Author: Lekshmi Gopinathan

Krea hosts dialogue sans borders- conversations with the world

Lekshmi Gopinathan 0 Comment Action Station, General Topics
dialogue sans borders_NL

Krea University hosted a series of compelling conversations between eminent subject experts from world-renowned universities and research organizations across the globe, and the academic minds at Krea — on the post-crisis future of our nations, health, families, societies, environment and the interconnected world we live in. These curated diverse global narratives redefine the world of tomorrow. With more than 20 eminent speakers from 7 nations across the globe, dialogue sans borders was a four session global event.  

In the inaugural session on ‘Future of Public Health, panelists from University of Oxford, The George Institute for Global Health and Krea University imparted learnings and shared perspectives on research, trends and policies while also shedding light on critical interventions needed for public health in a world with and beyond COVID-19.

The session on ‘Future of Social Behaviour’ witnessed academic practitioners from Australia Council for the Arts , Nottingham Trent University, University of Witwatersrand, Krea University and IWWAGE unfolded the changing face of social behaviour, our attitudes towards each other and societies, mental health and new coping mechanisms and the gender-based challenges that lie ahead.

In the upcoming session on ‘Future of Sustainability’, panelists from University College Cork, Energy Policy Institute at University of Chicago (EPIC), M.S. Chadha Center for Global India, Princeton University and Krea University, brought together the emerging narrative of environment sustainability in a world that’s evolving with COVID-19. 

The final and concluding session on ‘Future of Global Relations’, witnessed panelists from University of Sussex, Victoria University of Wellington and Krea University share insights into the transforming narrative of global relations, the international policies in times of crisis, and its long-term impact on global migration, trade and societies.

The sessions were moderated by Mukund Padmanabhan, the former editor of The Hindu and Visiting Professor of Practice at Krea University.

You can watch the recordings here.

Supporting Women-led Rural Microenterprises through COVID and Beyond

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LEAD Women Microenterprises

LEAD hosted the third chapter of a webinar series on supporting women-led rural microenterprises amid COVID-19 and beyond. A collaboration with the World Bank and the Ministry of Rural Development, it featured senior policymakers and experts with a discussion on short-term and long-term policy interventions and strategies to enable graduation of women-led enterprises. The panellists and speakers highlighted the need for entrepreneurship development programs that focus on strengthening capabilities, providing handholding support to women entrepreneurs, strengthening access to institutional finance by building credit histories, and improving market linkages for women-led enterprises.

COVID-19 and the Future of Seafood Markets in Chennai

Lekshmi Gopinathan 0 Comment General Topics, Spotlight
LEAD_Seafood COVID

The seafood industry is a lifeline for coastal communities in India and women play a significant role in post-harvest operations. While it’s still early to gauge the impact of COVID-19 on the industry, Research Fellow Rahul Muralidharan notes that rapid insights from the ground are important to shape policy actions and programs. He shares his insights in this piece based on interactions with small-scale fisherfolk, co-operatives and union leaders in Chennai.

Tackling Gender-based Violence Through the Lens of Space

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LEAD_Gender Based Violence_3

LEAD concluded their three-part webinar series on rising gender-based violence amid COVID-19 . The final part explored the role of space – public, private and digital, in gender-based violence, especially in the current context. Highlighting gaps in current research, the young and dynamic panel answered questions from the participants and presented a way forward towards building safe and inclusive spaces for all.

IFMR GSB student committee presents pan India contest ‘Entangled’

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IFMR GSB student committee presents pan India contest ‘Entangled’

With a rush of adrenaline and picking a lesson from the looming crisis of today, comes ‘Entangled’. A unique case study competition hosted by Sanchalan – the IT and Operations Student Committee from IFMR GSB, challenging graduates  with prioritization and resource allocation skills during crisis.  

600 participants from across India geared up to compete, make an impact and win the contest. Contestants from 190 institutes and 20% of them from top tier ones vied for the ultimate spot in this innovative case study competition.

IFMR GSB welcomes the L&T C EMBA cohort of 2020-23 

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eMBA

IFMR GSB at Krea University, welcomed the new cohort of L&T Executives to the EMBA program 2020-23. Dr Sunder Ramaswamy, Vice-Chancellor at Krea University and Dr Shobha Das, Dean of IFMR GSB, personally welcomed the new executives. Other distinguished guests at the inauguration event included Mr. Ramkishore, Vice President & Head – Divisional Corporate HR, L&T Construction and Mr. Karthikeyan TV, Executive Vice President – Finance and Accounts, L&T Construction. 

Dr Sunder Ramaswamy expressed in his welcome address, “L&T Construction is one of the iconic companies in India which has played a major role in building India’s defining infrastructure projects. The company has admirably continued to invest in its employees even during these tough times.” 

He also added, that we live in a world, where information is cheap, instant and universally available, the differentiation between information and knowledge is how to optimally harness information aided by effective coaching and teaching. IFMR GSB faculty  would teach learners ‘how to learn’ and remain relevant in the increasingly dynamically changing world that we inhabit.

