FOREWORD

The theme for this issue of Prameya is “Tapping the Untapped”. The newsletter starts with an article focusing on the Emergence of Rural Marketing in India with an in depth 7 P analysis and a case in point of Amul’s “Cause Branding”. Indian rural markets today offer immense opportunity and if tapped effectively will result in harnessing the fortune at the bottom of the pyramid.

PRAMEYA is the VOICE of WeSchool and the students’ official bimonthly newsletter of Prin L.N. Welingkar Institute of Management Development and Research, Bengaluru. The name Prameya comes from the sanskrit word “Pra-ma” meaning, an object of exact knowledge.

The faculty interview section captures our marketing faculty, Professor Shekar Prabhkar’s views on the theme. This is followed by the , events on campus during the months of September and October 2012 - The National Case Teaching and Case Writing Workshop, the Roundtables in the disciplines of Marketing, Finance and Operations and the We Cafes.

Prameya is now on Facebook, Twitter & Youtube. We wish you all a very happy read...

This issue details the activities of the Management Development Cell. The Alumni connect, students achievements and the Celebrations at campus are also highlighted. The issue wraps up with the activities of the WeSchool Rotaract Club and the entertainment section for all.

INDEXGroup Director’s Address and Dean’s Address 1 WeSchool: Building the Future Leaders 2The Emergence of Rural Marketing in India 3Faculty Interview with Prof. Shekar Prabhakar 6The National Case Teaching and Case Writing Workshop 9Management Development Programs 11Round Tables • When India turns 29 on 2020 13 • Leveraging Customer Data to Drive Business Strategy 14 • Arthakul – Corporate Governance and its Issues 15 • Operations – The Art of TQM 16We Café with Mr Vijay Ratnaparkhe 17We Café with Ms. Apala Lahiri Chavan 18We Connect: The Alumni Clique 19We Achievers 21Celebrations - Joga Bonito, Cyclothon and Ganesh Chaturthi 23Rotaract Activites: NHRD and RYLA 30K 25 Perspectives: Social Media Marketing Quiz and Doodle 27

Concept & DesignAnkur Nahata

On Field TeamMadhur NatalkarPreethi RaviPrathamesh AcharekarAkshay Chechani

EditorGautam Swaminathan

Faculty EditorDr. Sonia Mehrotra

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“We want the education by which character is formed, strength of mind is increased, intellect is expanded and by which one can stand on one’s own feet. Education is the manifestation of the perfection already in man”. – Swami Vivekananda

At Welingkar we are deeply inspired by these words of Swami Vivekananda. Today the role of education is to sensitize and develop the new generation to the needs of the country. Emerging unarticulated needs and realities need a new approach both in terms of thought and action. Cross disciplinary learning, discovering, scrutinizing, prototyping, learning to create and destroy- the mind’s eye needs to be nurtured and differently so.

WeSchool integrates design thinking in all aspects of teaching and learning. Students are provided global as well as rural exposures at the same time. Their engagement in several projects and initiatives such as D-magics, GRLI, SIFE, Udaan and Munijan have sensitized them to their role as an individual to make a difference and give back to the society.

Dr. Uday SalunkheGroup Director, WeSchool.

“The education which does not help the common mass of people to equip themselves for the struggle of life, which does not bring out the strength of character, a spirit of philanthropy, and the courage of a lion -- is it worth the name?” – Swami Vivekananda

I welcome you to the world of Welingkar.

These words of Swami Vivekananda are the core to the setting and evolving of all modes of learner centric education at WeSchool. WeSchool, Bengaluru, with half a decade presence in the Silicon Valley of India is today a well established Institute in Southern India. The Institute has flourished to provide three full time Postgraduate Diploma Programs in E-biz, Business Design and General Management and part- time Executive Education programs in Management. These programs are strengthened by the innovative curriculum, the mix of industry-academia faculty members, the diverse student base, the corporate connect, alumni connect and the social connect activities carried out at the campus.Prameya – the students’ magazine is yet another initiative that enhances the thinking, reflective and writing abilities of the students.

Dr. Anil Rao PailaDean & Director, WeSchool Bengaluru.

WeSchool: Building the future leadersWeSchool Bengaluru Honored at Asia Pacific HRM Congress 2012

WeSchool Bengaluru campus was conferred the “BEST EMERGING B-SCHOOL WITH LEADERSHIP AND INNOVATION FOCUS AND BEST DESIGN EMBEDDED VALUE FOR MONEY B-SCHOOL” at the Asia Pacific HRM Congress 2012 held on 6-7 September 2012 at Vivanta by Taj, Bengaluru. This two day Asia Pacific HRM Congress based on the theme “HR- Building the Future Leaders” was attended by some of the Industry honchos in the field of HR. Their sessions provided deep insights on varied topics such as “HR Leadership”, ”The Future of Work and HR Challenges”, ”Translating HR Strategies into Action” and so on. Dr. Anil Rao Paila - Dean WeSchool Bengaluru received the award on behalf of the Institute.

