Every year in July, Jaipuria Institute of Management welcomes new batches with enthusiasm, zeal and warmth that ensure a smooth beginning. This is the time for new students to get acclimatised with Jaipuria culture. The orientations this year were a huge success, meeting all their intended objectives.

Jaipuria Lucknow

Jaipuria Institute of Management, Lucknow welcomed 300 new students with a two-week orientation programme. An energising mix of classroom activities and Talash-a collection of post-classroom activities, made the 2012 orientation a perfect beginning to the academic year.

Jaipuria Lucknow had invited several eminent professionals from various sectors of management to interact with the students during the orientation. There were panel discussions and talks that helped students understand industrial trends, employability criteria and discipline in working life. The speakers included Ankit Khandelwal, Ex Chairman, Bank of Baroda; V. K. Srivastava, Deputy General Manger, Punjab National Bank; P. N. Sharma, Deputy General Manger, Allahabad Bank, Staff College, Lucknow; Hon’ble Justice Bhanwar Singh; Anshumal Dikshit, Head- HR, IGate; Akhilesh Sharma, State Head, Hero Moto Corp; and Sanjeev Jha, AVP, Magma Finance Corporation.

The students were thrilled to have their queries regarding working life addressed by these industry stalwarts. “I really appreciated the orientation programme conducted by the institution. It gave me an opportunity to glean a lot of knowledge from various industry leaders,” said Lalit Saxena, a 2012 batch student.

The orientation was, however, not only about industry sync but also included a series of fun and sports activities. These helped the senior and junior students to get acquainted and develop an appreciation for each other’s talents in the area of extra-curricular activities and sports. Rahul Jaiswal, another fresher, appreciated the initiative, “Talash as the name suggests, was ‘KHOJ’. The institute has been successful in exploring new talent among freshers in dance, sports and various extra-curricular activities.”

Several events were held under the banner of Talash during the two-week orientation and preparatory programmes, featuring both extra-curricular and co-curricular activities like creative writing, HR games, marketing games, debates, JAM competition, business quiz and finance games. Fashion Fiesta was favourite among the students. “I was on cloud nine when I was announced the best female model during Fashion Fiesta!”, gushes Divyata Singh. There were prizes for the competitions and Sajal Chaturvedi bagged the first prize in solo singing while Ajay Wadhwa bagged the solo dance prize for his extraordinary and versatile classical dance performance.

The orientation ended on a high note with students raring to learn and begin the course.

Jaipuria Noida

Jaipuria Noida welcomed its batch of 2012-14 of 240 students amidst a lot of learning and fun-filled activities. A week-long orientation programme that began on the 27th of June, 2012, included industry interaction, familiarisation with the system and ice-breaking sessions.

Dr. Anup Singh, Director- Jaipuria Noida, opened the inaugural session. Welcoming the students into the adult professional world, Dr. Singh spoke to them about their future as well-placed managers in the world of business.

The Chief Guest for the inaugural session was Professor Abad Ahmed, Chairman, Aga Khan Foundation. Professor Ahmed shared his own journey through the corporate world to inspire new students.

Other speakers, who shared the industry insight during the orientation programme were Asim Talukdar, Ex. Senior VP HR, Global NIIT; Shivesh Kumar Singh, Regional Head HR, ING Vysya Bank; Kamal Gairola, Regional HR Manager, Mahindra Financial Services; Gyanendra Singh, Director, Mancer Consulting, Hari Sharma, Head-Talent Acquisitions, Neuerth Group; Gautam Pandey, Associate VP, Deloitte Consulting; Sonal Chadha, Process Trainer, Copal Partners, R.K. Mediretta, GM Finance, FCI.

Faculty introduction was part of the orientation and it made quite an impression on the newcomers. As Rahul Prakash, a new student, said, “I feel that the faculty here is like a river of knowledge; what you fill depends upon the size of the bucket that you are carrying within yourself!”

The students were also familiarised with attendance requirements, Moodle – their Learning Management System, examinations and the grading system.

