Category: General Topics

Raghu Sundaram joins Krea University Academic Council

Lekshmi Gopinathan 0 Comment Announcements, General Topics , ,
Raghu Sundaram

Krea University is delighted to welcome Prof Raghu Sundaram to the Academic Council.

Raghu Sundaram is Dean of New York University’s Leonard N. Stern School of Business, where he is also the Edward I. Altman Professor of Credit and Debt Markets and Professor of Finance. He previously served as Vice Dean for MBA Programs and Online Learning for two years.

Raghu works in many areas of finance including agency problems, executive compensation, corporate finance, derivatives pricing, and credit risk and credit derivatives. He has also published extensively in mathematical economics, decision theory, and game theory. His research has appeared in leading academic journals in finance and economic theory, as well as in several practitioner-oriented journals. He is the author of two books: A First Course in Optimization Theory (Cambridge University Press, 1996) and Derivatives: Principles and Practice (McGraw-Hill, 2010).

On joining Krea University as an Academic Council member, Raghu said, “In today’s change driven world, it’s important to adapt, evolve and experiment. Along with my eminent colleagues in the Council, I envision a more vibrant and globally relevant learning experience at Krea which in turn empowers graduates to lead the change.”

Raghu has taught courses across Stern’s Undergraduate, MBA, PhD, and Executive Education programs. Of all the awards he has received over the years, he is most proud of being the inaugural recipient of Stern’s Distinguished Teaching Award in 2007. He has a long record of service to the School and the University, including as chair of the University’s Faculty Senators Council and as a member of NYU’s Presidential Search Committee in 2014.

As Dean and Vice Dean, Raghu has led the launch of multiple new degree programs, including two one-year MBA programs, a number of specialized master’s programs, and the extension of the School’s New York City-based Executive MBA program to Washington, DC. He initiated and has overseen Stern’s entry into online education and the establishment of several new, high-profile initiatives at the intersection of entrepreneurship and technology, notably the Endless Frontier Labs. He also established the School’s first Office of Diversity and Inclusion.

Prior to joining NYU Stern in 1996, Raghu was on the faculty of the University of Rochester from 1988-96. He holds a BA in Economics from the University of Madras, India, an MBA from the Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad, and a PhD in economics from Cornell University.

Media Mentions- https://bloncampus.thehindubusinessline.com/b-school-corner/dean-of-nyu-stern-joins-krea-university-academic-council/article32487710.ece

IFMR GSB Faculty publishes impactful research paper

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Sumit

IFMR GSB faculty member — Sumit Mishra, Assistant Professor, Economics and Data Science has published another impactful research paper. His paper “Diversity Deficit and Scale-Flip” co-authored with Naveen Bharathi (Harvard University), Deepak Malghan (IIM – Bangalore), and Andaleeb Rahman (Cornell University published in the Journal of Development Studies, using data from more than half a million villages in India, shows that greater caste-diversity is associated with better public goods access in rural India.

Krea University welcomes its 2nd cohort of undergraduate students

Lekshmi Gopinathan 0 Comment General Topics, In Focus , , , , ,
SIAS

Nobel Laureate Esther Duflo delivers the keynote address

The School of Interwoven Arts and Sciences at Krea University welcomed 144 talented students into the second cohort of the undergraduate programme. The inaugural ceremony preceded the virtual five-day interactive orientation event which brought together the incoming cohort, sophomores, faculty and eminent speakers. The classes for the new cohort commenced online from the 1st of September.

The holistic admission process at Krea gauges potential beyond academic scores, ensuring a diverse set of students from varied backgrounds and interests. The students come from over 17 states of India and from various boards of education. In keeping with the University’s need blind admission and need-aware financial assistance process, over 25% of the cohort has received financial assistance.

Dr Sunder Ramaswamy, Vice Chancellor of Krea University welcomed the students with the message of FLARE — Fun, Learning, Adaptability, Resilience and Empathy, he deemed necessary for the young students to embrace, in their life at university.  “As you begin the Krea journey, send out a flare into the world. I hope you will make your impact, and as you are trying to make your life better, I hope you also make it matter.” He shared Krea’s mission statement to admit high potential students and prepare humanity for an unpredictable world. 

Nobel Laureate and co-founder of J-PAL, Dr Esther Duflo, was the special guest of honour and addressed the students on this momentous occasion. In her keynote address Dr Duflo extended three guiding principles for the students, for their time at Krea and beyond. She encouraged students to embrace diversity, be flexible and not be overwhelmed with problems. Tracing her own journey in life, she added, “You have the luxury of being at a very unique institution that values multi-disciplinary learning. Take this opportunity to take life chances, encounters, and let intellectual discoveries guide you. Embrace nimbleness and flexibility rather than single minded focus on one goal.”

She asked them to celebrate the diversity in their cohort, create social networks and learn from people who are different from their own selves.

“You are here because you want to be change-makers but you might be wondering where to start from. Don’t get overwhelmed. There is no problem however big it is that can’t be broken into smaller pieces. Pick one of those small pieces, apply your mind and skills to it and solve it. Then move to the next one. And don’t worry about the size of the overall challenge, before you know it you would have changed the world and changed yourselves as well.”

Dr Bishnu Mohaptra, Dean of School of Interwoven Arts and Sciences in his message to the students welcomed them to explore the idea of university. “Freedom, diversity and interconnectedness – all these ideas are debated within university and here within Krea. This is a place to debate these ideas and give them a new lease of life. It’s also a place where by giving new life to these ideas, we make them more meaningful, vibrant and useful.” He shared SIAS’s commitment to provide a space in fostering and strengthening these ideas and the ability of students to debate these ideas.

