June 30^th, 2014 – The day I landed in the city of joy, all pumped up to embark on a journey I had been awaiting since I started solving MCQs on Numbers and Para-completion two years back. Today, I have travelled one month into the MBA (IB) programme. I look back, awestruck, and realize how much I have grown or as managers put it – what has been my value addition. Here, I see what learnings this one month has bestowed upon me.

Time Management: I have had time-bound assignments in my 9 months of work experience, but never has a deadline been so dear to me. “23:59:59” ruled my first three weeks under the IAP programme. The deadline was professed so aggressively, that now, meeting a deadline in time comes naturally.

CV points: With power comes responsibility. And with responsibility, comes a CV point. After the first CV verification, I realized that my 2-page CV in undergraduate was humbled immediately to a “half-page-CV”. This wake-up call flagged-off the race for a CV point. And believe you me, I earned my first CV point and it called for a full-fledged treat.

There is always a tomorrow but there exists no day-after-tomorrow: An MBA student becomes myopic right in the first week of joining. All that matters is “Kal ke liye kuch kaam hai?” I have never had any longer-term-plan than the next 24 hours as yet. 

Forget Engineering, Learn Photo-shopping: The first one month offers a plethora of competitions to participate in. Yes, all of them have a “CV point” at stake. Hence, one needs to create a POD (point of difference) among one’s peers and express ideas creatively. In a pool of 88 engineers out of 93 students, Photoshop is the tool which comes handy to differentiate.
Sleep-time is luxury: Before June 30^th, I used to love beds. Rolling on bed reading. Rolling on bed laughing. Rolling on bed sleeping. I simply loved passing time on the bed. But now, every morning starts with a “Shit!! I slept”. I don’t remember when the last time I wished myself a good morning was.

I am in a relationship with MS-Office: I spend more time with Microsoft Office these days than with my closest friends. The amount of trust that I share with my PowerPoint presentation, to work at the right time, is immense. I wish to learn her in and out as soon as possible so that the bond gets stronger. Barring a few deterrents like Windows updates, I believe my relationship with Microsoft will go miles. Maybe, I’ll write a national bestseller, script a multi-crorer film or tie-up with Flipkart one day.

Peer-Learning: No matter who I was before June 30^th, here, when I step into IIFT, I am among equals. A small batch size of 93 and every person in the batch has achieved something huge to be present here. And the fact that everybody knows everybody else goes a long way in peer-learning. I can reach out for help and be assured that I will not be disappointed.

Neighborhood’s Sidhu Aunty’s constant rant that “Ladka padh padh ke Weak ho gaya” is finally being experienced: Nonetheless, the rewards are worth the efforts.

I look back at this one month and I smile. I look ahead, and I am all charged up for what is going to unfold. The opportunities that a B school offers are immense. This was just the pilot episode. The theme has been set. I hope this 2 year long journey fulfils its purpose of carving me into what I aspire to become. Cheers IIFT!

Credits: Jaskaran Bir Singh

“Small opportunities are often the beginning of great enterprises” These words by Demosthenes are relevant even today. To promote the same entrepreneurial outlook among the students of IIFT, Sprit, the Entrepreneurship Club at IIFT Kolkata organized an 'Ideation and Venture Designing' workshop-cum-certification course designed by Yash Saxena, IIFT alumnus (2008-10 Delhi batch) and founder of Openfuel - a consulting firm for Start-ups. It was a matter of great pride for the students to interact with the alumnus of their college who has helped to propel the spirit of innovation among the students of various leading engineering and management colleges like IIM A, SPJIMR , MICA and NIT Surat etc. 

The modules offered by Openfuel are on the same lines as those offered by Centre for Design Research, Stanford University and therefore offered a great opportunity to the students to be exposed to the limitless realms of innovation.

The workshop started with a presentation on the ideas of innovation. Yash explained how “Ideas are always copied” and almost every innovation starts with inspiration. Giving examples from life like how a book and computer led to the birth of Encarta and eventually it made way to Wikipedia. “Not accepting what is old” and the belief that the world is going to change is the basis of innovation. Great ideas are horrible at beginning and we should embrace the random stuff because the more random the connection, the greater probability of it not being seen by others.

                

Ideas galore !!

Mr Yash then enlightened us regarding the various startups that have furthered the cause of innovation in the world and upped the ante when it comes to ideation and entrepreneurship. Giving examples of Naukri.com, Zomato, Alibaba etc, he said that the idea of innovation is not new and has been the norm of life since earliest times. 
                              

