TERM ZERO of Great Lakes Institute of Management – Day 1

May 22, 2020 | Posted by BPR Team << back to blog

On 18^th May 2020, Great Lakes Institute of Management kicked off Term Zero, a first-of-its-kind initiative for the PGPM Class of 2021. Dean Suresh Ramanathan welcomed the batch and commenced the term with an optimistic note on making the best out of the current situation by being ‘agile’, a term that he consistently advocates. With that motivational beginning, Dean Ramanathan announced the batch name of PGPM 2021 – The Mighty Marathas. The Marathas, a highly renowned clan of Indian history who fought valiantly to emerge as a force to reckon with in the long twilight of the Mughal dynasty. For a batch which has commenced in the middle of unprecedented times, the name did significantly uplift the spirits of the students.

Later we were introduced to the PGPM Program Director, Mr Sanjoy Sircar and his team members Ms Radha & Ms Uma Maheshwari, the PGPM program managers. The welcome note ended with an address by the much-awaited Dr Bala V. Balachandran, or as Great Lakers fondly call him – Uncle Bala. The batch experienced the zeal with which Uncle Bala addressed the students on the inevitable uncertainties which are bound to come their way, but how it’s actually optional to worry about it. He spoke about the ‘money value of time’ and laid strong emphasis on embracing what we have and not lament what we don’t.

With the end of this welcome address began the much anticipated ‘Global Thought Leader and CXO Series’ – a platform for interacting with Renowned Academicians, Industry Veterans and Thought Leaders, aimed at shaping the mindset of a management student right at the beginning of the MBA journey. The series was set in motion by the first speaker – Mr R Seshasayee, Former Managing Director at Ashok Leyland, and former Chairman at Infosys. Mr Seshasayee was associated with the Ashok Leyland Group for over 40 years, serving as the Managing Director for 13 years, during which the company set out on a path of expansion & innovation. He began his address to the students with a prominent acronym in today’s industry – ‘VUCA’ – which stands for Volatility, Uncertainty, Complexity and Ambiguity, and how it accurately reflects the current reality. The key point was that as future leaders we can, in fact, be prepared for a VUCA world by equipping ourselves with the skills to be sensitive to ‘changes in trends’ and being mindful of the ‘warning signs’. When we arm ourselves with the right information at the right point of time, we can emerge as winners in all situations. He specifically mentioned the steep growth of the ed-tech unicorn Byju’s in current times, to further emphasise on how ‘every crisis offers an opportunity’.

The second global thought leader of day 1 was Dr Sam Pitroda – an internationally respected telecom inventor, entrepreneur, development thinker, and policymaker who has spent 50 years in information and communications technology (ICT), and related global and national developments. He has even laid the foundation of the telecom revolution in India in the 1980s. Dr Pitroda shared his experiences during his tenure as an advisor to Prime Minister Rajiv Gandhi and how he led tech missions related to water, literacy, dairy production, immunisation & oilseeds. He played a pivotal role in revolutionising India’s development policies with a prime focus on technology as a key to change. With full conviction, Dr Pitroda conveyed to the students that anything is attainable if you put your mind to it and work towards it. To achieve monumental success, you need to be courageous and dream big. Learning and redefining yourself is key to achieving your goals.

From two eminent global experts who have shown the way forward through their own experiences, Day 1 of Term Zero at Great Lakes ended with a large cohort of motivated students getting to assimilate how, despite being in the middle of a global crisis, they can chart the way out as the going gets tough. To sum it up – ‘In times of duress and difficulties, the best leaders arise!’

Authored by Anisha Dhawan, PGPM 2021, Great Lakes Institute of Management, Chennai

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