reflections august 2013

REVERBERATING YOUR THOUGHTS

SCIT

Aug 2013 Issue 01 Vol 03

A Drishtikon Initiative

CONTENTS

FACULTY CORNER

ALUMNI CORNER

COVER STORY

EVENTS & HAPPENINGS

STUDENT SPACE

1

3

8

12

14

16

CANDID INTERVIEW

TETE – E –TETE

STUDENT EXCHANGE

PROGRAM

PROF. A. GOSWAMI

INDRANIL DAS

JAPANESE SSD BUDDY

PROGRAM

ROCK SHOW

BUZZZ

CONTRIBUTION

GRAFFITI

INTERVIEWS

19

20

30

33

POEM/HUMOR

ZEITGEIST

INS

IDE

S & C

PRAYATNA/DRISHTIKON

TEAM MATRIX

DRISHTIKON

GUEST LECTURES

S & C

SSR

PRAYATNA

SCIT FOUNDATION DAY

MOVIE SCREENING

UNVEILING

INFORMATION SECURITY

MBA 2012-14 & 2013-15

INDEPENDENCE DAY

FRESHERS PARTY

TREE PLANTATION DRIVE

24

25

27

35

Editorial

Dear Readers,

Thank you for the overwhelming response that we are getting from you. Only with your

motivation, we have the 'Reflection Wall' active now. I sincerely appeal to you to keep

visiting the wall and give us your valuable feedback.

The campus had a visiting team of Japanese students. Know more about their stay and

the experiences of the Indian students interacting with them in the cover story of this

month's issue of Reflections. You must be eager to know about the alumnus sharing his

views of working in the industry. Read it in the Alumni Corner.

We had a lot of events on campus during this month by Drishikon, Prayatna, SSR team

and team Matrix. Read more about their initiatives covered in the articles. We also had

Independence Day celebrations hosted by SCIT. Find more about who were the guest

speakers this month and what did they share in the articles covering the GLs.

Keep contributing to Reflections in the form of poetry, drawings, humor, experience

sharing and feedback. Keep reading!!!

Sadhana Ghalsasi

Chief Editor – SCIT Reflections

1

Rendezvous Reflections August 2013

CANDID INTERVIEW

SAKET KRISHNA MBA 2012-14

With Prof. A. Goswami

Ruchi Nandita interviewed our very own Prof. A Goswami

Ruchi: Please tell us something about yourself.

Ma’am: Currently I am pursuing my Ph.D degree which has been a long cherished dream. I am completely engrossed in the process and facing a lot of hassles and hiccups in time management. I started off the Ph.D journey last year and it will take a minimum of three years to complete it. My teaching experience as a faculty at SCIT has been elating and I have always given my best to try to modify my teaching style for every batch to match the student's grasping power. My focus has always been on delivering quality content which is in sync with the current industry requirements and sources like whitepapers/case studies help me a lot in that.

Ruchi: Why SCIT and how the journey started?

Ma’am: It was a surprise. After the completion of my M. Tech degree, I was in Pune since I had plans to settle down. I had applied for faculty positions at various colleges and was successful in getting one. One day I received a call from Dr. Raman and was called for an interview. I was selected and here I am in SCIT with all of you. Before coming to SCIT, I was unaware of the multifaceted courses and colors of the Symbiosis brand. I am really happy to be a part of SCIT, as it has given me an opportunity to pursue my Ph.D. Along with that, my experiences as a faculty has always been a value addition.

Ruchi: Please share some personal life insights with us.

Ma’am: I am from Kolkata and have lived most of my life there. I badly miss the life in Kolkata.

Faculty Corner

2

Ruchi: Tell us something about your journey at SCIT till date.

Ma’am: Excellent is the word. SCIT has taught me how to deal with things and what to say and what not to. Awesome environment honestly! The opportunity to learn and grow, do research and gain knowledge is ample. Even the lunch sessions are not for gossips as we share a lot of knowledge amongst ourselves. Everybody is cooperative. For any new venture that I become a part of, I get lot of text messages for motivating me from a lot of people in the organization. I am lucky to have some good friends in here.