During the week-long induction-cum-orientation, the batch was divided into groups of six students, who were required to work together on a variety of assigned tasks. “It was a very different experience compared to all the sessions that had taken place till then. It made us feel more comfortable with our batch-mates,” feels Komal Behl, student of 2012-14 batch. Apart from it experiential learning was facilitated through activities like extempore. “As on-camera extempore was organised. A year later we will have the video recording to compare our improvement,” explained Kirti, another fresher.

During the last leg of the orientation programme, the new students were introduced to the facilities available at Jaipuria Noida. A talent hunt was also organized for the new students and was a great hit with new and old students alike.

Jaipuria Jaipur

Orientation at Jaipuria Jaipur, for the 2012-14 batch of Post Graduate Diploma in Management (PGDM) began on the 1st of July with an address by the Director, Dr. Rajiv R. Thakur, who welcomed students and parents. All of them were then taken for a trip around the campus and the students were made comfortable in the hostel.

The second day, which was the actual initiation for the newcomers, began with a “hawan and puja”. The Chief Guest for the orientation programme that followed was Sudipto Chowdhury, CEO – Mobile Services Hexacom, Rajasthan. He inspired the students with his energetic address, which was followed by an interaction with Dr. Swati Soni, programme chairperson, and all the faculty and staff members. The students were then familiarised with club activities, initiatives, events, rules & regulations and SPIC MACAY (Society for Promotion of Indian Classical Music and Culture Amongst Youth).

Some of the highlights of the orientation programme were

Yoga session

Yoga and meditation being an integral part of the curriculum at Jaipuria Jaipur. An introductory session was held for the students during orientation.

Theatre workshop

Filmmaker Ramesh Menon conducted a workshop where he encouraged freethinking, and organised a series of games and activities to facilitate comfortable interaction, free flow of ideas and energy and dealing with insecurities.

Spirituality of business

R. K. Poddar, CMD, Mayur Leathers, conducted this session to drive home the message of ‘work is worship’.

Outbound orientation programme

Conducted by the Excelsior Group, the session involved activities like treasure hunt, puzzles & games and was extremely popular with the new students.

KHOJ (Talent Hunt)

New students showcased their talents and were recognised and appreciated.

Jaipur Darshan

According to a tradition at Jaipuria Jaipur, the first-year students were taken around the city to help them understand local culture and traditions, and enjoy the great city of Jaipur. The Jaipur Darshan included a visit to the Kagazi factory and outlet, Amer Fort, Jal Mahal, Hawa Mahal, Pink City Mall where the group shopped and the Birla temple.

The students were familiarised with academic areas like labs and the library and were run through basic software applications like Microsoft office. There was a session on business education, economics and diagnostics- language. Introduction to Prayaas, the entrepreneurship cell or E-Cell, was an important part of the orientation, along with several other interactions with industry stalwarts like Robin Dubey, entrepreneur and professor; Subbaiah, COO, Mahindra World City, and Nehal Jain, head, Times Of India, Jaipur. The entertaining and informative twelve day orientation came to an end with a media club activity.

Jaipuria Indore

Jaipuria Institute of Management, Indore welcomed 112 students to the PGDM programme this year. Director Dr. J.P. Upadhyay, Dr. Prabhat Pankaj and Prof. Kanak Gupta opened the inaugural session. Dr. Prabhat Pankaj, talked to the students about the importance of learning. “Education is worthless if learning is not happening,” he said.

During the orientation programme the students were introduced to the study group process and were given familiarisation classes by all concerned faculty members. Post-lunch sessions included lectures by various eminent speakers. Together, they dealt with the various aspects and essentials for a future in management.

Following the rigorous orientation day schedule, Prof. Kanak Gupta conducted a session on managerial and team-building skills. The students were pleasantly surprised with the innovative activities; as one of them said, “I never knew B-school learning could happen from cutting onions & potatoes, managing a ping pong ball and passing it on to others in a team!”. A part of the orientation was an Indian classical music performance by Maestro Pandit Tejendra Narayan Majumdar, who was accompanied by Ullas Ji. The students were awed, especially those for whom it was a first brush with Indian classical music.

