Events from archive

Field visit to East Swalkuchi Water supply scheme at Kamrup District, Assam

Prof. A. K. Dutta, Director RGIIMS visited the sample water supply scheme and total sanitation project sites at East Swalkuchi in Kamrup District of Assam along with Prof. T. K. Giri and Prof. B. Roychoudhury in order to explore the feasibility of the consultancy projects with the CCDU of Public Health Engineering Department, Govt. of Assam and the UNICEF. The field visit was organized by the PHE Department, Govt of Assam.
After the field visit in the first half a meeting was convened in the UNICEF Guwahati office with the representative of PHED, UNICEF and IIT, Guwahati regarding various issues on consultation process in the North Eastern States and the possible role of IIM Shillong.

Workshop On Training Need Assessment In Watsan Sector

Prof A.K. Dutta, Director RGIIMS addressed the inauguration function of the 2-days State level Workshop on “Training Need Assessment” on 23rd August 2010 at Betkuchi CCDU Auditorium organized by the Public Health Engineering Department, Govt. of Assam in collaboration with UNICEF.
The programme was attended by about 60 members comprising of Executive Engineers, SDOs, Zonal Coordinators, District Coordinators and NGOs of the State working in the field of Water and Sanitation Management. Addressing the august gathering the Director has stressed on Attitudinal Changes, Self management and Change management in developing Professionalism in the sector and highlighted the strength of IIM Shillong in this regards. The Director has also clarified the Institutes role in social responsibilities in the North Eastern Region on Sustainable Community Development during the question answer hour of a technical session. Later on Prof. T. K. Giri has facilitated in running the Training Need Assessment Exercise for both the days on behalf of the IIM Shillong as requested.

Pearson Education: MyLabs Demo

On 27th July 2010, representative of Pearson Education gave a presentation on their online education portal – MyLabs. The online education portal comprises of ebooks of all books of Pearson Publications, excluding the low price editions. It also provides question banks and faculty resources which can accordingly be customized. There are separate portal for individual functional areas. The portal can be used to set up online examinations for the students. There are facilities also for students to take mock test to evaluate their preparedness for any given area.

Round Table Meet on Improvement of Traffic System in Shillong City

The Centre for Development of North Eastern Region (CEDNER) of Rajiv Gandhi Indian Institute of Management Shillong has organized a Round Table Meet on “Improving Traffic System in the Shillong City” at its Institute premises during 23rd July 2010 i.e Friday between 14.00hrs.- 17.30 hrs in response to a request to the Govt of Meghalaya Traffic Department under the overall guidance of Prof. Ashoke K. Dutta, the Founder Director of the Institute.
Altogether 38 participants from various Govt Departments viz.Traffic, Police, Transport, Municipal Board, Urban Affairs, PWD, Housing, Planning, Environment, Pollution Control Board, Tourism, and Civil Society Organisations, Rangbahshnong, have actively participated and contributed their valuable input to the discussion in order to come out with the possible solutions and action points.
The programme was started with the opening remarks by Prof. Swapan K. Majumdar followed by a brief introduction about CEDNER by Prof. Keya Sengupta. After an introduction and objectives of the Programme by Prof. T. K. Giri, Mrs. Claudia Lyngwa,IPS the DSP City Police, Govt. of Meghalaya made a technical presentation on “Traffic System on Shillong City – the existing status” and focused on various specific problems. A team of 10 PGP Participants (2009-11) of IIM Shillong led by Abra Mahener Reddy made a Case Study presentation on Sustainable Traffic System in Shillong based on their representative sample survey. In the post tea session the thematic discussion on various burning issues on how the lead problems of Shillong Traffic System can be solved was discussed in details and the necessity of formation of alternative pressure groups was felt to amend and implement the various policy issues. The thematic discussion session was moderated by Prof. Sanjeeb Kakoty. The programme came to an end with the formal vote of thanks by Prof. Natalie West Kharkongor.
The Programme was coordinated jointly by Prof. T. K. Giri and Prof. Natalie West Kharkongor on behalf of the Institute.

Spic Macay : Santoor & Tabla Vadan

Every year, the students of IIM Shillong have been organizing various cultural activities showcasing the diversity and richness of the cultures and traditions present in India. This year, in the same spirit, the institute held a SPIC MACAY event – Santoor and Tabla Vadan at the IIM Shillong Auditorium on 13th July, 2010. There were two renowned maestros who visited the campus for the event-Pandit Tarun Bhattacharya and Pandit Subhankar Banerjee.
Pandit Tarun Bhattacharya is one of the world's preeminent virtuosos of the santoor. Coming from a family of musicians, he has received training from Pandit Shivkumar Sharma and Pandit Ravi Shankar. Pandit Bhattacharya has recorded and played both solo compositions and jugalbandis with instruments like shehnai and bansuri. Stylistically, Pt. Bhattacharya differs from many other santoor players in his varying use of tones and timbres. He is regularly featured in the Doverlane Music Conference in Kolkata and has already played twice in Royal Albert Hall, London. His album ‘Nomad Christmas’ was nominated for the Grammy.
Pandit Subhankar Banerjee is one of the very famous players of Tabla. At the age of five, the musical wonder kid was placed under the tutelage of Shri Swapan Shiva, celebrated artiste and teacher of Farukhabad Gharana. He received awards in his early age from celebrities like Satyajit Ray, Pandit Ravi Shankar and the President of India. He joined Pt. Hariprasad Chaurasiya to play with the symphony orchestra in London and in Paris. He was invited by Prince Charles to perform in London with John McCain and Pt. Hariprasad Chaurasia. He was the only Indian percussionist to be invited in Tokyo to compose an orchestra with famous musicians from five other Asian countries for the best known festival in Japan, “Asian Fantasy Concert”.
The chief guest for the event was Brigadier Gyan S. Puri. He has a keen ear for music and also plays several key and wind instruments. The event was also graced by officers from the army.
The event witnessed an enthusiastic crowd from among the participants of IIM Shillong. People experienced some enriching and beautiful music at the concert and this captivating performance was followed by the felicitation of artists by the Chief Guest. The musical evening was the first of its kind in this academic year and was the perfect start for many more to come.

Workshop on Culture Building for Performance management for International Hospital, Guwahati

The Director of RGIIMS, Prof A K Dutta, Prof S S Sarkar, Prof R Dwivedi and Prof S Purbey conducted the Workshop on “Culture Building for Performance Management” , 10th Jujy 2010 .
Doctors along-with senior administrative staffs of the Hospital participated in the programme. Chairman of the Assam Hospitals, renowned industrialist and social figure Mr. Chelliah along-with the Executive director of International Hospital Dr. Tanmoy Das also actively participated in the workshop.

Inauguration ceremony of PGP Class 2010-12, IIM Shillong

The third batch of the post graduate program of IIM Shillong was inaugurated on 5th July,2010. The inauguration ceremony was presided over by the Director, Prof. A.K.Dutta. The PGP chairman, Prof. D.K. Agarwal along with other members of the faculty and staff were also present.
Prof. Dutta gave a speech welcoming the new class of 94 students and also spoke about how IIM Shillong has managed to create a brand name for itself in a short span with its state of the art infrastructure & dedicated faculty. The PGP Chairman also gave a welcoming note as did the other faculty members.
Each of the students of the new batch then introduced themselves. The senior batch students also gave their introduction and shared with their junior participants their experiences of the past one year at IIM Shillong.

Management Refresher’s Programme

Centre for Development of North Eastern Region(CEDNER),is organizing the First Management Refresher Programme at IIMS. The Programme which began on 31st May,2010 will continue till 11th June and is attended by participants from all over the country. The participants who have already done their MBA from different Institutes and Universities of the country, have gathered here to acquaint themselves with the latest developments in management studies in this Two Weeks Programme.

WipeOut : A drive against computer illiteracy

IIM Shillong in its short but eventful stint of existence has endeavoured to meaningfully contribute from the perspective of Corporate Social Responsibility, thanks to the dynamic and ever evolving leadership under its Director, Prof Ashoke Dutta.
In its most recent and unprecedented move, the Institute, perhaps, becomes the first of its kind to initiate and offer a Computer Literacy Program for all outsourced and contractual staff working within its ambit, aimed at wiping out computer illiteracy amongst fourth grade staff and security personnel so that they may gainfully contribute to the already established tech-savvy campus.
Basic handling of computers, the ability to negotiate and come to terms with the ever developing nature of work given the technological strength that the Institute boasts of and providing each one with an opportunity to merge within the realm of sophisticated machinery and technology, IIM Shillong through its IT Department has set apart a special module and time to enhance the abilities of such workers to confidently come to terms with the probable future demand of work.
From creating their own respective bio-data, incorporating basic data entry, and learning to type-in leave or other kinds of requisitions that fall under their work profile, the outsourced and contractual employees are fast gaining a strong foothold in the world of computer application.
The best part is that all of this is gained free of cost, with the only motive being to help contribute in this fast paced, competitive and ever increasing challenge of facing a world where gaining employment is directly proportional to being able to handle the computer – even if it is in the most basic form.
In the recent past, the Institute has also initiated various other programs aimed at uplifting the professional profiles of the youth of the state and the region as a whole under its CSR efforts.

Enhancing Managerial Effectiveness

A tailor-made training programme on “Enhancing Managerial Effectiveness” for the senior officials of All India Radio and Doordarshan was organized by RGIIM Shillong during April 26-30, 2010. Altogether 33 participants across different parts of the country participated in the programme. The programme was inaugurated on 26th of April, 2010 where Padmashree Patricia Mukhim, the editor of the Shillong Times was the Chief Guest. Prof. Ashoke K Dutta delivered the introductory address.
In his address, Prof. Dutta shared his experience with the participants and also briefed them about the achievements of IIM Shillong. The Chief Guest Padmashree Mukhimh highlighted about the importance of management education in day to day activities, laying emphasis on its relevance both in private and public sector. There were different sessions on various aspects of management which were dealt with by the faculty members of RGIIM. Emphasis was given on strengthening the soft skills to make the participants effective managers. The valedictory session was addressed by Sri M.Jayarath, Chief Engineer, North East Zone, AIR & Doordarshan. The participants expressed their satisfaction at the valedictory session on the contents and delivery of the programme.