Reflections August 2013 Faculty Corner Rendezvous

Ruchi: Your comments on our new batch (MBA 13-15) at college.

Ma’am: Commendable they are and intelligent. They have a good future. I am not a part of lot of activities in college so my avenues of interaction are also limited. I do not have much interaction or communication with them other than academic related discussions.

Ruchi: Ma’am, something about your future aspirations.

Ma’am: As of today, completing my Ph.D is the aspiration which can give a value add to my career.

Ruchi: Your message for the students of SCIT.

Ma’am: To be a good human being should be the most important thing in life. I would say that do not forget the past. Do not forget your struggle. Try to expel your boundaries, aim high and surpass your own expectations, which in turn will give you a moral boost to succeed in life.

Hello All,

It gives me great pleasure and a sense of privilege to be a part of alumni corner section

of SCIT Reflections magazine. This indeed, is a great platform to connect with all the

readers of magazine.

About me:

I hail from the city of Kolkata and I have been an avid

reader and a Judo enthusiast during my school days ; a die-

hard fan of Hollywood action movies and video games

during my engineering days and a religious learner of

photography and marketing management during my MBA.

That’s broadly me…!

I Love to travel a lot and dream to build a career which will always bring in passion,

happiness and feeling of accomplishment with minimum regrets.

Below goes the chronology

Year 2000; Passed the 10th state board exam, (19th state rank by sheer luck..!!)

Year 2006; Passed engineering in Information Technology (again by sheer

luck..!!) and got into Cognizant and soon got selected in CRM global CoE

(lucky charm continues..)

Rendezvous

01

INDRANIL DAS

SCIT ALUMNI,

MBA 2009-11

33 REFLECTIONS, JULY 2013

ALUMNI CORNER

TETE-E-TETE

REFLECTIONS, JULY 2013

ALUMNI CORNER

TETE-E-TETE

Reflections Aug 2013 Alumni Corner

Alumni Corner

3

Year 2009; joined SCIT (not sure about the luck..)

Year 2011; joined Infosys (and realized that I was actually lucky during 2009..!)

Year 2013; joined Europe sales force team.

Journey @SCIT

Like almost all of you, I also came here with some big, average & small dreams. Once

settled into the campus, again like some of you, I started believing that many of them

will continue to remain just dreams. Then SCIT taught me how to refine my dreams

into goals and it also showed me the way to take control of my future and realize my

dreams. Therefore, I turned a bit serious and started taking things that way. The

greatest learning I had from my college was to never bend down to adversities, do my

duties (Fun and frolic included) honestly while keeping high ambition and clear goals.

Coming back to the initial days, it was an interesting cocktail of new friends, newer

activities and last but not the least new ‘subjects’. Altogether, it was great and a

welcome break from the corporate IT life. I thoroughly enjoyed the art of living

sessions, tour to Panchghani, Fest and fresher’s welcome parties and late night birthday

celebrations. Before I could apparently notice the values and growth coming up from

the curriculum, I fell in love with the hostel night life, Bala’s canteen at D hostel and

constant supply of hard drives full of movies.

The frustration of not getting enough internet speed and monotonous food at the

canteen (except breakfasts) were soon belittled by the bigger ones like semester exams

and internship worries. Life became fast, slowly but definitely I was able to see the

changes within. The first year ended.

The 2nd year started with the sudden realization that the primary goal of doing an

MBA (getting a sober job) is very much round the corner. By that time I was smart

enough to understand that the MBA does not teach you different subjects, but teaches

you how to manage different people under different circumstances and demands you to

Reflections Aug 2013 Alumni Corner Alumni Corner

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quickly learn smart work and maintain balance in everything that you do. I was not

ignoring anything, spending almost equal time with my books, booze and buddies with

probably a 0.1% more weightage towards my career goals. I neither got fully stressed

out, nor restricted myself from relaxing but at the same time could hardly allow myself

to forget the priorities. Some faculties brought in excellent values in terms of

knowledge and ideas. It was an unforgettable journey, we probably did not fully

appreciate it when we were into the campus but now we look back and clearly realize

how golden those days were.

So, my dear friends, when you are still in college, fill your bags with all that you can

gather, never forget to have fun or you will miss something, also never forget to have

your goals clear, else, you may miss much. Play smart.

