Guest session by Alumni

Alumni, Campus Life, Guest Blog13 MarchSanchita Ghosh

A guest lecture was organized as a part of the Alumni connect on 12/3/2016. The session was delivered by Mr. Nikhil Gupta and Mr. Vihav Abhey Ranjan, both alumni of IILM Graduate School of Management, batch 2007- 2009.

Mr.Nikhil and Mr. Vishav are currently associated with United Parcel Services as Strategic Account Manager and National Account Manager respectively. Mr. Gupta has been associated with American express and Matrix Cellular prior to his association with United Parcel Services. Mr. Ranjan has worked with American Express and Earth Infrastructure also.

Mr. Nikhil spoke to the students about the importance of SIP in the PGDM program and how students can benefit from the SIP. He discussed about the application of learnings from the SIP to the different courses. Mr. Gupta stressed upon the importance of selecting the right project during the SIP. He mentioned that the correct project can help the students in gaining in depth knowledge about the topic and also will help them to get an edge in the placement process. Also the SIP would help the students to understand the corporate culture and the expectations of the corporates from the fresh Management Graduates was stressed upon.

Mr. Ranjan discussed with the students about the initial learnings that the students should have from the organisations they would get associated with. He discussed about the difference in the work culture between a start up and an established brand. The students were made aware about the learnings that they would receive by joining a start up and the learnings from a brand. The iporatnce of networking with Alumni and professional associations was stressed upon by Mr. Vishav.

Both Mr. Ranjan and Mr. Gupta mentioned that General awareness, Communication skill, Knowledge about the sector and the job profile are very important factors for getting selected in an organisation either for SIP or final placement.

The session was highly interactive and very informative. Students interacted with Mr. Gupta and Mr. Ranjan after the session and took guidance on choosing the SIP and also for the selection of specialisation. They have agreed to mentor our students.

My Academic Stay at IILM & India

Alumni, Campus Life, Global Study, Guest Blog, IILM Stories08 MarchGatien Beaumont

‪#‎IILMInternationalFaculty‬ in February | We welcome Prof. Gatien Beaunmont from #UniversityofLorraine, ‪#‎France‬ to IILM campus in the month of #February2016 to conduct one of the core electives in PG – Entrepreneurship and State & Society, as part of Social Enterprise. IILM is looking forward to have #InternationalFaculty on campus for discussions and corresponding learning with our fellow students. Know more about The IILM PGDM – www.iilm.edu #IILMPGDM #NewDelhi #NCR #BusinessModules #ForeignFaculty #InternationalFaculty #OnCampus #MBA #BSchools #ManagementStudies #BusinessEducation #LaplandUniversity #Finland #BuildingRelationships #PRMEConference #HR #OB #StrategicLeadership #Entrepreneurship #SocialEnterprise

A photo posted by IILM (@iilm) on Jan 21, 2016 at 12:44am PST

IILM invited Prof. Gatien Beaumont from The University of Lorraine, France to Greater Noida campus in the month of February 2016 as a international guest lecturer to conduct one of the core electives in PG – Entrepreneurship and State & Society, as part of Social Enterprise. We decided to have one on one interaction with him, and ask about his experience in India and the IILM campus in particular. It was indeed a great opportunity for our fellow students and the staff to to know what he had to say about IILM as a B-School in India. We asked him a few questions, and received a quite an insight about his thoughts and teaching experience.

– What is the relevance of the Module taken by you at IILM?
I stayed during 3 weeks in the campus of Greater Noida to conduct a course called Social Entrepreneurship. I had 3 main objectives with this course.

First, the course allowed the students to discover social entrepreneurship. Starting from an analysis of the need of people in India and the development of a social company.

Second, i acknowledged the students how consulting companies use several tips to help the companies develop their business.

Third, the students were taught how to discover the business model canvas. A very innovative and play-full technique that allow to study the business model in the developing of a company, a product or a service.

– What is your say on Faculty and Infrastructure of IILM?
The campus of Greater Noida is quiet, secure and fully equipped place to study. The library contains a large number of different works and the subscription to the business press allow to obtain current information.

– Tell us something about IILM’s Campus Life.

My stay of three weeks allowed me to take some time out to know the teachers and the students of IILM. I discovered a welcoming, passionate and involved educational team and respectful workers, and interesting bunch students.

