MYRA School of Business successfully concluded its 4th Convocation Ceremony on 24th of June 2017 at its lush sylvan campus at Mysore. Mr. Santosh Desai, MD & CEO- Futurebrands India graced this occasion as the Chief Guest along with and Dr. Ramasastry Ambarish and Mr. Ranjan Mathai both members of the Governing Board, MYRA where graduating MYRAcles or MYRA’s student alumni were presented with their respective PGDM and PGPX qualifications.
Dr. Shalini Urs, Chairperson, MYRA speaking on this occasion quoting Jawaharlal Nehru and his “Tryst with Destiny” stressed on the importance of accountability for individuals and organisations. She said, when it comes to educational institutions accountability is not just for the present but also for the past and the future. Graduation days are those moments to introspect on commitments made and honoured. She said that MYRA redeems and renews its commitment to excellence in education every graduation day.
Delivering his commencement address Dr. Ramasastry Ambarish offered pearls of wisdom based on his six decade-long life and four-decade old career as an academic, investor and business leader. Dr. Ambarish drew from the past to put the current state of the Indian economy in a proper perspective from the pre-British Raj era to the modern times in a global context. Quoting Economic historian Angus Madison, who estimated that India contributed between 25 to 27% of World GDP and one of the largest economies in the world till the late 1700s and mainly due to the systematic plundering of the economy under British Raj, India’s share of world GDP came down to a paltry 3% in 1950. He said by 2050, India is expected to regain its place as the second-largest economy of the world and that would happen during your working lives. He urged students to be entrepreneurs as small industries are going to be the ones to drive the economy in the future.
He went on to outline current challenges and opportunities thrown up by factors such as changes in demography, technology and world events. Dr. Ambarish did highlight the case of India’s burgeoning young working population and their inherent competitive strengths against other ‘greying’ economies like Japan which will serve as a fertile launching ground of entrepreneurial start-ups and ambitions.
Dr. Ramasastry Ambarish is Managing Director of RA & Son Pte Ltd, Singapore, an independent advisory firm engaged in facilitating FII investments in Indian private and public equity markets. His previous experience includes stints as a Principal Financial Officer at the World Bank. Dr. Ambarish is an alumnus of IIM Ahmedabad, Class and is a Ph.D. from The New York University Leonard N. Stern School of Business.
Delivering his convocation address, Mr. Santosh Desai stressed upon the mantra of continuous self-learning lifelong to stay competitive. Taking many examples and anecdotes, he extolled the virtues and imperativeness of lifelong learning especially self-learning for the current generation. He also said, we are in a way going back to the days of thumbprints, given the digital era we are in and we can navigate through thumbs and icons. Mr. Desai impressed on the young graduates the level playing field given the democratisation of learning cutting across society and demographics. He also highlighted the role of questioning and scepticism while being agents of this change rather than being mere followers and being overwhelmed by change itself.
Mr. Santosh Desai is a columnist, media critic and the author of ‘Mother Pious Lady: Making Sense of Everyday India’. In his professional life, Mr. Santosh is the MD & CEO of Futurebrands, a brand and consumer consultancy company and has previously headed an advertising agency. Mr. Santosh Desai is a post graduate of IIM Ahmedabad, Class of 1985.
Dr. Sudhindra Seshadri, Senior Associate Dean and Distinguished Professor of Marketing and Shri. Ranjan Mathai, a member of the Governing Board, MYRA conferred the degrees through a formal oath.
Highlighting the past year’s achievements by the students, faculty and staff alike, Dr. Abhinanda Sarkar, Associate Dean and Director of Research welcomed the MYRA family, including the students and their parents for making the graduating batch a successful reality during his welcome address. Dr. Sudhendar Rao, Dean-Student Affairs and Professor of Information Systems, in his vote of thanks, summarised the key take away from the two addresses and urged the students to imbibe the spirit of working in an uncertain world full of disruptive innovation due to technologies.