Aarohan -SIIB's National Level Supply Chain and Logistics Summit will be held this Friday , February 25th 2011. It is the fourth edition of Aarohan, and it has carved a space for itself in the Nation B-school event calendar . Aarohan has from start featured a National Level case study competition focusing on Operations, Supply Chain and Logistics. This year the theme for the case study was the Pharmaceuticals and healthcare industry.
The Supply Chain Summit is a platform where eminent personalities from the Industry share their views with the students. The theme of this year’s event is “Missing Links in Supply Chains”. Aarohan’11 will also host a Panel Discussion based on the theme “Risks with the Last Link of Supply Chain”. The participants in the Panel Discussion include professionals from both Corporate and Academia.
The preparations for the Pre-Events are in full swing , and for the first time , there is going to be a Post-Event too ( "War of DJs" ) where all can let down their hair after some serious gray cell activity after the Panel discussion and the Finalists of the Case study competition presenting their case solutions to the judges.
It's not time to make a change
Just relax, take it easy
You're still young, that's your fault
There's so much you have to know
Find a girl, settle down
If you want you can marry
Look at me, I am old, but I'm happy
I was once like you are now
and I know that it's not easy
To be calm when you've found something going on
But take your time, think a lot
Think of everything you've got
For you will still be here tomorrow, but your dreams may not
(Son)
How can I try to explain, when I do he turns away again
It's always been the same, same old story
From the moment I could talk I was ordered to listen
Now there's a way and I know that I have to go away
I know I have to go
(Father)
I was once like you are now
and I know that it's not easy
To be calm when you've found something going on
But take your time, think a lot
Think of everything you've got
For you will still be here tomorrow, but your dreams may not
(Son)
All the times that I cried
keeping all the things I knew inside
It's hard, but it's harder to ignore it
If they were right, I'd agree
but it's them they know not me
Now there's a way and I know that I have to go away
I know I have to go
-Ronan Keating ("Father and Son")
Experiences cannot be quantified yet the pages of memoirs are limited.The ink and page should approximate what the eyes saw, the mind thought and the senses felt.My journey in SIIB ends in roughly 20 odd days, so I thought this post should deal at length with some of the things I learned here.
1)In Semester 1 ,it felt good to be back in a classroom after some years of corporate life.One promises to study hard and play harder .Life seems rosy.The world is conquerable in six PowerPoint slides.Or maybe not under the withering glance of wizened Professors who have seen the same trick somewhere else.
2)You promised yourself that this time the mistakes you made as an undergraduate would not be repeated. Ha ! Life's little jokes. So history repeats and will again. Caveat emptor, future SIIBians.
3)Do your own thing anyways , keep your head above the water while doing that "own thing". This needs some further explanation. There is not an exact correlation between CGPA and the job you land , though for certain jobs ,it helps to have an edge.See where your interests lie and if they are not exactly being a topper in academics,but say dramatics : make sure the two years are filled with drama.That may mean you may not be able to attend all the classes,and some assignments may not be as top notch had an extra hour been spent on it.The point I am trying to make is an old one : do not miss the woods for the trees.
4)It is easier said than done to retire by age 35 unless you are Warren Buffet .The quote "do a job you love to do and you will not feel you are working" is not always realizable.One can do financial planning but why would one retire by 35 ?The average Indian lives upto 70 years , what would you do with 50% of your life ?If you can answer that , then you should go all out for that retiring early bit.
5)Income taxes matter, beyond the basics one should know.Irrespective of the specialization one chooses.Yes,even if you are a people's person and could not care about money.
6)Presentation skills matter. So do Excel and PowerPoint.Learn them.Do not exceed time limits meant for Presentations in classroom, it is: a)Bad manners b) Rude c)All of the above.
7)It is good to be silent ,and it is also good to speak out.You are in an academic environment , you are allowed to make mistakes.That is what is so great about being in a learning environment.
8)Make friends with people who do NOT think like you. Group-think is a real affliction.
9)"Group assignment" is an oxymoron , few groups get together to contribute equally or even close to the same to an assignment.Deal with it.Try to visualize how to make the best of a bad situation ,if the groups were not selected by you.
10)You may not understand everything at the first go.It's OK.Make sure you do get the essence.
11)The most productive days were when I went to the classroom without expectations, and listened like a layman . Mental baggage can and does stop effective learning.Learning to unlearn is a continuous process.On the same note, doing the extra reading before a class can help you see what the Professor teaches in 3D 2048 X 1536 resolution while other less prepared see the same class in hazy black and white imagery. Footnotes often contain juicy details.It is good to know, and good to know that you know :old Chinese saying.
