XIX ANNUAL CONVOCATION CEREMONY

FORE School of Management held its 19^th annual convocation ceremony on 8^th May, 2012. The event was graced by Mr. N. R. Narayana Murthy, Chairman Emeritus, Infosys Ltd.

Mr R C Sharma, President, FSM inaugurated the event by lighting the lamp and declared the ceremony open. Mr. R. P. Billimoria, President Emeritus, FSM, delivered the welcome address and announced that plans were in motion for expansion of the infrastructure by construction of a new block in the existing campus as well as a new campus at Sonepat.

Dr. Jitendra K Das, Director, FSM addressed the students and congratulated them on the successful completion of their diplomas. He welcomed and introduced the Chief Guest for the prestigious event.

He, thereby, presented the Activity Report for the year 2011-2012. The past year was eventful for the b-school as it saw stupendous performances by the students as well as the faculty. He emphasized on how FORE is now focussing on international exchange and cooperation engagement with prestigious business schools like ESC Rennes, School of Business (France), Faculty of Business, UNB(Canada), Savannah University (USA) and Asian Institute of Technology.

He went on to give the final and summer placement records for the year 2011-12. A total of 111 new recruiters visited the campus for final placements including Michael Page International, TATA Motors Ltd, HSBC, Castro, Genpact, C.B Richards, Axis Bank etc. 99% students had received their final placements offer by April 30^th, 2012 and 100% students had secured their summer internships by 31^st March, 2012. He also announced that the highest CTC for final placements soared to 32 lakhs per annum and the summer internship stipend to an average of 15,000 per month.

A total of 268 students graduated this year, in the three variants of the Post Graduate Diploma in Management (PGDM) course offered by FSM. Of these, 170 were from the flagship full-time PGDM course, 56 students from PGDM International Managers Group(IMG) and 42 students from the PGDM Working Managers Group(WMG) course. 

Thereafter, Dr. Asif Zamir, Chairman PGP, presented the students with their diplomas and the Scholastic Awards were presented to the students by Mr. N. R. Narayana Murthy.

Yukti Mittal topped the two year full time PGDM(FMG-19). Mittal was closely followed by Ashima Mathur in second place and Anushree Vij at the third place. The two year full time PGDM- International Managers Programme was topped by Hitaishi Gupta. Priyanka Agarwal and Niharika Agarwak followed in second and third position respectively.

N. R. Narayana Murthy left the students with invaluable insights and advised them to benchmark themselves with the best in the world.

On an ending note, even as the students, dressed in shining black and golden robes, tossed their graduation hats into the air, there was an overwhelming and palpable feeling of nostalgia building inside the outgoing students. The students were charged with confidence for excelling for themselves and the country in their chosen field.

CONVOCATION ADDRESS BY THE CHIEF GUEST

N. R. Narayam Murthy, Chairman Emeritus, Infosys Ltd., is the man behind one of the world’s most successful IT companies.

He urged the students to align personal objectives with the growth impulses of the country and to take up the responsibility of contributing to the society.

He quoted American Social writer, Eric Hoffer, "In a time of drastic change it is the learners who inherit the future," and emphasised that, "every citizen has an important role in the undertaking of the nation's development; however, the educated ones have a greater opportunity and consequently a greater responsibility towards this contribution".

He said, “We still have more than 350 million Indians living with a mere Rs.36.00 per day; 250 million Indians do not have access to save drinking water. Over 750 million Indians do not have access to decent sanitation. India ranks 6^th or 7^th in the global hunger index. It is therefore appropriate to think of few important things. Have India made significant progress since independence. Can we be happy about the progress?” 

STUDENTS SPEAK

Hitaishi Gupta, topper of IMG-4, says, “It has been a most memorable and life altering experience at Fore. I have made some very good friends here and would miss my MBA days a lot”

Ashima Mathur, one of the toppers of PGDM-19, says, “I feel on cloud nine right now. It has been an amazing journey. The faculty here was immensely helpful and guided us when we were in doubt. I shall cherish my time here always.”

ANUBHUTI SESSION with Mr. Kamal Singh(24/07/2012)

It is not often that we come across people who not only impress us but also inspire us. It is then no wonder that, it was with awe that students at FORE School of Management welcomed Mr. Kamal Singh, the Director at the Centre for Management Development & New Initiative MAST-AIMA.

 Visiting FORE as a part of the “anubhuti” session conducted by the Corporate Interaction Division of the institute on July 24, 2012 ; Mr. Singh is the recipient of several accolades and awards,  and was recently awarded the ‘Indian Achiever’s Award’ by Indian Achievers Forum.  Responsible for having launched various events, including the recently launched initiative Management Aptitude Test Skill Test (MAST), it was no wonder that the session that he conducted was not only educational but also highly interactive.

Giving it a simple and straightforward start, Mr. Singh involved the audience right from the begining. Constantly encouraging and supporting the enthusiastic students, who were all vying to answer, he managed to give attention to one and all. Starting with a simple question wherein he asked the students to cite the emerging changes in global business world, he effectively incorporated the answers of the students to highlight the changes happening in the business world.

 Citing relevant reasons such as demographic dividends, innovation and liberalization, increases in expectancy level etc., he chose relevant examples to help the students relate better. Perhaps the greatest learning that he imparted was how every individual could be an effective future manager not only at the national level but also at the global level. Stressing upon the importance of qualities like creativity, passion, efficiency, flexibility etc., he chose specific examples like that of Indra Nooyi, IPL, and Bharti-Airtel etc, which motivated the audience. In addition to this, a very pertinent question at this time, the importance of ethics was also stressed upon by him. His delight when nearly ninety percent of the audience regarded ethics as an important tool was obvious.  It was thus, not advice but experience that students took away from the session.

 The true highlight of the event was however the expert manner in which Mr. Singh handled students’ queries and doubts. He ended the evening on a high note, leaving students to ponder over how they could be visionaries in the coming future. It is perhaps then an understatement to say that every student felt privileged to have attended the session.