Program Type: PGDM

A group of four students, Li Gen, Xie Xiangwei, Zhang Qiurong and Zhao Lei, from Sichuan University, China arrived at International Management Institute, Kolkata. IMI has campuses in Kolkata, Delhi and Bhubaneswar.

The students, who will be studying Management as per an agreement between IMI-Kolkata and Sichuan University, are staying at the Alipore campus under the mentorship of Dr Tirthankar Nag, Dean,IMI-Kolkata. According to Dr. Nag, the course has been specially designed keeping in view IMI Kolkata’s expertise in East Asian Management and Research, which empowers students to apply what they have learnt in the Chinese context.

Welcoming the overseas students, Professor Arindam Banik, Director, IMI-Kolkata says, “This is the first batch of Chinese students arriving in Kolkata to participate in higher management courses. We are delighted that Kolkata, which was once an internationally renowned centre for higher education, is on its way to regaining its past reputation. This exchange will be mutually beneficial for the two countries.”. IMI Kolkata recently signed several academic agreements with leading universities in China, France and Bangladesh, to help exchange of faculty and students on a long-term basis.

On behalf of the four visiting Chinese students, Li Gen said on Tuesday, “It’s a privilege to be in a great city like Kolkata and we are looking forward to experience its rich heritage as much as possible during our two-month long stay here. We expect to make many new friends and interact with them on topics like the Chinese economy and civilization. We are proud that we are in the city where Rabindranath Tagore was born. He continues to have a significant influence on Chinese scholars and creative writers.”

To know more: http://www.bloncampus.com/b-school-corner/imikolkata-to-host-chinese-management-students/article7516233.ece?ref=prevArt

IMI-Kolkata celebrated its Third Annual Convocation Ceremony for their PGDM batch of 2013-2015 on Wednesday, September 9^th, 2015. Mr. Sanjiv Goenka, noted industrialist and Chairman of IMI-Kolkata’s Board of Governors and Member IMI Board of Governors, presided over the event.

 Dressed in academic regalia, the faculty of IMI-Kolkata and its Board of Governors marched towards the Auditorium, with the sound of triumphant music at the backdrop, marking the commencement of the Convocation.

 The solemn occasion began with the lighting of the lamp as a mark of reverence dedicated to “Knowledge that lights up the world”. This was followed by a Vedic invocation by the students of IMI, Kolkata which truly empowered us to unify our minds.

 The welcome address was delivered by Mr. Sanjiv Goenka who encouraged the congregation to not be restricted by conventional paradigms but to rise above all oppositions to achieve ones ambition. He stressed on the importance of education by quoting his late father, Late Dr. Rama Prasad Goenka, who used to say, “Lakshmi ke hum sab upasak hai, par Saraswati ke bina Lakshmi bhi nahi aati hai” (Wealth is always preceded by Knowledge). He concluded by advising that one may take inspiration from the great minds we have around us but must avoid benchmarking against them, else we will always find ourselves wanting.

 Chief Guest for the convocation, Shri Jawhar Sircar, CEO, Prasar Bharati delivered the convocation address, wherein he asked, “Is Kolkata losing its Charm as a Knowledge centre?” He began by highlighting how Kolkata gained its status as a Knowledge Capital. While the rest of the country lay shackled in the chains of orthodoxy and backwardness, Kolkata broke free and surged ahead in rational thinking and scientific development. However, constant political controversies and instability over the years has proved detrimental to Kolkata’s image. Over the years the priorities of the Government has changed, taking a toll on its education sector. Bengal’s strained relationship with the Central Government did not help matters either.

 Despite such a gloomy picture, Kolkata is still synonymous with Culture. Mr. Sircar is hopeful that Kolkata’s sun hasn’t set just yet and one can only hope it will regain its lost glory in the days to come. He concluded his address by congratulating the IMI team for setting up such an excellent institution and wished the graduating students the best for their future.

 The PGDM batch of 2013-2015 were conferred with their degrees by Mr. Sanjiv Goenka.

 Mr. Jawhar Sircar felicitated the rank holders and best performers from the outgoing batch. Dr. Rama Prasad Goenka Award for Excellence and All Rounder Gold and Silver Medals were presented to Medha Saha and Supratik Das respectively. For consistent Superior Academic Performance, the 1^st Rank was awarded to Medha Saha, 2^nd to Supratik Das and 3^rd awarded to Deepak Bokaria. Best Participant as regards Academics, Corporate interaction and Discipline was awarded to Medha Saha, who also won the Best Lady Participant Award. Based on the summer internship placements, work done by the graduating batch and feedback from the corporate, accolades were given to Mohammed Danial for interning at IMRB International and Abhijeet Kasliwal for interning at ACC Limited.