The participants were divided into 16 groups of five each. He asked each group to choose a company and prepare an ‘Ideation canvas’ on it. Ideation canvas had various elements like the People, Activities, Situation/Context/Location and Props/Possible Solutions. We had to brainstorm as a group and deduce how we could innovate and 'ideate' regarding the company. We were expected to come up with experimental ideas to devise feasible avenues for innovation in the company and also provide our rationale behind the deduction. This was a very engaging discussion as we deliberated as to how to tweak an existing product to bring about a modification in the properties of the product and hence improve its functionality. 

   

The groups then had to present their ideas. All the groups gave lucid and interesting presentations focusing on the development of an entrepreneurial ecosystem associated with the particular company. Mr Yash was very impressed by all the teams and said that we all have pushed the envelope when it comes to innovation. He chose the top three teams based on their conception of idea, the level of innovation, out of the box thinking and feasibility of the innovation. The winning team had suggested innovations regarding Netflix and its concept of ‘Jessica’, an interface which would provide customized suggestions regarding the entertainment options according to the preference of the users, was applauded by all.                                    

   It was a very lively, dynamic and engaging workshop that led to a healthy exchange of ideas among the students. It also enabled us to gel as a unit and to think on our feet. It helped to propel the innovative spirit and initiative taking abilities among the students and promoted ingenuity and out-of-the box thinking. The event was hugely successful and we look forward to more of such events.

The credit for the successful workshop goes to all students at IIFT and the event coordinator Mr Rahul Sharma from the MBA 2013-15 batch. 

By Mohd Zeeshan

Aspirational tab defines the so discussed middle class. I have some core values, beliefs but I’m not a philosopher. Whole essence is that I always have a take on problem of others and there is a clear cut solution that I believe in. The solution may be feasible/ practical or not. I always feel comfortable with the people who agree with what I think. The only thing I do not like about myself is to blindly trust the person who just simply speaks my language. Am I exploitable?

 

The nation witnessed the birth of a new party recently and in a way supported them whole heartedly. Why? Because they speak our language. According to us whatever bad happens the reason is always corruption. We trust them without even having an iota of doubt and support their credibility as our representatives. Aren't these the same people who could not arrange a ticket for the constituency from other parties? Let’s take an example of the one who threw shoe at someone who was our representative. The shoe was thrown on us because we elected and asked him to sit there for us. How can he stand and desire to be our representative? But we trust them just because they speak our language?? 

They were chosen as the representatives of the constituency and were given a chance to form government. If we were the ones who selected them then who gave them the right to dissolve the government? The reason is not even worth discussing and would have been laughable if given in a college election. They were given five years to work for us and make our lives better. Were they given any checklist or even timeline such that if they fail to meet a task they should start packing for a holiday?

I recently heard an appeal on radio requesting everyone to advise them about so called “Public Fund” utilization. This fund is collected from every one of us while we buy anything, say Petrol, milk, toothpaste etc. The fund will be well utilized as the leader states. The same leader was given two years paid leave to pursue the higher education with a condition that he will serve our country with the newly attained knowledge. He then resigned from his post, not surprising. Whose money was utilized to fund his paid leave and higher education? Wasn't that ours??

The assemblies were setup in our country for a specific reason. If these places were useless then we could have saved millions and would have spent on other infrastructure needs. If I assume that people do nothing while sitting there then it would be injustice to an economy which showed tremendous growth in the last decade. It would be great to have a point of view of everyone but I don’t think I am capable of understanding the repercussions of the decisions at macro level. People are elected to sit there and expected to work in unison while it cannot be a daily routine for us. 

But I trust him because now he is speaking ‘my language’. Are my sentiments and emotions such that they can be so easily manipulated by anyone with a mask on? It’s not that I am not capable to understand what the intention of some people are. But I and my best friend – Hit & trial take time to come to a consensus. The common reply which I expect is that the writer is from opposition. For your information my dear Leader I am just a ‘Common Man’ from Indian Middle class.

By Ravi Sehrawat

     

The Park Plaza Hotel, 12th July 2014: It was an evening filled with nostalgia and bonhomie as we gathered for the annual IIFT Kolkata Alumni Chapter Meet. The event kicked off with Mrs. Amita Khurana assuming her responsibilities as the Chapter Head accompanied by Mr. Kushal Roy, previous year Chapter Head. The evening was hosted by the Alumni Coordinator, Dr. Meenakshi Deshpande and the Alumni Committee, and started with Dr. K. Rangarajan, Centre Head-IIFT Kolkata, welcoming the alumni from various batches of IIFT. He stressed upon the importance of the alumni networking with the current crop of students and inspiring them towards success.