12)There will be fads and there will be trends.Social networking is a fad today.Will it be 15 years down the line ? Read science fiction.You will smile.
13)And this is a mistake which I did make : I overslept for most of the days I know out here in SIIB. Which meant I woke refreshed every day,but saw fewer movies.Or read less.So if possible, sleep less.
14)Get involved with the social service activities out here in Symbiosis Infotech Campus, it will humble you to know the unique challenges facing the underprivileged.You will count your blessings and you will see there is so much you can do to help.
15)An empty mind is devil's workshop.Do something, anything.
16)Read research papers for they would define the many tomorrows to come.Having knowledge of obsolete practices is not going to help.
17)I wish I had discovered TweetDeck earlier.TweetDeck allows me to see all my Twitter tweets, Google Buzz and Facebook news feed in a single interface.The amount of time people spend on Facebook is ridiculous ,it is the idiot-box of our generation.
18)I learned that I can live without TV for months altogether.
19)Discover new genres of music.
20)Understand how rural India thinks , it is very different from what the aspirations of city-dwellers are.It takes some time to do this even to a small extent due to lack of readily available documentation.
21)Personal integrity is of surmount importance, never compromise it.
22)I have learned the most out of observing people, and their reactions to situations.Be it in case studies or campus.
23)You may be calmness personified or your temper may have a short fuse : one needs the ability to be professional at all times.
24)The art of explaining well is a prized gift.
25)And the last one : do not believe all you read.If all this sounds pompous and pretentious , that's because it is.I read a draft, and I asked myself :"Who do you think you are to preach?". Yes, self-deprecating humour can be substituted for humility.
Best of luck all ye future SIIBians .
-Aby Johnson (Batch of 2009-11)
“Every time a student walks past a really urgent, expressive piece of architecture that belongs to his college, it can help reassure him that he does have that mind, does have that soul.”
-Louis Kahn
It is here, some delays surely but it is here.The day when SIIB moves lock,stock and books(the library though is already in place in the new address) to the new building.
The students from the first and the second year will give their first and third semester exams in the new building .
So it began with an exam.
A new building symbolizes the chance to reshape our idea of what the college environment is.A new setting is always a sign of getting ready for bigger and better.
“A workshop at BSE by college on Friday, 23 July. The list of students for first bach is attached herewith. Reporting time 4 am”…hussshh… gimme a break…4 am in d morning? r u sure or have they put ‘am’ instead of ‘pm’ previous day…was d first reaction after reading d mail. Routine discussions after reading the mail began among all of us showing our displeasure towards timing….but there was a relief as well that going one day away from lectures and especially the GFM assignment that we get every Thursday……
Date 22 July
Place room no 507
Time 10.30 pm
Heated discussion was going on ….subject was which games should be included as a part of pre events of Leadership Series this year….and then sudden realization…freak…10.30 pm…tomorrow morning waking time…3 am…meeting wrapped with usual conclusion that a lot to be done and we will decide what to be done next time…..goodbyes were exchanged…..responsibilities of waking up each other were shared…
Date 23 July 24
PlaceCollege main gate
Time 4.00 am
“Shit yaar….bus hasn’t come…could have slept for some more time yaar……chod yaar…aa gayi bus………”
Constant rain, empty roads, morning songs on radio and longing sleep didn’t let us know when we reached Vashi and then BSE subsequently.
BSE. Sirf naam hi kafi hai…this is THE most discussed place in the country, the place about which we had been taught a lot and the place which every MBA finance student MUST visit in his lifetime….The stoic faces of traders, strict (apparently) policemen and nostalgic Fort area of Bombay…..stage was set….. The training was scheduled on 18th floor. The city of Bombay was ready for the day and we could see the hustle bustle on the streets -which was on its peak- from there.
Training began……. as lectures begin. After one good hour of history, geography, (economics, political science,biology…. and what not) of BSE we finally got a break. A tea break. We went upstairs …opened the doors of dining hall…and oh my holy god….freak…this is Bombay….the scene was so exquisite that we forgot the breakfast. On left hand side Hotel Taj and Gateway; on right side you have BMC and CST and right in front of you….just near Arabian sea….u have a long Rajabai tower , competing with clouds ….awesome…we were mystified …that made us forget everything…..simply great….then as usual a lot of information exchange happened and thousands of flashes of digicam …..
Post breakfast session was more interesting one…we were taught the BOLT system and how trading actually happens. This was followed by the mock trading session. This obviously created some time for us to attend to our networks u know…Facebook and Gmail. The trading was interesting. We 30 were to trade among ourselves and generate the profit at the end of the day. The game lasted for 2 good hours when luch time was declared. Again…same scenes of Bombay made our lunch more enjoyable than the actual lunch.