The other guest speakers were Madur Naneria, who spoke of the digital world we live in today, and the needs of an entrepreneur. Through his life experiences, he shared the essence of being an entrepreneur, the challenges one faces and suggested that five years down the line each student, who believes in his or her own abilities should try to develop his entrepreneurial ability.
Abhishek Sanghvi, Vice Chairman – iLeads Group threw light on the career opportunities in research and consultancy and introduced students to various dimensions of finance. While Mukesh Vyas, GM – HR, Piramal Health Care Limited, busted the myth that HR is not that important a part of an organisation. Dr. Niva Bhandari , Faculty, Jaipuria Noida, gave students tips on how to develop & improve soft skills and focus on communication and presentation skills.

The portion of the orientation programme enjoyed most by the participants, was theatre and role-plays session by Prof. Kanak Gupta. This session introduced them to the dynamics of theatre and created an opportunity to network.

The students’ feedback on the orientation was, “The first experience of being a part of the Jaipuria family was enriching, thought-provoking and had its fair share of fun.”

Jaipuria Institute of Management, one of the premier groups of B-Schools in the country, recently got accreditation for its Lucknow and Noida campuses as an ‘A’ grade institution. This is the highest ranking given by the National Assessment and Accreditation Council (NAAC). Jaipuria has campuses in Lucknow, Noida, Jaipur and Indore. The coveted grade was awarded after an inspection by the NAAC team.

Significantly, the NAAC is an autonomous entity under the University Grants Commission. It rates Universities/ Institutes/ Colleges on various parameters, which include: infrastructure and other qualitative aspects of research and education, teacher-taught ratio (TTR), students’ amenities and placements. Following the NAAC’s assessment, the institution concerned is given a specific rating.

This assessment and accreditation indicates that the institute meets the standards of quality as set by the accreditation agency. It puts a stamp on the fact that it sets high standards in terms of the educational processes and outcomes, the curriculum, teaching-learning, evaluation, faculty, research, infrastructure, governance, and financial well-being and student services. Currently, the NAAC follows a grading model which is: Grade A (very good), B (good), C (threshold) and D (not accredited). Being awarded the highest ranking means that Jaipuria Institute of Management has fulfilled its goal of delivering and promoting the all-round development of its students.

During its inspection, the NAAC team interacted with members of managing committee, faculty, students, recruiters and alumni, and assessed Jaipuria’s commitment towards academic excellence and the overall development of students. Expressing delight over this achievement, Dr. J. D. Singh, Director General, Jaipuria Institute of Management, says, “It’s a matter of great pride that this honour has been bestowed upon us. All the consistent effort put in by our management, faculty, staff and students has borne fruit. Being one of the youngest institutes to be awarded with the highest NAAC ranking has motivated us to work even harder and scale the path of success even higher.”

Congratulating the students on the NAAC accreditation, Dr. Singh said that though it is a result of the combined efforts of all stakeholders, students and alumni have played a significant role in enabling the institute to reach such glorious heights.

If there was one aspect that made the second edition of the JAIPURIA INSTITUTE OF MANAGEMENT Annual Management Conference (JAMC- 2012) stand out, it was the clarity of purpose. The theme of “Managing under Uncertainty: Paradigms for Developed and Emerging Economies”, was systematically divided into 6 Technical Sessions over two days. Not only did this facilitate a steady flow of knowledge, ideas and information beyond the traditional bounds of management, but it also invited submission in the different categories of Research Papers, Cases, Poster Presentations and Doctoral Research.

Immediately after the inaugural session, the first technical session on ‘Financial and Economic Uncertainties’ was kick-started with an active discussion about the changing financial environment of the world economy and how to survive in that environment. Dr. Rajat Kathuria, Director & Chief Executive, Indian Council for Research on International Economic Relations (ICRIER) with Mr. Vinod Pande, Sr. Vice President, SBI Capital Markets Limited, and Mr. Pallav Mohapatra, CEO, SBI Cards and Payment Services Pvt. Ltd.