 At the end, when Mr. Sanjiv Goenka declared the convocation close, the Board of Governors, Faculty members of IMI-K and the Graduating class of 2015 proceeded out of the Auditorium in the ceremonial march. The convocation was followed by lunch for all the Board of Governors, faculty members, distinguished guests, representatives of the public and private companies, friends from the media, parents and friends of the graduating class of 2015 and the current students of IMI-K.

 As the graduates tossed their caps in the air amidst much aplomb and gaiety, a sense of pride and achievement was palpable among the students, their families and the faculty and staff of the Institute.

 The graduating students were also witness to a gala Musical Evening, hosted by IMI-Kolkata where popular artiste Angie Miller of the American Idol Fame, mesmerized the audience with her soulful performance.

 As the students step into their professional lives, they look back to the bittersweet moment in their lives— a degree in one hand, goodbye to campus life on the other and echo the popular sentiment “the tassel is worth the hassle”!

The Conference began with the presentation of the bouquet of flowers to the delegates followed by the lighting of the auspicious lamp to mark the beginning of the first HR Symposium.

The inaugural address was delivered by the Chief Guest, Mr. VC Agrawal, President- Corporate HR, RP-Sanjiv Goenka Group, who gave his insights on the importance of considering employees as people before considering them as resources, in a very interactive session much to the delight of the gathering. Mr. Agrawal stressed that transformation is about changing attitudes rather than enhancing knowledge. He quoted relevant examples from eminent personalities like Peter Drucker, Dr. McClelland’s Iceberg theory and even Mother Teresa to highlight how true leaders help employees and bring out the best in them.

The Guest of Honour, Mr. Nihar Ranjan Ghosh, Executive Director- HR, RP-Sanjiv Goenka Group brought to light how India as a nation is standing at a crucial juncture from where we can either reach dizzying heights of success or go downhill depending on how we capitalise the opportunities available to us. Considering the present dynamic marketing scenario, Mr. Ghosh emphasised on how institutions like IMI-Kolkata will play a fundamental role in raising a workforce that will be instrumental in taking India to that pinnacle of success. While addressing the august gathering, he provided his unique views on what qualities the next generation of workforce must possess in order to bring about the aforementioned success. He stressed on the 5Cs, viz Confidence, Credibility, Character, Creativity and Culture, that will be instrumental in bridging the gulf between Commitment and Delivery.

Panel Discussion Topic: ‘Current Practices in Talent Acquisition’

Panelists:
AbhijitSengupta, Senior General Manager – HR, Eveready Industries India Ltd ·

. Shantanu Das, VP – HR, Emami Ltd ·

. Shantanu Das, VP – HR, Emami Ltd ·

. Moderator:

Sujoy Banerjee, President – Group HR & OD, Mc Nally Bharat Engineering Co. Ltd

IMI-Kolkata hosted an HR Symposium where a panel discussion was held on “Current Practices in Talent Acquisition”. The panelists were Abhijeet Sengupta (Senior General Manager- HR, Eveready India) and Shantanu Das (VP-HR, Emami India). Sujoy Banerjee (President-Group HR &OD, McNally Bharat Engineering Company Limited) who was the moderator introduced the topic and opened the floor of discussion.

One of the biggest challenges faced by the managers today is to keep at par with the millennium generation who have different expectations and demands.
Abhijeet Sengupta took forward the discussion by drawing attention to the paradigm shift from individual talents to team talent and more emphasis should be given on identifying, engaging and harnessing the talent. He said that the biggest challenge of HR today is talent and leadership.

Shantanu Das gave a creative perspective to the discussion by stating that talent must be a burning corporate priority. He envisioned the future of acquiring talent to be more challenging as talent pool is declining and the demand increasing. We should emphasise more on the quality of the talents. He also focused on building talent brands and that retention solves most issues in acquiring talent.

The discussion concluded on a note that talent need to be harnessed and due importance should be given on brushing up our intra-personal skills, develop radical thinking and maintain consistency.

Key Note Speech by R Sridhar, EVP &Head – Learning & Development, ITC Ltd.

Topic: ‘New Paradigm of HR for Make in India’

“India is the only country in the world which offers unique combination of Democracy, Demography and Demand”

With this enlightening thought, Dr R Sridhar, EVP and Head Learning and Development, ITC introduced the topic “New paradigm of HR for Make in India”, during his keynote speech. He highlighted some constraints that are acting as stumbling block on our quest to becoming a manufacturing hub. The Nation is plagued with excessive regulations and other factors that are detrimental to our growth. He also spoke about the underlying challenges that would be faced by human resource professionals in the time to come. He brought to light how our education often fails to equip the workforce with the required skills needed spoke of how institutions and industries can come together to bridge this gap.