Team Enventure's Presentation

IIM Shillong’s team Enventure, after its stupendous run across B school campuses for its business plan, presented its business idea to Meghalaya government officials on 10th April 2010. High power officials from Meghalaya state electricity department, Meghalaya state non-conventional energy department, Forest department and others including Chief Secretary and Principal Secretary of Meghalaya were present in the presentation and scrutinized the plan. Also present in the presentation were Professor Natalie West Kharkongor and Professor Tapas Kumar Giri from IIM Shillong.
The team comprising of Neeraj Sharma and Hari Krishnan reiterated the need for energy for socio-economic development of state. The team presented its business idea of setting up of “1.25MW biomass gasifier based power generation system” and also its plan to lift people out of poverty in Meghalaya state. Meghalaya state currently has 55% people living below poverty line and industrial development is plagued majorly because of inadequate and irregular power supplies.
The government officials after clarifying their queries asked the Enventure team to submit the business proposal to the Meghalaya state planning department. The state officials appreciated the team and IIM Shillong for their efforts and initiatives towards state development.

First Annual Convoaction : PGP Class of 2010

IIM Shillong held its First convocation on 3rd April 2010 at its campus in Shillong. Hon’ble Union Minister for Finance Shri Pranab Mukherjee graced the occasion as the Chief Guest . It was a proud moment for everyone at the Institute as this was the first batch of students graduating out of this institute. Total of 63 participants were awarded the Post Graduate Diploma in Management (PGDM). To mark this occasion, there was a First Day Cover cancellation done by Department of Posts, India. Apart from the chief guest Shri Pranab Mukherjee, the ceremony was also graced by Guests of honor Dr. D D Lapang, Chief Minister, Meghalaya and Shri S. Sridhar, Chariman and Managing Director, Central Bank of India.
Delivering his convocation address, Shri Pranab Mukherjee said , "...It is heartening to note that the seventh IIM of the country has marked itself out by its unconventional thinking and innovative ideas. Right from the very start the RGIIM has tried to develop and provide and educational framework that would have Sustainable Management education as the core trust area. Sustainablity as the core of management education is something that is fast catching up, and the RGIIM has certainly showed the way. Moreover, the need to alleviate poverty and to ensure that the benefits of growth and development percolate down to every section of society represents a huge challenge. To meet this challenge successfully would require a paradigm shift in the thought process. It would require the courage to innovate, courage to experiment and above all the courage to accept failures. The decision of the RGIIM to set up a Centre for Development of the North Eastern region represents one such step. This centre seeks to ensure that local communities imbibe the best management practices and become partners in India’s economic growth and success story. I also commend the Institute for its stress on research and development activities. Research combined with extension activities can help in nation building by facilitating the benefits of sound technical to reach more people.
He also said that..."The impact of management educational on students should be holistic in nature and should lead to all round developments. I am happy to note that this Institute is not only imparting the management education but also involving students in strategic sports activity. The initiative of hosting IIM Shillong Golf Cup is and innovative way to train the budding business manager for future challenges. This concept of connecting corporate and academia through sports would create a platform for future managers to understand the complexities, strategic and innovation involved in running a business as well as in creating a business. I am sure that the sense of entrepreneurship developed during the stay in beautiful campus would see emergence of new class of entrepreneur."
Earlier during the day, Shri Rathindra Nath Dutta, Founding Chairman of Governing Board of RGIIM, in his address said, "...This, indeed, is a historic occasion. This is the last for the IIMs which had to build from scratch, reinventing the entire wheel, and that too within a record time. An IIM with a difference - with a core interest in sustainability. Our heartfelt gratitude goes to all who made this possible in particular the Hon’ble Chief Minister and his team, the bureaucrats and the MHRD for their unstinted supports the Director for his pioneering efforts – his faculty and staff and to all of you, my young friends, who chose to come here to this nascent Institute up in these beautiful hills – in preference to facilities available in mega cities- to be a part of the nation building process as the Government plays catalyst in creating opportunities for learning across the country."
...He also went on to tell the students..."But remember, success is a journey, not a destination. You have lit a lamp here and as you take the lamp out into the world, keep in mind that the purpose of the lamp is not just to illuminate itself but to spread lights all around. The best lamp is the one which lights other lamps".
Delivering his Academic Report, Prof Ashoke K Dutta, the Founder Director of the Institute said,"... We think and dream big! In the course of the next few years we shall certainly establish ourselves as Institute of international repute."
The Indian institute of management Shillong, the 7th and the first IIM in the Northeast took a revolutionary step to set up a centre for the development of the region where it is located. Alleviation of poverty of the suffering millions with an inclusive notion of growth and development is an area of key concerns for us and our emphasis on Values and Ethics is our USP. There is a saying, though somewhat clichéd, which aptly sums up the philosophy of our institution. It says: “Do not go where the path leads. Rather, go where there is no path and leave a trail.”
He also said that..."We have tried to develop a sense of value, where understanding and tolerance are important, and not allow narrow sectarianism to fuel conflicts. We have to live up to the challenge that we are facing today, the effacing of confidence and strength of character, mental and moral decay and erosion of traditional discipline."
The diplomas were handed over to 63 succressful graduates by Prof Ashoke K Dutta . Four different medals were awarded to the following students by the Hon’ble Union Finance Minister:
Shri Rathindranath Datta - Gold Medal For Standing First Is Awarded To Shri Aditya Prakash Gore For Securing The Highest CGPA Among All The Students Of The Batch Receiving The Diploma.
The Institute’s Medal For Standing Second, Is Awarded To Shri Mayank Arora For Securing The Second Highest CGPA Among All The Students Of The Batch Receiving The Diploma.
Shri Prof. Ashoke K. Dutta Gold Medal Awarded To Shri Ashutosh C Dikshit For The Best All-Round Performance By A Student In Terms Of General Proficiency Including Character, Conduct, Excellence In Academic Performance, Extra-Curricular Activities And Social Service.
The Institute’s Medal For Positive Contribution To Campus Life Is Awarded To Shri P A Ramnarayanan For The Most Significant Positive Contribution By A Student To Campus Life.
"The First Day Cover Cancellation was done by Shri Pranab Mukherjee in the presence of Chief Post Master General, North East Region, and Chief General Manager, PLI."

Workshop for the North-Eastern Region on Advances in Image and Document Processing

Indian Institute of Management (IIM) Shillong and Computer Vision and Pattern Recognition Unit (CVPRU) of Indian Statistical Institute (ISI) Kolkata joined hands to organize a 5-day workshop for the North Eastern Region on Advances in Image and Document Processing at the IIM Shillong Campus from 16th to 20th March, 2010. This workshop was targeted at Faculty members, researchers, practicing engineers with background in Mathematics, Computer Science, Electrical/Electronics Engineering, Information Technology and related areas. Participants to this workshop came from all over the north eastern region.
While inaugurating the workshop, Prof Ashoke K Dutta, Director IIM Shillong emphasized on the importance of this area in various spheres. He pointed out that the technology has come a long way since Xerox Corporation started photocopiers, as wherein now, a lot of document and image processing functions are required on a day to day basis, in this age of electronic documentation. Prof B B Chaudhuri, Head, CVPRU, ISI Kolkata introduced the workshop which had sessions on the areas of Visual Cognition, Recent Trends in Document Image Analysis, Machine authentication of security paper documents, Assessment of Image and Video Quality, Statistics in Web-mining, Handwriting Analysis, Information Retrieval and Performance Evaluation.
Dr Basav Roychoudhury from IIM Shillong, who was the convener of the workshop, welcomed the initiative of Government of India in funding such workshops for the north eastern region to spread information on cutting edge research in various areas to the faculty and researchers in the region, which in the long run, would be able to build up a good research culture in the educational institutions of the region.

Leadership and Change Managemen

A One-day workshop for Senior Officials of North East Postal Circle was organized on March 13th, 2010 at RGIIM, Shillong. The programme was conducted with a focus on “Leadership and Change Management”. Participants include Additional Post Master General, Executive Engineer, Medical Officers, Accounts Officers etc. Altogether 25 participants interacted with the faculty members on various issues like communication for effective leadership, understanding self for change management, change management process etc.
The programme, an event in itself was well appreciated given the response and feedback by participants.

Enhancing Managerial Effectiveness for Directors of Postal Services

A workshop for Directors of Postal Services on “Enhancing Managerial Effectiveness” was organized during March 6-7 2010 at RGIIM, Shillong. Altogether 20 participants belonging to the Indian Postal Service cadre participated in the programme. It was a national level programme and the spread included participants from Jammu, Mumbai, Bangalore, Kochi, Portblair etc. Dr. Uday Balakrishnan, Member, Postal Services Board along with Prof Ashoke K Dutta, Director, RGIIM Shillong set the pace of the workshop in the inaugural session on March 6, 2010. Other senior officials from India Post included Shri S. K. Sinha, CGM(PLI), PLI Directorate, New Delhi, Mr. A. N. D. Kachari, CPMG (NE Circle), Mr. Manojit Kumar, CPMG (Assam) who interacted with the participants during the workshop.
The workshop aimed at fine-tuning the participants’ mind for the changed scenario and to prepare themselves for facing the future. The programme being at the behest of the PLI Directorate, New Delhi, the workshop had a special focus on postal life insurance. Prof. Ashoke K Dutta had 2-day long interaction with the learned participants on various issues of effective management. The participants shared their fond experience and learning outcomes of the workshop in the valedictory session.

WagonR Think Big Challenge

New Delhi, Neeraj Sharma, a member of infrastructure cell at IIM-Shillong, has won the WagonR Think Big Challenge, an initiative to give people a platform to present their ideas before industry stalwarts.
Sharma, proposed setting-up a 1.25 mw biomass gasifier-based renewable power generation system in the acute power-deficient industrial area of Byrnihat in Meghalaya, using biomass waste generated by industries in the region.
He was handed the keys to a WagonR car and a cheque for Rs 10 lakh as prize by actor R Madhavan at a ceremony held on March 5 in Delhi.
Other finalists were Vineet Devaiah from Lucknow, Sidharth Srivastava from Mumbai and Ananda Sendhil from Cochin — all three had won the zonal rounds of the challenge.