Dr Rao being felicitated at theAsia Pacific HRM Congress 2012 2

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The rural market in India is a huge unorganized market that offers opportunities in various domains. Since major of Indian population exists in rural segment, prospects of huge demand exists for the products offered by various companies or service providers. But at the same time there is a significant difference between the demand and supply patterns in these two segments the rural and the urban. This difference is primarily due to variances in Income level, expenditure capacity, tastes and preferences etc.

The Emergence of Rural Marketing India

These differences result in Gaps between Service provider and the service consumers of rural market segments. The mantra for successful strategy implementation in rural markets for service delivery is “Think Global Act Local”.

The five main service areas that have a tremendous potential in rural markets are broadly classified as :

• Agricultural Consultancy - Services about the best methods, timings and seasons, technology, tools, prices and best markets for selling their farming products.

• Banking, Microfinance and Loan facilities – Various loans like Agricultural, Housing, Automobile loans, Personal loans, Educational loans etc can be given to cater to the latent need of rural markets in India.

• Healthcare - The lack proper facilities for proper health care have resulted in a huge demand for medical and health facilities in rural markets, as there is large population in India that resides in rural areas.

• Telecomm Services - The government’s policies for reduced tariffs, call rates, lesser mobile handset prices and private participation involvement has helped in increasing the level of competition, continuous improvement in technology and thus has resulted in the growth of the rural telecomm market.

• Automobiles Services – Due to the huge increase in the number of two wheeler and four wheeler vehicles in the past few decades, a new segment of providing maintenance and repair services has been formed.With the change in the rural consumer preferences, the other unconventional sectors like Event Management, Low Cost hotels, Travel and reservation services, Educational and Career consultancy etc are some of the areas that seem to have an evolving scope in the rural markets.

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• Product - The Product (Services) provided to Rural customers differ from that of urban customer due to the fact that income level as well as savings pattern of the rural customer are lesser. Comparatively the customers of rural segment have more demand for agricultural loans. The duration of these loans, schemes and capacity also differs from that of urban customers.

• Price - The price of these services as expected by the rural customer is lesser as compared to urban customers and hence the risk is also reduced.

• Place - The place of availability is of very intense concern in rural markets due to lack of adequate and proper transportation facilities in rural India.

• Promotions - The promotional strategies in rural marketing need to be simple, customized and personalized as compared to urban markets. The promotional tools need to be customized according to the regional languages so that it clearly states the service details and benefits.

• Physical Evidence - The physical evidence provided to the rural segment differ from that of the urban markets as they need to be more simple, colourful, artistic and personalized as most of the rural customers lack adequate education.

• People – The people and staff appointed for the service delivery for rural banking services needs to be properly selected, recruited and trained to properly understand the rural customer’s needs and requirements. The employee involvement in the service delivery to the service (banking) sector is more in rural markets as the employees need to constantly educate and assist the customers about the service process, price, product and simultaneously communicate the benefits as well as the precautions and risks involved with the services being offered.

• Process - The process of rural banking differs from that of urban banking sector as it needs to be more simple and thus less documentation involved and more customized as per the economic capacity of the customers. The process of banking in rural markets is observed to be more affected by the Government policies and rural customer psychology driven.

Today cut throat competition in urban areas has compelled many companies to look for new, unexploited markets and rural India has emerged as an answer. Further, improvement in infrastructure prompted by government initiatives seems to have lowered entry barriers for many companies. At the same time rural India is insulated against global economic downturns, which adds to its attractiveness. For companies looking to tap this market, the 4P’s of the Marketing mix have given way to the 4 A’s of Rural Market Mix: Affordability, Awareness, Availability and Acceptability.

The rest of the article articulates the need and importance of Banking services in Rural Markets. Let us examine this sector on the basis of difference between Rural and Urban markets on the basis of the famous 7 P’s of services marketing:-

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Several companies trying to reach out to rural consumers are exploring alternative cost effective channels. Direct selling through company delivery vans, syndicated distribution between non-competitive marketers, setting up of temporary stalls in rural melas/haats are few successful examples. Use of stockists and their staff for effecting direct sales to rural consumers has also been found to be successful by companies like Hindustan Unilever / ITC / Colgate / Godrej.

Rural markets/mandis are emerging as the target centers for direct sales. BPCL introduced specially designed Rural Marketing Vehicle, which moved from villages to villages to fill cylinders on spot. Another innovative distribution model that merits mention is the Hindustan Unilever Limited’s (HUL) Shakti project, which connects Self-Help Groups (SHGs) with business opportunities. HUL promotes and uses the SHGs network present in the villages for increasing its sales in the rural areas. The SHGs are offered chance to become company’s local small scale distributor in the rural areas. The groups, typically of 15 to 20 people, buy a small stock of items such as soap, detergent or shampoo and then sell directly to consumers in their homes.

