20 July : University Business School completed its two-day Induction Programme for MBA 2009-2011 on July 18-19, 2009. A host of activities were conducted throughout the event for the students. The activities were aimed at enhancing achievement orientation, creative thinking, building work teams, goal focus, responsibility taking etc. in the students. The event proceeded with dividing the students into groups and then conducting various competitive events amongst the group.
The various activities that took place were conducted on both the days in various locations in the University Business School. Those activities included:
Mats: The students were given a situation that involved developing decision making skills. This included providing them mats which they had to use to cross the finishing line. The activity helps in developing strategic thinking and planning skills.
Human Ladder: Bamboo sticks were used to make a human ladder with two students holding each stick helping the other team mate cross the finishing line. The basic purpose of the activity is to create a feeling of trust for the fellow team mates.
Web: The act required the need of balanced behavior in tough situation in which the students were supposed to cross a net without touching it keeping in mind the time considerations. The act also helped the students develop communication skills.
Rappelling: The aim of the activity was to remove the fear from the minds of the students. They were asked to climb down a flat wall with the help of ropes.
Stepping Stones: The importance of coordinated effort in successful team building and project completion, was implied to the students through this activity.
Pipes: The activity was directed towards making the students learn the importance of paying attention to minute details and the ability to communicate one’s thought effectively so that it leads to the attainment of goal.
On both the days, the post activity session included a feedback session for the students where they were told about their mistakes and how could they improve upon those mistakes.
On July 18, UBS had two Alumni visiting the campus and interacting with the newly inducted batch. The alumni who visited were Mr. Anil Khanna, Managing Director, Blue Dart, Mumbai (1979 Batch), Mr. Sudhir Kant, President, Millipore, Bangalore (1983 Batch).
A warm welcome was given to the guests by the UBS Chairman, Prof. Dinesh K. Gupta. Mr. Khanna addressed the students first and spoke about the need for constant change. “The only thing that remains constant is change” being the theme of his speech, he pointed out to the importance of having practical experience in addition to the theoretical knowledge as according to him “applied knowledge leads to wisdom”. He advised the students on keeping oneself updated with the latest happenings around the world. He emphasized on the importance of penning down the vision, short term and long term goals. The students need to have clarity of thought as it would lead to a planned and more coordinated effort towards the achievement of goals.
Mr. Sudhir Kant shared his views on “Shaping world class managers for the 21st century”. Reiterating the importance of change management, Mr. Kant said that the two things most critical in shaping the future managers are their ability to manage people and technology as they happen to be the fastest changing growth drivers. According to him, the managers need to learners and need to study technology on a regular basis if they wish to succeed in their chosen career paths.
On July 19, the two alumni who visited the campus included Mr. Sunil Dutt, Country Head, Mobile Business, Samsung, New Delhi (1984) and Mr. Harshvendra Soin, Chief People Officer, Aditya Birla Retail, Mumbai (1994).
A welcome speech was given by UBS Chairman, Mr. Dinesh K. Gupta which was followed by Mr. Sunil Dutt addressing the students. Mr. Dutt spoke on the topic, “Prepare to change-A few reflective thoughts”. His advice to the students regarding the need to change and the ways of implementing the change included developing skill sets to develop and sustain the thought processes, following one’s instinct, reinventing oneself continuously and giving back what one gets to the society. He also guided the students on the story of change which includes predicting, managing and creating change.
Mr. Soin shared his views on the topic of “Shaping world class leaders for 21st century”. According to him it’s the leaders and not the managers who are the need of the hour. His definition of managers included ‘doing things right’ as against leaders which means ‘doing right things’. He said that today’s leaders are needed to manage the current slowdown in the economy by managing, planning, leading and anticipating.
On both the days a former faculty of UBS blessed the students on the occasion. A vote of thanks was proposed by Dr. Tejinderpal Singh, a faculty member of UBS, which was followed by presenting a memento to all the alumni. The day ended with the alumni giving personal insights to the students informally.
Hi All
Welcome to UBS, this induction looks like fun..All the best for the future.
Sahil Aggarwal