Tree Plantation held on RGIIMS Permanent Campus

On the initiative of the Director ,RGIIMS, the Tree Plantation was held on the Permanent Campus on 27/02/2010.The Ceremony was attended by the Director, Faculty Members, Officers, Administrative Staff and all the Students of the Institute. Altogether 73 (Seventy three) trees were planted on that day. The Tree Plantation was followed by a lunch at NEIGRIHMS Guest House hosted by the Director on account of the auspicious occasion.

Quality of Medical Care in Health Care Organizations Programme

In tandem with the launch of National Rural Health Mission (NHRM) to bring about quality improvement in the Health Care delivery system in India, the IIM Shillong, in regarding its social commitment had organized a two day MDP for medical doctors and hospital professionals to apprise them of issues relating to Quality of Medical Care in Health Care organizations on the 25th and 26th February, 2010.
During the inaugural session, Prof AK Dutta welcomed the dignitaries, participants and other guests to the programme and highlighted the achievements of IIM Shillong and its commitment to the society in which it operates. The Director expressed his exuberance and delight in view of the overwhelming response to the programme.
Broad areas deliberated upon during the two day long programme included Quality Issues in Health Care, Medical Audit as a tool towards quality improvement, Medical Records and Electronic Medical Record System, and Public Relation Strategy for improved patient satisfaction.
The programme as such laid special emphasis on Northeastern states where the presence of weak public health indicators and health infrastructure has been realized. Though changes can be seen in the facilities provided by the health establishment particularly in the rural sector, and the incentive based newer schemes in the public health sector which serve as great motivation to the patients and health workers, the key success factor is the sustainability, which needs to be ensured to make it a successful venture in the long run.
The programme was made interesting in that the specialists were asked specific questions, wherein they gave a short comment followed by an open discussion on tele-medicine for quality improvement in health care, citing the experiences from Shree Citra Institute of Medical Sciences, Trivandrum, Medical Audit and its conceptual framework, Patient Satisfaction Survey as an ongoing quality management strategy in the hospital, and public relation in the hospital as a quality assurance tool.
Incidentally, the list of specialists in the panel included Dr. U.C. Sharma Vice Chancellor, Srimanta Sankaradeva University of Health Sciences, Dr. M.E. Yeolakar, Director, NEIGHRIMS Shillong, Brigadier A P Mohanty VSM, Commandant Military Hospital Shillong, Dr. Dr. (Prof) R. K. Sarma, former Director NEIGHRIMS and former Medical Superintendent AIIMS, New Delhi amongst other distinguished guests and panelists.
Interestingly, as a follow up to the programme, IIM Shillong will be conducting a six months part time certificate course on “Hospital Management Programme for Doctors and Health Professionals,” which will commence in early April, however, the registration for the same is already underway. The eligibility criteria and other details for the course have already been advertised and may be obtained from the Institute website.

IIM Shillong Holds Leadership Management Program For NGO Leaders

What are the Strengths? What are your Weaknesses? Where are the Opportunities? And where are the Threats? Some of only a few questions that leaders of NGOs were faced with during the one day Leadership Development & Management Program for NGO Leaders conducted by the Indian Institute of Management Shillong at its campus on 09 February 2010.
Persisting with its efforts in boosting capacity building of the society it works in towards international standards, IIM Shillong is known to have proficiently launched various programs, “structured so as to be socially relevant and contribute to the growth of this region through what it does best, teach management and the techniques and thought that go with it, all of this falling under the gambit of its CSR efforts,” were Prof Dutta’s remarks during the inaugural session.
Utilizing the experience, vision, and dynamic leadership of its Director Prof AK Dutta the Institute has not only advocated but practiced Sustainable Development. What is more interesting is the sharing of knowledge base on this critical aspect of overall development and progress, which otherwise, faces the brunt of being lost in the quagmire of formalities and other implications related to being able to secure such knowledge from premiere Institutes of Excellence like the IIMs.
The program on the day kick started with a welcome note and briefing on the initiatives, vision and goal of the Centre for Development of NER (CEDNER) by its Chairperson Prof Keya Sengupta followed by an interactive panel discussion wherein the Institute had roped in social activist and founder President ICARE, Mr. Toki Blah, Mr Naba Bhattacharjee, columnist and activist, Col Indranil Biswas of Exotic Echoes to open the forum for discussion as experts , headed by Prof Natalie Kharkongor overall Program Coordinator.
The program was structured around the fact that development is a process of positive change quantitatively and qualitatively. In essence, development is about people and the way they live and every society and community must initiate its own development process. In this aspect, NGOs have shown an increased role especially in dealing with specific issues like environment, health, employment, human rights, and the like.
In the words of Mr. Blah, “it is important to understand Leadership, a universal issue, through historical perspective.” “How are we as leaders influenced…for leaders are endowed with power and correct use of it is the onus and responsibility that cannot be shirked.”
Col Indranil Biswas stressed on diversity and added that the marketing element is important for generating surplus towards long term sustenance. On the other hand Mr. Naba Bhattacharjee provided valuable input on how NGOs are directly or indirectly linked to governance, and therefore need to be sensitive and must introspect and exchange ideas, “and also have methods of self appraisal to understand where they really stand as an organization.” Questions raised by participants on the difference between Operational and Campaign NGOs were also ably replied by Mr. Bhattacharjee.
In conclusion, the program dwelled at large on the challenges and difficulty of being an effective leader as it involves setting the right goals, communicating ideas, and delivering results. A leader must be able to prudently influence and inspire others to execute a plan. Organizations and individuals respond to well – articulated visions that are strategic, persuasive and measurable.
It is for this reason that the Institute had identified a programme on Leadership and Management, to improve leadership and management capability among the leaders of the NGOs. The programme also aimed at serving as a platform in building inter-group relationships and network to advance the welfare of the people via improved negotiation techniques.
Delivering a world – class system will rely upon confident leaders who can deliver excellence in their own institutions and can work with other leaders to provide the best possible services to all people at large and the youths in particular. Taking this as a background, the Course covered areas such as Self Awareness, Interpersonal Communication, Effective Communication, and Leadership Concepts which definitely help reinvent oneself as a leader and build working relationships while effectively achieving the goals.
The program witnessed 22 leaders from a cross section of NGOs like the FKJGP, KSU, WKHSU, RBYF, Lympung Ki Seng Kynthei, RS Lyngdoh Training Society, KRIPA Foundation, New Hope Centre, Tuber Kasturba Gandhi Gram Seva Kendra, RAWA, Bosco Reach Out, Meghalaya Rural Development Society, North East Network, and a host of others.
Prof Rohit Dwivedi and Prof S. S. Sarkar were amongst others who shared valuable input during the sessions throughout the day.

Workshop on Consulting Skill Developments

Mr Mahesh Narayan,Manager Analytics at Hewlett-Packard, Bangalorehad conducted a workshop on “Consulting Skill Development” as a part of an audit course organized by Prof. A K Dutta and Prof. S K Prusty. The workshop had eleven participants both from PGP students as well as from faculty community. The theme of the workshop was on managing consulting projects, strategic analysis of industries and firms, client-consultant communication, etc. The sixteen hours of rigorous process started at 12PM of 6 Feb and ended at 8PM on the next day. The workshop went on with vibrant lectures, discussions, and class-room role-plays.

Workshop on Consulting Skill Developments

Dr Zahid Gangjee, CEO, Zahid Gangjee and Associates had conducted a workshop on Consulting Skill Development as a part of an audit course organized by Prof. A K Dutta and Prof. S K Prusty. The workshop had eight participants both from PGP students as well as faculty community. The theme of the workshop was on ‘developing yourself a consultant’. The workshop started at 10AM with Dr Zahid Gangjee with a warm welcome from the participants. The workshop went on with vibrant lectures, discussions, and class-room simulation. The workshop ended at 8PM with a vote of thanks by Prof. A K Dutta.
Dr. Zahid H. Gangjee started his own Organisation & H.R. Consultancy in August 1995. His clients include leading multi-national and family owned corporations in India and abroad. He and his Associates specialize in helping organizations, groups & individuals manage change in all its aspects.

IIM Shillong Operationalizes Exim Bank Knowledge Centre

The fully automated EXIM Bank Knowledge Centre at RGIIM Shillong was formally brought into operation on the 10th December, 2009, therein beginning a new journey in the field of Technology with the implementation of the VTLS Virtua Integrated Library Management System and RFID Library Management System.
The VTLS VIRTUA Integrated Library System is not only a standards-based, fully integrated, flexible and open system, but is all this and more. With advanced features such as FRBR (Functional Requirements for Bibliographic Records), Update Notifications through SDI (Selective Dissemination of Information), User Reviews & Ratings, and support for mobile computing, Virtua sets a new standard of excellence for the library world. Providing full multilingual support and leveraging a solid Oracle™ foundation, Virtua is designed for libraries like the Knowledge Centre at IIM Shillong which is said to expect more than what meets the eye.
This Integrated Library System (ILS) completely fulfills requirements of the EXIM BANK Knowledge Centre. Due to its flexibility, it allows for creation of custom profiles for the library and staff user, and controls access to more than 600 functions throughout the system. It is engineered for the robustness and ease of use that library patrons and staff demand. In a nutshell, Virtua allows setting of the rules and parameters that work best for the library.
Moreover, Virtua provides integrated functionality that includes OPAC, cataloging, acquisitions, serials, circulation and reporting. Other components include FRBR, Consortium Databases, Union Catalogs, SDI, Open URL, Vector iPortal and a lot more. With our fully integrated, single-client approach, switching from one module to another is now as seamless as a keystroke or a click of the mouse.
Searching for books, which can be a cumbersome task given the colossal number, is now simplified by using a handheld sensor for physical search or through a database search on the computer, which can zero in on any requisition in quick time. Time loss and efficient output is therefore assured.
In addition, the RFID (Radio Frequency Identification) LIBRARY MANAGEMENT SYSTEM allows users to issue and return books without bothering the staff in the circulation counter, or requiring their physical presence as such. Books are RFID tagged for this purpose and users registered as members of the library get a RFID user card.The users use the card and the Self Issue Kiosk to issue. To return, they use the card and the Return Kiosk (Drop Box).The drop box is placed in such a way that the users can access it 24 hours even if the library is closed. The system provides security to the books, for this a 2 panel gate antenna is placed at the entrance; the gate detects books that are not issued. The system makes stock verification an easier job, a job that takes months to complete, it can be done within a few hours. For this, a handheld sensor reader can be used for searching any book desired from the shelves.
It may be mentioned that the setting up of the EXIM Bank Knowledge Centre is attributed to the innovative thinking and leadership of Prof AK Dutta the founding director of the Institute, whereas the implementation process has been carried out by HCL Infosystems Ltd.

