PRAYAS 2015
Onset of PRAYAS 2015: Inauguration world economy is currently facing and set the mood. The fest was to consist of a variety of events and competitions such as Best Manager, Business Quiz, Human Resource, Mock Stock and many more. 12 teams, hailing from colleges from all across the nation would form a total of as many The fest, which carried the theme conglomerates, and the team with ‘Faux Economy’, had whetted the the highest points would appetite of Commerce students eventually emerge triumphant. already and the inauguration lived up to the hype too. The Chief The dignitaries, along with Mr. Pai Guest of the Inauguration- lit the lamp and were requested to Mohandas Pai, who currently take their respective places on the holds the post of the Chairman of dais. A Senior Professor, the Manipal Global Education and Department of Commerce, Mr. is a renowned educationist and Thomas Joseph was invited onto philanthropist too, was present to the stage to address the audience. grace the occasion. Mr. Pai is a Mr. Joseph warmly welcomed the former member of the Infosys honorable Chief Guest and Board of Directors and has played expressed his deepest pleasure at a role in making Infosys what it is having such a distinguished guest today. He was accompanied by gracing the fest. A bouquet was honorable dignitaries, who presented to Mr. Pai, who included Vice Chancellor Father accepted it with immense joy. Mr. Thomas C. Matthew and Senior Joseph referred to the BCom Professor of Commerce Mr. students as the ‘heartbeat’ of the Thomas Joseph and the likes. fest and commended their ideas The event kick started with the and efforts that went into turning screening of the Prayas 2015 the event into a successful one. official promo, which gave a Dr. Father. Thomas C. Matthew complete overview of what the fest was invited onto the stage to would be about and highlighted enlighten the crowd with his the problems and deficiencies the inspiring words. He emphasized Prayas 2015, an inter-collegiate fest organized by the Department of Commerce, Christ University took off in a sublime fashion on the 8th of September 2015. The Main Auditorium came to life during the grand inauguration ceremony, as the 3 day event commenced with a bang.
Mr. Mohandas Pai, was then requested to take over and compel the students into thinking more and to act as a source of inspiration to them. Mr. Pai elaborated the fact that the economy is slowing down and how the rate of interest, is slowing down too. He said that the world is a whole new common market, while the financial markets are nothing short of shaky in the modern day and pointed out the uncertainty that has crept up in the markets and also upon the volatility that currently lurks in it. He referred to the invention of the Steam Engine as a ‘disruption’ in the, then, world market and said that it broke down the supply chain that once existed in the economy. He called us, the next generation as the ‘would- be movers and shakers in the market’ and reflected upon the fact that the easy days are gone. He received a token of thanks from Dr. Father C. Matthew as the crowd thanked him with a huge
the concept of ‘emotional intelligence’, which is something that countries such as Singapore have been adhering to and dubbed it as a reason for Singapore’s compact growth. He stressed upon the fact that emotional intelligence isn’t valued much in India but its importance is certainly on the rise. He congratulated the faculty members, teachers and participants on bringing the fest into being.
Mr.Mohandas Pai Photo : Ankit Sharma
round of applause. The cultural event, which consisted of a dance performance by the college renowned dance team- YUVA, followed up. The performance by the Darpan 2015 Dance Competition runners up was energetic and entertaining. Mr. Karthikeya Prakasham, the revered coordinator of the Bcom Regular students thanked everyone present for gracing the occasion. Mr. Jackson Mendoza, the coordinator of the cultural programs was given a special thanks by Mr. Prakasham The spell binding inauguration ceremony provided the Prayas 2015 fest with the perfect foundation to hopefully make all the other events as good as it turned out to be. After all, hope is the only thing in this world that plays a pivotal role in overriding the pessimism in us and bringing in a new ray of optimism and positivity. KAUSTUBH PANDEY
PRAYAS 2015
KEYNOTE ADDRESS The Keynote address for Prayas 2015 was delivered by Mrs. Shalini Pillay, Head of People Performance and Culture of KPMG, India. She is, in effect, responsible for all the HR functions of the company. The event was held in the Main Auditorium, from 3:00-3:30pm. Mrs. Pillay, largely spoke about the possible expectations of the corporate sector from the students of Commerce. She reiterated time and again, the importance of being an active individual, and not being passive in their outlook – like trying to draw meaning from a balance sheet, without looking at it with a completely objective attitude. Mrs. Pillay stressed on the aptitude factor, and emphasized the importance of being an avid reader, so as to survive in this dynamic world. The question and answer session started on a rather hesitant note, but escalated into an energetic exchange. Extremely pertinent questions were asked, to which the respected guest had quick and insightful answers that will no doubt help the students grow. She imparted her knowledge by sharing with the audience, her journey in life and explaining that curiosity is the key to success. On being asked about how one makes their way into big companies such as KPMG, Ma’am insisted that soft skills and personality play the most important roles. Madam left the audience with the promise that she shall clear all further doubts in a separate and more informal session.