He was followed by Mr. Kushal Roy expressing his joy at interacting with the alumni of IIFT. Mrs. Khurana expressed her excitement of undertaking the mantle of Chapter Head and networking with batch-mates, and fellow IIFTians at the workplace. The luminaries were followed by an engaging fun game from the students of MBA (IB) batch of 2014-16. The game was followed by solo and group vocal performances from the alumni. 

The alumni accompanied by the faculty members then interacted with each other while refreshments were served. Students got an opportunity to interact with the alumni and drew upon past experiences and memories. As the evening progressed, Mrs. Khurana undertook the task of initiating connections between the alumni of different batches. The evening ended with sumptuous meal and light-hearted banter. Nostalgic conversations graced every table.

The evening ended with both students and alumni taking to singing their heart out. We stood witness to some of the hidden gems from the stable of IIFT. It was a mesmerizing experience deeply entrenched with the sense of belonging that our alumni felt for their Alma Mater.

By  Daksh Shah & Supratik Chakraborty

The entire city of Kolkata was decked up with lights and there was the constant resonating boom of crackers on Diwali night. As the city was celebrating the festival of lights, we,  the students of IIFT gathered at one of the hostel’s to take part in celebrating this auspicious day in our own special way.

Transition from monotonous business suits to the traditional attires with a bling and riot of colors, was much needed to embrace Diwali in its full flavour. Gaiety was in the air as we warmly greeted one another and lit lamps in the hostel. As tradition goes, Lakshmi puja was conducted by the students as they prayed that the glow of joy, prosperity and happiness illuminates their days in the years ahead. The buzz of mobile phones announced the arrival of bhajans which were shared on the respective Whatsapp groups so that all the tech savvy students could join in singing them together. Enthusiasm and energy levels were on a high as we had a gala time bursting crackers, of which the rockets had many of us holding our breaths as some closely missed getting into the hostel rooms. Rekindling the spirit of festivity over a sumptuous meal, crackers of laughter could be heard all over the place. As the celebrations were drawing to a close, the students went into a party mode as popular songs were played and both the senior and junior batch students joined together in a few last dances as they left for their respective hostels.

Wiping a tear or two of nostalgia of not being at home on Diwali, IIFT, a second home for us all brought a heartwarming smile and a memory to tuck into our hearts for the years to come by.

After the level of intensity witnessed during Basketball, people thought things would be quieter when the teams gathered for Volleyball and Badminton. Obviously, they underestimated the desire for teams to win at all cost!

The day started with Volleyball where GKG proved to be the strongest team on the show and beat HOM in their first round. GOK beat TNHP easily to set up a thrilling finale. Needless to say, the matches had their moments with one of the team owners getting into an argument and players indulging in harmless 'name-calling'. The 3rd-4th round match between TNHP and HOM was dominated by TNHP which made them wonder what could have been had they got their positioning right in the first match.

The final was a close-knit affair as both GKG and GOK were playing well and not giving away free points. Nikhil Wagle, team owner with his golden arm and Kunal Malhotra, with quick hands at the net, swung the match in GKG's favor. After the win, GKG became table toppers but as the day ended, they were in for a surprise!

Badminton proved to be equally exhilarating as players from all four teams played their hearts out to win points for their team. Players overcame dehydration, fatigue, pressure and an highly vocal audience...;p. Individual brilliance from Tushar Soni, ably supported by Jatin Munjal, meant TNHP took away the honors, but they were given a tough fight by HOM. GOK came back strongly after their close defeat to HOM to pick up a solitary point leaving three teams on the top of the table with 12 points!

The players will be back with Football, Cricket and Tug of War. Till then, keep swearing..oops i mean cheering!

For an activity that takes your heart and soul, involves your mind and body it was a natural progression. Games begin in the mind before you move on to the real act itself. And nothing gets players in the heat of the game more than some mental stimulation. And thus began Titanomachy this year. The play for Titanomachy began with blitz chess. Team TNHP and HOM sounded the battle horn and knights started flirting with queens. Meanwhile GKG and GOK started dueling on the sidelines. Rooks were slaughtered, bishops were sacrificed and when the fog of war cleared, the pawnsters from HOM that emerged the champions of blitz chess, defeating GOK in the final battle of the checkered board.

The battle was won but the war remained, from Space Circle, where Balls of Fury were whizzing around at sonic speeds in the Table Tennis encounters. Solo, doubles or mixed doubles you name it. Table Tennis at Titanomachy had something for everyone’s taste. Nakul Gupta showed deadly table edge precision while Dipanjan Biawas was his usual Bengali self. GOK came out to be the TT Champs at Titanomachy 2013 after Vartika and Nakul won the mixed Doubles match to take an unassailable 3-1 lead.