IIM Shillong – Golf Cup Season 2
B-Schools & Corporate Houses test their mettle on the golf course

IIM Shillong organized Season II of the IIM Shillong Golf Cup at the Shillong Golf Course, Asia’s oldest 18 hole course, on 5th and 6th December 2009. The tournament boasted of students from 9 major B-schools including IIM A, IIM L, IIM C, ISB, FMS & XIMB and 50 leading corporate houses like ONGC, Goodricke Group Ltd, Apeejay Group, PricewaterhouseCoopers & Vodafone. Over 150 golfers tested their golfing skills during the tournament. Times of India, were the Title Sponsors, apart from ONGC, Apeejay Group and Goodricke Tea partnering the event.
Prof. A.K. Dutta, Director IIM Shillong in the presence of the Chief Guest Lt. Gen. K.S. Yadava, AVSM SM VSM DG Assam Rifles, and Amitabh Bhattarcharya – VP Times of India Eastern Region, spoke about using golf to bring corporate and academia together. The tournament ewas divided into three categories and Lt Col Ujjaal Singh represented the IIM Shillong took the top honours in the B-School Championships. In the Corporate Category, Mr A.K Behra from Container Corporation claimed the Trophy. Mrs. D Passah was awarded as the Best Lady Golfer of the Tournament. Meanwhile, Lt Col D.S Teotia, Col. UC Hazarika and Lt Gen K.S Yadava were awarded special prized for the Longest drive, the Closest to pin and the Straightest Drive respectively.
In the handicap events, Mr. Sanjeev Jaiswal , bagged the winner award in the 0-9 category, while Mr. Prithvi Raj, IG-BSF bagged the runner up prize. Meanwhile the winner’s prize in the 10-18 category was claimed by Lt. Col. DS Teatia and runner up trophy was bagged by Mr. Robin Fernandes.
IIM Shillong golf cup has also introduced the concept of the ‘Green Jacket’ - a golf workshop, which is an innovation in sustainability- the key theme of IIM Shillong. Here, B-School Students got a comprehensive training from professional golf trainers. Thus, the IIM Shillong Golf Cup is building bridges between all stakeholders in the business world.

Masterplan 2009
Team Enventure from IIM Shillong wins Masterplan ’09 at IIM Ahmedabad

Team Enventure (comprised of Mentor & Guide: Prof. Swapan Kr. Majumdar, Team Representative: Neeraj Sharma and Team Member: Hari Krishnan G) from IIM Shillong won the prestigious Masterplan’09 competition organized by the Indian Institute of Management Ahmedabad, on the 28th November 2009.
Masterplan is a showcase event of IIM Ahmedabad’s annual management summit called “Confluence”. This year the summit was held on the 27th, 28th, and 29st of November 2009.
In the words of IIM Ahmedabad:
“The ever-increasing competition, along with its unique structure, gives Masterplan the image of a giant amongst contemporary events and competitions. Envisaged in 2005 as a competition for aspiring managers with an entrepreneurial drive, it has evolved to remain relevant in the changing business environment. Each year the stakes get higher, the challenges increase and every aspect of business strategy and knowledge is put to test.
The objective of Masterplan is to spur innovation and encourage ideas that are scalable to larger contexts. The event also seeks to develop awareness and understanding of the applicability of different management techniques in a modern enterprise and stresses the importance of the entrepreneurial spirit and passion for the plan befitting such an event.”
The Masterplan’09 competition consisted of the following gruelling rounds:

Ashwamedha 2009

IIM Shillong Stands Tall Amongst All (Others)

• The Flagship Event:Ahvan: IIM Indore’s Annual Business Summit
• The Location: Over 500 participants; 14 non stop rounds over 2 days; 1 winner
• The Competition: Glory of beating all IIMs and the other top 30 B Schools across India
• The Stakes: Ashwamedha;– “Think. Act. Lead”, In search of the Best Leader for India among all Business Schools
• The Takeaway: Ashwamedha Crystal Trophy; Prize money of Rs. 1,50,000

With the underlying theme of “Ekameva Jayate” - One Alone Triumphs; the event draws a parallel to the ancient Vedic ritual of the same name, performed to attain power, glory, fame and prosperity. Ashwamedha pacifies the eternal human search for greatness and immortality. It is an event where friends are made; relations are immortalized but a place where no one gives an inch to the other for there is no place for second best.

About the overall festival - Ahvan:

This year the overall theme for IIM Indore fest was ‘Imagining India’, inspired from Mr. Nandan Nilekani’s book by the same name. It was a conclave of the sharpest minds from both academic and corporate world. The events integrated all disciplines of management to provide a platform for the best of B school talent to showcase acumen on campus.
About Ashwamedha – “Think” .“Act”. “Lead”: In Search of the Best Leader
Known as the “Mother of all B school events”, Ashwamedha is the Flagship event of IIM Indore and has grown from strength to strength over the past 8 years.
The first round of Ashwamedha, ‘Hurdle’ was an aptitude-based round that stressed on out-of-the-box thinking. 70 successful soldiers crossed over to ‘Ignite’ where they were assigned topics for which ideas had to be presented on 1 out of the 7 topics like irrigation management, river pollution etc. Allowing readers and fellow participants to comment on the presentations uploaded on the ’Ignite’ blog received huge support & enthusiasm.
The campus rounds began on 19th November with 30 finalists and included unconventional quizzes, public speaking, extempore, strategy games, marketing campaigns, negotiation skills, objective critiquing, creative writing, outdoor performances, community service and the final stress interview. The underlying common theme across most events was the ability of participants to manage between conflicting personal and team objectives across the rounds.
One had to excel in every department before making it to the final spotlight round. The theme of Ashwamedha had shifted from identifying the best manager till last year, to identifying the “Best Leader” among all participants, this time around.
The top 30 were finally reduced to 5 who were taken to a nearby village for a task. Provided with 100 rupees and 4 hours of time, they had to constructively contribute to the village in any way that they deemed appropriate.
The top 5 were finally reduced to top 3 in the final round and that included : Ashutosh Dikshit from IIM Shillong, Raghav Sehgal – a corporate participant (IIM Ahmedabad alumnus) and Vivek Menon from IIM Indore.
The spotlight round followed which was a Personality/Stress interview conducted by the eminent jury of Prof. Chandrashekhar from IIM Indore, Prof. Vijay Menon (HR Consultant and Pioneer of the concept of Ashwamedha) and Mr. Arvind Sharma, Chairman and CEO of Leo Burnett.
After the spotlight round that lasted for almost an hour per participant, Ashutosh Dikshit of IIM Shillong was declared as the final winner of Ashwamedha 2009.
One of the highlights of this round was the response to the question on whether IIM Shillong would live up to the standards set by Brand IIM, to which Ashutosh replied:
“Completeness and Nothingness are two sides of the same coin. In the same vein, standards are defined by perceptions that people have. For some, academic excellence might mean setting high standards while for others it might mean extra curriculars. IIM Shillong’s two batches has more than 30 gold medalists in combination among the two batches. As far as IIM Shillong is concerned we have been firsts in a lot of initiatives where other B schools are yet to begin – being the first centrally funded institute to have implemented ERP; taking sustainability from concept to execution; to being the first B school in the nation to host the Inter B school and inter corporate golf tournament…”
He later added that.. “In the short span of 1.5 years of operations, having won Cult Icon (another flagship event at IIM Indore which incidentally was also won by Ashutosh Dikshit himself last year); and winning Ashwamedha and Kalpavriksha (also another event won by IIM Shillong) this time around; all this has not just been demonstrative of IIM Shillong living up to the IIM standards, but creating new ones at that…”
A small but meaningful felicitation program was organized at IIM Shillong to honour the winners in various events of Ahvan 2009.

Kalpavriksha 2009
Team Enventure from IIM Shillong wins Kalpavriksha ‘09

Bright Ideas: Better World – That is how IIM Indore describes its Flagship Social Venture Challenge event known as “Kalpavriksha”.
Team Enventure (comprised of Mentor & Guide: Prof. Swapan Kr. Majumdar, Team Representative: Neeraj Sharma and Team Member: Hari Krishnan G) from IIM Shillong won the prestigious Kalpavriksha’09 event organized by the Indian Institute of Management Indore, on the 19th & 20th of November 2009.
Team Enventure’s Social B- Plan that won the competition aims to provide sustainable energy solutions for the North East while maintaining the triple bottom-line of Socio-economic-environmental balance. Team Enventure feels that the North East India, despite richness of natural resources as well as scenic beauty, remains much bereft of the economic development. Inspired by IIM Shillong’s core theme of sustainability and also vested with a sense of responsibility as well as opportunity to contribute to the development of the region , team Enventure conceptualized sustainable energy as a driver of sustainable development in the region.
Kalpavriksha is a showcase event of IIM Indore’s annual management summit. This year the summit, known as “Ahvan '09”, was held on the 19th, 20th, and 21st of November 2009.
Kalpavriksha strives to create a positive societal impact by providing a forum for self-sustainable business plans which seek to sensitize its participants about their responsibility and the potential difference ideas create.