Panel Discussion on ‘Managing the Rising Aspirations of High-Calibre Workforce’

Panelists:

· Chandrima Banerjee, Director, Unigrow Solutions Pvt. Ltd

· Gautam Ray, ED – HR & Admin, CESC Ltd.

· Jagannath Oleti, Head – HR, L&T

· Moderator: Ajaya Kumar Sahoo, VP-HR, RP-SG Group

“Managing the Rising Aspirations of a High Calibre Workforce” was the topic for the second panel. The panelists included, Mr. Ajay Kumar Sahoo (Vice President- HR, RP-Sanjiv Goenka Group), Dr. Chandrima Bannerjee (Director, Unigrow Solutions Private Limited), Mr. Jagannath Oleti (Head- HR,Larsen & Toubro Infotech), Mr. Gautam Ray (Executive Director- HR and Administration, CESC Limited)

Mr. Ajay Kumar Sahoo who was also the moderator for the session introduced the topic. He stressed on the importance acquiring and retaining the right talent, by likening high calibre talent to free flowing water that flows in the direction that shows the favourable path. With this valuable insight he opened the floor for discussion.

Dr. Chandrima Bannerjee was of the view that while high calibre workforces did exist in the past, their relevance has increased manifold in today’s technology aided environment.

In the midst of such dynamic opportunities, Mr. Jagannath Oleti stressed on the importance of how the older generation can guide the next generation into making the best possible use of this.

Mr. Gautam Ray gave a different perspective to the discussion by sharing his experiences at CESC. In today’s changing environment, where employees keep hopping from one organisation to another, CESC has been able to retain its workforce up to the fourth generation. He stressed on the importance of emotional connect and organisation culture that binds employees to their companies.

The discussion ended with the panellists sharing the unanimous view that today’s workforce is highly able and efficient and the organisation’s task does not end in merely acquiring a high calibre workforce but more importantly in its retention.

Interactive Interview Session Are Traditional Streams (i.e. Finance, Marketing, HR etc.) Losing Their Shine? with Arijit Majumdar, Divisional Manager, Corporate HR, Tata Steel Processing & Distribution Ltd and Rituparna Ghosh, AVP, Wipro Ltd

The second day of the HR Symposium witnessed an interactive session with Mr. Arijit Majumdar, Divisional Manager, Corporate HR, Tata Steel Processing & Distribution Ltd and Rituparna Ghosh, AVP, Wipro on a topic that most MBA students are apprehensive about: “Are traditional streams (i.e. Finance, Marketing, HR, etc.) losing their shine?”

“Not one size fits all” – A very clear answer to the topic came from the panellist.

Giving insights on the topic, they both spoke of how important it is for a professional to possess the ability to unlearn and change with the changing environment. Patience, Perseverance and Ability to Collaborate with People will help a professional to climb up the ladder of success. It is thought Leadership that is important in today’s changing era.

However, Generic Skills like Empathy, Collaboration, Flexibility and Ability to handle Ambiguity to drive change will always be important. After all, Management Education make you Business-Ready by changing your Outlook so that you understand the business perspective.

IMI-Kolkata hosts BEA’s mid-year seminar</53>

The mid-year seminar 2015 of the Bangiya Arthaniti Parishad, or the Bengal Economic Association (BEA), was held on September 27 in collaboration with the International Management Institute (IMI) Kolkata at the Institute’s campus in Alipore.

The theme of the seminar was ‘Planning Commission and NITI Aayog: Experiences and Expectations’. The inaugural ceremony was attended by guests like Prof Anup Kumar Sinha of IIM Calcutta, Biswajit Guha, Senior Vice President, Bangiya Arthaniti Parishad, and Arindam Banik, Director, IMI-Kolkata, as well as members of the Parishad and the faculty and staff members from IMI-Kolkata.

In his welcome address, Arindam Banik stated the role of the BEA, and similar organisations, in promoting research and discussions on contemporary topics along with the significance of such endeavours for policy making in India.

Prof Anup Kumar Sinha, in his inaugural speech, mentioned that the Planning Commission had been unsuccessful in bringing the transformation of India as projected, the major causes being corruption and faulty strategies. The Indian states pursued their self-interests instead of focusing on a common goal to take the nation forward. He added that the newly constituted National Institution for Transforming India (NITI) Aayog aims at shared vision and promotion of the concept of “cooperative federalism”. He stressed on the fact that the states should themselves take active part in development and poverty alleviation and there is a need to develop strong infrastructure to nurture the talent of the middle income group.

