Women’s SHGs of NRLM emerged as pivotal actors in crisis management, leading from the front in – producing masks and protective gear, creating awareness about the pandemic, delivering essential goods and financial services to the most vulnerable and running community kitchens. Read IWWAGE’s insightful report on the community and institutional response to COVID-19 in India here.
Author: Sanjana
Catalyst’s call for applications receives overwhelming response
Over 500 entrepreneurs from across India have shown interest in the program set up by Catalyst AIC – the newly launched incubation and innovation centre. For the first shortlisting phase, a total of 90 applications were received, while 20 applications will be shortlisted in the second round.
IFMR GSB student first runner-up in GCEC’s trading competition
Siddharth Poddar (cohort of 2022) represented IFMR Graduate School of Business, Krea University and secured the first runner-up position in ‘Money Bhai’ as part of Zeal 2020 – a trading competition conducted by the Global Centre for Entrepreneurship and Finance (GCEC).
‘Building a successful career’ with Naveen Chandramohan
In an insightful interaction with the students of IFMR Graduate School of Business, Krea University, Naveen Chandramohan- CEO & Founder of Itus Capital & Co-founder of Fintuple Technologies, shared his perspectives on building one’s career and the innovative ways to go about it. Highlighting the key aspects of an effective leader, Mr Chandramohan shared a few stories from his life and stressed on living every day as though it were your last. A seasoned practitioner, he encouraged students to strive to do better and communicate well – relevant to both the professional and personal aspects of life.
E-launch of ‘The Economics of Small Things’
‘The Economics of Small Things’ authored by Dr Sudipta Sarangi was e-launched recently, followed by a detailed discussion about the book and a fun Q/A session hosted by Krea University. In conversation with Dr Sunder Ramaswamy (Vice-Chancellor, Krea University) and Dr Madhuri Saripalle (Associate Professor of Economics at IFMR GSB, Krea University), Dr Sarangi shared his writing experience, elaborated on why he chose pop-culture and examples with an Indian context to present some deep concepts, in addition to explaining his fascination for human behaviour and its relationship with Economics. Watch the recording of the session here.
IFMR GSB students are ‘Chanakya’ national finalists
| IFMR GSB students Himani Jain and Shruti Goyal were among the National Finalists at the recently held Economics case study event ‘Chanakya’, conducted at Avenues 2020 – the annual business festival of IIT Bombay. The faculty and the team at IFMR GSB are proud of their achievement! |
Celebrating the Krea spirit
Krea Community Night had everybody in the Krea family – right from the leaders, faculty, to students and staff – signing-in together for an evening of fun, laughter, and camaraderie. The evening included a surprise musical performance by professors and Krea staff, followed by informal Q/A sessions with Vice-Chancellor of Krea University, Dr Sunder Ramaswamy; Dean of IFMR GSB, Dr Shobha Das; and Dean of SIAS, Prof Bishnu Mohapatra. Overall, the evening largely focused on sharing talents, anecdotes and getting to know each other with music and entertainment added to the mix.
Professor Anil Srinivasan at TiE Global Summit 2020
Prof Anil Srinivasan – Associate Professor of Practice, Literature & the Arts – was part of a grand panel of celebrated entrepreneurs and corporate leaders at the recently held, virtual TiE Global Summit 2020. Prof Anil – a critically-acclaimed pianist, experimental musician, the first to be awarded the coveted Sangeet Natak Akademi youth award, a TED speaker, and founder of a hugely successful musical initiative ‘Rhapsody’ – shared his insights on the topic ‘Making a Difference Every Day’, bringing in his novel perspective backed by vast experience and experiments with music to the discussion.
Leading global academics participate in IFMR GSB Research Symposium 2020
IFMR Graduate School of Business (GSB) hosted the one-day Annual Research Symposium (virtual), focusing on ‘Inclusion’ and ‘Sustainability’. The symposium touched upon a wide range of topical issues and themes such as Financial Inclusion, Sustainable Finance, FinTech, and Digital Inclusion. Students, faculty, researchers and several attendees witnessed presentations and evidence-based research that answered burning questions on inclusion and sustainable development in our societies. Speakers from the United States of America, Singapore, London, United Kingdom, New Zealand, Switzerland and other parts of the world brought multiple perspectives to the discussion, exchanging ideas and sharing their point of view and ways to move forward. Senior practitioners from the Indian industry and academics from reputed Indian institutions like Azim Premji University and Indian School of Business also contributed to this thought leadership.
Vice-Chancellor of Krea University, Dr Sunder Ramaswamy, in his opening message, spoke about the relevance of hosting symposiums in today’s world and how it helps take the discussion forward. “The mission of Krea is to prepare humanity for an unpredictable world. When we designed it, we had no idea that 2020 would really test that mission statement. We’re in the midst of three crises – a health crisis, an economic crisis, and a social justice crisis. I think all of us are just waiting for 2020 to get behind us so that we can start the new year on a different note. Conferences and symposiums like this are critical in terms of finding solutions to the various facets of exclusion and the impact these facets have on sustainability,” he shared.
In addition to discussing policies and reforms in the country, the symposium also put the spotlight on various Indian government initiatives. Rama Devi Lanka – Director, Emerging Technologies, Officer on Special Duty, ITE&C Dept, Government of Telangana – shared her insights on the government’s contribution to inclusion in technology. In her session, she shared her experience of developing a strategy, toolkit and procurement guidelines to enable cloud adoption by various state and central government departments. With respect to Fintech in agriculture, in her session, Suniti Nanda – Fintech Officer, Government of Maharashtra – shed light on how multiple Fintech companies are gearing up to build businesses to support agriculture. Watch the recordings of the sessions here.
Catalyst AIC successfully e-launched; now accepting applications for programme
Catalyst Atal Incubation Centre, an incubation and innovation centre set up by IFMR Society under NITI Aayog’s Atal Innovation Mission, was successfully launched virtually recently. The launch was graced by Mr Ramanan Ramanathan, Mission Director for Atal Innovation Mission (NITI Aayog), Dr Sunder Ramaswamy, Vice-Chancellor at Krea University and Ms Sharon Buteau, Executive Director, LEAD at Krea University. Other dignitaries at the e-launch were Mr Mahavir Pratap Sharma (Global Chairman, TiE) and Mr Ramesh Mangleswaran (India Director, McKinsey). The centre supports and helps scale innovative startups in the inclusive tech domain, which build products focused around unserved and underserved communities in India’s last mile. Along with the launch, Catalyst AIC also announced that the ‘Call for Applications’ for the programme is now open. Entrepreneurs interested in creating valuable business opportunities for themselves and the artisan community can apply to the program by heading to the Catalyst AIC Website, here.
Deadline for applications is 05 December 2020.