The Kalpavriksha’09 event consisted of the following gruelling phases:

Candle Light March On Manjunath Shanmugam’s Death Anniversary

Manjunath Shanmugam was a well known and respected alumnus of IIM Lucknow, batch of 2003. His was an unwavering voice that spoke out fearlessly against the oil adulteration practices that he observed in his area, as a Marketing Manager of IOCL in Lakhimpur, Uttar Pradesh. On November 19 2005, the light was blown out and the voice silenced forever when he was brutally murdered, his body riddled by six bullets.
On November 19 2009 IIM Shillong organized a Candle Light March in memory of Manjunath Shanmugam reiterating our resolve of fighting against corruption and unethical practices and keeping up the name of IIM not only in academic achievements but also act as a guiding light to the society.
The march started with the Director emphasizing on how the character of a person is the most important asset of his. His speech on maintaining the integrity of an individual gave us important insight on what is essential to survive in this world. No matter how much you are troubled and under pressure it’s the character of a person which will ultimately stand out in these times.
On the occasion, the student community of IIM Shillong took a pledge to abide by values and ethics no matter how much compelling the situations are. A silent prayer was served to remember the sacrifice Manjunath undertook.
The march ended with one of the faculties reciting us a few pages of a book written by a mentor and professor of Manjunath. As per his views “I never had such an experience in my whole teaching career and this was indeed a moving moment for me and we should keep the candle burning in our hearts”.
An MBA from an IIM does not only make you an intellectual in various subjects but also instill values and ethics which act as guiding light to not only the individual but to the society as a whole. IIM Shillong believes in this philosophy and under the presence of a motivating Director and the faculties the Institute thrives towards making a difference.

Exotic Echo completes one year of existence

India to become a developed nation requires a higher Human Development Index. The demographic size of our country makes it infeasible for the government to be the sole developer. There is a need for an integrated approach towards development. This challenge has been taken up by Indranil Biswas - a participant of the first MDP by IIM, Shillong, by starting Exotic Echo.
Exotic Echo plans to bring about a planned development to rural India by forging positive partnerships between people, government and other organizations. Exotic Echo aims at creating localized jobs by means of projects which utilize inherent skills of the people in an innovative and productive manner. This would increase income leading to grass root economic development. The new empowered community would be in a position to self-sustain the maintenance of infrastructure created by the government.
Exotic Echo presently has presence in 15 villages of North East India and is growing. It focuses on the weaving skills of the region. It is also involved in diabetes screening program to spread awareness and in employing local health educators. This shall slowly be broadened to include all types of basic health related diagnostic tests.
A number of separate self help groups have joined hands with Exotic Echo. Together they have come up with a Five-year development plan and a One-year action plan to achieve the goals. They organize training programs, workshops, seminars and conferences almost every month.

Within one year of its inception,it has been able to come up with four product ranges :

Entrepreneur on campus

“Only if you live through it do you understand a business” – words one can expect from an entrepreneur who has built from scratch one of the most talked about and successful dot coms of India- Naukri.
Sanjeev Bikhchandani, CEO of Infoedge (parent company of Naukri.com) was on a visit to IIM Shillong campus on 18th November and these words of wisdom were part of a presentation he made to the students about his journey thus far in life which he called “Wisdom in Hindsight”. His informal style, filled with humor, instantly engrossed the students listening to him. As he talked about his life, career and how he built his small start up into the highly successful business that it is now, one could gauge the visionary behind the humble personality. He mentioned about the small businesses he did prior to 1997 when he launched Naukri.
As Sanjeev said, “Best businesses are built on deep consumer insights” – Naukri was also positioned on a keen insight of consumer needs. He narrated the course of his business and asserted to the eagerly listening students the importance of persistence, hard work and innovation in building an enterprise. To conclude he advised the prospective entrepreneurs that they should focus on solving a hitherto unsolved problem and address a scalable opportunity.
He entertained several questions from the audience comprising, besides students from the junior as well as the senior batches, faculty members and the PGP chairman, Prof. S. Majumdar. After the program, he was joined by all members of IIM Shillong for a high tea. The students were specially eager for a chance to speak with the iconic entrepreneur and discuss their ideas with him. That was followed by an informal discussion between Sanjeev and the faculty and the Director, Prof. A.K. Dutta. With that, his visit came to a conclusion. He departed but left behind an inspiration for all to follow.

"IIM Shillong signs a MOU with Drexel University, Philadelphia. USA"

ERP knowing Why and How

Every organization today is under constant pressure to outperform its competitors, and make a place for itself. Even if the organization is a leader in its area of operation, there is always requirement for improving the processes by making them simpler and faster - while capturing all the data from its various units so as to help in future decision making.
In essence, the practicality and formulation of a comprehensive approach towards understanding Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) was brought to completion on November 12th, 2009 through one of IIM Shillong’s ongoing Management Development Programs titled ERP: Why and How. The two day program which commenced on November 11, 2009 had participants in the capacity of University and college representatives, Govt officials, and private consultants amongst others.
Prof Roychoudhury while sharing inputs explained that “Enterprise Resource Planning (ERP) is such an IT system which encompasses the entire organization - be it the finance, production, human resource, planning, academics - just name it. Thus, with such an integrated system, the organization can have all the data at fingertips, while ensuring that data is fed in only once into the system - thus avoiding duplication or multi feeding of unnecessary data through different departments. This system helps in the process workflow - whereby the approvals for different processes can be obtained online, even when the approving authority is not in station.”
However, experience shows that while ERP provides the above mentioned benefits and much more - implementing it in an organization often becomes a challenge, and if not handled properly may soon snowball into a organizational disaster. With the experience gathered from its own ERP implementation, IIM Shillong felt that a Management Development Program in this area will go a long way in making managers in different organizations aware of the various facets of ERP and its implementation.
The intention of the program, according to the understanding of a participant was “to allow the managers to lead such an implementation process with considerable ease, and we feel this has been achieved.”
Areas of focus during the two day program include:

Chinese Language Course

Indian Institute of Management is one of the first management Institutes to organize a Course on Chinese language, from 1st-14th October,2009. The name of the Course Elementary Chinese Language and Business Chinese, was meant as a add on Course mainly for the PG Students of the Institute. In view of China being one of the most important emerging markets in the modern market economy, there is immense potentiality and vast business opportunities with China. India with its growing emphasis on the Look East Policy is much better placed in comparison with most other nations of the world to avail of such growing business opportunities and establish trade relationship with her neighbor which is today the world’s fastest growing economy.
Therefore equipped with a preliminary knowledge of Chinese language particularly the business language will be an added advantage for the students .It is expected to be of great help to those who have undertaken the Course and avail of the vast business opportunity that exists at present with China.

3rd National Conference on Education

The conference was inaugurated by Prof Ashoke K Dutta, Director, IIM Shillong, who emphasized that education, should move away from the rote methods to methods that develop critical skills. In his well articulated speech he referred to organization, teacher, student and curriculum as the four pillars on which excellence in education is built.

IIM Shillong Initiates Seminar For Better Health Services

Continuing in its quest to be socially relevant and responsible to the region, IIM Shillong successfully organized a one day seminar on “Improving Health Care Services through Management Information System”. This program was targeted for health service providers both in the private and public sector. Given the difference in the emphasis and span of these two sectors, the seminar was held on the 6th and 7th of October for each of these sectors separately.
Apart from administrators of major private hospitals and government health establishments in Shillong, the seminar drew participants from Meghalaya, Assam, Arunachal Pradesh and other parts of North East India.
Bearing in mind the fact that Health Care Management requires a palate of information for its efficient functioning, policy decision & intervention for all kind of services, both curative & preventive, IIM Shillong had managed to rope in Shri Debasis Mullick, IT-Consultant, who had been instrumental in implementing a comprehensive Health Management Information System for the Government of West Bengal developed under World Bank funding.
Shri Mullick, the main speaker during the seminar, shared well accepted views on the concept, approach, implementation road map, hurdles, and a real time problem solving experience using Efficient Hospital Management System, and addressed the core issue of optimum utilization of resources & generation of a blue print for effective intervention.
Case after case has shown that lack of information leads to under utilization of scarce resources like – Hospital Beds, Operation Theater, and Diagnostic Tests etc. Hence, effective knowledge of burden of disease helps in effective service planning & controlling of epidemic and endemic diseases. Moreover, effective drug management can help ensure optimal utilization and increases availability therefore reducing wastage.
“Effective HMIS, as a tool in the hands of policy makers & administrators can bring about a significant change in service quality,” stressed Prof Ashoke K Dutta, founding Director of IIM Shillong while speaking during the inaugural launch of the seminar.
From a much broader perspective, the seminar on utilization of an Effective Health Management Information System revolved mostly around issues and concern of health service management, problem solving techniques, implementation hurdles, change management & work flow planning.
At the end of the seminar, the participants thanked IIM Shillong for playing a proactive and supportive role in trying to bring about an effective change in Health Care Services especially in the North East.