The researchers and the academicians presented their papers in two technical sessions based on the theme. The papers addressed the flaws in the Planning Commission, its ‘top-down’ decision making approach in contrast to the ‘bottom-up’ approach stressed by the Aayog, and the expectations from the Aayog.

The chairpersons for the two sessions were Prof Ratan Kumar Ghosal, Vice President, BEA, and Sandip Kumar Paul, Principal, South City College respectively. The chief commentators for the sessions were Biswajit Guha and Baniprasad Bhattacharyya, EC member, BEA. The commentators presented their annotations on each paper, while referring to the paradigm shift in the context of planning in India.

International Management Institute, Kolkata in cooperation with leading corporate giants like Coal India Limited (CIL), Hindustan Copper Limited (HCL), Garden Reach Ship Builders & Engineers Limited (GRSE) and UCO Bank in view to ensuring wider outreach for creation of awareness on corruption, and its effects amongst the youth and college students, organized an event on the 16th October which brought together some of the great minds and professionals in the field. The Chief Vigilance Officers of CIL,Shri Manoj Kumar (IAS);HCL, Sri Rakesh Kumar and UCO Bank, Sri Hargovind Sachdev,inspired the students with their great speeches on ethics, values, morality and effective vigilance to curb corruption.

Mr. Rakesh Kumar, Chief Vigilance Officer, HCL and Mr. Hargovind Sachdev, General Manager and Chief Vigilance Officer, UCO Bank presented a brilliant talk on the vigilance mechanism and enthused the students of IMI to focus on building a strong character foundation based on integrity and ethical values.

With a view to enrich the seminar through interaction and student participation, IMI in collaboration with the four corporates,CIL, UCO Bank, GRSE and HCL had organized debate competition for the students on four topics which were

1. Corruption can be curbed only by strict punitive action.
2. Only education can help in eliminating the evil of corruption.
3. Corruption is mainly confined to government organizations.
4. Only Government agencies can play effective role in curbing corruption.

The passion and enthusiasm among students bore testimony to the inspiration that the brilliant speakers had given to the students of IMI. The winnersof the competition were rewarded with certificates and cash prizes. The event in a big way lived upto the purpose and efforts of one and all involved.

The Alumni Relationship Committee, IMI-Kolkata takes great pride and pleasure in hosting its First Alumni Meet on 14th November, 2015. The meet was attended by alumni working at esteemed positions in companies such as: PwC India , CESC Limited, Glatfelter to name a few. The Director, Dr. Arindam banik , Deans and heads of various departments, faculty members and staff gathered for the program.

All Alumni members would get access to e-learning and library resources from #IMIK. IMI Konnect, the Management Magazine of IMI-Kolkata was to be circulated among all Alumni and Research Articles by alumni were invited for Global Business Review publication.

On a much anticipated Friday morning  witnessed an insightful session on  where various dignitaries like Geetha Shantha Ram- Director of MOE- aided DAS literacy programme and staff professional development, Divya Jalan- Trustee, President of Dyslexia trust of Kolkata, Dr. Shashi Panja- Medical Practitioner, Minister of State Women and Child Welfare, Dr. Tridib Banerjee – Medical Practitioner and Honorable Chief Minister of West Bengal, Smt. Mamata Banerjee decked the stage. The session started off with the lighting of lamp, post which Geetha Shantha Ram and Divya Jalan addressed the crowd where they spoke about the detection of the symptoms of dyslexia at an early stage and the measures that needs to be adopted to help curing it. There is no medicine to dyslexia and parents and teachers should treat dyslexic kids as norm rather than exception. According to them an early intervention to address reading problems is important. Parents must understand that children with dyslexia can learn normally, but probably need to learn in different ways than children without the condition. Teaching should be individualized and may involve modeling letters and words in clay or other three-dimensional techniques to help the child learn letters and words. Education system should give concession to such students and help them reach their optimum potential and give them wings to fly. We all should join hands to win the fight against dyslexia. This was followed by the speech of our Honorable Chief Minister, Smt. Mamata Banerjee where she mentioned that there has to be a solution to every problem and where there is no problem there is no life. She emphasized on the importance of various Social Media platforms like Facebook, Twitter etc in creating awareness on such an extraneous matter and thanked the “Breaking Through Dyslexia” foundation to take such an initiative. She focused on the fact that diagnosis of a problem at its inception is the most important task. Once the problem is identified there is definitely a solution to it. She infused the crowed with enthusiasm by saying that there is nothing in this world that is impossible, we should always take these small initiatives today so that the world will remember us tomorrow.

