Also, the valuable contributions of eleven other alumni members were recognized with awards and certificates.
PANEL DISCUSSION BY ALUMNI
In the interactive panel discussion on “Expectations from Management Graduates in the Industry” the alumni shared their experiences on the transition from a business school management graduate to a Corporate Executive. The panel discussion was moderated by Mr. Supratim Sarma Barua, PwC, and his domain was Technology Consulting. The panelists for the discussion were Mr. Harsh Kariwala , Deloitte, who delved into International Taxation for US and European Markets; Ms. Neha Modi, Spencer’s Retail Limited, interacted on the requirements of the retail industry; Mr. Mohammed Danial, Kantar IMRB provided the Market Research industry perspectives; Ms. Kavisha Jain , Lava International, shared insights from the HR industry; Mr. Rohit Sen from Axis Bank brought forth the realities from the BFSI sector; and Mr. Avishek Majumdar, CESC Limited, provided inputs on CRM in Power Sector.
The interactive session saw IMIK students gain immense depth of understanding of the current scenario within the diverse industries, and also the varied perspectives traditional and new age disruptive companies have. The discussion touched upon the quintessential keywords in the corporate world. The panelists spoke about ‘customer’ being the cynosure of all things, the value of ‘integrity’ in the workspace, the importance of being ‘creative’ in this VUCA world and the focus on ‘relationship management’. The audience and the alumni could relate to Ms. Kavisha Jain from Lava International, when she humorously said, “Boss Management is an art.” Mr. Rohit Sen from Axis Bank pointed out the “ruthless honestly” and dynamism that prevails in the BFSI work space. The common theme amongst the panelists was that of “learning on the go”. As per Mr. Harsh Kariwala from Deloitte, “The cup of knowledge needs to be empty to learn more and know more.” The discussion also touched upon the role of client servicing. Ms. Neha Modi from Spencer’s Retail Ltd, said, “Keeping the customer engaged is part of the job and in the retail industry, ideas are not curbed but rather encouraged.” Mr. Supratim Sarma Barua from PWC, being the moderator, spoke about the technology consulting space and discussed recent changes in the ways of working in the industry. He accentuated the importance of Emotional Quotient over Intelligence Quotient when talking about how Artificial Intelligence and automation is going to take away jobs. Mr. Avishek Majumdar from CESC Ltd. addressed the elephant in the room which was the gap between the academia and the industry. Mr. Mohammed Danial from Kantar IMRB said, “Move away from the thought of choosing a company to get into and rather, choose an industry to work in.” On a student’s query regarding what if the desired area of work remained somewhat elusive, the moderator responded with motivating words for the present students, “Sometimes, you need to create your luck, the affinity towards a particular area might get attracted to you.” This was agreed upon by the panelists too.
Acknowledging the panelists, Mr. Rajarshi Banerjee, Executive Director & CFO – CESC Ltd. commented that the discussion set a very good path forward and involved mature observations and discussions. He appreciated that the management students come equipped with the required skills and the time is right for them to concentrate on shaping their attitude and building on the basic concepts in the light of practical experiences.
The event was followed by a scenic evening at Vivada river-cruise on the Ganges with unplugged musical session and light-hearted games. The grandeur of the evening was conjured up with memories of distant places and with lost stories to tell. The Grand Alumni Meet ended on a happy note with mutual promise between the Alumni and their Alma Mater to be there for each other.
