Convergence 2013 Makes a Mark

Convergence 2013, the 5th International Conference organized by IFIM Business School was

held on the 16th & 17th Of May at the IFIM campus. The conference saw active participation

from 8 countries, making it a truly global event. A confluence between industry & academia,

the event had several prominent speakers with the theme of the conference being

“Role of Innovation in Business”. Research papers were presented in four main tracks, namely,

Innovations in Manufacturing Sector; Innovations in Services Sector; Innovations in Knowledge

based services & Innovations in Agriculture and Food Processing Sector.

The inauguration ceremony was presided over by-

Chief Guest- Mr. Pradeep Swaminathan, Executive Director (Finance) at BEML

Dr. N Prabhu Deva, Chairman, Karnataka Health Commission

Mr. Ravi Garikipati, President, [24] 7 Innovation Labs

Mr. Gunwant Singh Saluja, MD & CEO, Mongia Steel Ltd.

Prof. Zina Kyriokos, Owner of an NGO (France)

Dr. R.S Nirjar, Executive Chairman- Board Of Governors (IFIM Business School)

The ceremony also saw participation by many other prominent industry people, as well as

members of the press. The speakers mainly focused on the need for innovation in today’s

competitive business world and stressed on the need to differentiate. Prof. Zina from France,

spoke about innovation in the hospitality industry and how important it is to bring about

changes in services provided in this industry, especially for a country which depends heavily on

tourism. Speaking about the healthcare industry in India, Dr. N. Prabhu Deva said, “Innovation

is needed in medicines to provide better healthcare”. Also, India which is a hotspot for medical

tourism needs to have better facilities in their hospitals. The audience was also humbled by the

speech of Mr. Gunwant Singh Saluja, who shared his experiences as an entrepreneur.

Panel Discussion 1- was based on the topic “Affordable Quality Healthcare: Will Medical

Travel Be India’s Next Big Thing?”

The eminent panelists were-

Dr. N.Prabhu Deva, Chairman, Karnataka Health Commission, Former Vice-Chancellor,

Bangalore University

Prof. Ashish Chandra, Professor of Healthcare Administration, University of Houston-

Clear Lake @ Texas Medical Centre

Prof. Stroube, Professor and Director of the Health Services Administration Program at

the University of Evansville, Indiana (USA)

Dr. Nazerath Lloyd, President and Group COO, Narayana Hrudayalaya Hospitals,

Bangalore

Dr. Dayananda, COO, Manipal Group Hospitals

Dr. Abhijit Barve, President, R&D, Biocon Research Centre

The discussion revolved around India being a favored destination for medical tourism. The

speakers stressed on the need for providing affordable healthcare to all. The standard of the

facilities available in India are still substandard, there needs to be significant improvement on

that front. Innovation is required in the treatment provided, especially in the medicines, to

facilitate better treatment for patients.

Panel discussion 2- was based on “Analytics Industry- Is It Undergoing a Tectonic Shift?”

The eminent panelists were-

Prof. U. Dinesh Kumar, IIM Bangalore

Mr. Pradeep Kumar, Director, Analytics Division, HP

Dr. Avik Sarkar, IBM- India

Mr. Anshuman Mishra, Vice President, Analytics, GENPACT

Mr. Amith Parameshwara, Associate Director Service Delivery, [24] 7 Innovation Labs

The speakers discussed about the emerging need & scope in for business amalytics in the

industry and how it is rapidly evolving. They also highlighted on the challenges and

opportunities in “Big Data”. Another important point that was brought to the discussion was

that of what role India can play in the global analytics market.

Panel Discussion 3- was based on "Fostering a Culture of Innovation"

The eminent panelists were-

Mr. Pavan Soni, IIM Bangalore

Mr. Ragavendra, Innovation Manager, Bosch Ltd

Mr. Nagaraj, General Manager, Design and Innovedge, Titan Industries Ltd

Mr. Arvin Baalu, Director of Automotive Engineering & Product Delivery, Harman

International's India

Mr. Vinay Dhabolkar, President, Catalign Innovation Consulting

The speakers discussed about challenges faced in a company with respect to innovation and

how best a favorable ecosystem can be created. The various examples given by each of the

panelists about innovation in their organizations, gave better insights for the audience.

Convergence also saw presentation of over 150 research papers by scholars and academicians,

on subjects like business model innovations, issues and challenges for fostering innovative

culture in India, policy support for nurturing innovative culture in India and leadership for

enhancing individual and organizational innovativeness.

Some of the main institutions that participated were- IIM- Lucknow, IIM- Bangalore, University

of Houston Clear Lake (USA), University of Evansville (USA), MIT Sloan (USA), IIT- Madras, XIME-

Bangalore, University of Pardubice (Czech Republic), Christ University- Bangalore and Bangalore

University.

The prominent companies who participated in this conference were- Genpact, IBM- India, HP-

India, Harman International, Bosch Ltd, Biocon Ltd and Wipro Ltd among others.