.:: Elixir - CIMR ::.



"ELIXIR" true to its name is the quintessential event of Chetana’s Institute of Management & Research.


Each year, since two decades, Chetana has empowered and invigorated its students through this academic - industry interface. Integrating the curious minds of the students with a master mind from the industry whose very words can pave a definitive path for the aspiring Indian managers – this is the hallmark of Chetana. It comes as no surprise then, that Chetana is amongst the top 50 B- Schools in the country today.



“Elixir 2011”, held at CIMR Auditorium on the 2nd and 3rd of December was a 2 day mega event themed: “Futuristic Approach to Sustainable Success”. The Guest Speakers were some of the choicest, most eminent industry veterans whose presence and participation substantiated the powerful position and respect Chetana has acquired amongst the corporate world.

The function was inaugurated with the auspicious diya lighting ceremony. Ms. Madhumita Patil - CEO, CRKIMR & CIMR, declared the event open for the eager audience of over 360 students and faculty of Chetana’s Institutes. This was followed by opening speeches by Dr. Jayashree Bhakay – Director, CRKIMR and Dr. M.V. Deshpande - Director, CIMR.

The program had a spectacular start, as the key note speaker Mr. Harish Bijoor, CEO, Harish Bijoor Consults, took centre stage and stunned the young minds with his enormous gyan of marketing practices, brand stories and industry experiences from various parts of the world. His masterful and inspiring manner of presenting crucial marketing fundamentals in a simplified, realistic form, his slice of life anecdotes and his brilliant sense of humour engaged and enthused the viewers.

His Guru Mantra for Futuristic Approach to Sustainable success – “Marketing strategies that corrupt - should be curbed, instead functional strategies are needed. Get off the script and get try centric not buy centric as the consumer has become “Trysumer”. It is important to create demand first and then open outlets. Advertising the sublime and not the ridiculous”. Mr. Bijoor concluded the session with a heart breaking truth – “Brand loyalty is just a myth in today’s world and hence for sustainable success it is important to know the “needs and wants” from the “desires and aspirations” for products”.

The next speaker, Mr. Pratik Singhi – CEO, Lakshya Consultants, propagated, “Innovation” as the key to Sustainable Success. He supported this strategy with many interesting examples of innovations such as “Miracle Couriers” which hires deaf and dumb employees, “Dental Express” a mobile clinic for dental problems, “Just”, the printed toilet paper, “G-Auto” the customer oriented rickshaw service and many others.

The afternoon session was on NLP - Neuro Linguistic Programming, meaning language of the brain. Mr. Rajiv Naidu, the NLP expert thrilled everyone present with a live demonstration, by applying NLP to help a student overcome her fear of public speaking.

The last Guest speaker for Day 1 was Mr. Deepak Vazirani, Head - Supply Chain, Abbott Nutrition International, India. He presented the case of Nokia, how it has adapted, changed and developed itself with time, starting with manufacturing of paper, later rubber and moving onto mobiles, Nokia has been around for more than 130 yrs.

Day 2 commenced with the HR Session of Mr. Aniruddha Khekale, Director HR, Emerson Process Management, India. He discussed the various practices in Human Resources and methodical ways in employee evaluation, selection for promotion and motivational techniques used in the companies today. Mr. Khekale was visibly impressed by the quality of questions that were posed at him by the students. He praised and appreciated Chetanites for their intelligent queries and in depth understanding of current HR operations in the industry.

The already charged audience was hit by another boost of energy as Celebrity Guest, Mr. Sandip Soparrkar, renowned choreographer and Latin American & Ballroom dancer, paid a fleeting visit to Chetana. He urged everyone to learn more about dance forms, Indian as well as international and classical as well as folk. In his own words, “dance is the best way to understand any culture in the world”. The crowd cheered and applauded him as he suggested that dance be included as a part of the management studies curriculum. His message was clear, “Knowing other nations and cultures is important, but first it is important to know our own culture”.

The next Guest, Mr. Rakesh Khanna, V.P. Banking & Finance, Syntel Corporation, gave valuable inputs such as “An organisation is superior not by size, but by purpose. It is performance not position that ultimately counts. Attitude is everything....... Not the strong but the flexible survive” and he concluded with a memorable remark “Syntel is a company that is small enough to listen and big enough to deliver”.

In the next session, the Guest Speaker, Ms. Preeti Jadhav, COO, P9, and proud Alumna of Chetana, stimulated the thought, “Sustainable success can be ensured by brands Inventing and Re-inventing themselves with changing times”. Amir Khan was one of the examples she presented as a Brand that has successfully invented and reinvented itself, the audience could not have agreed more.

The last speaker of the day was a true delight and the mood in the auditorium was buoyant and upbeat by his mere presence, Mr. Ghule, from the world famous, the world recognised and the world admired MUMBAI DABBAWALA TEAM. He gave an insight into their perfect systematic operations of dabba delivery. Their record - less than 1 mistake in every 16 million dabbas. Their encounters and meetings with the world renowned dignitaries, Prince Charles, Sir Richard Branson, Bipasha Basu, their Guinness Book Record, ISO 9001:2000 certification and their documentary by BBC and various other T.V. Channels, this was indeed an extremely valuable session for all management students.

All Chetana events have a special place for their Alumni. The evening ended on a high note with the “The Corporate Quiz” organised specially for the Alumni. The crowd eagerly participated and cheered the contestants, as the excitement rose with guessing Company names from their logos and guessing brand names from their TVC jingles.

ELIXIR 2011 rejuvenated the students. They came face to face with their heroes and interacted with the experts. This industry knowledge and experience sharing program, is truly a golden opportunity availed to the students by Chetana’s Institute. It reinforces Chetana’s total dedication and commitment towards its goal - to develop the best - professionally adept and socially responsible Corporate Leaders, who will shape the future and carve a niche for themselves nationally and internationally.

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