The model is a win-win for the company and the village SHG’s. Lower prices/smaller packaging has been the most common strategies adopted by FMCG companies to penetrate rural markets. HLL initiated “Operation Bharat” to tap tap rural market by rolling out low priced sample sachets of its toothpaste, fairness cream, shampoo, cream and other products. Urban products cannot be dumped into rural markets without modifications.

The rural audience better receives tailor-made products as the consumers feel empowered and tend to identify with the offering. Nokia had earlier launched Nokia 1100 mobile phones with a torch (large parts of rural India don’t have electricity) and an alarm clock. ITC’s “Choupal Sagar” is another initiative that not only sells personal care and household utility items, but also buys farm produce.

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Rural Marketing is an evolving concept, and if tapped properly could contribute significantly to the economy of the country. Today with the improved infrastructure allows the reach to the rural markets promising a bright future ahead. Today the divides between urban India and Rural Bharat does exist, however, with a silent revolution that has already begun, a seamless integration of rural and urban markets is underway. Once this happens the gulf that divides the two markets will become bridges.

Today’s market place has become cluttered with numerous brands. It has reached a saturation point where it is difficult for marketers to “out innovate” or “out advertise” competitors. Differentiation based on product quality and benefits is no longer effective as most of the offerings are identical thanks to technology. Moreover, consumers are more educated now and concerned about not only themselves but also the society they live in. As a result of all these developments, cause branding has emerged as an effective alternative to differentiate one’s offering from that of the competitor’s and at the same time building an emotional chord with the consumers by aligning business with social commitments.

AMUL: The Taste of India and Cause Branding

Amul’s birth is indelibly linked to the freedom movement in India. It was Sardar Vallabhbhai Patel who said that if the farmers of India are to get economic freedom then they must get out of the clutches of the ‘middlemen’. It was his vision to organize farmers, to have them gain control over production, procurement and marketing by entrusting the task of managing these to qualified professionals, thereby eliminating the middle men, the bane in farmers’ prosperity. Amul encompasses a huge network: collecting milk from almost 12 million farmers, testing it, grading it, transporting it twice a day from 100,000 villages over 10000 routes to about 200 dairy plants, processing it, packing it and sending it to the market in almost 800 big and small towns every single day of the year. Delivering wholesome nutrition to the consumers at the most reasonable prices to be seen anywhere in the world, while transferring the bulk of the value realized back to the farmer is a feat both in marketing as well as in social development.

The consumer sees Amul as a guarantor of assured quality and o value for his/her hard earned money. For co-operatives across India, Amul is an inspiration to excel in procurement, processing, marketing and brand building. The key reasons to Amul’s success were:

• Integration of the “cause” with the corporate value system and business model. “Without their involvement, we cannot succeed. With their involvement, we cannot fail...’’ remains Amul’s simple but fail-safe inspiration.

• Collaboration with other organizations - They formed the Gujarat Cooperative Milk Marketing Federation Limited (GCMMF Ltd.). GCMMF became the sole marketer of the original range of Amul products including milk powder and butter.

• Addressing a highly critical and visible social cause - For the farmers, Amul brings the power to direct their own destinies by empowering them and it involves employees at all levels as cause branding is a complete organizational effort.

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Educational Background 1984 - Graduated from Indian Institute of Technology (Madras) 1987 - Graduated from Indian Institute of Management (Kolkata)

Industry/Academic Experience 22 years of experience in the IT industry with positions in product management, sales and marketing in various leading companies like Wipro, Fujitsu ICIM, IBM, KPMG Consulting and Zensar. Currently associated with WeSchool Bengaluru as the Associate Professor of Marketing.

Research Interests IT Services business models, branding & services marketing. h t t p : / / m a r k e t i n g s h i k s h a .blogspot.com

Q. What is the scope of Rural Marketing in India with reference to the Vision India 2020?

Rural markets will grow equal to or greater than the urban markets in the next 20 years. As the impact of urbanization grows the lines between urban and rural markets will start diminishing. But if I were to foresee what was going to happen in the next 10 years, rural marketing would be the main stay for growth of companies specially consumer companies and consumer durable companies. Rural Marketing is an evolving concept, and if tapped properly could contribute significantly to the economy of the country.

Q. With the example of Amul and its Cause Branding, could you throw some light on marketing strategy of a rural market and whether the same strategy can be implemented in an urban market?

A lot of rural marketing today is also called development marketing and development marketing is something like what Amul does or what ITC E-choupal does. Amul, for example, targets the livelihood of rural India. Amul’s success lies in empowering millions of humble Indian milk producers and utilizes the potential at the bottom of the pyramid.