In her welcome note, Dr Shobha Das shared the rich history of IFMR GSB, set up in 1970 – the 1st of its kind in the financial research  and education center in Asia. “This partnership brings together two organizations who excel in their respective fields and both organizations place a lot of importance to knowledge and learning.” , stated Dr Das . She lauded L&T Construction as a much-admired company for several reasons, a key reason being its willingness to invest in employee development, even more admirable, in the current crisis amid uncertainties.

In his insightful address to the incoming cohort, Mr. Ramkishore explained the rigorous selection process that handpicks 45 participants who make it to the committed program. He added, “An MBA instills certain key attributes essential for success; quick thinking, analyzing data and converting it into information, turning information into insights and converting insights into focused actions.” He urged participants to make the most of the virtual situation they are in, free themselves from the constraints of time and space that this opportunity affords and make the most of this education that participants are about to receive.

Reinforcing the partnership, he stated that L&T C partners only with institutions of excellence as their academic partners and IFMR GSB at Krea University is one of them. 

Chief Guest of the inauguration event, Mr. Karthikeyan T V, shared words of wisdom and emphasized that it was up to the participants to make the best use of the faculty and the resources made available to them. “At the end of this three year MBA program, my experience and expectation is that participants would have excellent business sense, that only an MBA course imparts- ‘How to run your business’, ‘How to deal with situations that are commercial oriented’ and ‘How do you think professionally, but in a business focused manner’ , ‘How do I make money’. 

The incoming cohort includes L&T C IC Head HRs- Mr. Srikant Srinivasan, PT&D; Mr. Bartanu Kumar Das, HC ; Ms. Poonam Chandok TI; Mr. J Kabilan B&F; Ms. K Meena Priya IEL; Mr. Girish, Smart World & Communication; Mr. Binu L&T GEO and L&T  Divisional Corporate Academic Contact head – Mr. Raghavendran.

Emergence of Sports Industry and its Future

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Deep Mukherjee

“The emergence of the sports industry presents an opportunity from a career standpoint, as an economic contributor and as a contributor to nation building.” With that, Deep Mukherjee,  CEO, CII- National Committee on Sports, shared insights from the evolving realm of sports with the students at Krea. Speaking of opportunities across talent management, programming, data analysis and tech in sports, Deep touched upon the explosive growth of sports as an industry, its potential to create millions of jobs in the near future, inculcating sports into curriculum as a wholesome subject and not a supplement and how it helped in the holistic development of a student. Speaking of the campaign ‘Making India Play’ he encouraged the need to build a sporting culture in India.

Visual merchandising- a key marketing tool in retail

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Radhika

With deep insights into the world of visual merchandising, Radhika Subramanian, Head – Marketing, Retail Operations, and Customer Service at India Circus by Krsnaa Mehta (A Godrej Venture) interacted with the students at IFMR GSB. “The purpose of visual merchandising is to attract, engage and motivate customers towards making the purchase”, with that Radhika shed light on the storytelling nature, principles and process of this key marketing tool in retail. Elaborating on the principles involved, Radhika introduced the concepts of vertical and horizontal display, focal point or pyramiding, balance or symmetry, consistency and repetition, storytelling or cross merchandising, and graphics to the students.

Rajiv Memani joins Krea University Governing Council

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Rajiv Memani

Krea University is delighted to welcome Rajiv Memani, Chairman, CEO, EY India as a member of the governing council.

Rajiv Memani has over three decades of experience in the industry, advising fast-growing Indian entrepreneurial and global organisations establishing or expanding their presence in India and with private equity funds. Under his stewardship, EY has grown to be over a 50,000 people strong company in India and consistently been recognized as the country’s leading professional services organisation.

On joining Krea University as a governing council member, Memani said, “The industry has a pivotal role in advancing higher education through direct involvement in shaping the future generation of graduates. I am honoured to be a part of Krea University’s vision to re-imagine education for the 21st century and align with their efforts to make quality higher education equitable and accessible.”

Rajiv Memani is the Chairman and CEO of EY’s India region that includes Bangladesh. He is also a member of EY’s Global Executive Board as the Chair of Global Emerging Markets Committee.

Rajiv is active with many clients, principally fast-growing Indian multinationals and private equity funds. He has successfully advised clients across disciplines and has been working with several of the largest conglomerates in India.

Rajiv is a member of the National Council of the Confederation of Indian Industry (CII), in addition to being the Chairman of its National Committee on Tax. He has been appointed in several high-powered Government of India committees, including the most recent, Ministry of Finance taskforce that drafted a new Direct Tax Code in 2019.

Rajiv is also a Board member of Indian Institute of Management (IIM), Sirmaur, one of India’s premier management schools.

With his deep commitment to giving back to the society, Rajiv has been the driving force behind EY Foundation for the last 15 years. Under his leadership, the Foundation has positively impacted millions of poor families through sustainable and scalable programs in the areas of education and rural empowerment.

Media Mention- https://bloncampus.thehindubusinessline.com/b-school-corner/ey-india-chairman-rajiv-memani-joins-krea-university-governing-council/article32375679.ece

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