MINDZ'14 by SIMSREE in association with JLTI

SIMSREE successfully hosted a first of its kind insurance broking competition named MINDZ’14 in association with Jardine Lloyd Thompson India Pvt. Ltd. (JLTI) in October- November 2014. The event was organised and coordinated by the Corporate Relations Committee, SIMSREE.

           

About JLTI

JLT India Pvt. Ltd. is a wholly owned subsidiary of Jardine Lloyd Thompson Group. Set up in May 2007 as a Global Shared Services Centre for the Group, JLT India has grown significantly to become the second largest office of the Group, supporting both Employee Benefits and Risk & Insurance operations of the Group. It is the first company in the Group (and one of the first companies in India) to achieve the international standard for business continuity management, ISO 22301. JLT India provides a multitude of services under 7 main verticals viz. Operations, Finance, Group Business Process Management, Information Technology, Knowledge Services, Legal Risk & Compliance and Human Resources.

About Mindz’14

Mindz 2014 is an inter college insurance broking event, that tests the statistical, strategic and analytical skills of the participants along with their ability to work in teams.

Format: The game comprised 3 rounds which involved an online quiz, an online insurance broking simulation game and a case study presentation round.

Timeline: The 1st and 2nd rounds were held between 12th October and 18th October and the last round was held on 26th November. 

Prizes:

●      Rs. 50,000/- for the winning team

●      Rs. 30,000/- for the runner up

●      Gifts and certificates worth Rs. 20,000/- (total) for teams that complete Phase 1

Participation: Entry into the event was by invitation only. A total of 8 prestigious b-schools namely SIMSREE, ISB Hyderabad, NMIMS, NITIE, SJMSOM, SIBM Pune, SIMSR, SCMHRD had been invited to this competition.

Unique features:

●      The online simulation game was played concurrently by the participants and JLTI employees

●      Teams from b-schools which qualified from round 2 were merged with those qualifying from JLTI for round 3 i.e. the case study presentation

●      These teams were assigned a mentor each, who guided them through the case study round

●      The teams had to present the case study to senior JLTI management and their global counterparts for the final round

This unique format of the competition enabled students to experience an ideal corporate interface like never before. Also, it was a first hand learning experience as they teamed up with people already working in the industry.

The Finale:

The Final round of Mindz 2014 - the case study presentation was held on 26^th November, 2014, at JLTI, Mumbai. The top 5 teams qualifying from the second round (Periloscope), both from B-schools and JLTI were given three primary topics to present on. Their presentation and ideas were judged by a panel comprising the JLTI management and their esteemed global counterparts.

Every presentation was followed by a comprehensive Q&A round. The contestants were judged on the quality of insights and research on the topic chosen, team work, presentation quality and responses to the questions asked by the panel.

At the end of all presentations, the judges adjudged team INVICTUS from SIMSREE and team MAVERICKS from JLTI as winners of JLTI Mindz 2014. They combined to form team BIZ WIZ for the last round. The team from SIMSREE were praised for their leadership qualities and the poise shown by them throughout the presentation and the subsequent Q&A round.

We would like to thank JLTI and all the contestants for making this competition a success. We hope to be back soon with a bigger and better Mindz 2015. Keep watching this space!

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Guest Lecture by Dr. Michele V. Gee

There was a guest lecture by Dr. Michele V. Gee on 7^th of January 2015 in the SIMSREE Auditorium. The topic of discussion was "Global Corporate Social Responsibility and Strategic Management". 

Dr. Michele V. Gee is the Associate Dean at College of Business, Economics and Computing (University of Wisconsin, Parkside - USA). Professor Gee specializes in strategic management and international business. She currently teaches Business Policy and Global Issues in Management. Prior to her academic experiences, Professor Gee was a marketing manager at IBM and AT&T. Professor Gee has presented her research in numerous international, national, and regional academic and professional conferences on topics such as cross-cultural management, strategic analyses of organizations and industries, and economic development issues. She has reviewed existing and proposed textbooks in strategic management, and has provided extensive strategic planning consulting to organizations and businesses.

While talking about Global Corporate responsibility she said that India ranks amongst one of the topmost countries, where importance is given to social responsibility. When she asked students about the importance of CSR, nearly 98% believe that it is important to give something back to the society as CSR. She was overwhelmed with the response of students and also further cleared that there would not have been same response if she asked same question in US. Hence the difference in views of the people makes it really difficult to judge whether it is a right decision or not. 

She also explained that rules for abortion in INDIA and that in US are way different. Thus, it creates a big question in the minds of people that what is to be considered right and what not. Similar is the thought process for the Global Corporate Social Responsibility and Strategic Management. This short lecture helped students in understanding not only National perspective but a Global perspective for the topic which was discussed. A broader view for the same cleared the importance and scope for the CSR activities and its importance in the near future.

The session overall was very interesting and interactive which gave students new perspective to look towards the subject of Global Corporate Social Responsibility and Strategic Management.

