On 1st March: Alumni Annual General Meet hosted by Jaipuria Lucknow elicits fantastic response from alumni who offer priceless suggestions and inspire current students to achieve greater success
Jaipuria Institute of Management, Lucknow hosted its 14th Annual General Meet, Samyantar on 1st March 2014. An annual event that brings together distinguished alumni of the institute, it was held in the jam-packed hall of Hotel Grand JBR, Lucknow. Jaipuria Institute of Management has always considered its alumni to be its global ambassadors who have managed to keep its education standards quite high. Hence, it was no surprise to see the ‘who’s who’ from Jaipuria Institute of Management present at the event to welcome home its alumni.
Prof. Dr. Pankaj Gupta, Director General, Jaipuria Institute of Management, Dr. S. R. Musanna, Director, Jaipuiria Institute of Management, Lucknow, Dr. Dheeraj Gupta, Dean, Dr. Kavita Pathak, Associate Dean, Mr. Amit Vij, Vice-President of Alumni Association, Dr. Manisha Seth, Treasurer of Alumni Association and all other faculty members made their presence felt at the event. But the highlight of the evening was the institute’s alumni representing different batches who had descended on the historic city from various parts of the world. And, they filled the function hall with infectious energy that was carried forward throughout the evening.
The events unfolded with the ceremonial lighting of the lamp, after which the Director General and Director welcomed the alumni. They also went on to talk about the achievements of several of the alumni, which was quite inspiring to the large number of students in the audience. The platform was then set for Dr. Pankaj Gupta to make a proud announcement on the behalf of the institute. Jaipuria Institute of Management has received AIU certification for equivalence of PGDM with MBA in effect from 26th November, 2013. The fantastic news drew big applause from the audience, which was now clearly in a celebratory mood.
The audience was also in for a cultural treat with dancer Ajay Wadhwa, dressed as Lord Krishna, left the audience enthralled with a mesmerizing dance performance. Current students of the institute also put together a video on the theme of “Past holds Future” for the alumni. It was a visual walk down memory lane for the alumni who could relive past memories that they treasured so much. The video had turned the mood in the hall quite emotional and it somehow managed to bring the whole gathering, across different years, at the institute together.
After the nostalgia trip, it was time to look forward to the future with the panel discussion titled “Gearing up for the Change – Campus to Corporate”. Mr. Amit Vij from the batch of 97 moderated the talk that was meant to offer direction for the institute and its future students in order to take on the challenges of the corporate world. Mr. Arpan Sanyal, CII executive got things going as he talked about resistance to change, while Mr. Bilal Ahmad, Manager, Central Bank of India from the batch of 2010, mentioned how change can be incorporated at the campus level.
Several of the illustrious alumni put forward their opinions during the highly engaging panel discussion that drew healthy feedback from the audience. Mr. Abhishek Agarwal, Chairman Lotus Institute Of Management (Batch 2006), then proposed a unique idea of an alumni funded annual competition for students. The panel discussion then came to an end with promises to work on the suggestions made by the alumni.
A vote of thanks was then proposed before the alumni cut a cake to begin the informal celebrations. It was a great opportunity for them to interact with each other and current students who obviously had a lot of questions for them. Everyone finally had a chance to let their hair down and groove to the music as the evening came to an end with the promise of coming together next year. And many present at this grand gathering can hardly wait.