Post lunch session was on trading again but with lot of details….A detailed explanation of the BOLT processes was given by faculty. The session ended with a sudden announcement of the test which will be held after tea break. Though we know very well that how to pass in a test…but still a test is a test….Again same dining hall…same Bombay was waiting for us to be clicked for third time in the same day.
The test occurred…yea….just occurred ….. after appearing for tests by Agashe Sir and Takale sir, this was like a formality. The certificates were distributed. Then we went for a tour of BSE building. The trainer was much passionate @ BSE and its legacy. The portraits of the stalwarts who established it, nurtured it and made it what it is today were really inspiring. We left the building with the same feelng in our minds.
But the visit to Bombay was not over yet, and how would it without a visit to Marine Drive? The bus was turned…and we were happy…. ….the setting sun and the waves of sea generated a sense of fulfillment. We left from there at 7 pm and got introduced to traffic of the maximum city. Unbelievable. We failed to get a single green signal in first attempt. Sometimes 3-4 attempts were needed. The sense of boredom was creeping in and suddenly the idea of DUM SIRAJ was put forward….freak….2.5 hrs…with Radio Mirchi as background music…..we finally reached to college back at 11.45 pm…
Busy day…truly a busy day….3 am to 11.45 pm….but a memorable one….
Party animals and early morning classes the next day have as much love lost between them as hare and fox over the last millenia. SIIB's Freshers party for the batch of 2012 yesterday night at St.Laurns and after having attended classes at 9 am the next day prompted a question in one : Freshers party after they have served the symbolic ice-breaking , foot-looseness and mass camaraderie of being at one spot on earth for two years:has it served the same role over the many years Freshers party would have been in place in India under various names at various points in time.
Say, we are in the age of warriors and farmers, the kings and the sorcerers about 900 years back.
The freshers party of soldiers 900 years back would have (if they were recruited during peace time, and not in war time : the ones recruited during emergency possibly would have little luxuries attached to their initial days) included a warm meal and steady source of income.The soldiers would have been given a place to stay and possibly a weapon to practice.At a practice ground , the drill sergeant would have bellowed:
"The glorious kingdom of BlogHypotheticalPlace asks you to do what is necessary to carry our Most Venerable Emperor(or Queen)'s vision.Your life from henceforth belongs to the Army of the BlogHypotheticalPlace, and we expect discipline ,patriotism and the supreme sacrifice,if needed. Eat and drink for tomorrow we fight"( notice the subtle throwaways to Hollywood dialogues).
A gulp or two would have passed down in the young soldier's mind when he heard of phrases like "supreme sacrifice".But hey ,"we are in the Army now" as the song goes.
You're in the army now / Oh, oh you're in the army - now / You've got your orders to shoot on sight / your finger's on the trigger / but it don't seem right
The Royal Chefs would have possibly planned for the young ones who had decided to devote their lives to smells and crunches divine.
"Hey, you there young lad.Yes, I mean you. Chop these forty kilos of onions for today's lunch . After that , it's those bags of onions which need to be peeled.And do not forget to make sure there is enough firewood for the next ten days in the storeroom. By the way , welcome to the Royal Kitchen.At all times never forget that food is our route to the king's heart, and not of the oily-route some foods give.Our food may decide the mood of the king and often may lead to increased taxes for the peasants if we fail to deliver."
The legend of Akbar's khichdee would be then lovingly told to the young recruit.And then it is off to the lowly ranks of peeling and cutting,before some years down the line the young cook would move up a notch to more "value-added processes" in cooking(notice the subtle throwaways to management jargon).
The best(if that is the right word) freshers party would have to be that of the farmer. The family enterprise that a farming family is,it is likely that all the members of the family from an early age would have had a chance to participate in the farming process ( we will exclude the large landowner from this discussion :the life of manor born usually rests on that money can make work-from-an-early-age a needless concept). The freshers party would have been at a very early hour , much before the sun came out. An early breakfast, and the farmer would instruct the young hands of what needs to be done for the day.The mandatory speech:
"Nature expects diligence ,and she mother earth rewards well.If the gods are kind and we have done our duty of working hard before the rains and the right amount of sunshine will give us a bounty. Lads and lasses, this is going to be hard work ,but we will be rewarded at harvest.So gear up and let that shovel move"(Digression: In Malcolm Gladwell's Outliers,a theory is presented of how folks from South China are found to be good in maths, and the reason is attributed to the traditional farming practices of the region)
Universities, many centuries down the line of course do not have to give such facts-of-life at freshers parties. Arranged and stage-managed, and the fun is the only operating motto.It is our way of saying:" welcome all ye, new students. We open our doors to the best and the finest, and in celebration we shall make merry."