It does not necessarily target them as consumers. It does target the urban customers as consumers meanwhile the production is done in rural India which provides for and improves the livelihood of rural folk. So they have two different set of population with whom they work. While ITC e-choupal is trying to develop rural farmers as well as sell back to them. In this case the target population is same as the population they are trying to help develop.

FACULTY INTERVIEWProf. Shekar Prabhakar shared his views about the Emergence of Rural Marketing in India over the years. Here’s what sir had to say in an exclusive interview with Team Prameya:

“”

My end goal in teaching is to bring out the passion for marketing.

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Q. Any innovations that are made for rural markets, do you think if successful, could also be implemented in urban markets too?

There are two ways to look at this. One is to look at social economic levels so things that you innovate for rural India based on social economic income levels of the rural folk; for example the sachets are transferable to urban India. But something like ITC E-choupal may not be transferable easily in urban area. So now again there might be innovations which work very well in rural India, for example solar power, solar panels which give electricity to homes might have a big market in rural India but may not have such a big market in urban India because of various constraints and homes not being their own, shacks and slum not being their own and so on. So while rural India will definitely see innovations which are specific to it, for example Philips handheld hand wound radio is used a lot in rural India because of problems of electricity while in urban India people may not need the same because there is more regular power in urban India. So as to say not all innovations are easily transferable between the two. But yes some innovations as the sachets have target population in both the markets.

Q. Marketing as a subject has a lot of theory and some might find it a bit dry and difficult to specialize in, but you as a Professor keep your lectures interesting. Is this teaching style something you have adapted over the years or was this always your style of teaching?

I do believe that marketing as a subject is mostly common sense. My teaching style has evolved over the time. I have always taught using Case based approach, infact now I have stopped using power point presentations completely. For example I engage more with students and I challenge them to think about questions that need answers. I feel that at the end of the day my job is to make people interested not in marketing as a function but in looking at the world around them and seeing where marketing plays a role in their daily lives. My end goal in teaching is to bring out the passion for marketing. Personally I do not agree on Marketing is a dry subject and, students who share the same opinion and have the passion for marketing are always welcome in my classroom.

Q. What is your recommendation for budding marketers? Any special tips to make the best of the opportunities that a WeSchool student receives?

Three advices I would like to give,

First, the students these days must catch on with some good reading. Reading is extremely important in my opinion whether it is business books, business daily’s, business magazines and so on. Second. engage in doing as many live projects as one can. Third advice would be to do some blog writing or articles as writing forces you to consolidate your thoughts and articulate them better. I would encourage students to do some writing on their own.

The Centre of Excellence for Case Development (CECD) at Prin. L.N. Welingkar Institute of Management, Development and Research organized a two day National “Case Teaching and Case Writing” Workshop at Bengaluru campus on 16 and 17 October 2012.

The CECD of the Institute has been working towards contributing to the learner centric education aligned with the Institute’s vision. The workshop was yet another effort in this direction. This two day workshop commenced on Day 1 -16 October 2012 with a session on ‘Why Case Based Teaching’ by Dr. Sonia Mehrotra – Head CECD, WeSchool. This was followed by sessions on Effective case based teaching by Dr. DVR Seshadri - Head of Marketing, IIM Bengaluru. These sessions provided the participants an excellent opportunity to understand and practice the case based teaching methodology. There were unique pointers on the nuances of planning and execution of successful case discussions, working with the dynamics of case classroom and meeting the multiple challenges of discussion leadership.

Dr Rao facilitating Dr. DVR Seshadri Head of Marketing - IIM Bengaluru

The National Case Teaching & Case Writing Workshop

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The Day 2, 17 October 2012, was dedicated to discussions on Case writing. These sessions were conducted by Dr. L.S. Murty, Core Faculty of Production & Operations Management at IIM Bengaluru. The participants were given live exercises guiding them on developing an initial case draft into a finished case. These sessions were followed by a session by Mr. Venkatesh Iyer- CEO- Goli Vada Pav Pvt. Ltd. who brought in the company perspective of the importance of a case study on his company. The final concluding remarks of the workshop were given by Dr. Anil Rao – Dean WeSchool and Regional Vice President- AIMS.

Dr Anil Rao felicitating Mr. Venkatesh Iyer, CEO - Goli Vada Pav P Ltd

10Group photo – Participants – National Case Teaching and Case Writing Workshop

Dr. Sonia Mehrotra- Head CECD & Dr. Kamal Ghose, Director Symbosis Institute of Business Management

The workshop was well received by the participants. The feedback provided by the participants detailed the selection of the facilitators, the workshop content and activities during the sessions as among the highest rated during the two day workshop. The workshop was attended by 31 faculty participants and 1 participant from corporate (RBEI).