Open MDP at IMI-Kolkata

Date : 10 Dec 2015 To 12 Dec 2015

Duration: 3 days

Programme Director : Sarojakshya Chatterjee

Encouraged by the success of our quality programme delivery in the past, IMI-Kolkata had conducted another three days MDP on ‘Departmental Enquiry’ jointly with Vigilance Study Circle Kolkata Chapter from 10th to 12th December 2015 mainly for the middle and senior level executives of PSUs and PSBs. 45 executives from 20 different organisations across the country had participated and interacted in the workshop. In addition to our own faculty members, the resource persons were highly experienced in the field and knowledgeable executives from Central Vigilance Commission, Delhi.

The workshop was inaugurated by Shri R.C. Takkar, MD & CEO of UCO Bank, who encouraged the participants with his vibrant speech. Welcome note was delivered by Dr. Arindam Banik, Director IMI-Kolkata, which was highly cherished by the participants followed by brief speech by Shri Manoj Kumar (IAS), CVO of Coal India and President of Vigilance Study Circle Kolkata who shared his ideas and experience of Vigilance management. The workshop rolled on minutes after the inaugural lamp was lit.

The feedback received was very encouraging raising demand for more such workshops. One of the participant even insisted on having the complete MDP calendar so that they can nominate more people for such programmes in future.

In Company For LIC Executives

Date : 07 Jan 2016 To 09 Jan 2016

Duration: 3 days

Programme Director : Rachana Chattopadhyay, Sarojakshya Chatterjee

Owing to the success of the effective tailor made executive training programme for the officers of LIC conducted in the past coupled with excellent encouraging feedback, IMI Kolkata got the opportunity to conduct the 4th MDP for the Executives of LIC of India in the current year. Total 40 participants, both residential and non-residential all being Branch Managers & Branch Officers had enrolled themselves for the training.

The programme was inaugurated by Mr. Suparno Chakraborty, Regional Manager (HRD, Eastern Region) of LIC of India. Director of IMI Kolkata Dr. Arindam Banik delivered the welcome addressal to the participants in which he spoke about the benefit of this programme in long run. Dr. Sarojakshya Chatterjee (Dean MDP) while extending vote of thanks explained the salient features of the programme and its effectiveness to combat the upcoming competitions. The workshop rolled on minutes after the inauguration ceremony concluded.

Similar to the earlier workshops, this programme too was highly applauded by the participants which they shared during the open valedictory session. They insisted on elongating the workshop for a week rather than squeezing it in just three days. The feedback received at the end of the programme was very encouraging with high level of appreciation.

Open MDP at IMI-Kolkata

Date : 28 Jan 2016 To 30 Jan 2016

Duration: 3 days

Programme Director : Sarojakshya Chatterjee

Looking to the corporate demand from large number of PSUs, IMI-Kolkata has designed a new MDP in consultation with Vigilance Study Circle Kolkata on “Effective Public Procurement” for the first time. It was an open workshop for three days attended by 39 senior and middle level executives from 19 PSUs and 2 PSBs, most of which are Navaratna and Miniratna companies.

Sri. M.K. Singh, CMD- Bridge & Roof Company Ltd. was the chief guest who had inaugurated the programme along with Sri Manoj Kumar (IAS) CVO – Coal India. Dr. Arindam Banik, Director IMI Kolkata delivered the welcome speech to the participants. Sri M.K. Singh shared his wide experience and knowledge as well as explained the need for such workshops. Dr. Sarojakshya Chatterjee, the Programme director, while delivering the vote of thanks explained about spirit and content of this innovative MDP and emphasized the imperative need for learning opportunity on such important and relevant topics. In addition to our faculty members, eminent and highly experienced resource persons like Mr. V. Ramachandran advisor Coal India Limited, Mr. M.P Juneja additional member Railway Board and former Chief Technical Examiner (CTE) as well as Mr. V.K. Gupta Ex- CTE, CVC, both came down all the way from Delhi and shared their knowledge & experiences during the sessions in the form of Case Studies which were very interactive. Arindam Bhattacharjee Dy. Manager E- Procurement Cell- MSTC Ltd. also took few sessions on E- Procurement.

The three days’ workshop ended with lot of appreciation and acknowledgement by the participants during valediction. The participants have highly rated the workshop and mentioned that they need more such programmes on Procurement.