– What do you think about India, and any experience so far that you would like to share with us.

This trip was my first time in India. India is an incredible country. A huge country made of contrasts. If you ask me what impressed me most in India, I would answer immediately « The People ! » They are welcoming, generous, and open-minded people. It sometimes amuses me to say that during my stay in the IILM I learned as much as I taught.

Prof.Gatien Beaumont from #LorraineUniversity #France talks about his academic experience at #IILMCampus https://t.co/bbqWY9TEsY #MyIILM

— IILM (@IilmInstitute) March 4, 2016

My French Diaries

Alumni, Campus Life, Guest Blog01 MarchKaran GognaIILM PGDM

Life is full of surprises. Being a mixed bag, it is full of vibrant and exciting experiences that leave us with infinite memories and joyous moments for the rest of our being.

One such immensely enriching and special experience that I had was my recent trip to Montpellier, France for my study abroad program at the prestigious Montpellier Business School. I was a complete bundle of nerves before embarking on this exciting journey as this was the first time that I was travelling abroad. However, this one month transformed me completely and made me a much more strong and independent person. The experience of staying alone in a foreign land is something that really pushes me out of my comfort zone and made me face so many real life challenges that I would never have realized or faced otherwise.

Everything, right from doing all the household chores like cooking, washing and cleaning utensils, to managing my own finances and even travelling alone, were things that I had never done alone. The language, the food and the cultural differences between India and France too proved to be challenging for me, and my friends alike. But the experience of studying in a prestigious international Business school like MBS, meeting a plethora of students from different cultures and countries and even travelling independently across France and other parts of Europe were immensely enriching things that truly proved to be like an opportunity of a lifetime for me.

This experience changed my perception and outlook towards a lot of things in life, and even made me more broad minded and rational, besides helping me get rid of a lot of common stereotypes and preconceived notions.

During the course of this one month of my study abroad program at MBS, I studied four core modules that included Luxury Marketing, Cross Cultural Negotiation, Entrepreneurship and Doing Business with France. All of these were extremely interesting subjects that form an integral part of any management course’s curriculum and were taught by some exceptionally talented, experienced and learned faculty members.

What I liked the most about my teachers at IILM was the fact that they always use to make classes very interactive and they often used to cite a lot of experiences from their personal lives to make the subjects more interesting and fun. All of us were also encouraged to be creative, and actually go beyond the scope of the book to explore and perceive each subject the way we wanted.

We were given full creative freedom to brainstorm for our group presentations. Each subject consisted of a number of interesting case studies and even an educational visit to a beautiful French vineyard which was definitely among the highlights of my trip.

My love for wanderlust too came out in full flow during the weekends when I used to go out and travel to other nearby countries with my friends. I got to visit the very happening and lively city of Barcelona in Spain, charming Paris and even the beautiful city of Koln in Germany.

Thus, my stay in France indeed proved to be an extremely enriching and fruitful time for me, it also helped me grow as a person, learn a lot, and also make a ton of sweet memories that I would cherish for the rest of my life.

I thank IILM too for giving me this wonderful opportunity and making my childhood dream of studying at a foreign university come true. Au revoir!

Should utilities be privatized?

Alumni, General Blog, Guest Blog26 FebruaryVikram Sharma

Public utility is defined as an organization which provides basic services like Water, Gas, Sanitation and Energy to people. Since investment in these sectors is very huge, in most of the countries, these sectors are handled by respective governments in either Monopolistic way (also called natural monopoly) or in an Oligopolistic way.

In recent times, there have been talks about the quality and proper distribution of these services and privatizations of these facilities are also being considered in many countries. While some countries have successfully implemented the privatization idea, others didn’t have a good experience with privatization and had to switch back to public sectors.

The proponents of Privatization of Public utilities say that the shift from monopolistic approach to the competitive approach in private sector would help in improving the quality of services and also in enhancing the availability of these services to more people. Also, any government under debt could also benefit if private sector makes more profit by implementing cost reduction strategies.

Lack of political influence in private sector would also result in better operational efficiencies. Moreover, government protection of public utilities through subsidies, ceilings etc. would create a deadweight loss and eventually not satisfy the demand. A perfect example is the power industry in India where government protection leads to inefficiency and demand-supply mismatch which eventually leads to severe power outages and economic loss.