Management Development Programs

The Management Development Programs function as a catalyst in enabling participants from the industry to understand and appreciate the latest industry offerings. WeSchool Bengaluru offers tailor-made programs customized to the corporate needs in the form of Long Term General Management Programs and Short Term Workshops. The institute’s Management Development Center (MDC) headed by Prof. AKN Prasad started its Junior Management Leadership Program (JMLP) in 2008 for Infosys BPO Ltd. offering a rigorous, accelerated and innovative course structure for the young individuals who are working as Junior Level Executives in Infosys BPO Ltd. This JLMP is unique and first of its kind in the country exclusively designed by WeSchool, Bengaluru for Infosys BPO Junior level management team conducted in the Infosys campus.

Photo session with the guests of honor from Infosys BPO and Dr Anil Rao Paila 11

Activities of MDP during the Period of August – October 2012A five day Entrepreneurial India Familiarization workshop was conducted for the NOC (NUS Overseas College) students from 8th to 14th of August mentored by WeSchool faculty members.

A three day workshop from 22nd to 24th August, 2012 on “Supply Chain Management and Logistics“ was conducted at WeSchool, Bengaluru for the Infosys BPO Junior level Executives. The sessions for this meticulously designed program were conducted by Prof. AKN Prasad, Prof. Murali Mohan and Prof. Cavale of WeSchool, Bengaluru.

On 27th September 2012, the JMLP convocation for the Fifth batch of students was held at WeSchool Campus. The chief guest for the convocation was Mr. Ravi Panchanandan, Head – Strategic Business Unit – Manufacturing, Head – Training Council, Infosys BPO Ltd. The guests of honor were Mr. Raghavendran K., VP & Head – HR, Infosys BPO Ltd. and Mr.Amit Nagpal, Head-Training, Infosys BPO Ltd. The function was presided by Dr. Anil Rao Paila, Dean and Director - Welingkar, Bengaluru.

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The Management Development Programs offered by WeSchool Bengaluru have not only taken knowledge to a higher level by offering nuggets of quality education to corporate executives but also have taken Welingkar-Corporate relationship to a higher altitude. The MDP’s have brought a lot of opportunities for WeSchool to involve in consultancy and research projects. - Professor Soumya Chakraborty, Manager, MDC

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MARKETING ROUND TABLE When India turns 29 in 2020

“India Turns 29 in 2020”, this theme set up the round table very nicely. This was our first round table of MPower club for the academic year 2012.

The round table held on 14th October 2012 discussed the upcoming demographic dividend in India and its impact on consumer.

This topic of discussion was further taken forward by the moderator Prof. Shekar Prabhakar. The dignitaries who came from different industries discussed about a plethora of topics like consumer awareness in 2020, the need for development, the coalition of public and private sectors, innovations in business with technology to improve efficiency and time management, impact of social media on consumers, overcoming the thin line between rural and urban consumers and the various opportunities due to the demographic dividend. In the end the floor was opened for a round of Q&A. The structure of round table was convenient enough for students to understand the topic and its future perspective and for this we have to thank our faculty and the organizers of the round table. - Richa Dave (E Biz 1 2012-14)

The students of the MPower club gave a wonderful presentation in which they stressed about how the average age of the population of the country would be 29 by the year 2020, and they threw some light on topics such as demographic dividend, policies pertaining to the growth of the country, upcoming trends in the market and consumer awareness level etc.

Prof Shekar Prabhakar discussing with the panelists

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MARKETING ROUND TABLE Leveraging Customer Data to Drive Business Strategy

Prof Sachidanand starting the discussion with the panelists

WeSchool has always strived to bring Industry and academia together for a mutual exchange of ideas. For one such platform which brings together Industry experts, intellectuals and other stake holders was the second round table for marketing conducted on the 21st Sep’12.

The topic discussed in this round table was “Leveraging customer data to drive business strategy”. The entire idea of the round table was to understand how companies today use data to create models that can be used for effective decision making. The round table had a series of Dignitaries right from Analytics to FMCG to IT. The students also presented their understanding of data analytics through visual presentations.

The discussion was very useful for all our students as they got latest industry insights across verticals. Overall the effort was well appreciated by all our dignitaries and the whole process culminated to become a perfect platform for corporate academia interface.

- Arindum Sengupta (E Biz 1 2011-13)

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FINANCE ROUND TABLE CORPORATE GOVERNANCE - Issues and Challenges in India

The panelists at the Corporate Goverance Round Table

The second finance round table of the academic year was organized by Arthakul, the Finance club of WeSchool Bengaluru on the 18th of October, 2012. The afternoon also saw students and esteemed financial professionals from various sectors discuss the different aspects of Corporate Governance and its scope in India. The program began with an introduction by Prof. Hema D and was followed by a speech by Dr. Anil Rao, which definitively set the tone for the round table. The students prepared a presentation about the salient features of Corporate Governance like Audit Committees, Triple Bottom Line Reporting, Corporate Social Responsibility etc. They completed their presentations with a set of questions addressed to the members of the panel, questions which they discussed and debated with much enthusiasm. The event concluded with a Vote of Thanks from Prof Vijayakumar and the evening was capped off with high tea for the guests, faculty and all the students involved.

