The ceremony commenced with a grand procession marching to the processional tune played by the Karnataka State Police Band, Mysuru. The procession started from the Arrival Hall of the Campus to the Athena Auditorium — led by Prof. Shalini Urs, the Chief Guests, with faculty and others — followed by the graduating students of the 2 cohorts — Post Graduate Program for eXecutives (PGPX) and Post Graduate Diploma of Management, (PGDM).
Congratulating the institution and the graduating students, Dr. Rishikesha T Krishnan, in his Convocation address, said that it is indeed a challenging task to set up an institution, keep it going and sustain it; MYRA School of Business has done it very effectively. He had heard about MYRA a couple of years ago and said that students at MYRA are indeed lucky to get to listen to a panel of experts from across the globe coming to MYRA and sharing their expertise; such opportunities are not even provided at IIMs, he said.
The essence of his address to the students was to focus on talent and skills to excel in the job market and not to equate a degree in Business Management with higher pay packets. He emphasized that ‘impact’ is more important than the ‘money factor’. He cited a couple of examples to underline this, making a special mention of Ms. Rashmi Bansal, an IIM alumnus, who chartered a different path and has created a social impact. Incidentally, Ms. Bansal was inducted to the ‘Women Achiever’s Hall of Fame’(WAH) at MYRA in March 2014. He urged the students to become T-shaped professionals — professionals who possess deep disciplinary knowledge in one or two core areas, accompanied by a breadth of knowledge and an ability to integrate across disciplines and to solve problems. This, he said, is the need of the era. Embrace ethics, strive fully for sustainability and make an impact through your work and attitude, he emphasized and concluded.
Shri Gopalakrishnan, Non-Executive Director, Tata Sons, formally announced the conferring of the degrees and handed out the diplomas individually to all students. In his address, responding to Prof. Urs’ direct pitch — asking Tata Sons to consider MYRA’s graduates for job opportunities, and taking the analogy from the Mahabharata, he said that Tata Group of companies is in the eye of every ‘Arjuna’ — every student who aspires to reach the pinnacle, and said that with the ‘focus’, they can definitely make it to Tata group.
The key elements of his message were — be ‘positively angry’; recognize unearned luck; spot the curious coincidences of life; and understand the subtle difference between ‘success’ and ‘happiness’. His talk was full of stories —he narrated the historical stories of the withdrawal of the PL-480 (Public Law 480) which generated a positive anger and translated in to the Green Revolution by Dr. M S Swaminathan and his team. In the 1980’s India’s supercomputer program was halted due to an arms embargo imposed on India, and this positive anger led to CDAC building the PARAM 8000, the world’s second fastest super computer.
The event began with the National Anthem being played by the Karnataka Police Band, Mysuru. The welcome address was given by Dr. Abhinanda Sarkar, Associate Dean and Director of Research, MYRA. He said that MYRA’s efforts have been in the right direction of producing managers with skill sets required to change society in a positive way rather than just solving a technical problem or understanding a balance sheet. He said he looked forward to the day when he would get an opportunity to be employed by one of his students from MYRA. Dr. Sudhendar Rao, Dean — Student Affairs, introduced the guests to the gathering.
Prof. Shalini R Urs in her address on ‘The Journey of MYRA’ acknowledged the positive roles contributed by her faculty, colleagues, trustees and her family in stepping closer to her vision and mission of MYRA. She made a special mention of the ‘Trust and Faith’ that the parents and her students reposed on a new institution —MYRA and thanked them immensely.
Dr. Wolfgang Messner, Professor of International Business Management at MYRA, in a very engaging style, compered the event speaking to the audience, keeping their interest and enthusiasm high.
The top ten students of the graduating PGDM cohort — Mr. Karthik Dasari, Mr. Chankey Agrawal, Mr. Nishant Shekar, Ms. Ragini Sharma, Ms. Surya Vadhana B, Mr. Ashutosh Kar, Mr. Ananth S, Mr. Srinivasan M and Mr. Bharat S — got a special mention for getting into the Dean’s List.
Mr. Srinivasan M, from the PGDM cohort on behalf of the graduating student groups, shared some special moments of joy and learning during the valedictory address. Prof. Sumant Bakshi, Advisor, MYRA, delivered the vote of thanks to conclude the event. The event was followed by a lavish luncheon for all invitees served in style.
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