MRS SHALINI PILLAY – PHOTO : Ankit Sharma
Her parting advice to the young crowd was to take the opportunities that they come across and make the most of them – the biggest mistake is to let good opportunities pass you by. The vote of thanks for Mrs. Shalini Pillay was delivered by Subhashree Ma’am, following which the respected speaker was given a token of appreciation. The lecture proved to be an enlightening experience for all present there
PHOTO : Ankit Sharma
The ‘Best Manager’ competition commenced with the first round on 8th September in the DMK Conference Hall with great gusto. This competition gave a real life experience of the grilling interview sessions that the commerce graduates go through. The event included twenty eight colleges from all over India with twelve colleges qualifying for the final round. There were four online rounds making it convenient for more colleges to participate, and eight physical rounds. The judging panel consisted of 5th year law student Aishwarya Madhe for the first round, Anisha George and Parvati.A, who are Ex-Christites, along with RJ Nathan and RJ Michelle, were invited to judge the challenging round of interviews which kept the participants on their toes and made an
SREYA DEB interesting event for the audience in the last round. The judges wanted to check the capability of the participants in a panic situation, and how they would take care of their shareholders as well as the society. The judges asked the participants why they wanted to be managers, and how they would take care of the stock market during a bomb blast by creating a real life situation with sound effects and a company like setup. The title and associate sponsors for the event were KPMG, CMA and MILES. The last round was held in the Main auditorium on 10th September from 12 to 1:30 pm which witnessed a very attentive and enthusiastic audience SHREYA V RAMAN
PRAYAS2015
HUMAN RESOURCES COMPETITION REPORT The Human Resources Competition was one of the most gripping and engaging events that took place in a span of three days. The competition consisted of a total of 6 rounds, which was initially contested by 12 teams but the number was later zeroed in to 6 teams, as the rounds progressed. The participants hailed from different zones across the nation. The teams such as Hydrogen, Shamrock, Ortid and Inspirin were competing to be crowned the winner of the prestigious Human Resource competition. The venues varied from ‘SOHO St.’ restaurant to the Seminar Hall of the University and succeeded in grabbing the attention of the judges such as Mr. Gopal and Mr. Ram Mohan themselves and Mr. Prabhu too, fascinating them and keeping them on the lookout for something more. The event had a spread of activities, ranging from discussions involving participants regarding the working of the company, ‘Housing.com’, to a presentation of the strategies of the individual participants when the company ‘Bit Am Com’ is in turmoil.
PUBLIC RELATIONS EVENT The public relations event consisted of five rounds. The first round was conducted on 8th August from 3:15p.m to 5p.m in room 202, second floor and block four. A total of eight students in charge were appointed out of which three were the main heads while five were sub heads. There were a total of twenty judges appointed from the alumni and teachers of the university itself. The first round was about labor laws in Qatar where the 2022 FIFA World Cup will be held. It was further divided into three sub rounds namely the press conference round, LMPs (Last Minute Productions) and government discussion. The participants played the role of PR representatives of companies and had a question and answer session with two judges at a time. This session was known as the grilling session.