- Ayesha Rahman (PGDM 2012-14)

Email: arthakul@outlook.com www.facebook/arthakul

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OPERATIONS ROUND TABLE THE ART OF TOTAL QUALITY MANAGEMENT (TQM)

Dr. Anil Rao and the students with the panelists After a successful session on Lean management, the operations vertical this time threw some light on the Quality service sector. The round table on total quality management was held on 7th September 2012. The discussion was attended by dignitaries from different organisations like Dell Inc, SAP Lab India Pvt. Ltd, ITC Infotech India, 3M, Accenture Services Pvt. Ltd, TVS Motors, DHL Express and Infosys Ltd. The session commenced with a presentation by WeSchoolites that provided insights on the emergence of quality sector since its inception. It concentrated on meeting customer expectations by understanding their perception. The presentation laid down a platform for the panellists – The future of TQM. The panel was moderated by Mr A.N. Chandramouli. The very first question that was put on the floor was “What is quality?” .The panellists provided their perspectives on different dimensions of quality i.e. the expected quality and the desired one. They further laid emphasis on mitigation of the “Chalta Hai” attitude to improve the quality of services offered. The discussion continued with questions like measurement of quality and target for quality being addressed. The discussion paved the way for different tools and techniques that are used today in the corporate world for measuring quality.

After the session, the floor was open to the students for the Q&A round. The students of operations specialisation made sure the event is a success. The event was possible only due to the encouragement from the faculty and the institute staff.

- Nilesh Kawchale (E-Biz 1 2011-13)

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We Café with Mr Vijay RatnaparkeManaging Director, Robert Bosch Engineering and Business Solutions

The audience was a mix of senior and junior students, primarily those who are interested in the field of operations. Mr.Ratnaparkhe started off the session by saying that he would provide the students with some “gyan”. He spoke about the necessary aspects that students need to incorporate in order to have a fruitful future. The three core ingredients he said were, “Content, The Big Picture and Networking.”

The students were elated to interact with him and were spell bound by his simplicity, he preferred to address the masses with personal life experiences, whereby giving the students a better connect with the speaker throughout the session. Mr.Ratnaparkhe also spoke about the importance of presence of mind and the use of common sense while in difficult situations. He gave the students a sneak peek into the future aspiration of the company and also shared his connection with “spirituality”.

Weschool.prameya

On the occasion of Teacher’s Day the students of the institute could not have asked for a better “teacher” to come and address them and share with them lessons for life.

To refresh the memories of the readers - “We Café is a platform created for the student where they get an opportunity to have industry student community interface where an expert from leading company from across different verticals is invited for a rendezvous with the students and faculty of WeSchool. The main aim of this event is to make the students aware of the guest’s human side and get a perspective of his/her professional career span. This time around we had the good fortune of having with us Mr. Vijay Ratnaparke.

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The event We Café this time had Ms Apala Lahiri Chavan being invited for a rendezvous with the students of WeSchool on 10th September 2012. Ms Chavan is the CEO of Human Factors International.

Ms Apala Lahiri started the session with her journey in education - Mathematics and statistics, how different it was then she expected and what lessons were learnt by her during that course. She got us underway with brief information about her Masters in Defence strategy and how well this knowledge has helped her in managing issues like human behaviour and conflict issues. She also gave a sneak peek about her stint in HCL technologies in marketing and sales. Ms Chavan stressed importance on the fact that no matter how many twists and turns you come across in your life, there comes a point where you need to sit back and think what you really need to do, what drives you, then set your goal and drive towards it.

She later moved on to tell about her working stint at Project 21 that was started by Mr. Subroto Bagchi the founder of MindTree Inc. She explained how working with Project 21 helped her rediscover herself and give her career a direction to work towards i.e. Design and Innovation.

This was followed by a knowhow of how Human Factors international came into existence, what problems she and her organisation faced initially and how eventually they managed to acquire a niche audience in USA and UK. She also pointed out to the lack of demand for innovative designs and user interfaces in India. What students liked the most was the ability of the speaker to speak in simple terms thus leading to a better connect throughout the event. The session continued with the rapid fire round where questions like working environment at Human Factors International, social and personal interests were asked.

We Café with Ms. Apala Lahiri Chavan

The entire We Café interview is available on Youtube Weschool.prameya

WE Connect: The Alumni MeetThe Alumni team of WeSchool Bengaluru organized for a short but meaningful gathering of its alumni. The Alumni Council, also known as ‘Alumni Clique’ held an event on the 21st of September that was a runaway success. The response was overwhelming and the audience, which consisted of both the 1st and 2nd years gained knowledge about the actual applications of their MBA studies in their work.