“Major uncertainty lies in interest rates,” opined Mr. Vinod Pande. “If the interest rate is at a peak, corporate houses are unable to move successfully with their projects. When inflation is high, and interest rate is low, then how will projects continue? India suffers from the typical issue of wages being too low in the unorganised sector, and too high in the organised sector. Uncertainty is always high in areas where potential is high; like roads, airlines and the thermal power sector.”

The second technical session very interestingly explored ‘Entrepreneurship & Innovations under Uncertainty’. The Panelists for the session were Ms. Rimi Oberoi, Founder, Oyster Training; Mr. Nitin Gupta, the Co-Founder and CEO of the e-waste management company, Attero Recycling; and Dr. M. M. Akhauri, Former Director-NIESBUD. The message that came out of this session was that innovation is the answer to uncertainty, and that an entrepreneur carries on shooting till he hits the ‘bull’s eye’.

“Problems and issues due to uncertainty are not avoided but converted into opportunities by entrepreneurs,” pointed out Dr. M. M. Akhauri. “Globalisation has brought in greater opportunities in the modern business world. Inflow of technology had taken place considerably. All this can minimise risk and uncertainty to an extent. Information flow has become cheap with the advent of the Internet and is being used very effectively by innovators and entrepreneurs.”

The third and final session on Day 1 of JAMC 2012 brought together stalwarts from both the Government and Private Sectors, like Dr. Manoj Singh, Adviser (Transport)- Planning Commission; Mr. Subir Hazra, Associate Vice President & Head Strategy Planning, Delhi International Airport Limited (DIAL) and Mr. Uday Ravi, Additional Vice President (Engineering), Reliance Infrastructure Limited. The theme was ‘Managing Uncertainties: A view from Infrastructure Industry’. The panelists were unanimous that Infrastructure is the most ‘time-consuming and capital intensive’ of all industries and therefore is as quick to prosper during positive consumer sentiment, and worst-hit when the sentiment is negative. The panelists agreed that the best way to counter uncertainty in the Infrastructure industry was to retain the trust of stakeholders and investors through a credible show.

On the 13th of October 2012, the first among the three power-packed technical sessions was on ‘Changing Marketing Paradigms under Uncertainty’. The popularity of the subject could be gauged by a full house at the Jaipuria Institute of Management auditorium. The panelists included the likes of Mr. Kishore Chakraborti, Vice President- Consumer Insight and HFD, McCann Erickson; Mr. Sanjay Sethi, COO- Enterprise Business Services, Tata Tele Services Limited; Kunwar Himmat Singh, Head- Marketing, Nestle India; and Mr. Rohit Chadha, Sourcing Head – India, Lindstrom Services India Pvt. Ltd.

The fifth technical session of the conference was dedicated to the Sports and Entertainment Industry and participants included Mr. H.P. Singh Rishi, Deputy Director General, Organising Committee (CWG) Delhi 2010; Mr. Debasish Biswas, Vice President- STAR TV; Mr. Devdarshan Chakrabortyy, Director Strategy and Planning, Perfectrelations.com; and Mr. Mehraj Dube, Associate Editor- NDTV India. They all observed that uncertain times were actually good from the perspective of consolidation.

The final session discussed the ‘Evolving human resource landscape under uncertainty’, with the likes of Mr. A P Singh, the former Head of HR, Reliance Petrochemicals; Mr. Rakesh Chaturvedi, HR Head, Food Corporation of India; Mr. Anshumal Dikshit, Head – Human Resources, Patni Computer Systems Limited (and an alumnus of Jaipuria Lucknow); Mr. Rajnish Bawa, Director (Human Resource), New Holland Fiat and Mr. R. P. Singh, Director (HR & Legal)-IFFCO, taking to the dais. The panelists were unanimous that by now HR practitioners have gotten used to the uncertainties and have accordingly prepared themselves for its vagaries.

Barely a few months into the academic session, JAMC 2012 has had a huge build-up at Jaipuria Institute of Management, with students already having witnessed an HR and a Finance conclave. Clearly, with its revamped academic philosophy, the stress in Jaipuria Institute of Management is on bolstering the in-class learning with intense engagement with industry on crucial issues.