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Stem Cell Transplant Awareness and Donor Registration Camp

The SSR committee of SIMSREE along with the Marrow Donor Registry India organized a Stem Cell Transplant awareness session at SIMSREE on 12^thJanuary followed by donor registration camp on 14^th January, 2015.

Marrow Donor Registry India (MDRI) is an NGO started a few years back in Mumbai, India. They have taken up this project purely with the aim and intention of saving numerous lives of patients in India & Globally who are suffering from life threatening diseases like Blood Cancer, Thalassemia, Lymphoma, Aplastic Anemia etc.

As stated by MDRI, these less fortunate patients can be completely cured only by a new revolutionary Technology/Concept called Stem Cell Transplant. Usually they can be getting a match within their own family, but the chances are only 25%. MDRI was started with the concept of gathering data of Unrelated Voluntary Donors. Patients in India are facing a difficulty in finding matching donors for transplant, due to lack of awareness amongst the people. Transplant is possible only if there is a full match of HLA/DNA Tissue Type of the donor who will donate their stem cell for dying patients and the chances of a full match are very rare i.e. 1:20000. Their biggest challenge is in finding a voluntary donor, who is considerate, dedicated, altruistic and committed to saving human lives.

SSR committee invited Dr. Praveen Clement, a medical officer with MDRI to share his insights regarding stem cell transplant concept. He successfully addressed the concerns with respect to stem cell donation and motivated many students to be stem cell donors. On 14^th January, a registration camp was organized where 58 students registered their names with MDRI and pledged to be available whenever the need arises. The registration process included filling a form and giving 6ml blood for testing. This data will be in the MDRI database for future reference.

We appreciate the efforts taken by MDRI to spread awareness about Stem Cell transplant and also appreciate the active participation of students of SIMSREE to support this cause.

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Guest Lecture by Mr. Amogh Gothoskar

​On Sunday, 11th of January 2015, Mr. Amogh Gothoskar graced the auditorium of SIMSREE with his presence. In the lecture organized by the Corporate Relations Committee, he enlightened the batch on 'Securitization and the US sub-prime mortgage crisis'. Mr Amogh, an entrepreneur since 5 years in the financial services sector and the owner and CEO of 'End to End Financial Services', spoke passionately on the topic of the financial crisis of 2007-2009.

He started the discussion by asking the batch a few basic questions on the concepts of securitization and the various types of securitization. He went on to explain the nitty-gritty of securitization and the fundamental differences between the various types. Furthermore, he spoke about the basic securitization process that was carried out in the US before the crisis and the various players that were involved in the securitization process focusing mainly on mortgage backed securities. In the build up to the explanation of the crisis, he also showed some statistics which compared securitization and land rates in the US with the rest of the world and also showed a period based comparison of the same. This helped the batch to get a rough idea of the gravity of the crisis and the sheer enormity of it.

Mr. Amogh suggested that there are many parties to be blamed and held responsible for the crisis, right from the lenders to the investment banks, as well as the rating agencies. He said this situation could have been avoided if the regulators and the rating agencies would have been more alert of what the securitization process was evolving into.

​ ​Talking about Indian investors, he said that Indian investors are generally risk averse and that has prevented such a crisis from happening in India. He also said that one of the root causes for this crisis was the risk taking nature of the American borrowers and investors. American borrowers were enticed into taking up such seemingly easy loans. Also, investors bought securities backed by those sub-prime loans in expectation of higher than normal returns. He categorized an investor's psyche into two categories viz. risk prone and risk averse. He build upon this investor psyche as the base to further explain how this enabled the lenders to sell such risky loans and how these loans got bundled up and found their way into the stock markets as securities which adversely affected the entire financial ecosystem and the real estate bubble finally burst.

In response to one of the questions during the Q&A session, he said that bailing out the big companies to mitigate the problem wasn't the ideal step as it could act as a fallback for the companies in future if they were to engage into such activities again. But in the hindsight, the US government had to bail them out to deflect a domino effect from taking place and the decision turned out to be pragmatic if not ideal. He also added that the government must be focused on creating real employment rather than artificial, temporary employment for the population. With this he ended a very fruitful and knowledge gaining session for the students of SIMSREE.

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Asia Pacific International Conference 2015 - a big success!

SIMSREE organised the 2nd Asia Pacific International Research Conference on the 8th and 9th of January, 2015. The theme for the conference was "Changing Business Practices in the Current Business Environment" and students and faculty from across the world presented research papers on various topics ranging from General Management to Marketing to IT to Finance! A large number of delegates from USA, Nigeria, Sweden and Thailand participated, chaired and provided able guidance to all the participants. Esteemed invitees of the event were:

• Mr. Sudarshan Jain, Managing Director, Abbott  who spoke on growth in Pharma Industry specific from thyroid research and innovative insulin tablet for diabetic patients.
• Mr. Adil Malia, Group President, Essar, focussed on areas specific to innovation in an organisation.
• Mr. Srinivas Swamy, Chairman, Hansa Group, brought with him a host of facts and figures relating to the theme of the conference  
• Mr M.G. Parmeswaran from FCB Ulka spoke about the importance of research for business
• Mr. Mantha, AICTE Chairman
• Dr. Gaikwad, Director, Maharashtra Technical Education Board
• Dr. M. A. Khan, Registrar, Mumbai University