Role: Currently I manage and oversee the client relationship for one of our major European

banking clients (6th largest in Europe) in Netherlands and Belgium. I directly report to

the Global Relationship Manager for that client and Associate Vice President (Sales)

for Europe and Middle East. I am one of the 2 primary points of contacts (Engagement

Managers) for that account in Europe and also a member of Europe sales force as well.

Previously I worked in the Financial Services and Insurance value design team as a

pre-sales anchor and bid manager for European Geography focusing on deals related to

Business Intelligence and Data warehousing. Primary responsibilities were designing

response for RFPs, RFIs which we received from the clients.


ALUMNI CORNER

TETE-E-TETE


5

Required Skill set Sales roles demand high levels of commitment, on spot decision making skills, high

self-confidence and morals and the capability to drive and motivate a team which may

consist of members much senior to you in age and experience.

It is critically important to have effective communication skills and the 6th sense to

judge the ‘pulse’ of the person sitting at the opposite side of the table

Need to have sound command over the domain (Banking, retails, telecom etc.)

whichever is relevant to the role. It makes a real difference to have clarity on the basics

of the business in the domain when you are facing the client and hope to seal a deal.

Company provided internal domain certifications are good to have home works,

constantly follow newspapers/ magazines and surf internet to be up to the mark.

Basic understanding of technology and IT project management is necessary; carefully

learn business jargons and use them.

Roadblocks ahead and solutions “Before you drive your BMW at 200km /hour on the highways, you might also need to

clear the dirty ice in front of your garage. If you think that somebody else will clean

the ice and you would only enjoy the fancy ride that may not be possible these days”

Hope you got the message out of the above, never say NO to even a very petty piece of

work, try to learn something out of it, have patience.

You will have extremely tight deadlines, be ready to work long hours if you want to

run everything smooth and meet everyone’s expectations. Some people are difficult to

deal with, never ever lose temper, co-operate to get co-operation back.

ALUMNI CORNER


TETE-E-TETE


6

Be very assertive, if you are more sober than required, people might misunderstand

that to be your weakness. Sales is not for shy people, think twice before you set a target

to enter into the world of sales.

Message to the current batch

Look tough but be easy going. Guessing how? Trust me it is possible

Be a no nonsense person, building credibility is one of the most important factors

in professional world today

Never lose self-confidence come whatever may

Don’t stress yourself out with small everyday tensions, keep your goals clear

Sketch Credits: Mayur Pawar MBA 2012-14


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8

T

It’s rightly said that we have moved from the era of independence to the era of interdependence. Globalization has made the world a melting pot of cultures and familiarity now never breeds contempt. Indeed, the world is not the same as before. The exchange of cultures has made many societal dogmas redundant. Symbiosis Centre for Information Technology, known as the premier IT business school for creating global IT professionals, believes in the concept of ‘World as one family’. With that spirit and the idea to expose the students to an international perspective, our institute has collaborated with the Ritsumeikan University, Japan. Japan, after World War 2, has grown many folds, thanks to their persistence and perseverance. Their economy is third largest in the world by nominal GDP and fourth largest in terms of purchasing power parity. It is the world leader in electronics and third largest in the automobile industry. They have a strong tradition of education which has produced many prodigies, some of whom had a chance to visit our college this year. SCIT played host to 17 Japanese students, all in their early 20’s, who were to spend one month in SCIT -Pune, pursuing Software Solutions Design program. The agenda also included experiencing the vibrant Indian culture and tradition while interacting with us, their ‘buddies’ (the first year MBA- ITBM students). Although we both share the same continent, however the longitudinal

