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The synergy of management and education, the flagship management-cultural fest of IIM Indore—IRIS was held at the Institute from November 18-20, 2016. The three day fest brought together around 7000 participants for more than 24 competitions, creating an amalgamation of talent and action and developing a platform for the youth to explore their talents.
The inaugural ceremony took place in the presence of Mr. Sanjay Behl, CEO, Raymond India and Professor Rishikesha T. Krishnan, Director, IIM Indore. Professor Krishnan in his welcome address appreciated the efforts put in by the IRIS team members. He said that IRIS is one of the biggest fests conducted by IIM Indore and plays an important role in enhancing the soft skills of all the students.
This was followed by the talk by Mr. Sanjay Behl, CEO, Raymond India; which revolved around the advancement in technology and how these changes have rapidly changed our lifestyle. Discussing about the connection between technology and businesses in India, he noted that in the current scenario, for a business to be successful, it should have a strategy which is more flexible and adaptable to the drastic changes. He encouraged the students to learn outside the classrooms as well, as he believed that classroom lessons are a small part of skill development, but fests like IRIS help a student evolve in a better manner.
Talks:
The fest witnessed a Speaker Series with the most brilliant minds from various segments of the industry.
- Satyajit Bhatkal, Creator & Director, Satyamev Jayate
Talking about Paani Foundation—the non-profit organization set up by Aamir Khan and Kiran Rao in early 2016 in order to work towards creating a drought-free Maharashtra, Mr. Bhatkal mentioned about various activities undertaken by the organization related to rain water harvesting and construction of natural damns for supplying water to the villages; and how the activities created an impact in the Maharashtra region. He also spoke about female feticide and raised concerns about the difference in the sex ratio of the country.
- Satvinder S. Madhok, ED, JPMC
Mr. Madhok Shared his views on slowdown in economy, wealth osmosis, industrial revolution 4.0, skill Indian campaign and automation altogether; and how they affect the Indian economy. He also suggested fixing the flaws in banking system and how to fix them. He mentioned the ways to build skill sets, stay focused on health issues and how to eradicate problems like water scarcity.
- (Mrs.) Janak Palta McGilligan, Social Worker & Padma Shree Awardee
Dr. Palta spoke about her experiences in the field of sustainability and women empowerment. She spoke extensively of how she had incorporated sustainability in Barli Institute alone with her husband Mr. Jimmy McGilligan. She concluded encouraging people to take the plunge into social work.
- Mahesh Murthy, Marketer, Pinstorm, Ogilvy
Mr. Mahesh Murthy’s talk revolved around various companies and the reason behind their successful marketing. He discussed about how particular companies become dominant in their segments—how they emerge, they establish, take a direction, move ahead and finally start leading the segment. His talk concluded with a Q&A session where the participants asked Mr. Murthy about entrepreneurship and how marketing can be beneficial for a young start-up.
- Rahul Razdan, CEO, Reliance Jio Messaging Services Pvt. Ltd.
Being the alum of IIM Indore, Mr. Razdan mentioned how IRIS came into origin and how exciting the fest-planning was. ‘This is a homecoming for me. Moments like these make feel like featuring in a story I wrote many years back’, he said. Mentioning about how disruption has affected our lives, Mr. Razdan said that in today’s scenario, innovations are hard to find. Everything one thinks about, has already been done or thought of in a different manner previously, hence we now need to start creating paths which have never been created and not walk or renovate the old paths, he noted.
- K. Radhakrishnan—Former Chairman, ISRO
Mr. K. Radhakrishnan discussed about the Indian space technology and the advancements which took place in the past few years. He mentioned resilience to failures in space technology missions through—Preparedness, Review, Reflect, Revive and Accountability. He also focused on various reasons why ISRO makes a difference to the country and how what impacts it has globally.
- Chaitali Moitra, MD, Harper Collins (India)
Ms. Chaitali Moitra talked about how a person should make choices in professional life and take steps to attain leadership. ‘There are times in your life when you need to decide between two things—and both may be important and bring a change in your life, but then you need to take the option which would bring you success not only immediately, but also in long run. You need to stay confident and stay firm on the decisions taken, be brave enough to stay upright and face any challenges which would arise’, she said.
- Yogendra Singh, Paramvir Chakra Awardee
Mr. Yadav discussed about the importance of management in the Indian army, especially during wars. He spoke about his experience in the Kargil War and how the army braved an immensely challenging terrain. He shared various ups and downs, losing and winning during the war. He concluded his talk by encouraging all the participants to remember the motherland India, no matter where they are living, remember to be an Indian first before anything else, and remember to live for the country.
