Contents

I. From The Chairperson’s Desk ...... 3

II. Gurgaon Chapter Meet ...... 4

III. FMCG Week ...... 6

IV. Campus Buzz

a. Independence Day Celebrations ..... 8
b. Riscon ..... 9
c. Sahyog ..... 10
d. League of Titans ..... 11
e. Brand It ..... 12
f. ZEST – Cultutal Extravaganza ..... 13
g. i Lab ...... 14
h. Glibberish ..... 15

V. Alum Musings ...... 16

VI. Q and Alumnus ...... 19

VII. Campus Shots ..... 22

VIII. Reconnect with IMTG Connect ..... 23

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From the Chairperson’s Desk
It gives me immense pleasure to
present the second issue of our Alumni
Newsletter - ‘Sampark’, for the
academic year of 2010.

We have been overwhelmed with the

appreciation we received for the last
issue of Sampark, and we would like to
thank you for your constant support
and encouragement. Meanwhile,
Alcom has been abuzz with activities.
The first Chapter Meet for the year was
organized last month at Gurgaon.
Esteemed alumni from across batches
graced the event and discussed on the topic ‘IMT and its Alumni-A
Symbiosis’. FMCG Week was organized by Alcom in the first week of
this month. Speakers from leading FMCG companies delivered guest
lectures on upcoming topics relating to the FMCG sector.

I appreciate the untiring efforts and team spirit of our Sampark Team
and everyone involved with Sampark, who made this issue a reality.

And as always, receiving insights and perspectives will be invaluable to

us, so please feel free to contact us anytime at alumni@imt.edu.

Dr. Vimi Jham

Chairperson

Alumni Relationship Committee

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 Gurgaon Chapter Meet
The Alumni Relationship
Committee of IMT Ghaziabad is
actively involved in taking
initiatives to strengthen its connect
with its illustrious alumni base.
One of the major initiatives is
organizing Chapters Meets in cities
across the country. The first
Chapter Meet of the year was ‘The
Gurgaon Chapter Meet’ held on the
28th of August 2010 at Hotel Park Inn, Gurgaon.

The theme of the Gurgaon Chapter Meet was ‘IMT & its Alumni: A
Symbiosis’. The intent was to deliberate on new ways to leverage our
alumni base so as to build on brand IMT, and to leverage IMT so as
build a better network with the alumni.

Mr. Rajeev Karwal and Mr. Debashis Das, founder and President of
Alumni Association respectively, marked their presence with valuable
inputs. They discussed the current
initiatives of ALCOM, offered
suggestions for improvement and
stressed on the importance of
continuous renewal of ideas and
initiatives. They together proposed
the idea of an Alumni Society,
wherein the group of IMT alumni
is registered as a separate legal
entity.

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 Through this society, various
initiatives can be taken for the
alumni base, including a
housing society, alumni clubs
in major cities across India and
other innovative initiatives.

The discussion was carried

forward by the keynote speakers
Mr. Naveen Jain (Class of 1994), Mr. Anuj Saxena (Class of 1998) and Mr.
Yogendra Jain (Class of 1995). They enriched the discussion with their
key inputs and ideas. The discussion reached its pinnacle when it was
open to the house. Great ideas and insights were shared by the alumni
who actively participated in the discussion.

Mr. Debashis Das concluded the discussion by requesting various

batches, especially the most recent alumni batches, to be active and
support ALCOM initiatives. The discussion ended with a strong note of
enthusiasm to strengthen the ties between the institute and the alumni.

The event turned out to be a huge success. The alumni present at the
event ranged right from the first batch to the latest batch i.e. from 1982 to
2010 batch. The discussion was
followed by dinner where all the
alumni interacted with each other
and fondly remembered their
college days. It was a great
evening for the alumni to meet,
interact, discuss with fellow
IMTians.

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 FMCG Week
.

Among the plethora of events to be organized by the Alumni

Relationship Committee of IMT Ghaziabad during the academic year
2010-2011 was the ‘FMCG Week’ held in the month of September, 2010.
The week witnessed a series of Guest Lectures for the students by our
esteemed alumnus from some of the biggest brands in the FMCG sector.
The purpose was to ensure that the students gain an insight of the sector
and an enriching experience as they interact with the best minds that
have been a part of the industry for long.