One of the major problems opponents argue is that private industry is profit oriented. Thus, the creation of Private monopolies in public utilities would result in a comparative price hike borne as higher charges by the consumers. Also, if the approach of a private is short-term, that would also create problems in long term. Thus, the need for regulation arises to maintain parity between producers and consumers.

My stay at IILM – Life changing experience

Alumni, Campus Life, Guest Blog, IILM Stories12 FebruaryMariusz Soltanifar

I have returned from India with much more than just Modi’s lessons on leadership. There are no words to describe the two weeks stay at IILM as a guest lecturer, but I will do my best to find some.

Unpredictable hospitality
First of all, the unpredictable hospitality of IILM colleagues – their welcoming attitude and care, and the omnipresent attitude of “Athithi devo bhava” (“Treat a guest like a God”) – blew my mind. I enjoyed every moment at the university, from every talk to every little chat over lunch. I was really surprised by the substantial number of commonalities of India and Indian culture to Iran, my favourite spot on Earth. The friendly attitude of people in India is extremely close to the Persian way of living and behaving. This is not the only influence of the Persian Empire on the country, though. Beautiful architecture, gardens shaped in a Persian way, delicious and varied cuisine and even the bits of the language which I started to understand all show some signs of ancient influences.

Seeing developing economy and its scope
The two weeks spent in India have allowed me to see how fast and dynamic the development of an economy can be. Three times faster than Poland’s tempo, which I know from it being my country of origin. I dare say we have to speed up in The Netherlands, too, to keep up with India.

Speaking at UN conference
Speaking at the PRME – Principles for Responsible Management Education – conference, organised in cooperation with UN, has opened my eyes to significant issues regarding social life and social challenges in India. The huge contrast between extreme poverty and refined luxury will stay in my head for a long time. I will never be inert to these issues again. I came back to The Netherlands, but my heart is left still there, shouting do to something for a change.

The conference was live streamed, you can watch it here.
My presentation starts at 18’35 – your feedback is more than welcome.

Helping children to facilitate education
I am glad I got the chance to visit one of the locations where the project “Support my School” by Coca-Cola is initiated. Once seeing the potential of young girls, being hungry for education in Faridabad, I have immediately started to be involed in this project and I am going to offer myself, my skills and my network to help to facilitate education, shelter and medical care for children in India. At the moment, I am cooperating with Coca-Cola on the ‘Support My School’ project, organised together with World Vision, and I am designing a social campaign with Google.

#IILMInternationalFaculty | Prof. Mariusz Soltanifar from @hanzeuas_groningen #Netherlands is visiting #IILMLodhiRoadCampus in January #2016 to conduct PG second year elective – 'First 100 Days in Business', as part of #EntrepreneurshipArea. We are excited and looking forward to have some knowledge sharing sessions with International Faculty members at IILM Campus. Know more about The IILM PGDM – www.iilm.edu #IILMPGDM #NewDelhi #NCR #BusinessModules #ForeignFaculty #InternationalFaculty #OnCampus #MBA #BSchools #ManagementStudies #BusinessEducation #Netherlands #HanzeGronigenUniversity #BuildingRelationships #PRMEConference

A photo posted by IILM (@iilm) on Dec 23, 2015 at 3:15am PST

Adjusting my own teaching style
Teaching in the classrooms has expanded my horizon over the different teaching style applied and a new approach to sharing knowledge has been practiced as well. I promise we will see each other again sooner than everyone thinks.

Living at the campus
Living at the campus got me a chance to know the students better and be involved in long and challenging discussions. Playing table tennis with them also helped me to burn some energy and improve my skills. It was a wonderful end to the days. Dancing with the students during Happy Lori Festival and being involved in long discussions, not only around the fire ring during this day, but in general, will stay long in my memories as well.

To travel is to live
Following my credo, I packed my bags and went for a weekend to Mandal, a small village near to Bhilwara, five hours away from Jaipur. This place has amazed me from the very begging, especially contact with locals, talks with them and tasting delicious cuisine. It is great to have friends all over the world, and Jitendra, thank you for taking care of every small detail during my stay there.

Stay inspired
For everyone interested in doing business, studying or traveling to Poland, feel invited to check out Link to Poland, and remember – there is not better investment (after believe) than traveling, therefore stay inspired and search for your new destinations to visit at To travel is to live.

