National Management Convention 2011

Alumni Ayaskant Mohanty awarded Odisha Icon – 2011
March 1, 2011
Seminar talk by Mr. Shashank Pal, VP & Zonal Head, SBI Funds Management Private Limited, Kolkata
March 23, 2011

3rd March 2011, KIIT School of Management organized a National Management Convention on the topic “Business of Innovation”. The convention, spread over three days from 3 rd to 5 th March, would involve research paper presentations by Academicians and Research Scholars attending from across the country.

The inauguration, held today at a packed auditorium here, was attended by Dr. Achyuta Samanta, Founder – KIIT and KISS, Guest of Honour Mr. Kalyan Ganguly, Managing Director of United Breweries, Chief Guest Mr. Ajay Verma, Vice President Asia Pacific South – Dassault Systemes, several representatives from Corporate, Academicians, Research Scholars, Members of the Faculty and Students.

Convention-nmc3.jpgIn his welcome address, Dr. Samanta said Innovation holds the key to the success of businesses. Taking the example of KISS he said if the social value generated by the institution can be quantified, it would be a “serious social business innovation”. The dean of KIIT School of Management, Prof. Ashok Sar introduced the convention to the audience and highlighted how “Innovation” is different from “Invention”. He added that inventions convert cash to ideas whereas innovations convert ideas to cash.

Mr. Ganguly said Innovations are not made out of thin air and are always based on what is already there. He said organizations need to constantly innovate to make their “products better, the country different and the services better”. On the changes brought about in his own company, he spoke about how the organization repositioned itself from a plain beverage brand to a “way of life” for the youth of resurgent India.

Mr. Verma spoke about the rapid pace of technological innovations and how it is redefining the world we live in today. He added that innovation is really a “six inch problem” alluding to the human brain where all ideas are conceived. He said that if we are going to participate in the transformation that is happening around us, we need to “think different” and question “what there is and what it could be”.

The inaugural session was followed by paper presentations that would continue for the three days of the convention.