The week began with Mr. Ashim Nayar, Partner at Agro Food
Industries, coming and addressing the students on a distinct group of
consumers: ‘pets’. He introduced the students to “pet care and
grooming”. Stating the tremendous potential and scope, he gave
examples from various parts of the world and drew analogies and
differences to those in India. Speaking about different marketing
strategies and innovative ideas, he emphasized on research and its
importance in this sector and general. Towards the end, Mr. Nayar
shared a bit about his journey to success and mantra of doing “work that
one loves”.

A guest lecture by Mr. Ramarao Dhamija, Group Product Manager

Home Care, at Dabur India Ltd, was the perfect food for mind just
before IMT’s very own “Pizza Night”. Beginning with the basic terms in
marketing, he focused on various marketing and advertisement
strategies used by Dabur. He explained the importance of valueswhile
marketing a product with the aid of various advertisements which have
made a difference for the organization while sharing insights associated
and success delivered.

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In the middle of the week as the excitement reached its zenith while the
thirst for knowledge was barely quenched, Mr. Sunayan Mitra,
Marketing Manager-Coffee & Beverages, Nestle, visited the campus to
talk about “Building Brands” by leveraging consumer insights. He gave
examples from the industry to explain the power of values and insights
which transcend the barriers of language and borders while building
and leveraging brands.

As an apt culmination to the week, we had Mr. Ambarish

Bandyopadhyay, Regional Sales & Customer Manager at Hindustan
Unilever Limited, Kolkata come to IMT and share with students the
importance of sales. An informative and entertaining session on Lever’s
sales strategy in urban as well as rural markets helped students
understand how things are done in real time. He spoke about past and
present activities at the organization followed by information on their
future plans and how they will go about achieving them.

In conclusion, the FMCG Week made its mark on the students by

imparting knowledge and deeper insights on the sector. A well blended
mixture of fun and learning witnessed great participation and
enthusiasm by the students making the event a grand success.

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 Campus Buzz

Independence Day Celebrations

The auspicious occasion of India’s
independence was celebrated
with great enthusiasm by the IMT
students.

The day began with the flag-

hoisting ceremony. The flag was
hoisted by our respected dean, Dr.
R.K. Chakraborty. This was
followed by a highly motivating
speech addressed to the students and faculty. Subsequently, everyone
made their way to the amphitheatre, where the students gave some
wonderful performances.

An excellent Bharatnatyam performance was given by two first year

students. This was followed by
a skit and a solo dance
performance. Then Make a
Difference Foundation (MADF)
of IMT distributed clothes to the
children of the security guards,
sweepers and other staff of the
institute. The food in the mess
kept the spirits high by offering
tri-coloured rice for lunch.

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 RISCON
Fin-Niche, the finance club of IMT
Ghaziabad organized a grand
conclave on Contemporary Risk
Management. RISCON ’10 was an
event designed to help the
students understand Risk
Management. It comprised of a
series of events including technical
sessions, debates, panel
discussions and paper
presentations, aimed at identifying
the sources of risk, measuring the risk and minimizing its severity on
business. Speakers from diverse financial domains came to be a part of
the conclave. Some of them were: Shree Parthasarathy - Director, Risk
Management, Deloitte, Vibha Batra - Co- Head, Financial Sector Ratings,
ICRA, K. Ram Mohan - General Manager, Risk Management, Punjab
National Bank , A. K. Sharma - General Manager ,Treasury, IOCL, R. J.
Masilamani - EX-CEO, Timex India, IIM-A alumnus, P. T. Giridharan -
Joint Director, ICAI, Naresh Bishnoi - Director, Risk Management,
Religare Enterprises, Dipten Chakroborty - Vice President, Wealth
Management, Credit Suisse,
Jagannathan Thunuguntla - Equity
Head, SMC Capital.