Thank you everyone!
It was an amazing time, enriched by the mix of flavours and fragrances and the beauty of the land. Thank you for your amazing hospitality IILM! Especially warm thanks to Sanjay Srivastava and Nidhi Piplani, my buddies during my stay there and to the five students: Akash, Ashaab, Himanshu, Kanika, and Karan who made my stay unforgettable.

Warm greetings everyone!

Mariusz Soltanifar

Hanze University of Applied Sciences

m.soltanifar@pl.hanze.nl

Bon Voyage – The IILM Global Study Program in France

Campus Life, Global Study, Guest Blog, IILM Stories05 FebruaryCharu Sharma

In the future, the Global Study Program should undoubtedly become an integral part of IILM as the amount of learning and exposure it has to offer is tremendous. It is an excellent opportunity for every student who aspires to study abroad as well as to become independent for doing things that they have had others do for them till now. It holds great prospects of increasing one’s knowledge by diving into the culture and ways of a foreign country and see the difference in approach towards everything, between them and our nation. Moreover, it offers a lot of unforgettable moments that one would cherish for their lifetime.

As part of four-week student exchange program, 37 students across three Campuses went to Ecole de Management de Normandy Business School, France and Montpellier Business School.

The program included the following modules at Ecole de Management de Normandy Business School –
– Doing Business in France
– Supply Chain Management
– Digital Marketing Business Project

Faculty accompanied students to France gave a general feedback on the entire experience, which goes something like –

Merits :
– There was a lot of learning involved
– The proximity of campus to the hotel (a mere 5 minute walk)
– The hotel has fully furnished and equipped apartments
– The visit to the Shipping Port
– Visits to historical WWII sites, where students gained insight into the politico-economic history of the Europe
– Ability to experience living in the integrated bloc of EU
– Ability to experience different cultures by visiting other European Nation
– Many Indian Restaurants nearby

Demerits :
– The entertainment centers are open from Thursday-Saturday
– The Institute is strict in marking and attendance (but this also brings in discipline)

Program at Montpellier Business School took place from 1st November -28th November 2015, where all the students completed four modules 1) Luxury Marketing 2) Entrepreneurship 3) Cross Cultural Negotiation 4) Doing Business in France. The students also visited a vineyard, where the process of making wine was explained and an overview of the Wine industry in France was given.

It was a great platform for students to understand French culture and the business environment. The assessments involved creating business plans, analyzing business models, developing new product ideas and of presenting them to a group of investors. Some key skills that were enhanced through the program were brain storming and work in groups, presentation skills and business acumen.

Student’s take on his experience at Montpellier Business School , France, “The experience was a very lively one and of great learning and exposure. The pedagogy adopted by the faculty at Montpellier Business School was truly engrossing for each subject being taught. Especially the luxury marketing module which none of us wanted to end! The faculty was really interactive as well and showed great enthusiasm in teaching. They were curious to know from us about India and its culture. The campus facilities were amazing as well and all the students enjoyed their time throughout the day in college, for eg. by playing football downstairs. There was a great deal of learning that took place in this one month study program that told me about the French culture and the rich history this beautiful country has.”

Study Abroad Semester at Burgundy School of Business, France

Alumni, Campus Life, Global Study, Guest Blog04 JanuaryErika Juliana

We learn every single day, every single second

Everybody says that there will be a turning point in life when the way your thought works, the way you perceive this world will change. IILM exchange program was that turning point in my life. I was among those students who got this lucky opportunity to stay in Dijon which changed my Life.

First week ( 23^thAgust – 1^st September)

With mixed feeling I arrived in Dijon. It is completely different from New Delhi. A calm, peaceful city with old historic mountains. Later, I came to know that it is called as a city of students.

Next day I was welcomed by the friendly teachers and staff in the induction week were we were made aware about the city. I got an international exposure as there were students from Germany, Spain, Poland,Russia, Italy,China,Korea,Africa and many more. There were trips which were organized by school which helped us to know each other better.

Second week : (1^st September – 8^th September)

In this week we were given an introduction about our specialization and how we will be graded on our performance. I was surprised to see the student-teacher relationship in France.

It was informal yet formal. Also, a new thing I experienced was that university itself was organizing parties for us.This was something new for me unlike Indian universities.In this week I also got a chance to visit thefamous Dijon Music Festival which happens only once in a year.

