The second and final day of IIM Raipur’s orientation program provided the newly admitted students an exposure to the corporate world. The students of the 10th batch of Post Graduate Programme in Management and 8th Batch of Fellow Programme in Management got an opportunity to interact with the experts from academia & industry and gained insights that would help them in the course of the next two years.
The Day started with a panel discussion, moderated by Prof. Jagrook Dawra on the topic, ‘Industry expectations from new managers’ in order to familiarize the students with the current expectations of the corporate world. The students were privileged to have inputs from the esteemed panel which included industry stalwarts Mr. Pankaj Suri Director (HR),Edeiman; Mr. Ramakrishna Rama Director(Software Engg), Dell; Mr. Vikash Saraf, Director and Team Head(East India), SCB. The panel was moderated by Prof. Jagrook Dawra
Prof. Jagrook Dawra opened the discussion by introducing a new framework comprising of traits, attributes and skills to define the topic. He further explained how today’s managers in their 20’s and early 30’s seek global outlook, need instant gratification and rewards and yearn to become CEO’s.
Mr. Ramakrishna Rama explained how Vision, Value, and clarity are long lived . He further added that even though business process can be automated, emotional understanding can’t be attained. Technology is a tool to bring more productivity, but emotions can’t be and here is where we need managers. “Gone are those days when you bring a fantastic product and you rule the market, today you need excellence in operations, marketing and all other sectors to attain success”, he said.
Mr. Vikash Saraf then shared his thoughts on how attitude is the key factor for success in today’s world. He stated that right attitude has more value than knowledge and enumerated how aligning to people with different backgrounds is a must for a manager.
Mr. Pankaj Suri Director (HR),Edeiman drove home the importance and value of communication skills using relevant analogies. He further added that one should be aware of their competence and liking and should learn to maintain a balance between the two.
This was followed by a talk by Ms Rama Moondra, Corporate trainer, Alumnus IIM Calcutta. Ms Rama motivated the students by telling them that world is not entitled to anybody and they should learn to cope with it. She further assured them that whatever skills they learn today will be very essential for their career and future as business leaders tomorrow. The talk was followed by an Alumni interaction. Ms Anupama Bharadwaj (Ultratech), Alumnus IIM Raipur and Mr Llevyn Fernandis, Alumnus IIM Raipur interacted with the newly admitted batch advising them based on their experiences in the campus.
Post lunch, the second panel discussion on the topic, “Career Progression in Management: Key Factors and Challenges” was organised. The esteemed panellists included Mr Sharath Babu, Director, Product Development, Oracle; Mr Navin Patel, Head (Talent Acquisition), Brillio. The panel was moderated by Prof. P.R.S Sarma , Chairperson, Student Affairs, IIM Raipur.
The much anticipated panel discussion commenced with Prof. Sarma kick-starting the session in an extremely lively manner. Career progression is one of the most sought after things in the corporate and the budding MBAs were all ears to assimilate as many learnings and tips from these industry experts.
Mr Sharath Babu stressed on the importance of consistency in performance at the very beginning of the discussion. It is common to have bursts of brilliance but one must be vary and not fall prey to complacency. He stated “Consistency is the key to progression”. Mr Sharath also spoke about taking ownership and accountability and managing the crisis on your own. These are signs of a manager who is eligible for progression and growth. Finally, he emphasised on not just being oblivious but active in observing the eco-system. He inspired students to be change agents, be the drivers of change instead of just tackling change.
Mr Navin Patel focussed on the importance of keeping an open mind-set towards continuous learning throughout one’s career. He beautifully put forth his learnings through illustrating his own experiences in the corporate. He spoke about the importance of networking, people management and keeping your stakeholders happy. Mr Patel encouraged the students to choose areas that excite them and be explorative in that particular area.
The Panel discussion also focussed on interesting current day topics such as the issues and challenges due to the advance of technology. The panel wonderfully brought out how the phrase “Change is a constant” is now changing to “Change is accelerating” and thereby stressing on the importance of change management. The discussion was followed by a dynamic Q&A session after which the students dispersed for a short break
During the latter part of the day, students were introduced to the concept of “learning through cases”. The students were engaged by esteemed faculty members of IIM Raipur, Prof. Mohit Goswami, Prof. Parikshit Charan, Prof. Satyasiba Das and Prof. Sumeet Gupta. The Students were given a flavour of one of the best parts of a B-school classroom.
At the end of this long day, the students of the PGP 19-21 batch were treated with a cultural presentation organised by Rang: the Cultural Club of IIM Raipur. The fun-filled session included melodious music performances and an entertaining quiz conducted by the Quizzing Club of IIM Raipur. The Batch of 19-21 was now inspired ready and to take on the challenges and rigour demanded by a B-school.
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