With the presence of such experienced

and knowledgeable speakers, the
conclave attained its goal of educating
the students about risk management
and how to minimize its severity on
business.

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 SAHYOG
As the Nation celebrated its 63rd year
of Independence, MADF- the social
club of IMT, contributed its bit by
making a difference in the lives of
underprivileged people inside as
well as outside the campus.

The clothes collection drive in the

campus got an overwhelming
response from IMT students as the
number of clothes exceeded 600. The MADF team packed around 300
pairs of clothes and distributed them among the needy. The clothes
ranged from winter wear to bed sheets and blankets.

The MADF team organized awareness visits in nearby areas to inform

people about the initiative, its venue and time. MADF intentionally gave
preference to rickshaw pullers over beggars as its motive is not to
encourage charity or donation but to empower the people. Coupons
were distributed prior to the event to avoid any chaos during the event.
After the flag hoisting ceremony and cultural programs on campus, Dr.
R.K. Chakraborty, Dean
(Academics) and Mr S.K.Singh,
Chairman (Student Affairs)
handed out clothes and sweets to
the people present for the same.
The event was well popularised
inside the campus through
posters, social networking sites
and emails which led to large
participation in the initiative by
the students of IMT.

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TOP SPIN – League Of Titans

After the first intra IMT sports

event ‘Joga Bonito’, the Sports
Committee of IMT Ghaziabad
followed up with another
exciting event ‘Top Spin’ – an
intra-college table tennis
showdown. The tournament
comprised of singles and
doubles matches for the men
as well ladies. Great skill,
technique and grit were on display as the teams fought the battles on the
table and off it as well. Huge crowds turned up to support their team
and raised the excitement by a couple of notches. Akarsh Sharma, a
participant from a junior team said “When I went two sets to one up, it
felt like I was up against more than one player! The crowd support for
my opponent was incredible. It changed the game”.

The final of the event took place between the dark horses of the
tournament, A1 and pre-tournament favourites, HR/IT. The eagerly
awaited clash did not disappoint the huge support. The tension in the air
could be cut with a knife! At times the match had to be paused mid-way
to calm down the crowd. The HR/IT team, held their nerves and beat A1
3-1. In a post-match interview, winning Captain Nishant Dubey cited
‘Practice and Planning’ as the key to their outstanding performance.

With two straight wins in two events, the HR/IT team seems set to
conquer the ‘League of the Titans’ title.

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BRAND IT

BRAND IT, an innovative

challenge from the Research
and Consultancy Enterprise
(RACE), the consultancy club
of IMT, Ghaziabad, drew
great response from the
students. The participants
needed to devise a strategy to
revitalize one of the five
faded brands in India: The National TV channel-Doordarshan, Lakhani
shoes, Hindustan Motors Ambassador, HMT watches and Kesh Nikhar
soap. The event was divided into two rounds where each team had to
choose the brand to re-brand and give their analysis on it. The selection
criteria for the first round focused on the brand (not the product),
originality of the analysis and relevance of the questionnaire. On the
basis of the analysis done in the first round, 8 teams were selected for
the next round. In the second round, teams were required to get the
questionnaire filled, and based on this feedback they presented a
strategy to revive the brand.
Flexibility in terms of
redesigning the logo, changing
the slogan or the advertising
strategy etc. was given to the
teams. The short listed teams
presented their branding and
promotion strategy to Dr. Rajat
Gera, renowned Marketing
faculty at IMT Ghaziabad.

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ZEST: The Cultural Extravaganza

The Cultural Committee of

IMT Ghaziabad brought in a
dose of fun and
entertainment to the campus
through Zest- the intra
college Cultural Night .
'Zest’ showcased the talent
of the new entrants in the
college, bringing them
under the limelight. The
event gave the freshers a much needed break from the hectic MBA
schedule.

The over-whelming response from the students in terms of participation

and the enthusiasm among the crowd made it a grand success.
The amphitheatre was buzzing with excitement and showcased the
famed ’Never dying spirt’ of IMTians.

