Envision, the flagship event of the PGDISEM program was conducted this year on 26th August, at the ecotel Rodas in Hiranandani.

The focus of the annual event, which aims at bringing together leaders from industry, academicians and students from various pan-Indian B-schools to discuss and share their perspectives on business risks associated with environment, was Climate change.

The day started with the Director Dr. S.D. Awale’s inaugural address, which made the hair on one’s neck stand up. His thought-provoking and powerfully articulated ideas about the all-pervasive environment left a mark on many of the minds that were fortunate enough to be present.

The first event in the offing was the “Let’s Go Green” case study contest. The competition was based on a live case provided by Eaton Technologies Pvt. Ltd. With more than 300 registrations for the competition, there were a number of innovative solutions that blended business sense with environmental considerations. The finalists included teams from SIBM Pune, IIM Shillong and NITIE. After some enthralling and well-researched presentations, the team from NITIE was declared the winner, with the team from ISB coming in second.

This was followed by EnQuizitive, an enviro-business quiz. This concept was developed and implemented by Prueba, the Knowledge Forum at NITIE. Prueba had received 437 entries from which 5 were shortlisted. The quiz tested the teams in their knowledge of various aspects of the Environment, what the quizmaster called “Environmental IQ”. The quizmaster, Aditya Narayanan of PGDISEM-8, with his unique style of presentation, kept the event interactive and ensured that the audience also had a good time as there were numerous audience questions and gifts that were given away.

The main event of the day, “The Sustainability Forum”, got underway post lunch, with distinguished luminaries from the fields of Manufacturing, Renewable Energy, Consulting and Banking getting together for a fascinating discussion.

The panellists were  Mr. Prahlad Bhugra, Senior Manager, Eaton Technologies; Mr. Ravindra Utgikar, Head, International Business Unit, Suzlon Energy Ltd.; Mr. Arvind Sharma, Associate Director, KPMG Advisory Services and Mr. Sachin Khandelwal, Senior General Manager, ICICI Bank. They made individual presentations about their particular views on the burning topic– “Climate change- are Indian industries doing enough?”, putting across ideas to, and provoking thought in, the audience that had gathered to listen to these distinguished professionals. After this, there was a discussion and an open house session which ended with questions from the students to make the event a wholesome experience for all present.

“We should have more events like this for the youth, they are the ones who are going to take this forward.” said Mr.Prahlad Bhugra.

After an exciting day and an equally exciting line up of events, students and faculty alike were very pleased to have participated in such an event. Professor Neelima S. Naik , Group Co-ordinator of the PGDISEM course, said that the Panel discussion made it clear that while India was making efforts towards CO2 reductions , it was justified in not accepting emission caps, as India felt it was still a growing economy. She was very pleased with the efforts that her students had put in.

Team Envision ended the day on a high, with a successful event, a good turnout and promise to work towards a greener tomorrow.