A flagship is a ship carrying the commander of a fleet, the largest of all the vessels. And the flagship event of an institute is the best and most important thing produced by it. “National Seminar 2016” was a perfect example of this annotation. Like all the previous years, NatSem16 carried a holistic and powerful theme on its shoulders- “Transforming India: Embracing Technology, Empowering People”. Graced by a multitude of eminent speakers, this event was obviously the most awaited amongst the students.
The event commenced with the Head of the Department, Dr. B. V. Sangvikar addressing the students. He talked about the different initiatives and their impacts and also India’s adaption to the emerging technology.
The department was privileged to have the Vice Chancellor of Savitribai Phule Pune University, Dr. W. N. Gade, to welcome the guests and inaugurate the event. Dr. Gade emphasized on the importance of the fundamental knowledge that will help the nation prosper in every way. He also stated how the current generation should overcome the dependence on other countries in order to stand out and prosper.
Lightening the event with her dynamic presence was the Chief Guest for the day, Mrs. Smita Nair Jain, COO, Barclays Technology, India; also an ex-student of SPPU. She shared with the audience the ideas that all should embody so as to be a part of the “Transforming India” phenomenon. She condemned the current system that trains people to be seen but not to be heard. Mrs. Nair stressed that one shouldn’t depend only on the academics to learn how to survive in the outside world but one must be able to use the congenital qualities to succeed in all aspects of life. Giving importance to the three Rs that one needs to be- Relevant, Responsive and Responsible, she spoke about defining one’s compass of integrity. According to Mrs. Nair, sustainable success follows when you learn to choose out of one good and another good.
Being a woman in the top corporate strata, she advised all the women to stop expecting gender biased preferences and quotas. Women these days need to level up their own end and break the glass ceilings.
Following this mesmerizing address to the students was the launch of the college magazine, Nexus 2016. The annual college magazine was unveiled by all the dignitaries present for the event and the team, headed by Communication Cell Coordinator, Mr. Saurabh Kango and the magazine editor, Mr. Shalav Kumbhar , was congratulated for their great work and accomplishment.
The day was also adorned by the presence of Mr. ArunKedia, CEO and Founder, VAV Lifesciences. Mr. Kedia enlightened the crowd about the changing technology in Indian Pharmaceutical Industry. Talking about the challenges faced by the sector, like the inventions and proper delivery of the medicines, he stated how the industry can improve its therapeutic efficacy. He also commented on the advantages of Targeted Drug Delivery, Liposomes, and personalized medicine. He spoke about the career opportunities in the pharmaceutical sector and the current goal of “India Drugs the world”. Mr, Kedia voiced his opinions on the pharmaceutical industry transforming the world rather than just the nation.
This was followed by the address of an enlightening and inspiring Mr. Sundeep Sikka, CEO of Reliance Capital Asset Management. Mr. Sikka shed light on how the world is changing because of Technology. Talking about how this disruptive force is causing ripples in the world that we live in, Mr. Sikka explained how various trends in Banking and Finance sectors, are breaking the ground that traditional banks and conventional systems stand on. He rightly advised students that one has to be innovative, has to have the vision, and the ability to drive the workforce with the help of technology, to be a successful leader.
In the Key Note Speech given by Mr. Ravindra Shahane, VP of Mahindra and Mahindra, audience got an insight about the technological advancements that are changing the face of the Indian Agriculture. Agriculture is one of the roots of the Indian Economy and Mr. Shahane explained how Indian Farmers are now being well versed with technology, such as Farm Management, Farm Analytics, Knowledge base, UI Screens and Online demonstrations. He also shared how farmers are now able to reduce the uncertainty, with various websites, apps and videos, which helps them in predictions and increases the output. He wisely pointed out that for the Indian Economy to survive, it is essential to increase the agricultural productivity and solve issues like land fragmentation.
Key Note Speech was followed by a dynamic Panel Discussion, participated by Mr. Amarendra Thorat (AVP, Kalyani Global Engg Pvt Ltd), Mr. Laxman Mahale (Plant Chief, Mahindra Steel), Mr. Rakesh Swami (GM, John Deere India Pvt. Ltd). The esteemed businessmen here, expressed their views on how the “Make In India” initiative is helping the industry and economy. The discussion was energetically led by Prof. Dr, Oak (Department of Management and Sciences, PUMBA), followed by a very active round of question answer session. The tycoons concurred that for Make In India to be successful, we need to focus on various factors such as productivity of agricultural land, skilled labor, promotion of Research and Development. Also, it is extremely crucial to have good infrastructure. Encourage zero defect policy, reverse engineering and implementing these successfully in various sectors, will surely put the nation to a new height.
The last event of the National Seminar, Chat Show, led by Mr. Rohit Bagad (Founder and CEO, AdTech Solutions) was truly memorable. Mr. Bagad won over the audience by his energetic presence, sharing some very interesting trends in the world of advertising and multimedia. Audience was truly engaged, which was made evident by enthusiastic round of question answer session followed by the same. Audience got very good insights on how to increase the engagement of the viewer in an advertisement, how to make strategic use of Internet history and cookies and rich information about the topics related, such as privacy of users, KPI of the process, scope and limitations of forms of digital advertising.
The day full of knowledge, intellect and energy was ended with Powerful address by Dr Captain Chitale and vote of thanks by Nandini Reddy, Coordinator Seminar Cell .
Report by: Snehal Apte ( https://twitter.com/apte_snehal) & Renuka Karmarkar