Reflections August 2013 Cover Story

Japanese SSD

Program SSD Buddy

Program

2013-14

Anubha Purwar Neelesh Ranjan MBA 2013-2015

9

divide has brought the cultural difference. On the10th of August, these Japanese students, visiting India for the very first time, enrolled their names in the guest list of ‘Tamanna’ hotel, which is very close to the SCIT campus. The back stage was already set under the mentorship of Ms. Sadhana Ghalsasi, who had meticulously planned the entire stay by assigning SCIT students to various committees who would help them in all their activities. Studies when blended with the apt amount of recreation and outside classroom activities create holistic individuals. Apart from their regular classroom routine, they were made to participate in many events planned for the evenings or on holidays. The main purpose of all these events was to familiarize them with India more. The city of Pune is a blend of modern and traditional aspects, of which the Japanese students had a glimpse through the city tour, accompanied by their respective buddies. The Japanese students were introduced to the Indian cuisine at the 78 year old ‘Good Luck café’ too. The Lavale campus of Symbiosis International University nestled in the lush green hills, which was next in their itinerary, quite appealed to the Japanese students for its state-of-the-art infrastructure as they took a tour of the campus. This tour proved to be a bonding session between the buddies and the Japanese students despite the communication in Pidgin English with sign notations. They met with a few of their Japanese counterparts as well. The outbound activity was followed by a series of activities in the week days, such as a presentation on the rich and diverse Indian culture; Indian dance performances and an interesting Hindi-English session which they thoroughly enjoyed. Few amongst them picked up some Hindi words and phrases. After a day’s rest, the sports committee took over. They were made to play few managerial games like the ‘Sheep and shepherd’. Time moved forward and every event was a new experience for them. They were made to groove on western music by the college dance club- Symbeats. The SCIT and Japanese students re-lived their childhood days with the Prayatna kids while playing ‘Musical chairs’. The Indian experience would have been incomplete if the Japanese had missed out on the religious experience. The outbound team took them to Mahatoba temple. On their way, they were thrilled by the traffic, the auto rickshaws, the shops and Indian snack foods like ‘Pani-puri’, ‘Pao bhaji’, ‘Vada pao’ and ‘Samosas’. They tried the street food, but with caution.

Reflections August 2013 Cover Story Japanese SSD Program

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The Rock Show by Prayatna, which was organized a few days ago, was one of the many firsts, as it was their first non-English rock show. The event itself was a grand success and despite the language difference, the musical experience was one of a kind as they swayed to the foot tapping numbers. The spirit of India is not complete without Cricket, a demi- religion in our country. The sports committee demonstrated the dynamics of cricket in a lucid manner. For the Japanese, it was a baseball variant, and initially they couldn’t even hold the bat properly. At moments, they were hitting sixes and pushing for runs at the same time. All in all, it was a joy for us to watch while they enjoyed themselves. In a nutshell, this cultural exchange between the students can be best described through the words by Ivan Illich, “Most learning is not the result of instruction. It is rather the result of unhampered participation in a meaningful setting. Most people learn by being with it.”


“I experienced Indian fashion, Mehndi and Saree. My host mother asked her friend to draw Mehndi for me and I liked its design which was very beautiful.” - Oi Ayaka

“First time when I arrived at India, I was very nervous. However, I met with many buddies and now I feel I have got new sisters and brothers in India. Thank you my dear friends.” - Ito Rumi

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“Home stay was the best experience because I was able to experience the Indian food, culture, and people! Caves at Ajanta and Ellora were very good . I was impressed as I looked at the world heritage.” - Yamamoto Taishi

“I like chapatti. It is very delicious. I am amazed that Indian children can speak English very well.” - Yamaguchi Ori

“When I stayed with my host family, they took me to the zoo. I saw the beautiful peacock which I have never seen. It was dancing passionately. I was surprised about the fact that only the male peacocks dance. It was a precious experience for me.” -Midorikawa Seiya

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I

“Vasudhaiva Kutumbakam” was the inspiring thought which led to the foundation of different institutes by Symbiosis International University and thus came into existence “Symbiosis Centre for Information Technology” on 3rd August, 1999. Nurturing the students, honing their skills, watering their wise and creative minds and transforming them not only into great IT professionals but also into great human beings, SCIT completed fourteen glorious years in the education field on 3rd August, 2013. It is no longer a sapling but has grown into a tree which believes in the philosophy of enriching the world. Henri Frederic Amiel has quoted, “The test of every religious, political or educational system is the man that it forms.” SCIT has passed this test and how! The busy schedule, tests, quizzes, heavy dose of lectures, assignments... Do these things keep the SCITians away from participating in extra-curricular activities? Known for their immense enthusiasm, the preparation for the Foundation Day celebrations seemed to be going on in great pomp and there was a splendid build up to the event. As tradition has always seen, the function began with the lighting of the ‘Knowledge’ Lamp which signified the elimination of the darkness by the light of knowledge. The Chief Guest for the occasion was Ms. Shaila Kagal. The Director of SCIT, Dr. R. Raman said, “Once it (SCIT) was a small sapling and the person who was instrumental in ensuring that it was provided right water, manure and ensured that it became a well built tree needs a lot of credit. There we have Shaila