Management Program for Local Entrepreneurs and Promoters of Entrepreneurial Activitie

The Rajiv Gandhi Indian Institute of Management, Shillong in keeping with its vision of imparting quality management education in N.E. Region and with a purpose of inclusive growth and a commitment to social responsibilities, conducted a two – day “Management Program for Local Entrepreneurs and Promoters of Entrepreneurial Activities” on the 22nd and 23rd September 2009. The Program was offered under the aegis of the Accelerated Learning Centre (ALC) of IIM Shillong.
Prof. Ashoke Dutta, Director of IIM Shillong delivered the key note address in which he emphasized the need for local entrepreneurs and self-help groups to understand the concept of business in order to be successful and engage in fruitful endeavors.
The Program familiarized and enhanced the skill levels of the 31 participants - small and marginal entrepreneurs involved in sectors like horticulture, floriculture, traditional handicrafts & handlooms, tourism, scientific farming, animal husbandry, local diary product, bakeries etc. The Program also helped the participants in expanding, refining, and increasing profitability of their units through the well researched tools, case studies, class lectures and business solutions provided in the Program. The objectives of the program were to:

Workshop on Effective Management

Held amidst varieties of other Management Education programs, the 5 day Workshop on Effective Management organized through the Accelerated Learning Centre of IIM Shillong concluded on 05 September, 2009.
The program led under the Program Directorship of Dr. S S Sarkar, Faculty Member saw a total number of 28 local entrepreneurs, business stalwarts, and eager future managers participating in 10 sessions that aimed at both intense and thought provoking learning to capacitate the participants with knowledge in future prospects of establishing business ventures.
Such programs are organized by IIM Shillong with the concept of being socially relevant. They are primarily targeted at the local youth populace encompassing the entire Northeast where there exists the potential to share various aspects and concepts of management education. Such programmes are necessary to address the need of the growing number of business enthusiasts. Graduates from various disciplines with an aptitude to harness their managerial skills are being encouraged to participate in such programs.
The workshop was designed mainly to cover various facets of management viz. finance, marketing, human resources, economic, legal and ethical issues, information technology etc. The course content elaborated on General Management, Marketing & Research, Human Resource Management, Business Planning and Emerging Financial Services. The inaugural session was taken by Prof. A. K. Dutta, Director, IIM Shillong who interacted with the participants and provided necessary inputs for enhancing managerial effectiveness. Other sessions were taken by faculty members of IIM Shillong and invited guest speakers.
Participants’ feedback reflected the expected outcome of enhancing their respective knowledge base with regards to the latest concept of management and which, in turn, will help them to become better managers and leaders in future.
Prof AK Dutta, founding Director of the Institute presented the participants with Certificates of Participation on the concluding day of the workshop amidst an enlightening speech.

Anniversary Edition release ceremony of IIM Shillong’s Finance magazine, “Niveshak”

IIM Shillong recently hosted 2 distinguished guests, Mr. Geert Linnebank, ex- Editor in Chief of the Reuters group and Mr. Prabhat Sawian, President of the Shillong Lajong Football Club. They were at the IIM campus to grace the Anniversary Edition release ceremony of IIM Shillong’s Finance magazine, “Niveshak” and also to address the students. Also present at the occasion were Professor SS Sarkar, Faculty Mentor for Niveshak, Lt.Colonel Matthew Thomas, Chief Administrative Officer at IIM Shillong and Professor D K Agarwal, Dean (Academics) and Chairman of the PGP programme.
Mr. Linnebank, a noted figure in the world of media was the Chief Editor of the Reuters newsgroup from 2001 to 2006 and also was the chief architect in the founding of the Times Now channel in association with the Times of India Group. Mr. Sawian is the president of the Shillong Lajong FC that has recently become the first football team from the North East to qualify for the I-League.
The release of the finance magazine of IIM Shillong, “Niveshak” (the intelligent investor) was clearly the highlight of the event. This magazine that is currently circulated in the top 50 B- schools of the country is a symbol of the tremendous progress that IIM Shillong has made within the first year of its establishment. A completely online magazine, the Niveshak team led by its Editor Mr. Biswadeep Parida, second year student of the PGP programme has managed to garner a huge following in this short span of time. The magazine is a completely student driven activity with everything from the designing and editing to the distribution being done in house.
The guests interacted at length with the students of the PGP programme and discussed topics as varied as upcoming trends like social media to ideas for development of football in India. Mr. Linnebank spoke about the state of news media in India and the lack of it that exists between journalism and management parse. Mr. Sawian focused on the sports dimension and talked of the evolution of football in the North East and the Shillong Lajong club that is currently being partnered by IIM Shillong in their effort to win the I league.

IIM Shillong goes Live with Oracle’s PeopleSoft Campus Solutions
ndia’s youngest IIM undertakes end-to-end automation to enhance education standards and improve resource management

IIM Shillong, also known as the Rajiv Gandhi Indian Institute of Management, has successfully completed the implementation of the world’s leading student system and alumni development solution for higher education. The institute has implemented various modules from Oracle’s PeopleSoft Campus Solutions and Oracle Applications with the help of Citagus India Private Ltd., a leading IT solutions and services company with specialized experience in implementing PeopleSoft solutions. Incidentally, IIM Shillong becomes the first among India’s Centrally Funded Technical Institutions and Universities, which include IITs, IIMs etc., to complete implementation of a comprehensive ERP solution.
“In today’s fast changing and highly competitive environment, we are determined to provide quality education to our students,” said Prof Ashoke Dutta, Director IIM Shillong. “IIM Shillong has taken a big step to implement a comprehensive IT solution with the help of Oracle and Citagus. We have sought to reduce manual processes as much as possible, and provide access to real-time information for students and the college management and faculty. This will enable us to focus completely on education programmes for our students and excel in quality and accessibility. It will put us at the forefront of the technology adoption initiative envisaged by the Govt. of India for higher educational institutions in the country.”
“IIM Shillong is yet another great example of the proven value Oracle can deliver to higher education institutions through our all encompassing PeopleSoft Campus Solutions family. Oracle software has a great track record, successfully being used in more than 800 campuses across more than 20 countries,” said Mr. David Redden, General Manager - Asia Pacific Education Sector, Oracle Corporation. “We are proud to partner with IIM Shillong in their mission to usher in a technology adoption revolution to help drive the enhancement of education standards in India.”
Excerpts from Mr David Redden’s remarks during the Go live and Press Conference ( Mr David Redden is the General Manager, Asia Pacific Education Sector, Oracle Corporation):

“ I must say we are extraordinarily impressed with how quick this institution has moved to first of all to select this product and then to implement it and my belief is that, this is the fastest implementation of this solution of any other customer in the world. So I think that comes down to the strong leadership from the Professor (Prof. A. K. Dutta ) as well as his very capable team...

....Prof. Dutta, I know that you do a lot of work in U.S. I request you to change the thought of some universities there too. Some institutions carry on for years before taking any decision, and go on for one or two more years to implement the same.... Talking about educational institutions across the world, they face different business challenges. These business challenges are different in different parts of India, different in various types of institution, different in China, in Hong Kong. People are increasingly adopting IT solutions for this....”

Seminar on Export Potential of Mizoram

A participant’s feedback to Prof. Ashoke K. Dutta’s speech during Seminar on Export Potential of Mizoram Organized by Exim Bank at AIZAWL on 3rd August, 2009:
“Your speech at the seminar held by EXIM bank & MEN inspired me a lot. First, thank you for your openness towards developing Mizoram.
As you see, Mizoram is a young state and all development activities are at its basic. Most of our potentials are yet to be tapped out…We need mass awareness and political will to succeed in this aspect. To have awareness among the people and press the Government small steps taken by MEN & EXIM Bank yesterday is an inspiring landmark in the history of Mizoram. As for your presence I would like to give you a special thanks to you as Mizo people could greatly benefit from your institution regarding your expertise, experience, knowledge, faculty, advice, recommendation and much more. I hope that you stick to what you are saying.
I on behalf of Mizo people thank you for your enthusiasm to help us. I see that Mizoram can greatly benefit from your help.
God Bless you.”
J. lalbiakthanga sailo

Worshop On Increasing Media Profitability

IIM Shillong on July 31st, 2009 organized a workshop on Increasing Profitability of Media Organizations. The one day workshop, an initiation of the visionary leadership, is one of the many varieties of capsule programs organized by the Institute as part of its Corporate Social Responsibility effort.
Participation included CEOs, Senior Managers, Producers and decision makers of various media organizations of the region, wherein deliberation and thought was mainly built around topics such as Understanding Media Business, Revenue Earning Strategies, Cost Reduction Strategies, and New Media and its implications. Intellectual input from Prof Ashoke Dutta, Director IIM Shillong, and Mr.Arijit Majumdar, stalwarts in the field of Media Management, and Dr.Basav Roychoudhury, IT Specialist was well appreciated by the participants.

Launch Of Symphony Magazine

T S Elliot wisely said “the experience of achievement, like any other experience, is partially translatable into words.” What started as a dream an year ago, has become a reality.
Symphony is a milestone in the journey of IIM Shillong and reflects its ethos in myriad senses. It is an attempt of the PGP participants to further enrich the potential of IIM Shillong to become the Mecca of Management Education. Symphony is a mission to reveal the obscurities of the management science with panacea. Right from its inception, IIM Shillong has focused on the concept of sustainable development. This theme is further reflected in the articles that adorn the pages of our experiences over the past year. The magazine presents the reader with articles covering a wide variety of topics ranging from finance to marketing and from strategy to HR.
The maiden issue of the magazine has been successful in bagging a sponsorship of more than 1 lakh from SBI, United Bank of India, including an international sponsor – the Tolaram Group of Singapore.
Maiden issue of Symphony was launched by Mr. V.K. Abbey Chairman & Managing Director NEEPCO in presence of Guest of Honour, Prof Satyajit Chakrabarti, who is Director of IEM, Kolkata and Prof. Ashoke K Dutta, founding Director, IIM Shillong.
Prof. Dutta stressed on more initiatives from participants of PGP for their overall development. Mr. Abbey told that NEEPCO is ready to extend its support for the next issue of Symphony and would like to gain from the expertise of the students of IIM Shillong. Prof Chakrabarti stressed on the importance of 1st and 2nd batch of any Institute in building it. Editorial board told that this is a milestone in IIM Shillong in its quest for excellence.
Also present on the dais was Dr. Naliniprava Tripathy who extended the vote of thanks, and congratulated the Editorial Team for their remarkable effort.
Symphony depicts harmonious combination of sounds and colours which gives a true picture of Meghalaya where it is located. Situated in the serene environment of the North eastern part of the country, IIM Shillong aims to become a global Centre of Excellence for the 21st Century Management Education and Research.