The students had an enriching experience organizing and being part of this event. You can read more about this event on the following links:

www.careerindia.com/news/simsree-organises-2nd-asia-pacific-business-research-conference-2015-013590.html

www.htcampus.com/article/research-department-sydenham-college-mumbai-organise-2nd-asia-pacific-business-research-conference-january-2015/

www.m.indiainfoline.com/article/news-business/asia-pacific-international-conference-2015-simsree-in-mumbai-115011200052_1.html

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Guest Lecture by Miss Tanaz Buhariwalla

On 18th November, 2014, Ms Tanaz Buhariwalla, Vice President at IDA Ireland, graced the campus of Sydenham Institute of Management Studies, Research and Entrepreneurship Education with a guest lecture organised by the Corporate Relations Committee. With over 15 years of experience, she is an expert in the fields of International Business, Business Development, Business Strategy and Planning, Marketing amongst many others.

With the topic being Business Development Strategies of Indian Companies in Foreign Markets, one of the major points of discussion was inward FDI along with outward FDI in India and across the globe. She discussed Free Trade zones, the Cluster effect, the effect of various laws in different regions, the roles of tax structures and so on. The discussion then steered towards the “drivers of FDI”. She gave the students numerous live examples for the same so that they could understand more easily.

She encouraged student participation and answered all the questions very patiently. She ended the session by emphasizing on the future role of FDIs and the power of networking. We thank Ms Tanaz Buhariwalla and look forward to having more and more interactions with her.

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Motivational Mondays : Summer Internship interview by Atit Shah

Where did you complete your summer internship? What was the size of the company?

I did my summer internship at Syntel Ltd., which aims at delivering high end solutions to its almost 2000 clients in a more efficient and innovative way.  In the duration of my internship, i learned how to get insights from the customer requirements and business and then to apply innovations into operations. The company has around 25000 employees worldwide. Syntel's ‘Customers for Life’ philosophy made me focus on hands on experience along with business results.

What project did you work on? What was the timeline for execution of different stages of the project?

I was fortunate enough that the Company trusted me and gave me an opportunity to work on an important project, where I was a key responsible person. I was working on an internal project to design a web based portal for the company. The Analysis & Design stages of the portal were expected to be completed in 2 months. In the entire two months, the portal has to be developed from scratch and later made functional on the front end.

Please share your project summary.

A web based portal was required by the company to manage its routine operational activities. My key responsibility was to analysis & design this web based portal. As part of the designing, I was required to prepare various artifacts like database model diagram, business process modelling diagrams, user interface layouts and system architecture design. I also had to guide the developers with the development of the portal. Being a part of the Designing and Technical department, the only summary about the project was to develop a portal for a company to maintain its daily business functions.

How did you executed on the project? What was your stratergy?

My strategy was to focus on the project completely. The focus was  to make sure that not even a single feature or program of the portal is left out.  I completed the Analysis & Design stages of the project and also helped the developers to kick-start the Development stage.

What were the key challenges that you faced during your internship?

The project was quite challenging as the portal had to be made from scratch. In the Analysis stage, I had to engage with various stakeholders for understanding the existing processes, which is important to know as you have to work on the same business and functional models which the company is following.

Within a short time span of 2 months, I had to learn, understand, develop and deliver the project which was challenging.  Also, translating the requirements fetched from the Analysis stage into various design artifacts was a challenging task. But the project was delivered to the expectations of the clients, and that is all what matters.

What were your learning’s while doing the project and experience after the completion of the project?

I learned a lot during my internship at Syntel, it was an experience, an opportunity and a challenge that made me have more confidence in myself. During my internship the project gave me great insights on how to design IT systems along with an exposure to IT project management. After the completion of my summer internship, I was prepared to face the challenges and actually was more open to accept them, work hard and achieve results.

How did your corporate mentor supported you to execute your internship? How did you connected with your academic mentor?

My corporate mentor at Syntel was very experienced and cooperative. He guided me throughout the project. If I use to get stuck somewhere, he was always there to support, guide and motivate me. We had daily reviews of my work which helped me to deliver quality output within the stipulated time frame. I used to connect with my mentor via emails on a weekly basis and use to share reviews and other outputs.

How was your interaction with other employees during your internship period? Would you like to come back to the company for a job?

We use to have both formal and informal interactions every week. My seniors and colleagues use to have this interaction so as work burden could be shared, problems could be discussed, and technical issues could be handled along with other motivational talks.  The work environment was very good and supportive. I would definitely like to join the company and work towards my aim, get challenging opportunities and grow along with the organization.

Share a memorable incident from your internship days.

In the end of my internship a surprise farewell party was organised by my colleagues which is quite memorable. I still miss working under the deadlines, the fun at lunch, gossips, discussions and exposure to new learnings.

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