The event rightly fulfilled the tag of Prayas 2015’s ‘Faux Economy’ as the participants deliberated about the global issues that prevail around the world. KAUSTUBH PANDEY
PHOTO : Monica Sharma By the last round, six participants were eliminated and only six remained. The topic of the last round was the Syrian Crises. One of the participants, Surendra, explained his role of being a PR representative of a company in Syria. The participant played the role of being a mediator between the government and the ISIS and as a stakeholder it was his responsibility to come out with the best solution that benefitted both the company and the groups in conflict. Another participant Chirag explained the importance of discussing this issue as it is a major determinant in current world politics and thereby spreading more awareness about it. ARPIT KAUR BHATIA
PHOTO : Ankit Sharma
PRAYAS 2015
BullRun- a mock stock tested the participant’s knowledge and understanding of the financial markets as a whole, through various rounds of events. A team of two from 12 different colleges, each, participated in the competition. The first round, which took place on the 8Th Sept , was a presentation on how PayTM went public and their competition with Flipkart wallet. External Judges of this round were Mr. C Subramaniam ,CA and Ms Kanishka Kabra ,also a CA. Joining them were Ms Soumya V Iyer and Mr. Naveen Kumar from the Department of Commerce. The second round was Integration with Finance on the topic of Lego’s entry into the Indian Market.
PHOTO : Shivansh Dhasmana The 9th saw the third round, Traditional Outcry, followed by the fourth round of a very absorbing card game. The cards had various companies’ names on them and their market predictions. This round was a favorite, but unfortunately it had to come to an end owing to time constrains. The game continued early the next day and there was active participation from all the teams.
ENTREPRENEURIAL DEVELOPMENT
MOCK STOCK – BULL RUN
The Entrepreneurial Development event, undertaken by the Christ University under the Prayas 2015 fest kick started on the 8th of September, 2015 in a unique fashion here in the Assembly Hall The participants were from St. Joseph’s College, Bengaluru ,St. Xavier’s College, Kolkata, I Lead, Kolkata Symbiosis College, Pune ,Loyola College, Chennai , Kristu Jayanti College, Bengaluru as the title of the winner was well and truly up for grabs. The main focus of the event was to developing entrepreneurial skills among participants, help them detect problems in start-ups and finding solutions to it. The event consisted of 6 rounds. In the final round the participants were given a task that USA has approached them to make a manmade island for the rehabilitation of refugees. The panel consisted of Members of the IMF, Oval Office of USA and the United States of America. The student Coordinator, Nishmita said “The event is set apart from all other events, as it has a little bit of everything, where you can develop Business Management skills. Creativity is most important.” NIVRITI RIJHSINGHANI
The next round was an integration of the participants with the Integration team in which each teams had to pitch their portfolios. The last round, Pre-Set Price Outcry, focused on how intensely students followed markets. Teams were made to trade companies such as Dabur and HDFC in a trade period of 20 years, 1994-2014. (In which each year was four minutes long). K NIRUPAMA CHANDRA
PHOTO : Ankit Sharma
PRAYAS 2015
MARKETING The Marketing event held at the Conference Hall, Block II, successfully kicked off at 3:00 pm on the 8th of September. The event witnessed participants from St. Joseph’s, Bengaluru, Jain CMS, Bengaluru, St. Xaviers, Kolkata, Symbiosis, Pune and 8 other prominent schools and colleges from all over the country. The event, judged by Mr. Aditya Mitra commenced the first of its seven rounds wherein it encouraged it’s participants to think out of the box and to cope with the changing dynamics of the economy. “How can you create the ideal product for your customers when you’re not even aware of your potential market?” asked Niharika, a volunteer and Christite. The next 6 rounds witnessed a sequence of various aspects on how to handle dictatorship, marketing strategies, etc. When asked for feedback, one of the judges, Anto Philip, a B.Com graduate and alumni of Christ, praised the organising committee for their efforts and described the event as a “learning curve”.
PHOTO : Monica Sharma Sreya Murali, an EPS graduate and alumni, emphasised the importance of factual evidence. She also spoke gloriously about the importance of conceptual clarity. Overall, the event was educational, creative and served as a learning curve for all of its participants. This event was specially sponsored by DIGJAM Fine Suitings and Unilet Electronics. RAMYA SAMBAMURTHY
ENIGMA-BUSINESS QUIZ With Vinay Mudaliar as the quiz master, on the 9th of September, the Business Quiz: Enigma witnessed some nail biting competition. IIT Madras, St. Xavier’s Kolkata, Symbiosis Pune, National Management School Mumbai, Jyoti Nivas College Bengaluru and Christ University Bengaluru were a few of the institutions participating. Only 6 teams made it through the elimination round which comprised of questions from every sphere of business. There were a total of four rounds, the first being the elimination round. At the end of each round there were questions for the audience, and t-shirts were given out for the correct answers. The last three rounds comprised of interesting questions, hilarious answers, lightning fast buzzers and negative marks which bought a lot of tension into the room. The fourth and the final round was coincidentally named ‘PRAYAS’, with six questions having answers starting with the letters of ‘PRAYAS’ in order.
