Jaipuria Institute of Management, Noida, in its continuous drive to strengthen the research skills organized a two day Faculty Development Programme on “Research and Publication: Best Practices and Pitfalls on 25th-26th April 2014 . The FDP was designed with the aim to familiarise the participants with an overview of the research process, building better academic arguments ,research misconduct, and research publication in academic Journals and research collaboration. This FDP further attempted to provide insights on the elements of good research and how one can do meaningful, good quality research within the given constraints. A hands-on approach was adopted for the FDP which included exercises and brainstorming sessions. The FDP was enriched with the valuable insights given by eminent speakers like: Dr Sushil, Chair Professor, Indian Institute of Technology Delhi, Dr N P Singh Professor and Dean – Research & Accreditation ,MDI, Gurgaon, Dr G C Tripathi, Deputy Director General (Academics), PMI, NTPC, Noida and Dr. Mukesh Chaturvedi, Ex-Professor, IMT, Ghaziabad. 15 faculty members, research scholars and entrepreneur from Institutes like Delhi University, Amity University, Galgotias University, JSS Academy of Technical Education, JIMS, Rohini and faculty members of Jaipuria, Noida attended the FDP. The FDP was co-ordinated by Dr Shalini Srivastava-Chairperson Research Committee and her team.

Jaipuria Institute of Management, Noida held an IT Conclave on Information Technology and Operations going Green held, appropriately, on World Water Day. It was a big day commemorated internationally, especially given the emphasis on environment issues in present times. The conclave, organized by the IPTOS Club of the institute, discussed important ecological issues and hosted noted industry experts who shared their thoughts on a wide range of topics. With the wealth of information discussed and the poignant stories told, the conclave was surely memorable event for all involved.

Dr. Rajiv Thakur, Director, Jaipuria Noida, began the proceedings and joined the faculty members of the IT/Operations department in welcoming the guests of honour for the event. After the welcoming statements, a session, aptly titled “Leveraging Cloud for Green Operations”, began. The venue was packed with students, leaders from industry, faculty members from the institute and interested participants who were interested in the topics discussed and the research being done. And, they weren’t to be disappointed as guest speakers took to the podium.

Mr. S. Ramaswamy, Executive Director, Indian Oil Corporation Ltd. was the first one to speak about the role of IT in sustainability efforts. Through his talk, Mr. Ramaswamy made the audience realize the importance of Manthan and its overseas operations. Mr. Prateek Garg, CEO, CII Western Unicorn Pvt. Ltd, spoke after Mr. Ramaswamy. He was able to shed some light on the evolution of electronic communications and its advantages by SMACK (Social, Mobile, Analytic, Cloud and Knowledge).

Mr. Garg’s important message of Business flexible connectivity and the significance of virtual integration was the talking point of the high tea session that followed. It was an opportunity for the students in the gathering to interact with eminent personalities from the industry. Many of the participants had their questions answered by the experts, and it only increased their enthusiasm for the sessions to follow. These sessions focused on the technical aspects of cloud computing – this session, with its interesting topic, held the audience in rapt attention from the word go.

Mr. Abhishek Gupta, Mr. Raviraj Bajilal and Mr. Navneet Sharma (CEO, JN Robotics and Automation) were the speakers for the cloud computing session and they shared their experiences of the practical world of technology in the manufacturing industry. They also spoke about how it has been instrumental in making profits and judging the globalized world. They ended their talk doing their best to inspire students by saying, “Success is happiness which is to be achieved”.

Mr. Abhishek Gupta

The second technical session of the conclave dealt with IT in Service Operations. Mr. Vineet Sharma, with his 18 years of experience in the field, including work at WIPRO and TCS, was the eminent speaker. He started with clearing the basic concepts of Cloud computing before reminding the audience, “As the telegrams have been discarded similarly the technology is transcending the metamorphosis of the modern age day by day.” Giving the analogy of plastic money that’s prevalent today, he suggested that cloud computing can be used to reduce the expenditure of teleconferences.

Mr. Sheetal Kachroo, Jaipuria, Noida Alumni, then took the discussion further by talking about travel retail and how it contributes towards the growth of the Indian economy. Today, he works as a Department Manager at Duty Free Services, Delhi and drew on his experiences at the IGI Airport in the capital city to support his point about the increasing importance of operations and MIs systems.

Finally, it was the turn of Mr. Prabhat Kumar, Co-Founder and CEO, DREAMSOL PVT. LTD, who talked about taking control of cloud system. According to Mr. Kumar, “India is booming and so are the industries here. Hence, cloud storage is necessary and should be looked into closely.” As an entrepreneur himself, his insights were not only valuable but inspiring. After hearing about and discussing important issues affecting India and the world, the participants left the conclave with a good understanding of the role of IT, and also what lies in store for them in the future.