Foundation Course On Leading And Managing For Sustainability

Faculty : Jamie Hendry, Ph.D. Management,Associate Professor,Bucknell University, Lewisburg,PA,USA.
Goals for the seminar : Participants in the seminar began by exploring how personal and organizational values are relevant to organizational functioning and how various types of cultures influence individuals’ actions. And also explored on how to apply stakeholder theory to manage organizations in ways that benefit the organization, society, and the natural environment.
Participants identified some of the most significant socio‐economic and (separately) environmental challenges facing humanity and India in specific, looked at ways some organizations are addressing these challenges, and will be prepared to begin thinking about how their own future organizations might take action.
Participants were able to develop an introductory understanding of sustainability (whether viewed in a personal, community / social, organizational, national, or global context), saw why acting sustainably is vital to the future flourishing of human society, and understood how various types of organizations have roles to play in creating a more sustainable world.

Areas covered in this seminar :

SPANDAN – 1st Cultural Nite for the academic season 2009-10

SPANDAN – 1st Cultural Nite for the academic season 2009-10

The 1st Cultural program for the academic session 2009-10 called “Spandan” was organized on 22nd July, 2009 by the Cultural Committee of IIM Shillong at the Institute auditorium. It was an evening filled with the traditional colours of Indian Culture as well as the exhibition of the profound talent of the newly arrived 2011 batch.
 
The evening started off with a welcome address by the Director of the Institute, Prof. Ashoke. K. Dutta. A Rajasthani troupe of Folk Music & Dance had been invited from SPIC MACAY (Society for the Promotion of Indian Classical Music and Culture Amongst Youth). The troupe led by Shri Roze Khan Mangiar is internationally renowned for their portrayal of the rich cultural heritage of the Folk music & dance of the vibrant land of Rajasthan. The group consisting of 7 male singers & musicians and 2 female dancers has performed in Germany, France, Holland, UK, Russia, USA, Japan, among more than 50 different countries. The group has also been featured several times on Television by various channels. The far-famed artistes enthralled the audience with a host of song & dance sequences. The music was primarily played with traditional Rajasthani instruments hand made by craftsmen and the two dancers displayed one of the finest forms of dance prevalent today – the Rajasthani folk consisting of dancers balancing up to 7-9 brass pots on their head while showcasing their graceful dance moves, dancing on top of sharp-edged swords and glasses. The male singers, on the other hand, kept the audience’s excitement high with famous numbers like “Nimbuda”, “Padharo Maro Des” and “Damadam Mast Kalandar”.
After an entertaining performance by the troupe, it was time for some local action. The newly arrived PGP batch of 2011 got an opportunity to show what they had in them in terms of their cultural talent. And the performances they gave to the crowd were indeed show-stopping. Be it the sizzling dancers, the rocking singers & musicians, the innate stage actors, they had them all. The scintillating act by a world-class pianist among them is worth a special mention here. The PGP ’11 batch, with their brilliant entertainment, kept the crowd on its feet from start till the end.
“Spandan”, an evening of Indian cultural grandeur and the talent exhibition of IIM Shillong, finally came to an end, with the images of the pulsating evening etched in the minds of the audience for eternity!

Video conferencing with SAP

On July 22nd,2009 The Operations and Systems club IIM-Shillong (OASIS) organized a video conference session for the PGP 2010 and PGP 2009 batches of IIM-Shillong with Mr. Ramakrishna Potluri, Head of SRM Regional Group, SAP Asia-Pacific & Japan at SAP Labs.
The session was for about 70 minutes and Mr. Ramakrishna explained the various career opportunities available for MBA Graduates in the Information Technology sector, he also explained in detail about the various aspects of IT Project/Product Management. This included the roles and scope available with each career opening for the management students of B-schools like an IIM. He related the discussion to his experiences in the industry and the kind of growth and skill sets required for different roles. This was followed by an interactive Question and Answer session.
Mr. Ramakrishna was appreciative of the various topics and ideas that came up during the course of the session. The students too were very appreciative of the discussion and OASIS efforts.

Vision To Victory Research Agenda for Sports

The Indian Institute of Management, Shillong (IIM-S) and the International Sports Tourism Research co-Laboratory (i-Team) of Drexel University, Philadelphia, USA have jointly proposed a research project on the Commonwealth Games to be hosted in New Delhi in 2010.
As a part of the exploratory discussions, a round table conference on the proposed project was organised by IIM, Shillong here on 20th July, 2009 at the India International Centre, New Delhi.
The IIM Shillong and Drexel University’s i-Team will join hands to plan and execute an international research programme for scholars and graduate students titled ‘Sports India’.
The objective of the project is to expand know-how on professional management in sports through field and case studies as well as allied research in India. This research project on 2010 Commonwealth Games is a part of this contrive. Another notable aspect of this research project is to expand local experiences globally by sharing the experience of the 2010 Commonwealth Games to other sports organizations and academic institutions in India and abroad. The medium of sharing this experience will be through presentation of research findings, website postings, reports and scholarly in-depth articles in relevant journals.
There are four research components in the 2010 Commonwealth Games project. These will include resident perceptions study, consumer profiles and economic impacts, social-cultural impacts and an analysis of the organizing committee’s function.
The one day program was initiated under the leadership of Prof Ashoke K Dutta, Director IIM Shillong and Prof Douglas Turco of Drexel University.

Orientation Programme on Microsoft Dynamics

The Institute has tied up with Microsoft to participate in Microsoft Dynamics Academic Alliance. With this alliance, the Institute will use Microsoft Dynamics (the ERP solution from Microsoft) for teaching purposes. The entire Microsoft Dynamics package is now available with the Institute.
In this regard, an Orientation Program was conducted from 15th to 17th July 2009 by Shri S Tiwari, a consultant from one of the Microsoft’s Gold Partners. The idea behind this program was to provide an overview of the package and the ways of configuring the same for different businesses.
The orientation program was attended by Prof. B Roychoudhury, Shri Shankar Purbey, Shri Achyanta Sarmah, Shri Zicco Shira and Shri Banteilang Syiemiong.
Prof. Ashoke K Dutta and Shri A Mazumdar attended the inaugural session

Sports Sponsorship Management

Douglas Michele Turco, Ph.D., an associate professor from Drexel University's Sport Management program. Prior to arriving at Drexel University, Turco taught sport and tourism courses at Illinois State University, where he was named the University’s Outstanding Teacher in 2002, and at DeSales University, where he received two teaching awards. Turco is also a faculty at IMC FH-Krems (Austria) and IESE Madrid. He has advised more than 50 students on research projects, thesis, and dissertation committees.
Turco teaches courses on sport event marketing, international sport management, sport tourism, and sport management research. He has authored more than 40 research articles in journals including Sport Marketing Quarterly, International Journal of Sport Management, Journal of Travel Research, and the Journal of Sport and Tourism. In addition, he has also authored several books, including Sport Tourism (2002, with R. Riley and K. Swart - 2nd Ed. in 2009) and Sport and Event Marketing (2001, with N. Pope), and presented at research conferences in Canada, South Korea, South Africa, Taiwan, Germany, Cyprus, Spain, Poland, Hungary, and Portugal.His current and most recent studies involve the impact of sport tourism at the 2010 FIFA World Cup, 2009 U.S. Open Golf Championship, 2008 Beijing Olympic Games, 2007 Cricket World Cup, 2006 Torino Olympic Games, 2005 Little League World Series, and Highland Athletic Games National Championship.

Video conferencing with Hero Honda Motors Limited

The students of IIM-Shillong, had an interactive video conferencing session with the Director-Operations (Mr. V.Khasbekar) and the Senior Manager-Planning (Mr.Amit Agarwal) of Hero Honda Motors Limited (HHML).
The video conference was arranged by the Operations and Systems club IIM-Shillong (OASIS). In a video conference that lasted 35minutes in the board room, with one of the top management person in HHML. The students gained invaluable insight on operational strategy in the face of recession, supply chain issues, vendor management, consulting, business processes and the utility of ERP in the real world applications of an auto-maker that has showed 30% growth in sales despite recession.
The Hero Honda team was happy with the new ideas and perspectives that came up in the course of the discussion. The session ended with a note that the event is a predecessor for more important interactions between companies and IIM-Shillong.

Sports As An Agenda For Employment Generation
(Organized by IIM Shillong in association with Assam Sports and Youth Welfare Department) Venue: Assam Administrative Staff College, Assam

With sports and its related activities being identified as a potential area for employment generation, RGIIM Shillong has roped in Prof Doughlas Michele Turco, a sports management specialist from Drexel University, USA to discuss and chalk out a framework for generation of employment through sports gauging the potential available in the North East of India.
The conference organized by IIM Shillong in association with Assam Sports and Youth Welfare Department was attended by sports department officials of the northeastern states of India, viz., Meghalaya, Mizoram, Tripura, Nagaland and Assam.
During an interactive session, Prof Turco suggested involvement of other stakeholders including chambers of commerce and tourism department. He added entrepreneurship in sports has increased manifold with non-competitive and recreational sports becoming overwhelmingly popular across the world.
Prof Ashoke K Dutta, Director IIM Shillong also elaborated on the potential of the region and said that proper marketing of sporting events, whether professional or indigenous, by roping in competent expertise could draw attention and help create tourist friendly atmosphere.

Induction Ceremony Of II Batch Students And Celebration Of The Institute’s First Anniversary

The induction ceremony, which was graced by Dr. D. D. Lapang, Chief Minister of Meghalaya as Chief Guest was an event where the bright- faced future managers and leaders of the country were blessed with words of encouragement and counsel.
“It has been a long struggle and now dreams have emerged into reality. Meghalaya is proud to have facilitated the start up of a world class IIM in this part of the country. Determination to succeed is your right and no one can take that away from you,” were expressions of Dr. D.D. Lapang during his address, wherein he accredited praise to the visionary leadership of the Institute.
Success and accomplishments should not be our only source of contention. Instead, we should learn to appreciate the unseen activities done by others which leads to a result, were the words of Prof. Ashoke K Dutta, founding Director of the Rajiv Gandhi Indian Institute of Management, Shillong during a stirring gathering on the eve of the Institute’s first anniversary on July 3rd, 2009. Prof Dutta during his address recounted the contributions of past colleagues and friends who urged him forward by able support work.
Earlier during the occasion, the new batch of students were administered a pledge by Prof D K Agarwal, Dean Academic Affairs. Other significant dignitaries present were Shri Rathindranath Datta, Chairman of IIM Shillong, Shri Ranjan Chatterjee, Chief Secretary and Member of the Board of Governors, and Shri Falguni Rajkumar, former Secretary NEC.

