Convergence 2013 Makes a Mark

Transcription

1 Convergence 2013 Makes a Mark Convergence 2013, the 5 th International Conference organized by IFIM Business School was held on the 16 th & 17 th Of May at the IFIM campus. The conference saw active participation from 8 countries, making it a truly global event. A confluence between industry & academia, the event had several prominent speakers with the theme of the conference being Role of Innovation in Business. Research papers were presented in four main tracks, namely, Innovations in Manufacturing Sector; Innovations in Services Sector; Innovations in Knowledge based services & Innovations in Agriculture and Food Processing Sector. The inauguration ceremony was presided over by- Chief Guest- Mr. Pradeep Swaminathan, Executive Director (Finance) at BEML Dr. N Prabhu Deva, Chairman, Karnataka Health Commission Mr. Ravi Garikipati, President, [24] 7 Innovation Labs Mr. Gunwant Singh Saluja, MD & CEO, Mongia Steel Ltd. Prof. Zina Kyriokos, Owner of an NGO (France) Dr. R.S Nirjar, Executive Chairman- Board Of Governors (IFIM Business School) The ceremony also saw participation by many other prominent industry people, as well as members of the press. The speakers mainly focused on the need for innovation in today s competitive business world and stressed on the need to differentiate. Prof. Zina from France, spoke about innovation in the hospitality industry and how important it is to bring about changes in services provided in this industry, especially for a country which depends heavily on tourism. Speaking about the healthcare industry in India, Dr. N. Prabhu Deva said, Innovation is needed in medicines to provide better healthcare. Also, India which is a hotspot for medical tourism needs to have better facilities in their hospitals. The audience was also humbled by the speech of Mr. Gunwant Singh Saluja, who shared his experiences as an entrepreneur.

2 Panel Discussion 1- was based on the topic Affordable Quality Healthcare: Will Medical Travel Be India s Next Big Thing? Dr. N.Prabhu Deva, Chairman, Karnataka Health Commission, Former Vice-Chancellor, Bangalore University Prof. Ashish Chandra, Professor of Healthcare Administration, University of Houston- Clear Texas Medical Centre Prof. Stroube, Professor and Director of the Health Services Administration Program at the University of Evansville, Indiana (USA) Dr. Nazerath Lloyd, President and Group COO, Narayana Hrudayalaya Hospitals, Bangalore Dr. Dayananda, COO, Manipal Group Hospitals Dr. Abhijit Barve, President, R&D, Biocon Research Centre The discussion revolved around India being a favored destination for medical tourism. The speakers stressed on the need for providing affordable healthcare to all. The standard of the facilities available in India are still substandard, there needs to be significant improvement on that front. Innovation is required in the treatment provided, especially in the medicines, to facilitate better treatment for patients.

3 Panel discussion 2- was based on Analytics Industry- Is It Undergoing a Tectonic Shift? Prof. U. Dinesh Kumar, IIM Bangalore Mr. Pradeep Kumar, Director, Analytics Division, HP Dr. Avik Sarkar, IBM- India Mr. Anshuman Mishra, Vice President, Analytics, GENPACT Mr. Amith Parameshwara, Associate Director Service Delivery, [24] 7 Innovation Labs The speakers discussed about the emerging need & scope in for business amalytics in the industry and how it is rapidly evolving. They also highlighted on the challenges and opportunities in Big Data. Another important point that was brought to the discussion was that of what role India can play in the global analytics market.

4 Panel Discussion 3- was based on "Fostering a Culture of Innovation" Mr. Pavan Soni, IIM Bangalore Mr. Ragavendra, Innovation Manager, Bosch Ltd Mr. Nagaraj, General Manager, Design and Innovedge, Titan Industries Ltd Mr. Arvin Baalu, Director of Automotive Engineering & Product Delivery, Harman International's India Mr. Vinay Dhabolkar, President, Catalign Innovation Consulting The speakers discussed about challenges faced in a company with respect to innovation and how best a favorable ecosystem can be created. The various examples given by each of the panelists about innovation in their organizations, gave better insights for the audience. Convergence also saw presentation of over 150 research papers by scholars and academicians, on subjects like business model innovations, issues and challenges for fostering innovative culture in India, policy support for nurturing innovative culture in India and leadership for enhancing individual and organizational innovativeness.

5 Some of the main institutions that participated were- IIM- Lucknow, IIM- Bangalore, University of Houston Clear Lake (USA), University of Evansville (USA), MIT Sloan (USA), IIT- Madras, XIME- Bangalore, University of Pardubice (Czech Republic), Christ University- Bangalore and Bangalore University. The prominent companies who participated in this conference were- Genpact, IBM- India, HP- India, Harman International, Bosch Ltd, Biocon Ltd and Wipro Ltd among others.