Basketball is one of the most physically demanding sports there is and it was arguably the most aggressively contested one at Titanomachy.

Gaurav Bajaj (2012-14 batch) writes:

“Thundershowers, lightning, drizzle, beautiful fast rains - we all must have witnessed these weathers through our lifetime. But it's not every day that you get to see these weathers in the same day - something that was adamantly visible on the Basketball Court at Space Circle tonight. For those of you who were not a witness to the basketball chronicles today, well - you really missed something! Especially if you like the typical masala-stuffed Bollywood movies or turbulent TV shows like Bigg Boss (I thought I should begin with a joke but this one actually turns out to be true)

In our first match for the day, TNHP went one-on-one against GOK. The match turned out to be a mauling (with no disrespect to GOK, they just could not match TNHP's swagger). The score line stood at 20-0 at the end. It was like the scene from 3 Idiots - TNHP said Chamatkaar and GOK got Balaatkar! GOK just fell behind in line, caught in their own tails; eventually the misery was contemplated in just one dialogue - "Abey Kutte aage aa!" Everyone present could not help themselves but chuckle upon hearing this frivolous cry of frustration from a player in angst who tried valiantly but just could never get the proper service or the skills from the team! Ah, the moment is unretractable but i firmly believe etched in the minds of all those present. TNHP, on their part, had a strong set of players who contemplated well with each other - a fact aptly displayed by the score line 

And after witty dialogues and hearty laughs, all die-hard Bollywood dramas need some action! And action-was-a-plenty in the second match, between HOM and GKG. Both teams had players with good abilities - it was a good match on paper; on the court, it turned out to be an all-out war. Players crashing on the court, rough fouls, strong backing up and both teams keeping their defenses tight. The score remained 0-0 in the first half. The second half started in the same fashion - same tempo but with a basket scored by GKG. But it was as the third quarter ended that the match took an unprecedented turn - actually for the worse! All hell broke loose with one instance of a punch thrown; within moments sledging turned to physical involvement, heated exchanges, on rush of people from the audience to separate the engaged parties, more sledging, news of the match being abandoned, 40-50 ppl stacked up on the court, Anarchy, Chaos - it was a scene the Joker would have been proud of  Anyways, after more than half an hour of mayhem, Batman saved Gotham (captains and referee sorted it all out together) and the match was back on again with three FTs awarded to HOM for the foul - one was converted and score was brought to 2-1. A rapid last quarter saw both teams firing baskets and finally, GKG prevailed 8-5 to reach the finals. It was in the end our own Hillsborough disaster - only difference being that the competitive spirit and sportsmanship was what died a meager death here. It can be treated as a gossip story but it was essentially against sports etiquettes. In the heat of the spirit, we do regrettable things against our basic morals. Just hoping that it will not repeat in the remainder of this Titanomachy edition and we see rest of the sports played in the right spirit of competitiveness

And after that moral epiphany, back to the remaining games. 3rd Place was taken by HOM in a 6-2 win over GOK. GOK performed immensely better as a unit in this match but HOM ran away with the solitary point with a defining performance, totally reflective of their true caliber

The final between GKG and TNHP was a game between two giants. Although time deficit caused by the earlier debacle led to each quarter being restricted to a 3-minute time frame, both teams stepped up to the plate with strong conviction and a quality set of players. Over the first three quarters, TNHP took a 2-pt lead twice, both times equalized by GKG. The game involved rapid attacks by both teams along with more offensive strategies. A third basket in the 4th quarter of the game seemed to give TNHP the edge but a final needs to have a special moment - this one had its when GKG hit a three pointer in the middle of the last quarter to take a 7-6 lead. And that's how it remained till the end. GKG played catch up during the entire match but just crossed the line a bit better than THNP in a true photo finish. Both teams surely deserve a great round of applause for the enlivening the spirit and enthralling the crowd; in fact, all four teams did that.  And despite the shadows of negativity still present in hunches, it turned to be an extravagant affair - one thoroughly enjoyed by both the audience and the players.

P.S.: A special mention for the 'Jaddu ki Jhappis' one of the players gave to opposition players from behind during the game. I don't believe you are going to witness that again in a basketball if you missed it tonight (then again, I could not have predicted what happened today either).

The stage is set and emotions are high, as the students of IIFT Kolkata gather for the player auctioning round of the annual sports fest Titanomachy. With colorful team names and high level strategies formed by the team managers that would leave Sir Alex Ferguson to shame, it promises to be a fun ride. The sports to be played this year include Cricket, Football, Volleyball, Basketball, Badminton, Table Tennis, Chess and everyone's favorite Tug of War.