PHOTO : Monica Sharma
The tension in the room reached its pinnacle when the BBM department of Christ and IIT Madras found themselves tied. The tie breaker was a buzzer round, after which IIT Madras’, Arshabh Menon and Kavin Aadithiyan, emerged as the Enigma winners. SHIREEN NOUSHAD
PRAYAS 2015
FINANCE The Finance Event for Prayas 2015, was a 3 day event starting from the 8th of September, and concluded on the 10th of September 2015. The event had 9 rounds with 12 teams from all over the country consisting of 2 students each. The event was headed by a jury of 2 people on all 3 days with the judges being Mr. Sandeep, Senior Tax Manager at Ernst and Young, US and Mr. Raghavendra, Assistant Professor for Commerce Department, Christ University for the 3rd and the final day of the event. Loyola College Chennai , St Joseph College of Commerce Bengaluru , CMS Jain Bengaluru, St. Xaviers College , Kolkata , Department of Professional Studies , Christ University , Symbiosis , Pune were the 6 teams that reached the final round of the event. The teams were given the case and profile of a coal company in US going through bankruptcy two weeks in advance, and the event was a debate on whether or not there should be a case filed for the bankruptcy of the company, with 3 teams speaking for the motion and 3 teams speaking against the motion. Each team was given a total time of 7 minutes for presentation, 3 minutes was given as common time for rebuttal from both the teams and 2 minutes was given for questions from the judges. The event kept the participants on the edge of their seats, and left them with a question as to who would emerge victorious. SAKSHI SRIVASTAVA
PHOTO : Ankit Sharma
INTEGRATION COMPETITION The Integration Competition, held in the span of three days, consisted of 6 rounds, wherein the 12 teams were slowly cut down as the rounds fleeted past. There was a distinct variety in the type of competitions the event constituted, ranging from participants representing three world countries fighting for the right to establish a Disney theme park in their nation to the trials of economic hit men at the International Criminal Court. The competition adhered to an elimination format. The event allowed the participants to enrich their economic thinking and played a role in improving their ability to answer quick fire questions based on commerce. A member of the Hydrogen group during the final round was quoted as saying “It was a big learning experience and helped us learn things we haven’t learnt before”. When asked about whether they were told about the International Criminal court setting, she replied “Not at all. We were just informed about the basic premise and setting, that’s all!” SHIVANSH DHASAMANA
VALEDICTORY PRAYAS came to a grand close on the 10th of September at 2 pm. A large number of colleges had participated in the event and managed to make it a success. Father Arun Antony Chully addressed the audience on how the event had impacted the students as well as the university at large. He enlightened the audience on how higher education is about two types of learning- experience and applied learning. All the activities that took place in Prayas pushed the students to think, to brain storm, to work in teams and enhance their skills. He emphasized that most enterprises agree that it is extremely difficult to do business in India. It is the general thumb rule that business is possible anywhere if you manage to succeed in India. It is events like these that enrich experience and impart required diligence. Constant learning makes successful and sustainable people. Father summed up by thanking all the organizers and congratulating all the participants and appreciated the effort put in. “It is my firm belief that winning is not the end prize but the process of practice, patience, organizing and working smart. That makes a real winner.” K NIRUPAMA CHANDRA
PRAYAS 2015 EDITING DEPARTMENT : ELISHIA V, SHIREEN N,ARPIT B, SREYA D, NIVRITI R DESIGN DEPARTMENT : AISHIK P, AAKASH S, RAMYA S, SHIVANSH D SPECIAL THANKS TO ; FATHER ARUN ANTONY FATHER BIJU CHAKKO NITHILA VINCENT(HEAD OF DEPARTMENT OF COMMERCE) NARESH RAO ( HEAD OF DEPARTMENT OF MEDIA STUDIES) AASITA BALI (PROGRAMME CO-ORDINATOR OF MEDIA STUDIES)
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