The event kick started with a captivating performance by the in-house

Eastern band. Their performance mesmerized everyone and left the
audience craving for more. It was followed by an interesting
contemporary skit, and then by a power-packed Bhangra performance.
The momentum of the electrifying performance was carried forward by
vocal and dance performances. The Mr and Ms Fresher competition was
the highlight of the evening with each section nominating a girl and a
boy to compete for the esteemed title. The crowd was divided amongst
different sections and each section cheered their participants to the hilt.
The final attraction was a smashing performance by the Western band
which left everyone in high spirits for the freshers party which was to be
continued in the Basket Ball court till the wee hours.

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 I-LAB

2nd September 2010 was a

significant day for IMT
Ghaziabad. E-Cell (the
Entrepreneurial Cell of
IMT Ghaziabad)
launched the ‘Innovation
Lab’ to encourage and
support budding
entrepreneurs.

The launch was inaugurated through a workshop by Mr. David

Wittenberg, Founder and CEO of The Innovation Workgroup. A
versatile and ingenious business leader, he has over 30 years of
experience in companies such as American Express, AT&T, Philip
Morris, Standard & Poor’s, UPS, Reliance Industries, Tata and Ericsson.
Mr. David Wittenberg delivered interesting and meaningful insights on
how to become a successful entrepreneur and emphasized on the power
of new and creative ideas. He spoke about an inspiring three step idea
generation model- “Discover”, “Invent” and “Refine”.

The workshop was followed by a short presentation on the Innovation

Lab by Mr. Bipul Kumar, coordinator of E-Cell. He explained the unique
concept of this platform where the only pre requisite was a strong
entrepreneurial desire. He also explained the three phases in which the
Lab would work. This was aimed at exposing the students to various
stages of the entrepreneurial value chain- from the development of a
business idea to finally becoming a successful entrepreneur.

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Mr. Sachin and Mr.Shishir, who are part of NITEE (Network of ICT
Entrepreneurs and Enterprises), also shared important entrepreneurial
insights with the students. The main objective of the Innovation Lab is to
provide the students with a cognitive environment where they can
generate and evaluate ideas. According to Mr.Imran, Coordinator of
Innovation Lab, they would support and guide students who have an
entrepreneurial desire and not necessarily a Business Plan.

Glibberish
Literati, the literary club of IMT Ghaziabad, kick started its calendar
with a fun JAM session- ‘Glibberish’. The event was based on the ‘Just a
Minute’ concept which tests the verbal skills and the thought process of
the participants.

Mr. Rahul Subramanian, student of 2009-11 batch and JAM Master for
the event, kept the crowd entertained and engaged. The session
consisted of multiple rounds with students being given wild and crazy
topics to speak on.

Glibberish 2010 was an out and out fun event, enjoyed by participants
and viewers alike. A great start to Literati’s journey this year!

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 Alum Musings
The blog in feature in this issue of Sampark is “VolksWagen Audio Ad in
Newspaper - Thoughless” by Mr. Rajesh Kumar, Marketing Manager,
Defiance Technologies, who is also the Vice President-North Zone of the
Alumni Association.

Volkswagen was audacious enough

to attach an audio device to their
full page print ad in the Times of
India and the Hindu (Chennai
edition). When it came in, I first
felt a sense of curiosity followed
by disgust, both as a marketer
and as an private citizen.

Lot of people told me since the

morning about the ad. Tonnes
of blogging has happened
raving about the ‘buzz’
created by this crazy device.
I asked several people what
they thought of it and there was
unanimity about this being unconventional (or more dreadfully, the new
conventional). However, I asked several people to tell me which specific
model of Volkswagen was the ad for, and no one could answer. Some
people could merely say it was some car company, and not even
(unaided) recall the brand, forget the model ( it is ‘Vento’, just in case
you need this assistance).

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The second thing appalling is despite the money blown, the message is
the same staid message (in content and delivery both). Imagine the
signature BMW roar coming from the device and it would possibly
become a collector’s item, at least for a few. Look at the message payload
itself – Best in class German Engineering. So, what is the call for action?
Danke.

Jessie Paul points out the standalone nature of this campaign, due to
which effectiveness could be questionable.