The teams lined up for the event are Gangs of Keshtopur (GoK), House of Marauders (HOM), Gogo ke Gladiators (GkG) and Tumse na ho Payega (TNHP). Before the bidding, we have seen lot of bickering among the teams, especially on their names, with some tongue-in-cheek comments being made. The overall budget set for each team is Rs. 10,000 (8,000 for guys and 2,000 for girls). Rohit Kumar (2012-14 batch), the Joint Cultural Secretary of IIFT, is conducting the bidding in true IPL fashion. Teams start off cautiously but floodgates soon open as Vishnu Karthik, arguably the best football player in both batches combined is sold for a whooping Rs. 2,000

GkG seems to have a lot of sentimental attachment to some players or a 'player'. They have bid as high as 1,400 for a girl, considering the total budget for girls is 2,000! As an audience member correctly points out, Dil Hai Ki Manta Nahin, to one of the team owners who shall not be named. After few more comments, the Gladiators have justified by stating that the bid was purely due to capability and not personal history!

Gaurav Bajaj (2012-14 batch) is making sure that people who are unfortunately missing out on watching the action unfold live are getting regular updates on Facebook. One of the students from the 2013-15 batch is overly eager to know his bidding price and has vigorously promoted his capabilities to all team owners before the event! Well, the promotion has worked as he is sold for 1,700. As the auction progresses, reputations are made or tarnished, as each player is given a price tag. As the auction ends, each team is going back with a satisfied smile thinking they have the winning combination. Only time will tell who will have the last laugh. Let the war begin!

Taj Bengal, Kolkata

Indian Institute of Foreign Trade has been a pioneer institute in the field of management education In India over the last fifty years. One reason for that has been successful national conclaves and symposia organized by the institute. After the hugely popular National Trade Symposium in 2012, IIFT Kolkata organized the National IT Conclave on 7th September, 2013 in association with the Electronics and Computer Software Export Promotion Council. The theme of the event was ‘Paradigm shift in the Global IT industry’ and eminent speakers ranging from government officials to honored academicians to senior corporate managers graced the occasion with their presence. The chief guest for the day was Dr. Chandan Chowdhury (MD India, Dassault Systemes).

The conclave was divided into four sessions, broadly - consulting, operations, e-commerce and HR apart from an inaugural session where the topic was introduced. Proceedings were started by the Centre Head – Dr. K. Rangarajan – who welcomed the guests and spoke about the growing importance of IT in today’s world while stressing on its importance to the MSME sector and subsequently India’s global growth. Dr. Chandan Chowdhury then spoke at length about the changing face of IT and its innovation driving capabilities. From the perspective of Dassault Systemes, he showcased how IT has transformed the workings and processes of sectors as diverse as automobile manufacturing, urban planning, life sciences and homeland security to name a few. The effect of advent of technologies like augmented reality, virtual modeling, fuzzy logic etc. in increasing profitability and efficiency by streamlining the prototype development processes was highlighted. Mr. Sanjeev Nandwani – Development Commissioner, FALTA SEZ, provided a government perspective. He gave an overview about the shift in IT from being a support industry initially to a solutions and consulting approach while underlining the fact that IT is today the prime employer –directly or indirectly in the urban sector while also being India’s biggest and most valued exports to the US/European markets. The session was rounded off by Mr. S. Radhakrishnan , CMD, Descon delivered a thought provoking speech on how the power sector was leveraging IT and also outlined the challenges faced by the IT industry going forward, such as employee attrition, business process transformation, how best to utilize and adapt to SMAC – Social, Mobile, Analytics and Cloud stacking technology.

Session 1: Consulting

The session on Consulting was thought provoking as it gave a perspective on how India, a traditional IT hub can be a consulting destination. Mr. Samrat Sen, Director, Cognizant Business Consulting enlightened the audience on the current challenges and trends facing the consulting industry. Mr. Arijit Chakraborty, Director, PwC, began with a heartening topic: “The Decade That Belonged to India”. He mentioned the current progression of IT will lead to the future of “Ubiquitous Consulting: A concept where computers are made to appear anywhere and everywhere”. Mr. Kaustav Ghosh, Advisor, KPMG, provided an informative session and drove the point on thought leadership and how it can transform the IT landscape. After the engaging session, there was a Q&A round which provided a platform for students to interact with these stalwarts from the consulting industry.

