‘Samyak – Journey to Perfection’ is the theme for ‘Neev 2018’- the Foundation Fortnight at We School, Bengaluru Campus. Samyak stands for getting polished and the We School fraternity look forward to helping students chisel their knowledge and skills in more than one dimensions. Neev 2018 started with zeal and enthusiasm on 20 June 2018, with lighting of the lamp ceremony in the esteemed presence of our Chief Guest, Padma Bhushan and Padma Shri Dr B. N. Suresh, Chancellor, Indian Institute of Space Science and Technology, Thiruvananthapuram, and President of Indian National Academy of Engineering, Delhi; Advocate Shri S. K. Jain, Chairman, Managing Council, S. P. Mandali and Local Managing Committee, WeSchool; Smt. Madhuritai Misal, Member, Managing Council, S. P. Mandali Trust, and member of the Maharashtra Legislative Assembly; Shri Mihir Prabhu Desai, Member, Managing Council, S. P. Mandali Trust, along with Prof. Dr. Uday Salunkhe, Group Director, We School and Dr. Madhavi Lokhande, Dean, We School, Bengaluru campus.
Prof. Dr Uday Salunkhe, in his opening address, welcomed all the dignitaries and students. He shared the core values of We School – passion, breakthrough thinking and breakthrough execution, result-oriented process driven work ethic, care for society and nation at large. He urged the students to internalize these values. Students should find their “role of self in the society” and work towards it. He hoped that two years at We School, Bengaluru would bring phenomenal transformation in the students. The raw diamonds would get perfectly chiselled.
Smt. Madhuri Tai Misal reminded the students that management starts from home and mothers are the best managers in the world. Without going through any formal management education, they manage everything from the kitchen to the finances of the family. They work without any leave and with full dedication. Similarly, if students work with love and compassion, they will never get tired of their work. Students should be open for new learnings and not be rigid towards new ideas.
Shri S. K. Jain acknowledged that where there is no management, there is chaos. Management existed way before all formal MBA/PGDM courses started. Management is needed everywhere. In fact, now management students will be appointed in the Indian Judicial system as well. Management lies beyond theories and books. In practice, whether you are an employee at the helm of the organization or an employer, you need to develop the following skill sets. Here are the 5 C’s for success.
- Common sense – practice
- Creativity – inculcate
- Credentials – clear and established
- Co-operation
- Connect – family, friend, society and industry
Along with this comes ethics. Following ethical practices will give satisfaction and peace of mind. He urged the students to work towards the betterment of the society and nation.
Shri Mihir Prabhu Deshai started with a story of a forest where animals follow trails and tread paths of other animals in the wild. However, birds don’t have any such path. They are trailblazers and make one for themselves. Likewise, in our professional lives, we need to chalk and find out our own path to success.
Dr B. N. Suresh (Space scientist Dr B.N. Suresh is known for his contribution to the development of Indian launch vehicles, Space Capsule Recovery Experiments (SRE) and also for R& D management). He shared his managerial experiences and wisdom. According to him, management should involve
Creative leadership – Verghese Kurien, Father of White Revolution, Dr Vikram Sarabhai, Founder of the Indian Space Program were creative leaders. Dr Sarabhai led a young team and constantly motivated them by encouraging healthy competition to give their best. He used to personally meet and engage in conversations with different teams. Consequently, the technology developed was novel and done efficiently.
Understanding the system and taking a wholesome approach – One should be a visionary leader and look beyond the immediate situations. People can specialize in one particular discipline but that does not mean that they should not adopt a holistic approach. People should practice system engineering.
Decision making – Good managers make good decisions. Even if it’s a bad decision, one can learn from that. But there should not be a prolonged indecisive phase. Our former President, Dr APJ Abdul Kalam was a good decision maker. He came up with Integrated Guided Missile Development Program when it was needed. It was a huge program and in fact, he pushed the idea convinced the government for its need.
4. Innovation in Management – One cannot progress without innovation. In management, innovation could be process innovation such as Mumbai Dabbawala or White revolution by Varghese Kurien. Elon Musk, CEO of Tesla, has been working towards colonization in Mars and this is an example of radical innovation. People such as Mr Dhirubhai Ambani and Narayana Murthy started from scratch and set up empires guided by innovation. One should face the challenges and take it as an opportunity. If one is not taking risks, he/she would not be able to succeed. The moment one believes in oneself and says “I can do it” – surely they will be able to do it. How one presents themselves to face the challenge is what makes the difference. That’s what the successful leaders such as Mr Sarabhai, Mr Homi Bhabha, Mr.Narayana Murthy did.
Sustainable Planet – Human beings should leave the planet worthy of living for future generations – children, grandchildren and their children. Today the natural resources are depleting. We should take initiatives to preserve them. Emission of greenhouse gases, usage of plastics should be minimized. Countries such as Kenya are way ahead in using alternate sources of energy.
Keynote Address on Sustainability
Mr. Ashwin Mahesh, A Social Technologist and the Co-Founder of Lithium
Mr. Ashwin spoke on re-imagining sustainability. He emphasized that all the environmental concerns had been known to us for the past 25-30 years. However, we showed lack of interest in adopting sustainable practices. As far as India’s growth is concerned, if we maintain 7% GDP growth, then it would take at least 35 years to become a median-income country. Hence, the target should be twice the present growth with half of the input.
He shared 5 core practices to achieve sustainable growth, which is as follows:
- Advocacy and information dissemination: we should nurture a culture of eco-consumerism. All the channels should be well equipped for advocacy. For instance, while passing the blueprint of a building construction, the municipality should disseminate proper information about the green building norms
- Proving by doing: bringing change through demonstration
- Maintaining a pipeline of innovation: setting the stage for innovative solutions
- Encouraging businesses of the future to move towards a green economy
- Improving governance for a livable future
The day one of NEEV concluded with new thoughts and perspectives from passionate thought leaders.
In the coming days, NEEV 2018 is surely going to be a huge wave of self-discovery, ideas and a learning point for students. The event will see noted corporate luminaries who will address the students and share their experiences.