The program started at 5.30pm with the Birthday celebrations of our Dean Dr. Anil Rao. This was followed by a short speech by each of the 30 odd alumni who had graced the occasion. Each alumnus was asked a funny question at the end of their speech, pertaining to their days at WeSchool. After a fun filled two hours the alumni were asked some questions by the hosts and our CMC head Ms. Anuradha Mahesh on the corporate world for the budding managers of tomorrow.

After another hour of serious talk, the mood was lightened by the current batch of students who sang songs of the yesteryears and enthralled the audience. Dinner was served to the alumni and the audience were given a chance to interact one-on-one with the alumni who gave some valuable tips on MBA studies and the corporate life. Overall it was an enriching and fulfilling experience and the students took away a great deal of knowledge. - Madhurima Bhattacharya (BD 2012-14)

Happy Birthday to our Dean

Professor Anuradha Mahesh addressing the Alumni 19

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WE CONNECTThis is a column dedicated entirely for the illustrious alumni of WeSchool Bengaluru.This issue we caught up with Abhishek Mishra of the E-Biz 2009-11 batch. He completed his engineering from NIT Jalandhar specializing in Industrial Engineering. He is now the Team Lead for Campus Branding at the TCS BPO Human Resources.

Q. How exactly did you come up with such a concept for We Cafe and how easy was it to implement such an idea and turn it into a success?

I was doing my internship in IBM when I heard of about a CEO connect program in IBM. I was always in a look out for events that will bridge Industry and Academia to come close for the benefits of B School students like us. So while I was watching on you tube various talk show one night, I woke up in the morning and was caught in a hangover of all these above things and I churned the concept of We Café, mainly inspired by Coffee With Karan. Implementing an idea requires a lot of clever thinking and right pitching. If you trust your concept, then you can always find ways to work it in a way for everyone to buy it. So I thought that let me showcase the output of this event like how it can be beneficial to the institute and also worked a night out thinking how the operational cost can be minimal. So with a budget of 700 rupees, I presented the concept to Rao sir and with his support there was no looking back. More funds kept coming in as we moved up the value chain and management saw the results. Like JFK said, “Ask yourself what you have done for your college and not what the college has done for you” and the ideas will flow in.

Q. You now are the Team Leader for Branding at a re known organization, how have your experiences in WeSchool Bengaluru helped you thrive in such a role?

During my time at WeSchool, I was the Cultural Secretary of my batch. This meant that I had to deal with a wide array of people and work along with them to complete various events. Throughout my two years at the college I devised specific process and approach for each event and followed it with dedication. We Café was probably the only fresh concept that I had come up with. These experiences have helped me to a great extent in my career and I can now implement the same strategies in my role as the campus branding lead.

Q. Having had the good fortune of having Dr Anil Rao as your Dean, can you share some of the ways he helped you out? Also is there some other teacher(s) whom you consider your mentor?

One thing about Dr. Rao is that he is very approachable to new ideas and he will always give you a chance to express yourself. My advice to the juniors would be to be patient and pitch your ideas in a right way, because convincing him is everything. Once that is done, everything else is smooth sailing. Talking about mentors, yes Dr. Rao was one of my biggest mentor’s at WeSchool, but apart from him I think Anuradha Maam and Soumya Sir are two people who have helped me immensely and really made me the man I am today.

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Thanks to the sustained efforts of the entire Career Management Cell (CMC) at WeSchool Bengaluru, a few of the students had the opportunity of doing their summer internships in reputed companies across the globe. The following students represented WeSchool globally during the summer of 2012:

“Working at EEM also taught me a lot about India and environmental problems it is facing with many other developing as well as developed nations of the world. I keep saying this, the internship at EEM taught me more about India than what I knew earlier. I would like to thank the lovely people of the whole EEM team, Dr Sten and Anna Ekman of Malardalen University for giving us this opportunity.

Gaurab Ganguly and Prashant Vutha with the Board of Directors, VP’s and General Manager’s of Eskilstuna Energi & Miljo AB, Sweden.

”- Gaurab Ganguly (BD 2011-13)

WE ACHIEVERS

Gaurab Ganguly and Prashant Vutha - Eskilstuna Energi & Miljo AB, SwedenManeesh Bhatia - Siemens GmbH, GermanyTapasya Raut - Prudential & Amber Road, USAShantanu Badamikar, Shahu Patil, Eshaan Mehra and Ashok Rajpurohit - BIDCO Oil Refineries, Kenya.

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STUDENT ACHIEVEMENTS

Students of WeSchool Bengaluru being facilitated at the Entrepreneurship Development Programme on Green Energy Enterprise.