Dr Shobha Das, Dean of IFMR Graduate School of Business at Krea, welcomed the incoming cohort on behalf of the school. She added, “In weaving, two distinct sets of threads are interlaced at right angles to weave a cloth. The two schools, SIAS and GSB are distinct, and the University is woven with threads from the two schools, each distinct but both together forming parts of the woven textured cloth that is Krea.”

The ceremony included special moments from the welcome by the faculty and also the second-year students. Student Meera Trivedi on behalf of the Class of 2022 shared, “What I want to tell you today is that in all of its glory, with the beautiful campus, beyond excellent professors, unique curriculum and the intellectual culture, Krea is essentially what you make of it.”

The orientation programme was put together by the Orientation Team comprising the 2nd year cohort and was themed “Along Came ’23”. The fun and lively five-day long orientation was inspired with themes from gripping TV shows and movies. The event also witness sessions by celebrated activist Kalki Subramaniam and international artist Jacob Boehme.

Media Mentions- https://indiaeducationdiary.in/noble-laureate-esther-duflo-delivers-the-keynote-address-at-krea-university/

Krea student wins Global Tech competition for unique vaccine distribution solution. Presents to co-founder of Apple.

Lekshmi Gopinathan 0 Comment General Topics, Spotlight , , , , ,
arnav jalan

Unique vaccine distribution solution wins the Prospect 100 Global Tech Competition

Arnav Jalan, a second year undergraduate student at Krea University was teamed up with five other students he had not met before, for the Prospect 100 Global Tech Competition.

The team had a period of 5 days to come up with a unique solution in the battle of COVID-19.

They presented –VaxxUp– an efficient, cost-effective, and sustainable vaccine distribution system that would also revive the ice-cream industry. 

Arnav, on behalf of the team, responded to questions from head judge Steve Wozniak — co-founder of Apple. The student team presented the idea during a LIVE pitch on the 8th of August and won the global competition.

58 teams from 32 different countries in the world participated in the competition. The process included getting to know the teammates, understand each other’s skills, ideate and create a unique solution. While Arnav worked on the technology and data, Shubham worked on the introduction, Rishita and Naazneen worked on social aspects involved with the project, Naazneen created the app mock up, Sibasis worked on the logistics aspect, and Sri Vamsi worked on the ethical implications.

 ‘VaxxUp’ went on to win the highly competed round and were declared winners. The students now have a chance to work with Abbas Kazmi, founder of Collegiate Capital, and Oxford Accelerator on transforming this idea into a reality over the upcoming weeks. They also get to work on an invite-only global project with the charity Humane Society International.

Arnav, and his team mates find themselves in the Prospect 100 for Tech, a list of the top 100 global young talent in technology and also win a collective cash award.

Media Mention-https://indiaeducationdiary.in/krea-student-on-the-global-list-for-young-talent-in-technology/

Beyond the Classroom- the skills to become a potential employee

Lekshmi Gopinathan 0 Comment General Topics, Porous Boundaries , , , ,
Laks Krishnamoorthy

In an insightful interaction with the students of IFMR GSB, Lakshmanan (Laks) Krishnamoorthy- VP Engineering & General Manager, Navis shared his perspectives on transformational leadership. Allaying concerns surrounding the leap from classroom to employment, Mr Krishnamoorthy stressed on SIMPLE, expanded to Social Skills, Interpersonal Relationship, Money Matters, Personal Branding, Learning, and Endurance. Imparting lessons from his own journey, he encouraged students to “Learn to do the work without expecting anything in return”, relevant to both the professional and personal aspects of life.

COVID-19: A Turning Point for Fintechs in India?

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LEAD_COVID Fintech

Anoushaka Chandrashekar and Fabrizio Valenti pen this final installment in the three-part blog series – ‘Beyond Health: How the COVID-19 pandemic is impacting financial services in India’. Based on discussions with founders of two fintech companies, this piece looks at implications of the COVID crisis on fintechs in India. It explores the challenges faced by fintechs in the current context, and highlights opportunities for growth.

Women’s Work Force Participation in Maharashtra

Lekshmi Gopinathan 0 Comment General Topics, Research and Impact
Communique July 2020_IWWAGE Maharashtra

Women’s labourforce participation rates (LFPR) reveals some interesting trends for Maharashtra. As per the figures from the labourforce surveys, the LFPR is significantly higher than the all-India figures, largely driven by higher than average rural employment. The state also shares a decline in self-employment and casual employment and a shift towards regular wage work for both rural and urban women. In Maharashtrathe urban areas witnessed a consistent rise in regular wage work of women since 2004-05. More than 60 per cent of women are employed as regular workers – 70 per cent of which is concentrated in the services sector such as education, health and retail. In rural areas, the share of casual workers is considerably higher at around 42 per cent, followed by 52 per cent in self-employment. The incidence of unpaid family workers among self-employed women exceed 80 per cent.  While the urban areas show considerable diversity of women workers across occupations and sectors, women in the rural areas remain concentrated as manual workers in agriculture or within construction work.

Initiative for What Works to Advance Women and Girls in the Economy (IWWAGE), has developed a series of factsheet that highlight the important aspects of women’s employment across the states in India. It uses secondary data provided by the National Sample Surveys’ Periodic Labour Force Survey (PLFS), 2017-18, and the employment-unemployment surveys (EUS) as well as data from other sources to support state specific analysis. The Maharashtra factsheet is part of this series, and can be accessed here.

Supporting Women-led Rural Microenterprises through COVID and Beyond

Lekshmi Gopinathan 0 Comment Action Station, General Topics
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.

Krea University