Session 2: Manufacturing

The sector which forms the backbone of any economy, Manufacturing was the next topic of deliberation. Mr. Barun Lala, Director, HP mesmerized the audience with his knowledge and spoke on integration of IT across various other industries. He spoke on IT being underutilized in retail by quoting an example of Walmart where all items are RFID tagged. Mr. Akhil Agrawal, COO, Interglobe Technologies gave insightful examples to relate IT to manufacturing and services industry. He brought a new perspective by speaking on SMAC (Social, Mobility, Analytics, Cloud) enabling innovation in manufacturing. Mr. Dharmendra Kapoor, VP, HCL Technologies gave a brilliant example of thinking out of the box in the Indian context. He succinctly drove the need for differentiation in the manufacturing policy of companies. Mr. Kapoor’s quote “Put Technology to Lead Business Innovation” formed the essence of the session. Mr. P.K. Biswas, an industry veteran of 30 years and Chief (IT), NHPC spoke on his personal experience of how IT had transformed the power sector. He provided key insights on ground-level realities and opportunities in the IT sector. The session followed a deluge of questions from students which were answered wonderfully by all panelists.

Session 3: E-Commerce

Another major topic of discussion was E-Commerce, a sector which has seen powerful growth in the last few years and promises to be an exciting domain in the future. Given the rapidly increasing rates of internet penetration and a largely untapped rural population, E-Commerce holds a promising future in India. Speakers for the session represented prominent names from the industry. Mr. Amit Sharma from Amazon Web Services discussed how Cloud Computing and Big Data would change the future of this domain. Technologies like Hadoop hold the key to better tracking of customers. He also discussed the importance of Fraud Management in an effort to increase the trust level of buyers. Another important topic discussed in this session was the stark difference in advertising levels in Indian and international companies. While a global player like Amazon spends 3% of its revenues on advertising the corresponding figure for an Indian company like Flipkart is around 20%. Mr. Rishen Kumar Mukherjee, Consultant and advisor to select organizations including CESC brought about a different perspective to the discussion. He raised widely shared concerns about the lack of internet penetration, high cost of customer acquisition and the small e–tailing market. He also questioned the absence of big players from this segment given its supposed growing popularity. IIFT alumnus Mr. Soumya Upadhyay, CEO, Workshop9 discussed his plans to launch a virtual incubator for better collaboration with customers for E-Commerce companies.

Session 4: Human Resources

Last, but not the least was the session on Human Resources. Mr. Dependra Mathur, C&B Head, Infosys BPO, inspired the students to consider careers in HR, by bringing out the importance that an HR professional plays in IT and the role transformation from being a ‘people manager’ to a ‘change manager’. The relevance of the same was further developed by Mr. Rohit Kapoor, HR Head, Dassault Systemes in his impassionate speech that, while advocating technology, also reinforced the importance of a human touch. It certainly cleared many misconceptions that people may have held about HR professionals. Ms. Atreyi Banerjee of Tech Mahindra highlighted the challenges that IT faces in integrating itself with changing technology- in particular the blurring of lines between the workplace and personal life and the resulting flexibility an organization must incorporate to smoothly manage the transition. Mr. Ayan Pal of IBM finally concluded the session with an entertaining and interactive presentation that showcased how social platforms could be leveraged to formulate innovative HR policies that empowered employees to unlock their creativity and potential.

Interaction among students and industry honchos didn’t end after the sessions and continued with informal discussion. The National IT Conclave was a grand success and the presence of eminent personalities from the industry showcased the brand appeal enjoyed by IIFT in the corporate sector. The event was a great success both in terms of the quality of knowledge shared with the budding managers and in terms of the participation by dignitaries from the corporate sector. The conclave also bears testimony to the rising popularity of the institute and it bodes well for the students who will be joining different sectors of corporate India in the years to come.

‘Hey, I just donated blood for the first time in life’, squeaked the proud me, as I sipped on refreshments. While tweeting the same ,a nice feeling sank in of donating blood for a good cause which may safe a precious life someday and I smiled to myself.

Such noble opportunity came my way in the blood donation camp which was organized in IIFT, Kolkata by Koshish : The social club.  It was organized in coordination with Association of Voluntary Blood Donors West Bengal. This coincided with the golden year celebration of the Indian Institute of Foreign Trade as well as marked the foundation day of its Kolkata Center , 16th July.

Blood donation drive was embarked with IIFT Professor Dr. R.P. Dutta as the first donor. 

Doctors did the preliminary tests and fit candidates were taken forward for donation. In case someone was identified as unfit doctors went ahead to give appropriate advice to him/her. Enthusiasm among the students continued as the donors poured in till the end of drive. Happy faces can be seen all around and such infectious optimism got extended to those who were initially apprehensive about donation. 

Around 60 people comprising of students from both the batches 2012-14 and 2013-15 as well as professors, administrative staff successfully donated blood with a promise of coming back again next year with the same zeal.

 “Blood Donation will cost you nothing but it will save a life!”
“Share a little, care a little – Donate Blood.”