Third week (9th September -16^th September)

In this week our courses began and we were introduced to our teachers. Most of the teachers were globally renowned teachers and have taught in different countries. So, it was easy to get along with them. Teachers were very friendly and it was very comfortable to adjust with us. I also got a chance to visit Paris on the weekend.

Fourth week ( 17^th September-24^th September )

In this week, due to light schedule of our lectures. We decided to explore Dijon. We visited many churches, temples. World famous wine of france was of course great. Dijon has numerous churches and museums each having its own significant value.

Fifth week (24^th September-1^st October)

A month passed away but I was still feeling that I arrived just few days back. In this week we learnt about different marketing tools and how international marketing works. I also learnt some basic French and points about French culture. I realized that many of things are similar and basic just like our Indian culture. In this week I got a chance to visit “Alsace” a city in france famous for hills. We went in bus and got to know many new friends. Later we need to represent our countries and I was proud to represent mine.

Sixth week (1^st -7^th October)

This week we studied about global marketing strategy. How different luxury brands develop there strategy. This week was really great as we were involved in many group discussions and I learnt many new things. On the weekend I also got a chance to visit Switzerland alps with a friend from Belgium. It was a great exposure as we learned about each other culture. Also, this was first time I experienced snowfall in my life.

Seventh week (7^th -14^thOctober)

This week was an amazing one as we studied about international marketing management and got exposed to new market conditions prevailing around the world. We learned about the emerging market sector. In this week I also get to know about the French wine and cheese. Unlike india, drinking wine is really common in France at public places.

Eighth week (14^th -21^st October )

This week we were told about our examination days and we need to start preparing for it. We were also told the pattern of the exam and what are we expected to write. We were also told about the forthcoming vacations. All the students studied hard in this exam to copee up with classes and score good marks in exams.

Ninth week (21^st -28^th October) : First exam

We had our first French exam this week. Exam pattern is similar as that of India in France also. I came to know about a new culture of drinking wine with teachers if the exam is easy. This was something new for me as in india I always had that formal relationship with teachers.

Tenth week (28^th-4^th November): Crazy Halloween night

This was a relaxing week as we had no classes. This was also the Halloween week. This was first time in my life I celebrated Halloween and I enjoyed every moment of it. I learned what happened on Halloween and why it is celebrated.

Eleventh week ( 5^th– 12^th November): Celebrating Diwali the french way

In this week along with the classes. I celebrated diwali with my global friends. India is really famous for its culture all over the world. Everybody was keen to know how diwali is celebrated and why it was celebrated. Also, this was the first time I tried my hands on cooking some complicated Indian food for them.

Twelfth week (13^thNovember – 20^th November)

This week was a shocking week due to attacks in Paris. I observed that all the people were expressing their condolence and our teachers were also shocked by this. I was deeply shocked seeing such attacks.

In the school I was selected as a Research assistant by my professor. He asked me to join his team who were writing about Indian culture and luxury market. It was more than delighted to help him.

Thirteen week ( 21^st – 28^th November) : My first article

In this week I was discussing about the luxury cars with my professor and to my surprise he asked me to write an article as he felt that I am good with cars. I took it seriously and wrote an article and he really appreciated me. For me, it was the first article I wrote and I was very inspired.

Week 14 ( 29^th -5^th December) : Final exams

These were the exam days. All the students were inside their rooms studying and school was silent as there were less classes because of exams.

Fifteenth week ( 6^th -13^th December)

This was a relaxing week as we were done with our exams . I decided to travel in the rest of days. I got a chance to visit lyon this week with the Erasmus group of students. It was a great experience. I experienced the churches and monuments there. The significance of Merci marie etc.

Sixteenth week ( 13^th – 20^thDecember)

This was the travelling week. I visited Spain and Italy in this week. I experienced a varied culture. I tried to learn a little Spanish but I realized that’s not my cup of tea. I learned about “hola” in spain and “Allora” in Italy. All the people are very friendly in these countries and can speak very good English.

Last day ( 21^th December)

This was the most difficult part of my journey. I knew this will come but I did not realize that I have made a family there. A family with which I am tied. With a smile on our faces and tears in our eyes we all decided to head towards our real home.

Sahil Goel

PGP20141039