- Rajeev Gowda, MP, Rajya Sabha
Mr. Gowda’s talk revolved around his own journey in politics and how politics has changed over the time. He also shared his personal experiences and his transition from his journey from academics to politics. He noted that education has a major role to play in country’s development and that the young minds today are too brilliant and efficient to be the bright future of the country, and take the nation to heights.
- Atul Kulkarni, Actor
Mr. Kulkarni interacted with the IIM Indore students and the IRIS participants from various other colleges. Mr. Kulkarni engaged the audience answering questions about his personal and professional life, his thoughts on the education system, and his ups and downs in the professional life. Explaining why he prefers living a very simple life, with not much luxury or electronic gadgets, Mr. Kulkarni said—‘I feel that our lives are dictated by things and other people nowadays. We should have our own definition of life—how we want it to be, what are the things we need, and what is just not required. I sit on the ground at my place, don’t own a sofa, climb up the stairs for five floors every single time and try finding functional fitness in this simple life. I believe that beauty lies in the emptiness of the house, but people try to fill in their houses.’
Workshop:
The fest also witnessed a workshop by Global Action on Poverty (GAP) in the event-Kalpvriksha, which had Mr. Madan Padaki, Co-founder, CEO & Managing Director, Head Held High Services and Co-founder & Director, Sylvant Advisors; Mr. Pankaj Dixit, Head, Coachinf Programme at GAP and Dr. (Mrs.) Janak Palta McGilligan, Social Worker & Padma Shree Awardee as the guests. The workshop focused on addressing specific issues related to social enterprises—marketing, professionalism and human resources, etc. The speakers urged the participants to be specific about their goals, target audience, milestones and requirements in order to be successful in their endeavors to create a better society. The workshop was full of insightful ideas and helped the participants gain clarity about their work.
Guinness World Record
IRIS has become synonymous with Guinness World Records, where every year the IRIS team tries to create a world record which gives a social message as well is in line with the sponsor’s activities. This year the team attempted for the largest condom mosaic record, to create awareness about the issues which go unaddressed and people are afraid of talking about.
Events:
The three day event witnessed many cultural, management and literary events like Advaita, Fin League, Gordian Knot, Drona, My Campaign, Zero One Infinity, Chanakya, Laavanya, Kalpvriksha, Ashwamedha, AdApt, and Lasya. The events created a platform for all the participants to explore their talents and enhance their skills under the guidance of esteemed judges.
The fest had a musical and heart-throbbing performance by Coke Studio on November 19, 2016. The performances by Mr. Nikhil D’Souza mesmerized the audience with his melodious songs and the beats vibrating across the campus.
Closing Ceremony:
The closing ceremony had Mr. Warren Patrick (Chief Learning Officer) and Mr. Ajay Kumar (Executive Director) of Yes Bank and Professor Rishikesha T. Krishnan, Director, IIM Indore as the guests. Professor Krishnan welcomed the guests and appreciated the IRIS team for all its efforts to make the event a huge success.
Mr. Patrick appreciated the efforts put in by IIM Indore, to produce such efficient and young managers capable of successfully organizing a big event. ‘It reminds me of my graduation days when I see IRIS—full of entrepreneurship skills, innovation and creativity’, he said.
He discussed about the three most important things he learnt during his MBA and career. The first thing he mentioned was that the problem solving capacity with a calm mind, training self at regular basis and development exposure along with having a ownership at your workplace are very important. ‘The second thing I feel is very important in our lives is having a thought process full of innovation and making decisions from the right side of the brain, which is called to be creative’, he noted. He said that entrepreneurship will produce billionaires in the coming years and Indore will surely be one of the biggest entrepreneurial hub; creating jobs in the presence of IIT and IIM. ‘For budding entrepreneurs, spirit and inspiration are the most necessary factors. One should pursue their dreams as long as it takes, focus on the strategy, stay focused and never be scared of failure. The harder you work, the luckier you get’, Mr. Patrick concluded with a success mantra for the participants.
This was followed by the closing address by the fest coordinators.
The fest concluded with the most rocking evening of the fest with the Pro Night—a performance by SUNBURN, enthralling the audience from the entire campus and the visitors from the city as well. The entire fest came to a closure late night, with a lot of enthusiasm, team spirit and sportsmanship and lot of memories to cherish.