Rotaract, is an International Service Organization. Rotary International District 3190 conducted a seminar on “Renewable Energy-Opportunities for Entrepreneurship” on Saturday, the 13th of October, 2012 at KASSIA Auditorium, Vijayanagar, Bengaluru.

At the close of the seminar, a special Entrepreneurship Development Programme on Green Energy Enterprise was proposed for those who were keen on pursuing their dream project in the Renewable Energy Sector.

A team comprising of Neerav J. Mandaviya (BD 2011-13), Bhupesh Sharma (BD 2011-13), Mohit Daftary (BD 2011-13) and Anvesh Jobalia (BD 2012-14) developed a business plan on the concept of small wind turbines named Aerodynamically Improved Rotor (AIR). Out of the six teams that participated in the contest our team won the first prize and we were rewarded with a case prize and a citation.

CELEBRATIONS

The victorious PGDM E-Biz 1 Team: MEET YOUR MAKERS and cheering team

Team We-R-Green after their Cyclothon

We-R-Green Club of students and faculty of the Welingkar Institute of Management, Development and Research with its dedication towards environmental causes organised ‘Pedal2Green’, a cyclothon, on 20th September 2012. The event was aimed at spreading awareness on the benefits, including health and fitness, of cycling.

More than 80 cyclists, including students, faculty and professionals from several private companies and multinational corporations, participated in the event. The event was sponsored by BSA.

JOGA BONITO Season 2

Date: September 16th, 2012

Venue: Action Sports , Bannergatta Road, Bengaluru

The year’s first sports event was managed professionally by all the Sports Secretary’s and their team. Joga Bonito 2012 was an astounding success with the competition being fiercer this year with 8 teams for the Boys, 4 teams for the Girls, 1 Staff team and 1 alumni team.

In the end football was the true winner with a wonderful tournament played in the right spirit by boys & girls alike. Congratulations to Shashank Joshi for netting a staggering 21 goals.

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GANPATI BAPPA MORYA!

Ganesh Chaturthi - which marks the birth of the Lord Ganesha- was celebrated with great fervor in Wood Stock Ambience. The celebrations were capped off with a Grand Visarjan accompanied by a fireworks display, beating drums and the sounds of thousands of voices singing devotional songs.

Teacher’s Day was celebrated with great panache on the 5th of Sept, 2012 at the WeSchool campus with a small cultural programme and a session of fun and games for the teachers.

24Teacher’s Day celebrations at WeSchool

ROTARACT ACTIVITIESThe celebrations for the Annual day of the NHRD Bengaluru chapter went off with full gutso. As always, the students of WeSchool took active part in the event with special performances from the seniors (skit) and a song session from the juniors.

The first event of the Rotaract Club of Welingkar Bengaluru was the Inter City General Forum (ICGF) held at the NMKRV College, Jayanagar on the 9th of September 2012. There was a huge turnout of about 500 members for this professional event which was exceptionally managed by the Project Committee and all the members of the Rotaract Club. The mesmerizing music concert organized by the Rotaract Club of Welingkar left everyone spellbound. After a day of pleasant interaction, the event was capped off with a sumptuous lunch for all the guests.

25The students of WeSchool at the ICGF event

The resident guitar and song specialists of WeSchool doing what they do best

RYLA 30KThe flagship event of the Rotaract Club of Bengaliuru was held on the 15th of September, 2012 at schools across Hebbagodi, Hoskur and Athipulam. The project committee consisting of Rtr President Alakshyendra Pratap Tiwari, Rtr Secretary Neha Khandpal, Rtr Vice-President Ankita Banerjee, Rtr Swapnil Tanksale and Rtr Richa Dave worked tirelessly in the successful organizing of this event,

The ice-breaker sessions had been designed to be entertaining and highly interactive. What followed was a unique session of learning through experience, fun, interaction and bonhomie. The members sang, danced and laughed with the kids and amidst all this they learnt some valuable lessons of life from each other. All the members associated with RYLA 30K felt honored and privileged to be a part of such a mega event.

The Rotaract Club of WeSchool, Bengaluru set out on a breezy Saturday morning to conduct a leadership and motivation training session with high-school students of several government schools. The training facilitators were grouped and were assigned classes and schools.

The Students of WeSchool at RYLA 30K

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The students of WeSchool after a fun filled classroom session

ACROSS

2 Anything you post on social networking site should be this

4 Social media objective should fit into these objectives

6 Chat to people over the internet with this

8 You can read this online & download it

11 A website you can use to schedule your post

12 A popular blogging site

DOWN

1 This network was started before Facebook but was quickly overtaken

3 professional social network

5 A message on twitter

6 A keyword in social media marketing

7 popular video website

9 the largest social networking site in the world

10 a photo sharing site

11 what you hope people will do with your content 27

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