Nostalgia was in the air as the alumni of IIFT assembled at Floatel on Strand Road, the Howrah bridge gleaming in the background, for the annual IIFT Kolkata Chapter Meet.

Anshul Khandelwal, the alumni coordinator, was the anchor of the evening and he kickstarted the function by inviting Mr. Kushal Roy, Head of Kolkata Chapter Meet. Mr. Roy welcomed the alumni and emphasized on the importance of such events. He also invited applications for "The Alumni Of The Year" award.

Dr. K. Rangarajan, Centre Head of IIFT Kolkata was invited to the podium to address the audience. His update on the new sprawling campus that is expected to be operational by October gripped the attention of the alumni. Mr. Rituraaj Juneja, an esteemed alumnus of IIFT also addressed the audience on how the network of alumni, students and the college can mutually benefit from each other. This was followed by a presentation by Anshul  about IIFT's road map for the next couple of years. He also gave updates about the the various alumni chapter meets held in different parts of the country and the ones scheduled for the rest of the year.

Amar Budati, a student of 2012-14 batch, enthralled the audience with a short quiz on Kolkata. It prompted several enthusiastic responses and set the mood for the evening.

As the night progressed, old memories were revived and business cards were exchanged. We departed with a vow to come back again next year with a bang!

-- By Kartik Puri, 2013-15

As I walked down on the railway tracks in Tiljala area,Kolkata, slums sprawled on both sides of the tracks till eyes can see. Little kids in rags played on the tracks undeterred of any probable trains coming. Trains keep passing and rickety houses keep shaking still the life goes on like everything is normal. Though we may try to see , think and relate but we just cannot understand that feeling of growing up there.

As part of Social Awareness Program this is a full credit course which IIFT has included in the 2 year academic course of MBA where students are required to undergo 3 week NGO internship in the first year. Here, students are assigned particular NGOs based in Kolkata and they are required to work with them on assigned projects. The main purpose of this course is to sensitize the students who will be venturing in the professional world in near future such that they take the society along with them while they climb up the steps of success. Partner NGOs are selected which work for gamut of causes ranging from women empowerment to drug addicts.

I worked for Mobile School project in ‘Save the children’ as part of my internships. We in a group of two along with NGO team ventured in various parts of Kolkata where they have identified slum colonies as Mobile school bus stand. We used to spend two-three hours each in one location and then moved to another. Children above the age of five who have never attended school or dropped out for some reason were encouraged to enroll in this programme and attend the bridge course such that they can be main streamed in school soon. Children who have crossed certain age limit are counseled for taking up vocational courses.

We interacted with the kids of all ages as well as taught them little languages, mathematics. We counseled a few and motivated them to continue learning .Moderated a few children meetings and helping them identify their colony’s problem. Our main aim was to make a genuine effort to touch those children’s life a bit by giving them hope to rise above this, learn to see dreams, fill colors in them and reach out to achieve. Their simplicity and politeness towards us moved our hearts as seldom do we see kids of this age behaving like this. A simple act of making cute greeting cards along with those little kids made us all so happy that our another competitive parallel life looked so mundane.

Though we may not be able to bring a radical change in society in such a short duration but those moments do reflect back the time that brought heart felt smiles to those kids as well as mine.

By: Akanksha Garg

What is titanomachy? Well, simply put, it is just an idea. But, men will die, Greece will rise or fall, but this idea will live on…no matter what. What is popularly known as the most anticipated event of the academic calendar was upon us on the 30^th of October as the bidding process for the players began with full gusto...

The stage was set. The four teams (Ire of the Jedi, Dependable Devils, TMK & Maniac Marauders) had been formed & thoroughly marketed through social media. The owners sat with their newly appointed junior managers & bid for two solid hours in the conference room, eager to get the best set of players for all the varied games. The highlights of the bidding process were the never ending bids for Nakul & Jayanth who went for 2600 & 3200 points respectively. A bid that caught everyone’s eye was that of Vartika Goel who went for a heavy 2600 points. Speculation suggested that reason for her price going up so high wasn’t strictly, ahem, skill-based.

Once the teams were set, there was the draw which was carried out by Dr. R.P. Sharma. First up was Chess, then the first stage of Football to be followed by a mega day of all the matches of Volleyball, Basketball & Badminton. Next would be the day with all the Cricket matches followed by Table Tennis in the evening. The event would be concluded with the Football finals & the closing ceremony on the 12^th of November.

Chess was up first & the surprise player was Nitika Bansal who won over many hearts after defending brilliantly against Subhra & timing her out before tearing through Vartika Singh’s black army. Jedi raced to top of the table by finishing at the top. TMK followed in second place with DD finishing in third.

