SYMBI Talks 5.0

Tradition / Innovation / Expertise / Inspiration

Two days program of Symbi- Talks 5.0 - the fifth edition of the flagship event conducted by the Corporate Interaction Cell of Symbiosis Institute of Business Management, Hyderabad – kicked off on the 23rd of August, 2019, introducing the student gathering to some of the brightest and most remarkable speakers from the corporate world.

‘Symbi- Talks’ had previously hosted distinguished personalities like Mr. Ashwin Acharya,
CEO Indigo Airlines, Mr. Ravindra Vikram, Former Director, Facebook India, Mr. Nitish Lal, TEDx Speaker, Mr. Anand Pillai, Former Advisor of Mr. Mukesh Ambani, Mr. Chandra Shekar Shivaramu Hegganur, Executive Manager at Deloitte and many more.

The fifth edition of ‘Symbi- Talks’ strove to continue the legacy of bringing to the students of SIBM Hyderabad the expertise and proficiency involved in diverse fields through renowned personalities.

Day 1 of Symbi- Talks 5.0 began with the lighting of the ceremonial lamp by the esteemed Director of SIBM Hyderabad, Dr. Ravi Kumar Jain, Dr. K P Venugopala Rao, Mr. Nicholas Ross and our guest speaker, Mr. Ashish Bhalla, paying respects to Saraswati, Goddess of knowledge and wisdom.

Ceremonial Lighting of the lamp by Dr. Ravi Kumar Jain, Dr. K.P. Venugopala Rao, and Mr. Nicholas Ross the distinguished dignitaries present for the event.
Dr. Ravi Kumar Jain giving a welcome address to the gathering and declaring Symbi- Talks 5.0 open.

Following a short welcome address to the gathering by our respected Director, Dr. Ravi Kumar Jain, the first speaker of the day, Mr. Ashish Bhalla, Head of Corporate Recruitments & Campus Relations at HCL Technologies, took the stage, the theme for discussion being “WHY to WHY NOT”.

“You should be the best at what you do today, and be ready for tomorrow.”

These words set the tone for the address by Mr. Bhalla, during which he gave the gathering an insight into how, as future managers and leaders, we should strategize our career paths to “upscale ourselves and add value”. He discussed topics such as changing jobs, how they affect our career track, and how vital effective communication is in the life of a person in the corporate world. He also gave the students a view into the future of Human Resources with a discussion on “Next Gen HR – Automated Human Resources”, and concluded his talk with an interactive Q&A session with the audience.

The next speaker was Mr. Pavel Chopra, Chief Group Human Resource, Business Support Group (BSG) and Vigilance Officer at GATI Ltd. 

Mr. Pavel Chopra, Chief Group Human Resource, Business Support Group (BSG) and Vigilance Officer at GATI Ltd., addressing the students

“Career Planning is an Oxymoron”.  This statement was the introduction to Mr. Chopra’s talk with the students, during which he gave them an in-depth look at life in the corporate world through his own experiences throughout his career. He helped the listeners understand how behavioural changes of people in different places, regions and situations affects the performance of the team and the organization. In a Q&A session with the students, Mr. Chopra also explained how “more than a degree” our “Pedigree” is the factor that would help us get better jobs and advance in our individual careers.

The third speaker of the day, Mr. Vishal Kulkarni, one of the founding members and director of Faber Infinite Creative Solutions Pvt. Ltd., began his address with an explanation of the importance of rejection. “Kuch Rejections acche hote hain…”, helped the students understand that sometimes being rejected means that there are better opportunities ahead. He also spoke about the advantages of “Challenging the Status Quo”, introspection, and how we should “Think Big. Act Big. Make an Impact. TODAY.”.

Images: Mr. Vishal Kulkarni, Co-Founder and Director at Faber Infinite Creative Solutions, addressing the gathering

“The world needs dreamers and the world needs doers. But above all what the world needs most are dreamers that do.”

Images: Left: Mr. Prateek Sharma, Co-Founder and CEO of Nanoclean Global Pvt. Ltd., addressing the gathering.
Right: Mr. Prateek Sharma being felicitated by Dr. K.P. Venugopala Rao, Deputy Director, SIBM Hyderabad.

Mr. Prateek Sharma, the Co-Founder and CEO of Nanoclean Global Pvt. Ltd., brought his views and ideas on entrepreneurship to the dais. He demonstrated and spoke about his innovative and cost-effective invention “Naso-filters”, for which he was awarded the “Start-up National Award, 2017” by the President of India. He elucidated various topics such as Entrepreneurship after Graduation, Nanotechnology and its impact on the world, the importance of Team Building and Communication. One of the most important tips Mr. Sharma gave the gathering was, “The most important step in setting up a start-up is to START.”.

Images: Left: Mr. Vijay Sharma, Director (CFO Division), Credit Suisse, interacting with the students.
Right: Mr. Vijay Sharma being felicitated by Dr. Ravi Kumar Jain, Director, SIBM Hyderabad.

The fifth and final speaker for the day, Mr. Vijay Sharma, Director (CFO Division), Credit Suisse, and Head of Group Finance Operational Risk & Control (GF – ORC) Pune. He enlightened the gathering on the importance of “Adapting on the Fly” in this VUCA world. “There is no definition of success. The definition lies within each one of us. At the end of the day, it equates to whatever you want the most.” Mr. Sharma told the gathering about how only failure was the only predictable thing in the world, and how that fact makes it easier for us to be able to plan our lives to avoid failure.
At the end of his address, he gave the audience a few minutes for Q&A, and gave insights into how we should focus on what we can learn at our jobs, rather than running after money.

This concluded the proceedings on Day 1 of Symbi- Talks 5.0.

The students returned with great enthusiasm and vigour for the second day of Symbi- Talks 5.0.

Images: Mr. Hariram V. M., Group Head (Organisational Capability) at TVS & Sons Pvt. Ltd., addressing the gathering on DAY 2 of Symbi- Talks 5.0.

The first speaker for the day was Mr. Hariram V. M., Group Head (Organisational Capability) at TVS & Sons Pvt. Ltd. He referred to himself a perfect example of an ‘Accidental Manager’. Mr. Hariram V.M. connected with the students by talking about his student life, how he was usually the last rank holder at the exams and finally about how he got a job by giving an interview for the sake of getting attendance. He got pushed into HR because his boss said he could lie with a straight face. “Don’t stray into negativity, focus on the positive.” Mr. Hariram V. M. told the students to rewire the brain to focus on the possibilities instead of the problems. “If the negatives were not there, how would you tackle the problem?” If there is something you want to do then ask yourself “Why do it?” and if you don’t want to do something, “Why refrain from doing it?”.

Images: Mr. Abhidnya Joshi, Regional HSE Leader (Power Systems) at Cummins India, at the dais at Symbi- Talks 5.0,
DAY 2.

“Industry 4.0 VS Industry 1.0”. Mr. Abhidnya Joshi, Regional HSE Leader (Power Systems) at Cummins India, informed the students about the evolution of the industry from the initial industrial movement in the 1980’s to the current industrial situation. Students should keep track of their work by making a list of things to do, ensuring that they miss nothing. He also informed the students about the impact of industrial pollution on the environment. “Pay heed to your environment, its repercussions will be long term.” Lastly, Dr. Ravi Kumar Jain and Mr. Abhidnya Joshi discussed about SIBM Hyderabad Campuses’ green initiatives such as solar power panels on campus, greenbelt created around the campus over 5 years, water harvesting, etc.

Image: The esteemed panel of speakers (Left to Right) – Mr. Suraj Singh, Functional Architect, JDA Software;
Mr. Ajit Jain, Platform HR Director (APAC & MEA), Signode Industrial Group; Mr. Debashish Ghosh,
VP and Head HRM, Berkadia, as the moderator for the discussion; Mr. N. Jayapandian, Group Leader (Statistical Programming) and Site Lead for Data Sciences and Analytics, Bayer Pharma; Mr. Srikanth Srinivasan,
Head of Solutions for Retail & Consumer Goods Vertical at Tech Mahindra.

After the break, the panel discussion about “Disrupting the Disruptors” took place. Mr. Debashish Ghosh, Vice president, and Head HRM, Berkadia. presided as the moderator. Apart from him, the panel consisted of Mr. Suraj Singh, Functional Architect at JDA Software, Mr. Ajit Jain, Platform HR Director (APAC & MEA) at Signode Industrial Group, Mr. N. Jayapandian, Group Leader (Statistical Programming) and Site Lead for Data Sciences and Analytics with Bayer Pharma, and Mr. Srikanth Srinivasan, Head of Solutions for Retail & Consumer Goods Vertical at Tech Mahindra. The panel discussion began with a question about impact of change in technology on the different sectors that the panellists covered, such as, supply chain, packaging industry and pharmaceutical companies. Mr. Srinivasan said, “Technology is an enabler to bring about the change. Now, many companies are thinking about how to serve the customers using new technologies to increase the customer share.”

Disruption and Innovation is also about how to brand innovatively and use technology creatively.

Image: (Left to Right) Mr. N. Jayapandian, Group Leader (Statistical Programming) and Site Lead for Data Sciences and Analytics, Bayer Pharma; Mr. Suraj Singh, Functional Architect, JDA Software;
Mr. Ajit Jain, Platform HR Director (APAC & MEA), Signode Industrial Group; Dr. Ravi Kumar Jain, Director, SIBM Hyd;
Mr. Debashish Ghosh, VP and Head HRM, Berkadia;
Mr. Srikanth Srinivasan, Head of Solutions for Retail & Consumer Goods Vertical at Tech Mahindra

Mr. Ghosh continued the discussion by asking, “Should our employees worry about increased substitution of manual labour with automation?” The panellists had similar view points. We should not worry too much about the change, rather we should be adaptive to the new technology. If we are ready to up skill ourselves, we should be fine. “People who are adaptive always survive.” There is no stopping progress. If you are not ready to do the job, someone else will do it.

Mr. Santosh Kumar Vennamalla, Trainer and Counsellor with Interblend Support Services, lead a very interactive session with the students. He conducted two exercises. First was an “air crash” exercise, the objective of which was to find out whether we would stay and wait for help or try to find a way out on our own. He told us we should step out of our comfort zone. Discomfort pushes us into action. In the second exercise, students had to make the people around them say “Yes” or “No” without saying the same. The point of it was to make the students think twice before saying Yes or No to something. He ended the discussion by saying, “Your result is the first thing you want to figure out, set your goals then work backwards from there.”.

Images: Top and Bottom Right: Mr. Santosh Kumar Vennamalla, Trainer and Counsellor with Interblend Support Services, addressing the gathering at Symbi- Talks 5.0. Bottom Left: Mr. Santosh Kumar Vennamalla being felicitated by
Mr. Nicholas Ross, Head Corporate Relations, SIBM Hyderabad

At the end of these two days of discussions, deliberations and insights, the students went back with various new learnings and perspectives about the corporate world. They say experience can be gained by listening to the stories of the experienced. Symbi- Talks 5.0 helped the students of SIBM Hyderabad gain exactly that.

The event was declared closed after a short message of gratitude by Dr. K P Venugopala Rao, Deputy Director of SIBM Hyderabad, and subsequently by Ms. Priyaal Bang, Head of the Corporate Interaction Cell of SIBM Hyderabad.