Iris, IIM ? Indore?s much-awaited annual management festival dazzled all from the 10th to the 13th of November this year with its much bigger and more exciting revamped avatar. Unmistakably one of the finest B-school events across the country, IRIS 2005 saw active participations from the top 30 B-Schools in India, with Rs. 6 lakh being given away as prize money.
 The Iris zeal spread in campuses all over the country a whole month before the actual event, as participations poured in for the preliminary rounds and I-rising, the online series of quizzes, puzzles and crosswords. However, the four action-packed days of Iris were worth the month-long excitement across campuses. IRIS, in its true spirit as a festival, was an assembly of talents on a platform that is very close to the stark reality that is seen in the corporate world. In line with this years theme of the confluence of the four elements, earth, fire, air and water, every event at Iris was not just about fun but an opportunity to ingrain, instil, ignite, immerse and finally inspire one to strive for nothing but the best. The four days of Iris 2005 had the IIM-Indore campus buzzing with contagious enthusiasm, verve and activity from the break of dawn to the wee hours of next morning as the students let down their hair after midnight and soaked in the fun at the late night Informals.
A surprise hit at IRIS 2005 was the online puzzle game Klueless, which began as a part of Irising, the 30 day on-line build-up to IRIS. Today, two months after IRIS is over, Klueless is a huge hit; experiencing 12 million clicks a month, and has generated vast acclaim on online quizzing communities.
 Iris 2005 was formally inaugurated by Mr Aseem Sharma, the Asia Head of Corning International. Day one saw the participants from the best schools fighting it out in the prelims and finals of Chain reaction, a supply chain management game and Exquizzit, the quizzing challenge. The winners were from NMIMS and IIM-A respectively. Interspersed between the games were the crazy events from the Informals section. Throughout the four days Informals showcased games like ?Bounty Hunter?, the treasure hunt that makes you explore the cryptic innards of IIM-I, ?Slide Rulz?, a fun event where you present someone else?s presentation impromptu and ?Potpourri?, which is literally that ? a potpourri of anything and everything under the sun like cricket, badminton, face-painting, egg catching and so on. Late in the night just as everyone thought that it couldn?t get any better, the Iris welcome bash began and rocked the campus till the wee hours of the morning.
 Day two had Iris in full swing. The day started with the case contests Cerebrate (Finance & HR) and Papyrus (Marketing). Hours of intellectually stimulating presentations later, it was SPJIMR, XLRI and IIM-I who won the contest. Money was on a roll as the financial games like Bank on Us, Invested Interest and the simulated stock market game, Bulls n Bears followed. It was IIM-I who managed to design the best investment plans and walk away with the prize. The atmosphere at the made up trading floor at IIM-Indore was feverish with excitement as Bull n Bears had all the future Dalal Street movers and shakers made quick judgements as they cashed in on the movements of the markets. After the long session of frayed nerves and hoarse voices, it was MDI who emerged winners. Day two also had ?Entrepreneurs Talk?, a series wherein entrepreneurs like Mr Alok Kejriwal of contests2win.com, Mrs Rashmi Bansal of JAM magazine and Mr Allwyn Agnel of pagalguy.com elucidated on the journey they had embarked on since they blazed into the entrepreneurial scene creating dreams fuelled by ambition and extraordinary insights. The day ended with Shamanth, an IITian from Canbay winning the Ronin finals which stretched on till 4 in the morning as the best quizzers in the country fought out alone. Conducted by Satyajit Chetri, a known name in the quizzing circuits, Ronin was one event that had every quizzing enthusiast present enthralled and overwhelmed.
Day three started with FMS and IIM-B winning the IT and Strategy section of Cerebrate and Papyrus respectively. ?It?s not a question of whether or not but when and how?, was what emerged out of the impassioned corporate panel discussion on ?Shift in Balance of Power from Brand Owner to Retailer? at ?Insight? at Iris. The panel comprised of Mr K. S. Ramesh (CEO, Cavin Kare Ltd.), Mr. Harish Bijoor (CEO, Harish Bijoor Consults Inc.) and Mr. Gibson Vedamani, (CEO, Retailers Association of India) representing the viewpoints of all concerned with the current trends in retailing and branding. . The panellists had insightful contributions as they thrashed out finer concerns such as the challenges faced by traditional FMCG marketers due to changes in the retail landscape, the effects of the emergence of modern trade and the approaching demise of mass marketing as we know it.
 Day three however was the day of the Ashwamedha finals, the flagship event of IRIS in which all the elements swirl together and push up the benchmark in search of the real leader- the only one with the perfect blend of the personality attributes and management acumen that separates the leaders from the followers. . With prize money of Rs. 1,00,000 for the ultimate warrior alone, Ashwamedha is an event where the winner takes it all. It?s no wonder then that the auditorium was jam-packed as the audience watched with bated breath, Manzur Nazimuddin from IIM Ahmedabad clear the final hurdle and emerge as the Ashwamedha winner. ?Meet the Press?, a new entrant at Iris gave all an insight into the influence of communication as many teams struggled to manage their assigned company?s public relations in the face of crises and the questioning press. The day ended the team from SCMHRD and MICA showing insight and creativity as they succeeded in the finals of Adapt, the advertising game.
 The final day started with Jaspreet Chandok and Kanav Rishi Kaul winning the marketing strategy game, Marksman finals. The closing ceremony of IRIS 2005 was complimented by an address by one of the eminent personalities of the world of Investment Banking ? Philip Jackson, Managing Director, JP Morgan, Investment Banking, Asia. For the benefit of the young management students which largely comprised his audience, Mr. Jackson advised that it is important to choose a growing industry and the right organization within it as there is nothing more demoralizing than just kicking time from the time you enter the office till you leave. While introducing Investment banking, he gave an outline of various financial services currently spanning the globe, like Retail Financial Services, Fund Management, Commercial Banking, Asset Management, Treasury and Security Services. In his capacity as a global leader, he commented that the world is moving towards India and the fast development of communications and reduction in the cost of technology are expediting the process. After the closing ceremony there was a literal gold rush as WordWar, the negotiations game and StoreWars, the retail marketing game finals were conducted.
A distinctive feature of all the events at IRIS was that they were conceived, designed and developed in-house by the students of IIM Indore. In the words of the coordinator, Prashant Goyal, ?Iris is completely student-driven. What happens in the festival is a student decision ? from the funding to the conceptualization it is all done by the participants. We get a lot of inputs and help from our faculty whilst designing the event but they also leave it to us. It is truly an exercise in management!!? Iris 2005 thus ended on a high note and with words of appreciation from all the external participants. Iris 2005 held true to its reputation for hospitality and professionalism.
To visit Iris 2005 website, click here |