The third appalling aspect is the

lack of a shut off button. After
a few seconds the device is a
nuisance on the table. How
are they supposed to be shut
off? The device batteries are
supposed to die down? If
that’s the case, it’s quite crazy indeed. I could not find any instruction on
how to shut it off. The damn device kept repeating the same one line ad-
nauseum till I had to do this to it.

Would it have exploded if I had put this in water ? – I did not take a
chance.

The last concern is quite serious – environmental. I looked all through,

there is no safe disposal instruction included. No talk of collection
centers that would take these devices back. Also, there is no mention of
the radiation coming out of the device. I would consider both these as
hygiene factors in today’s environment. It was bad enough to cut so
many trees to print full page ad, and it was much worse to add plastic,

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batteries, circuit board, IC Chip, magnet, wires and so on to the whole
mix. Wish they had spent a few more pennies and made a
reprogrammable device that for example, it could work as a media
player. That would have made sure tomorrow morning garbage bins in
many houses do not have this chirpy piece of hardware, as I suspect
would happen in large numbers.

Volkswagen Vento, thanks for coming over, but your folks let you
down!

More articles by Mr. Rajesh Kumar may be found here

www.yaxislive.com

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 Q and Alumnus
Mr. Tufail Hussain Matto, Commisioner,
Srinagar Municipal Corporation, who is an
IMT Alumnus from the Class of 1987, speaks
to Alumni Relationship Committee, IMT
Ghaziabad. In the Q & A, Mr. Matto elaborates
on importance of MBA, his life and time at
college, summing up with a message for
students and fellow alumni.

Q: What were your most memorable moments?

A: My most memorable moments were probably when I moved

into IMT hostel. The life and the living style we had in hostel took
me to a different platter in the sense that I became quite
independent. Before that, I was totally dependent on my family; in
fact the exposure which I received there helped me in my
personality development.

Q: Anything you really loved in or about IMT?

A: What I loved about IMT was the ‘Babas Chai’ and the Bread
Pakora which he used to make, especially the fresh ones. I never
missed out on the paranthas that we would get at the chungi
which was the nearest food eating joint for us, where truckers
would normally stop. What used to happen that time was 8-15
guys would go out at night and everybody would give money and

19 | P a g e Sampark Volume 4 Issue 2

 ask them to bring 2 -3 paranthas for them as well. Thats how life
used to go on at that time.

Q: Something you would have liked to change about IMT?

A: Nothing much only that time the hostels had very ordinary
stuff, but we were happy with what we had. But, no I believe the
hostels have got upgraded and have got all the finer things as
required.

Q: How important has an MBA been for your career?

A: It has been the key thing in my life which took me from nothing
to everything. I really value having done the same from IMT and
consider it as the best thing that could have had happened to me.

Q: Back then when you got placed what was the most important
goal for you?

A: At that time it was surging ahead, getting the best possible

things and best possible positions in life in shortest possible time,
which everyone wants i.e. getting into the top spot in shortest time

Q: What had been your most important learnings ?

A: Everything that was taught. Every bit of it has been a major part
of my learning. I started in a corporate set up and ended in a
sarkari job. Working for MNC, where everything was professional
was very different than working for Govt where people project

20 | P a g e Sampark Volume 4 Issue 2

 themselves as something they are not, and then surviving under
such circumstances needs professional knowledge which I
received from my MBA. Thats how the polishing bit was done
otherwise, probably, I wouldn’t have been so much outspoken and
confident.

Q: Any message for fellow alumni and present students?

A: For present students, it would be - keep up the flag. While for

fellow alumni, they have been already holding the fort. IMTians
are welcomed in all the companies and that is how they can take it
forward or have taken it.

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 Campus Shots

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 Register now at www.imtgconnect.com

Compiled By:
The Sampark Team

Yupesh Nagrani Ashutosh Bihani

Aseem Sharma Mithil Jain
Nakshatra Bhatt
Sandeep Rawat

For Queries and Suggestions,

Please feel free to mail us at
alumni@imt.edu

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