Next up was Football with stars shining bright in DD & MM’s caps. Rain played a major part in this match with the wet, muddy ground proving too hard to play for many. Regardless, DD demolished Jedi in their first round match by scoring 4 unanswered. The upset of the day was TMK overcoming DD when a half-intended pass by right winger Ankit Yaduvanshi found its way into the feet of Varun Raj & he found the net with ease. The player of this event was undoubtedly Mayank Gulati, the star goalkeeper of TMK who blocked attempt after attempt on his post.

The very next day was the mega-day. First up was Volleyball & there was just one thing that anyone & everyone had praises for in this event, the serves of Ankit Yaduvanshi. TMK, in both their matches were down by large margins before the ball was given to Ankit Yaduvanshi. In Manish Bhai’s words, ‘It was as if rockets were being launched from the other end.’ He was sadly the recipient of most of Ankit’s serves in their first encounter & the impact made his forearms clot. He was given the nickname ‘Hand of God’ by his teammates. Needless to say, TMK won & with Jedi finishing last, TMK took the lead in the points table.

The action then shifted to the basketball court where Manish Bhai’s two big buys shone & Raj set the trail ablaze. He was, by-far, the best player on the court that day. MM defeated DD in the final & MM recorded their first victory. This was the third time that DD was in the final & they had lost both of the two finals that they had played. In the third place match, TMK’s magician Mayank Gulati turned it around for TMK with a memorable 8 point game. Ankit Yaduvanshi also scored a three pointer from way out, rising over Nitika Bansal’s head.

Next came Badminton & it was really hard to pick out a single player that shone out. The level of play displayed by the top two was very high indeed. Manish Bhai, Tushar Pandey (JPC), Tarun Madaan & Viksit Arora were shining like gems & their doubles match was the highlight of the day. DD won the final but MM won hearts.

Dead tired from the day’s toil, the titans trundled their way back home. A brilliant strategy was devised by Umesh (all credit to him) which gave 3 days of rest to everyone before the action moved to the Cricket grounds where after defeating MM & Jedi respectively, TMK & DD met in the finals. This was the third final between these two giants. In the end, DD took the cake with a 14 run victory over TMK. There were no star players as such but Tarun Madaan, targeted to be lambashed in the final, bowled superbly & gave just 4 runs in his 3 overs which was the difference between victory & certain defeat. A brief fistfight between Ankit Yaduvanshi & Rohit Shukla was the highlight of the day. Kunal Patil set the stage ablaze with a quickfire 18 for Jedi which included 2 sixes.

The Table Tennis matches saw a major upset as TMK’s team, which looked very strong on paper, went out in the first round. DD won & it was Kunal Patil who was the shining star for Jedi once again. Titanomachy had been decided & yet, the Grand Finale was eagerly awaited.

The stage had been set. The ground had been booked. The torches had been lit. The time had come for the Football Finals. The final event of Titanomachy was upon us. MM & Jedi’s third place match was won by MM in extra time which set the stage for a last minute drama in the next match.

TMK’s strategy was to frustrate DD & hit them on the counter. With a rock solid defense, they were able to do just that. They created some really good moves with solid moves going down both wings. Raj Sharan had an off day & failed to convert a host of chances that were in the offing for TMK. The match ended at 0-0. Now is when the drama began!

Penalties were declared & just as it was about to start, the floodlights went out. So, the match was declared to be a draw. Many TMK players left including star finisher & right winger, Ankit Yaduvanshi. Then the lights were switched on again & after 3 extra penalties, DD won the tie amidst strong winds of controversy. It was a fitting end to a brilliantly organized event.

UMESH, hats off to your organizational capacity! The event was very well planned & executed.

By: Ankit Yaduvanshi

Happy Club is an unofficial club of IIFT but probably the most active of all J. It was formed with an intention to give the students a good time and happy memories to cherish. The club celebrates the birthdays of all its members and gets engaged in activities that raises the spirits of the students. This is particularly necessary keeping in mind the hectic schedule we have!! Working under the aegis of Haider bhai, all the 56 students of the class are the coordinators of the club and contribute equally towards its budget and the activities. Happy Club had helped organize the Independence Day Celebration which gave the students a chance to remember the long drawn battle of the freedom fighters and exhibit their singing/dancing/acting skills by performing various activities in fond memory of the same. The birthdays are something all the members look forward to (the chance to get a cake). The cake cutting ceremonies are held in a very PROFESSIONAL MANNER (with everybody getting a chance to have a slice)!!! Nonetheless, Happy Club is very close to the hearts of each and everybody.

Reminders of a good time: