HR Symposia 2017, one of the most awaited events of MBA (HRD) Department of Commerce, Delhi School of Economics kickstarted on 23rd September 2017 with a pleasant rainy morning. The theme for HR Symposia 2017 is 'Techcelerating HR: Forging Integration'
The first day of the two-day extravaganza commenced with the inaugural lamp lighting ceremony by Dr. Urvashi Sharma, Course Coordinator, MBA (HRD) along with our esteemed guest speakers, Ms. Ira Singhal, who is an IAS officer and Mr. Alok Nigam who is the Group CHRO, Bhartiya Group.
Ms. Ira Singhal started her keynote emphasising upon the importance of HR's role in any organisation. She described how HR has the ability to create an impact in other people's lives. "To succeed in HR, one should be a silent warrior." she quoted.
Mr. Alok Nigam took the stage and started with his address with the fact that one must have a lifelong yearning to learn new things, calling himself an eternal student. He further continued talking about the essentials an HR manager must keep in mind. "Practice doesn't make a man perfect, it makes a man better" he quoted.
Soon after, we had on stage, Mr. Jaspreet Bakshi, Director & Regional Head, HR People Services India, Royal Bank of Scotland. Mr. Bakshi talked about how the technology is going to drive the businesses in future. He shed some light on the recent trends which have enabled the organizations to transform the traditional workspace setup. "Focus on value, not on raw data" he quoted.
Shortly, Mr. Bakshi was joined by Mr. Arindam Chakraborty, VP-HR of Eicher Polaris, Mr. Kiriti Sen, Life, Career and Relationship Coach, Winged Bird, Ms. Rashmi Mansharmani, Corporate Head - HR, The Wave Group, Mr. Govind Negi, Director - Talent Engagement India, 3Pillar Global - India for the first panel discussion of the day which was on the topic, "HR in C-Suite: Assuring Seat at the Table". The panel started the discussion highlighting the fact that HR is no longer a support function and has become a growth enabler in business. They talked about how crucial it is for the HR managers to have an in-depth understanding of the business they are a part of so as to enhance their influence in the business. They also discussed various challenges the businesses are facing in the present day and how HR can help them provide fruitful solutions to them. The panel discussion concluded with an interactive Q&A session between the students and panellists.
After the panel discussion, we welcomed Mr. Paras Kaushik, VP-HR, Aditya Birla Group for the Speaker Session on the topic 'Design Thinking in Tech HR'. Mr. Kaushik explained in detail about what Design Thinking is all about with real-life examples and experience sharing. He emphasized on how Design Thinking is more about the mindset than just the process. He also briefed upon the key elements of design thinking. In the end, there was an interactive session between Mr. Kaushik and students to get further insights on Design Thinking and its future implications. "Ownership of product leads to more responsible use and care of the product, increasing productive usage." he quoted.
After Mr. Kaushik, we welcomed Mr. Prasad Kulkarni, Head HR - Shared Services and C &B, Raymonds Ltd., Mr. Avadhesh Dixit, Head Global HR, Moody's Analytics Knowledge Services and an MHROD Alumnus 1999 Batch, Mr. Gaurav Saini, HR Director - India & MENA Region, HMD Global (Nokia), Mr. Rajneesh Singh, Managing Partner, SimplyHR Solutions and Mr. Rupesh Tripathi, Head HR, IHS Markit for the second panel discussion of the day. The topic for discussion was 'VUCA Times and Technology: Finding Solutions'. The discussion began with the panellists discussing how technology should be seen as a facilitator to problem-solving instead of making things complex. To adapt to the fast-changing technology, there has to be a change in the mindset of people. Panelists were of the view that VUCA times need to be embraced rather than feared. Each speaker of the panel shared their own experience and guided the students in the interactive Q&A session which was an extremely enlightening experience for the students.
Lastly, Mr. Avadhesh addressed the entire senior and junior batch of MBA (HRD) giving the students key insights on how to plan their future in the HR industry. He took a lot of questions from the students making the session highly interactive. His words of encouragement were truly inspirational for the students of MBA (HRD) giving a fitting end to the first day of HR Symposia 2017. "First Deserve and then Desire." he quoted.