VGSoM, IIT Kharagpur Concludes Its B-school Fest, Purvodaya On A High Note

The Vinod Gupta School of Management, IIT Kharagpur organized its annual B-school fest – Purvodaya, presented by IOCL from 31st January 2020 to 2nd February 2020 at IIT Kharagpur. The three-day extravaganza commenced in style with engaging talks by eminent personalities like Mr. C.K. Tiwari, Executive Director & Head, Indian Oil Institute of Petroleum Management, Indian Oil Corporation Limited, Mr. Pranav Bhanage and Ms. Sangeeta Bahl, a world record holder for being the oldest woman to have climbed Mt. Everest. The IOCL pavilion unveiled at the entrance to the institute provided a unique view of the operations in an IOCL plant through the use of Virtual Reality technology. The first day concluded on a joyful note with a standup-comedy session by renowned comic Brijesh Jha.

 The tree plantation drive initiated the following day by Mr. C.K. Tewari threw focus on the topic of sustainable development and highlighted the institute's commitment to transforming into a plastic-free campus. In keeping with the “Think the Unthinkable” theme of the event, Mr. C. K. Tewari reiterated his stance on the need to develop strong core competencies and stay honest and disciplined. The session was peppered with many such anecdotes on leadership and nuggets of wisdom by the esteemed speakers and provided much food for thought.

The Leadership Summit was another highlight of the fest that saw corporate leaders and industry stalwarts deliberate on the topic “Leaders Today: the Tryst between Disruption and Convention.” The ensuing discussions were marked by thought-provoking ideas and real-world experiences as the erudite panel shed light on some of the challenges and success mantras of the business world.

The final day of the festival began with an early morning marathon organized to draw focus on the environmental issue of polluted air. The “Run for Clean Air” marathon witnessed a huge turnout as participants sprinted along to underscore the urgency of the need to tackle this concern. Reminiscence – the annual alumni interaction event, infused the students with renewed zeal as the distinguished alumni of the institute regaled the audience with fond recollections of their time at the college.

Purvodaya also enjoys participation from some of the sharpest MBA students from top B-schools across the country, competing in various business challenges in the domains of finance, marketing, supply chain management, consulting, analytics and social entrepreneurship. Catering to the different interests of the students, the various clubs and committees of VGSoM organized a plethora of events. Events such as the ‘Leader’s Challenge’ and ‘Think Vent’ organized by the Marketing and Advertising Club, ‘Sumantran’ and ‘Guesstimates’ by the Consulting Club, ‘Mulyankan’ by Finterest and many more provided unique opportunities to the students to prove their mettle in diverse business domains. Nurturing the creative flair among students, the photography club, Flash organized ‘Destello’ and the CSR club, Saamanjasya organized ‘Aalekh’, an article writing competition focusing on topics around social issues. Competitions such as ‘Modus Operandi’ by ScOpe (the Supply Chain and Operations club) and ‘Synergy’ by Drishtee Capital (the Investment club) tested the participants' proficiency to provide innovative and feasible solutions to real-life scenarios in the field of Supply Chain & Operations and Share Markets. Events like ‘Srijan’ and ‘Vichaar’ by the Entrepreneurship Cell and ‘Quizzard’ by the Quiz Club added to the innovative quotient. For the first time, Purvodaya provided students with the first-hand experience in the life of an IITian through the event ‘A day at IIT Kharagpur’.

The fest served as a catalyst for the purpose of ideation among the budding managers and tested the participants on their managerial expertise and business acumen.