Sports

Foundation Day

Rugved Mehta MBA 2013-15

Reflections August 2013 Events & Happenings

SCIT

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Kagal. She is the one who continuously supports me to take it to greater heights.” Dr. Raman, in his own unique style, had a surprise for the audience. He held a quiz of ten questions and the person who gave the right answer was awarded a gift as a token. The quiz had some general questions about SCIT’s history and faculty. It was a rare occasion where one could see students enjoying a surprise quiz. Ms. Shaila Kagal then spoke about her experiences with SCIT since the time of its inception. She presented a slide which depicted the pictures of bouquets and flowers beautifully decorated by one of the staff members of SCIT, lovingly called “Ravi Bhaiyya” by students and faculty. It was truly an epitome of oneness within SCIT, a true ‘Symbiosis’ between the different hierarchies of the SCIT staff and a beautiful sight where respect for an individual’s talent came to the forefront. Some pre-recorded messages of Deputy Director, Dr. Dhanya Pramod, some other faculty members, non teaching staff and students were projected on the screen. Then came the talented dancers of SCIT who set the stage on fire. A group of girls portrayed a beautifully blended dance show of classical and modern dance forms, thus mesmerising the audience. A solo performance by two of the fantastic dancers of the senior batch reminded the audience of the legends, our own Prabhu Deva and the world famous Michael Jackson. The ‘Nautankis’ of SCIT, Team Eklavya, then presented a skit named “Mahan kaun?” with a lovely theme bringing a nice prehistoric touch to the skit. The ‘Mast Kalandars’ group, famous for its fun filled dance, made the function lively by performing yet another energetic dance. This was followed by a splendid and soothing performance by the SCIT band which made the audience wave and clap in unison to the divine rhythms of music. All in all, the Foundation Day was celebrated with great enthusiasm by the students of SCIT and the efforts put in by each and every member bore fruits. Looking at the students and the contribution of SCIT to their lives, a quote by Daniel Day-Lewis may come to our mind, “I live in a landscape, in which every single day of my life is enriching.”

Reflections August 2013 Events & Happenings SCIT

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Everyone has the right over his share of happiness, but there are some unprivileged ones that are still kept aloof of it. To serve the same purpose, two committees of SCIT, Prayatna and Drishtikon, came together to have fun time with these under privileged children. They organized the screening of a movie on 3rd of August in the assembly hall. Initially the program stated the screening of a children oriented movie named “Chillar Party” but on the public demand “Any Body Can Dance” was projected. After all no one can keep children away from dance…!! Sure, one can spend 200 bucks and watch his favourite movie in the comfort of a lavish theatre with Dolby sound effect, but to watch a movie with these children was entirely different experience altogether. These kids enjoyed the movie in a way that we never and possibly could. People always say that dance is the language of expressing your emotion but we saw that right in front of our eyes. Watching those kids dancing gave us the feeling that we were doing something really good. The little Prabhudeva’s were giving a tough competition to the original one on the screen…!! This movie was all about following your heart and chasing your dreams, and who can understand it better than those kids from the slum, kids who are living a maverick life, a life where they have nothing to lose. So, the movie was rightly dedicated to them. During the interval our junior ‘Michael Jacksons’ and ‘Hritik Roshans’ were provided with chocolates to recharge their batteries so that they could enjoy the latter part of the movie. Kids lived up to our expectations again. They were full of energy, dancing and shaking, but this time on their seats.


Prayatna &

Drishtikon

Movie Screening for Prayatna

Kids

Abhinav Parihar MBA 2013-15

15

The first half of the movie was full of fun and joy but the second half was emotional and we could easily see that the kids were more into the movie in the latter half. They could relate themselves better in this part of the movie better because they have seen of the struggles of the life better than anybody else in the assembly hall.