Certificate Distribution & Passing Out Ceremony

IIM Shillong awarded certificates to successful candidates of the Certificate Course in Retail Management and Sustainable Enterprise and Retail Management at the passing out ceremony on its campus on June 12th, 2009.
 
Shri Shekhar Dutt, Deputy National Security Advisor who was the Chief Guest handed over the certificates in the presence of Prof A K Dutta, Director IIMS. Also present was Shri DAJ Sawkmie, Deputy Director North East Indira Gandhi Regional Institute of Health and Medical Sciences as Special Guest.

Small Business Management

Going beyond its conventional styles of organizing various training programs, this time around IIM Shillong has initiated a training program of local relevance titled “Small Business Management.”
 
In its quest towards contributing management inputs to the local youth population of Meghalaya and North East as a whole the Institute, continues to take responsible steps in enhancing overall development and adding to the local business acumen, this time, by organizing a 5 Day Training programme on “Small Business Management” at its campus at Nongthymmai, Shillong from May 25-29, 2009.

NrityaSandhya, Cultural programme by Spic Macay and IIM Shillong

The Students of IIM Shillong, in association with Spic Macay had organized Nritya Sandhya on April 20th, 2009 at the Institute Auditorium.
The Cultural Event was an attempt to reduce the onslaught of rapid change and global homogenization, and more importantly the marginalization and dilution of our multifaceted Indian heritage. The Society for the Promotion of Indian Classical and Culture Amongst Youth, often known by its initials (SPIC MACAY), is a non-profit organization which promotes classical Indian music, dance, and Indian culture, established by Dr. Kiran Seth in 1977 at IIT Delhi. Ideally, SPIC MACAY seeks to conserve and promote awareness of our rich and heterogeneous cultural tapestry amongst the youth of this country, and to facilitate an awareness of their deeper and subtler values.
During the event, the audience was treated to a splendid performance by senior dancer of Jaipur Gharana of Kathak , Prerana Shrimaliji. Preranaji  whose endeavour is to expend the Kathak repertoire by choreographing new and highly acclaimed compositions based on ancient, medieval and modern poetry was accompanied by Fateh Singh Ganganji the famous tabla vadak and Pakhawaj exponent, and Shri Ehsaanji who played the dual role of a singer and a sarangi player.
The evening also witnessed the joyous dance of Bihu, a folk dance of the State of Assam which was performed by young men and women characterized by representation of youthful passion and rhythmic exuberance.

IIM Shillong Golf cup Season 1

In order to foster teamwork and ability to bring out individual through sports, IIM Shillong Golf Cup was held on the 18th and 19th April, 2009 at the Shillong Golf . The tournament that saw 120 golfers participating was organized by the students and alumni of IIM Shillong (Officers of Assam Rifles) under the leadership of the Director himself, Prof Ashoke K. Dutta.
The entire tournament was layed in the Stableford format. Shri Ranjan Chatterjee, Chief Secretary, Government of Meghalaya was the Guest of Honour at the inauguration, while Shri Ashok Thakur, Additional Secretary, Ministry of HRD, Government of India was the first to tee off.
The first day witnessed a competition among the leading business schools of the country. The high tea hosted by His Excellency, the Governor of Meghalaya and also a patron of the IIM Shillong Golf Cup was the highlight of the first day.
On the second day, the competition intensified as participants from leading corporates entered the fray. The event concluded with a grand prize distribution ceremony with Major General K.S. Sethi as the Guest of Honour. The dignitaries who graced the occasion praised and encouraged the efforts of the organizers who achieved this within a year of its operation and with such unique thinking and precision.
Dr. Pankaj Chandra, Director, IIM Bangalore said, “A unique approach by the pioneer batch is applaudable.” Mr. Ashok Thakur mentioned that “IIM Shillong has been able to differentiate itself from the cutthroat competition by taking a much more cooperative effort.”
The delighted Director of IIM Shillong, Prof Dutta congratulated the students and the Shillong Golf Club for bringing this event to a successful conclusion. The tournament as such is an attempt to facilitate an interface between the cream of the Corporate and Academic worlds. The way forward is to make this tournament the most talked about amateur golf tournament within the next coming years.
The list of winners in the tournament are as follows:

Minutes of the Faculty Round Table held on November 21, 2008

Speaker : Prof.  S K Prusty
Topic of discussion : Interactive session on Archives of US-China Virtual Symposium on “Building Virtual Global Communities"

The faculty members of IIM Shillong had an interactive discussion session on the archives of the panel discussion of US-China Virtual Symposium on “Building Virtual Global Communities" held at Drexel University on November 11-13, 2008. Prof. Ashoke K Dutta, Director, IIM Shillong had attended the Symposium at US. His views on the digitalization of higher education, including management education in India were discussed in the faculty round table. He explained the cost-benefit model of digital university campus and emphasized its need and utility in India in 21st Century. Prof. Dutta also briefed about the IIM Shillong’s initiative towards the making of fully digitalized campus. The faculty members of IIM Shillong critically discussed the opinions of different panel members of the Symposium and finalized the coming course of action in line of the digitalization process.

Fin Games:
The Finance Club organized two games namely “Discovering Harshad Mehtas" and “Discovering Warren Buffets" on 11th November 2008 to give its members a real time hands-on experience on the Stock market and Portfolio building. The first game was about aggressive day trading while the second was on developing long term investment strategies.

ConQuer:
ConQuest, The Consulting Club organized ConQuer, A set of events to give insights into the world of consulting. The events comprised of: ConQuiz,  A quiz about various consulting verticals, Industry Insight, a sector analysis competition about how the US meltdown has affected various sectors in India including Oil and Gas, Financial Services, Real Estate, Retail, Logistics, Telecom, IT and Media & Advertising and Negotiation, an event aimed at giving hands on experience to students about how negotiations actually takes place.

Diwali Celebrations:
The festival of Diwali was celebrated with great zeal and vigor. The whole campus was lit up with sparkling diyas and decorative lights. Creative rangolis made by the IIMS students added colours to the occasion. The students presented themselves in traditional outfits setting the atmosphere for a cultural get together. The evening was initiated with the lighting of the borne fire by IIMS Director Prof. A.K.Dutta, which was followed by various fun activities involving the student and the faculty community. The sky was decorated with the colourful blast of fire crackers.

Cult Nite: 
The Institute organized its 1st cultural night on 20th October, 2008, which consisted of the performance by the famous Rock band “SNOW-WHITE". The events took off with the classical performances such as BharatNatyam and Drums Ensemble by the students of the Martin Luther Christian University, Shillong. This was followed by singing, dancing and mimicry performances by the IIMS students. A small show by the IIMS band increased the liveliness of the crowd. The night was concluded with a Rock show by SNOW-WHITE who rocked the college for 3 hours. All the students including the faculty members were exuberated, showing their enthusiasm by thumping their feet to the beats of the rock music. That night was the first cultural landmark in the history of IIM SHILLONG portraying not only a thrust on academics but also in extra-curricular activities.

IIM Shillong on “Events that shook the Wall Street":
The month of September was marked by fall of iconic banks across the world, primarily the wipe out of the last of the standalone I-Banks of Wall Street. On 9th October 2008, The Finance Club of IIM-Shillong organized a session on the events that led to the worldwide disaster, how the story unfolded, the possible implications on the world of Finance and also the placement scenario at B-Schools after Wall Street. This was presided over by the finance Club mentor Prof. Suvendu Bose.  Prof. Dipak Gandhi also joined the party and threw light on “Casino Capitalism"- how actually is the financial system in the US governed and how did these I-Banks “gamble" their money in the market which led to the biggest crisis of our time. 

Niveshak Wall Street Special Edition released:
The Finance Club also came out with a Wall Street Special Edition of “Niveshak –The Investor" which was released by the esteemed professors after the brainstorming session. Niveshak is a students’ driven financial monthly magazine of IIM Shillong.

DGQA Seminar on Quality & Security

DGQA Seminar on Quality & Security held in the presence of Prof Ashoke Dutta, Director and faculty members of IIM Shillong

Brain Storming Session

Held, Brain Storming Session on the ways and means to overcome the Faculty Shortage in the Management Institutes in India. Participants expressed their grave concern over the growing disinterest in Research works in Management Studies.The Director highlighted the desire of IIM, Shillong to tackle this major problem facing the Management Institutes. Mr Shantikam Hazarika of the Assam Institute of Management and Father Joseph,Vice Principal of St Anthony’s College expressed their opinions that students already holding  a PhD degree in other subjects could be inducted for pursuing PhD in Management Studies. Dr Shrivastava, Member NEC, Shillong appreciated the achievements of IIM Shillong and assured the assistance of NEC in all respects. . Among the others who participated in the Session were Prof K.K. Choudhury, Director Army Institute of Management, Prof Petiya, Director, Indian Institute of Forest Management, Mrs Rekha Modi, Founder of Stree Shakti etc. A Videoconferencing with Prof Galen Godbey of DeSales University on “Peep into the Future of Management Education“ was also organized on the occasion. It was participated by the Director of IIM, Shillong the faculty and the students. The discussion centered on the scope and opportunities of Research Collaboration in Management Studies between India and America.

Group Discussion of Principals of Colleges

Held, Group Discussion of Principals of Colleges in Meghalaya on “Challenges in the Field of Higher Education.” During the GD, for the first time in India a software based video conference was held using Intellisys Vennfer software where the participants interacted with Mr. Soumen Chakraborty of Intellisys Vennfer, Kolkata.

MDP programme on “Best Business Practices for Project Management”

Held MDP programme on “Best Business Practices for Project Management” designed for Meghalaya State Civil Service Officers.