Struggles -when everybody stops you from chasing your dreams. Struggles -when you demand anything from the world, which is, according to them, out of your league. Struggles -when you deny following the trails lead by others for you. Those kids have faced many of them on such a small age. The end of the movie was the most special part of the entire event. The “Govinda dance” brought everybody on their feet once again and the movie ended on a happy note. At the end of the event, there were a few gifts for the kids from the Prayatna and Drishtikon team and there was a thing common in between every one of us in the auditorium, a big smile with a feeling of satisfaction.

Reflections August 2013 Events & Happenings Prayatna & Dkon

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Team Matrix, the Information Security committee of SCIT, had organized its first session on 6th August, 2013. The topic for the session was ‘Unveiling the technical aspects of Information Security’.

The speaker for the session was Mr. Shrikant Antre. He was introduced by a very active member of Team Matrix, Gaurav Thorat. Gaurav introduced him saying, “Shrikan Antre is a Sr. Information Security Consultant at NII Consulting. His areas of interest include Vulnerability Assessment and Penetration Testing, Information Security Consulting, Information Security

Management, ISO 27000 implementation and audit. He is certified in Information Security from 360 Degree Data Center and SICSR. He has also delivered training in OWASP Top Ten Vulnerabilities and Linux Security Audit and specialises in Information Security, Compliance, Network Security Auditing, Web Development and Linux programming.” The session began with the felicitation of Mr. Antre. He started the lecture by advocating the need to understand the technical aspects of security since an in depth knowledge was quite crucial for


Team Matrix Knowledge Sharing Sessions

Rugved Mehta Khushboo Srivastava MBA 2013-15

Unveiling The Technical Aspects Of Information Security

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success as a professional in this domain. He brought more clarity to the concepts of Threats, Vulnerabilities, Risks, Security Incidents, etc. It was an interactive sessions where the students actively participated in the dialogue. Simple day to day examples were given to help the students understand various concepts. OWASP Top Ten Web Vulnerabilities were also covered during the session. Students were given insights as to how the vulnerabilities could be mitigated. Concepts of SQL Injection Attacks were explained. The doubts of the students were then cleared by Mr. Antre during the Q&A session. Students were then given guidance about various career options as Management graduates in the Information Security domain. The session ended with the vote of thanks and the students left the session with a lot of enhanced knowledge and a much clearer understanding of Information Security.

Team Matrix of SCIT has off lately been doing a fabulous job of organizing technical talks in college on a plethora of topics catering to the needs of IT Industry. It was delightful to have amongst ourselves Mr. Ketan Phanse, Senior Business Analyst with Ernst and Young talking about ‘IT Strategy and Governance’. A senior professional with expertise in Master Data management,

SAP , COBIT, Business Analytics and Consulting he also has experience of working and delivering successful IT strategies to global clients based out of US, UK, Europe and Middle East. Mr Phanse enlightened the audience with the different kinds of documents required to plan an IT Strategy and why it is important to review these documents every quarter. He discussed about the various stages of formulating an

Reflections August 2013 Events & Happenings Team Matrix

IT Strategy & IT Governance

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organization’s IT strategy and some of the aspects of the strategy planning like –Vision, Strategic Agenda, Business imperative, IT Imperative , IT capabilities etc. He also discussed about the most important questions to be considered before formulating an organization’s IT Strategy which are as follows:

What are the goals?

How we shall achieve it?

What are the priorities?

What are the key capabilities to maximize value and?

What assets and data we need? He kept the audience engaged through a comprehensive presentation on the various aspects of External and Internal IT Strategy of an Organization. This session provided the students with an opportunity to engage in dialogue with the eminent guest through an interactive Q&A session at the end, which further clarified many doubts. The speaker’s clarity and depth of understanding of the subject matter made a mark on the minds of the audience. Many junior batch students who have not yet studied about IT Strategy as a subject were also able to comprehend the subject matter. Hats off to Mr Phanse and Team Matrix for the knowledgeable and insightful session!!

Reflections August 2013 Events & Happenings Team Matrix

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T

“Shuru karte hai ye adhbhut khel ……Kaun Banega Crorepati!!” I don’t think there many people who are unknown to this trademark dialogue by Mr. Amitabh Bachchan on the sets of KBC. But as said by the Badshah himself “Ye Gyan ka khel hai ”…It’s the game of knowledge which is not only limited to the political or environmental questions but also involves business, sports, social, media and entertainment awareness. Students at SCIT were treated to a similar experience during one of the most awaited quizzing events Zeitgeist conducted by team Drishtikon. The event is a value add and imparts knowledge about current events and creates awareness amongst the participants. It also acts as a stress buster from the regular busy academic schedule. The best part of this quiz was that the questions were not limited to management background but also tested the political, social and business knowledge of an individual. The event received a huge turnout of 57 teams (2 participants per team). The zeal and excitement of the participants was incredible. The event went on for more than an hour, which was possible because of the enthusiasm of the participants. After a nerve biting finish, the team of Tarang Raote and Prateek Tandon (MBA ITBM 2013-15) emerged victorious. They were rewarded monetarily and highly appreciated for their spontaneous and instant replies. The event turned out to be a huge success with a positive feedback from both, students and management. The dedication and effort put up by the coordinators and volunteers of team Drishtikon was highly appreciated.


Drishtikon Zeitgeist - The Quiz

Rohit Ranjan MBA 2013-15

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A discourse was organized by the Guest Lecture committee on 12th August 2013 to address the batch of SCIT 13-15. This session was conducted under the guidance of Prof. Shaji Joseph and Prof. Apoorva Kulkarni. The eminent speaker of the session was Mr. Sachin Arun Chinchkar, an entrepreneur who started his own consulting firm by the name of CRAFT CONSULTING GROUP. Mr. Sachin is a principal consultant in IT Service Management, an ITIL expert and Prince2 Practitioner. He has 5+ years of experience in IT operations, Service Management and Training. He has trained more than 3000 professionals on IT service management and ITSM tools. A six sigma master black belt, he has held various positions such as Subject Matter Expert, Quality Analyst and Process Trainer during his tenure with Mphasis, an HP company. The guest lecturer started the discussion with the most important point of the topic -“Service itself can become a business” and IT is a business enabler. According to him, Business-IT Alignment basically means that business and IT should talk the same language. He further went on with discussing that understanding the need for a particular service is necessary. A presentation was shown to the students so as to give them a clear picture of the subject which elaborated on business


Guest Lectures

Garima Bansal Rugved Pankaj Mehta MBA 2013-15

SACHIN ARUN CHINCHKAR on -

“Business – IT Alignment”

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as an entity and its service components like core, enabling and enhancing services. Then he briefed about product life cycle v/s service life cycle as well as utility and warranty. Aspects of business & IT alignment captured the interest of the aspiring entrepreneurs further as it showcased what all are the requirements that they should possess like communication skills, knowledge about infrastructure designing and measurement of progress goals. The lecture then took a flow towards services in business where it was explained that IT is a dignified entity and it is not always necessary that the customer is right. The service industry does produce some very good examples of Quality of Service like McDonalds and Airways. Services are non-quantifiable but are qualitatively defined as it delivers value to a person. Last but not the least understanding the consumers, finding patterns, influencing consumption and perception of a customer brought an end to the very insightful lecture. Various queries from the students were very efficiently answered by Mr. Sachin, which quenched their thirst for knowledge about the business in IT domain.

The ‘Guest Lecture’ committee had organized a visit to Tech Mahindra on August 26th, 2013. It was organized by Prof. Shaji Joseph, Prof. Apoorva Kulkarni and GL committee member, Ankit Shukla (an ex-Tech Mahindra employee) in collaboration with Mrs. Kalpana Divadkar (Director, HR Department, Tech Mahindra). Students of the MBA-ITBM 2013-15 Batch were taken to the Tech Mahindra campus in a college bus. Those who volunteered to get their own vehicles were also assured that they would be offered parking space in the Tech Mahindra campus. It was a first visit to a company for the students of the batch and there was a sense of excitement in the air. The students were welcomed by the HR team of Tech Mahindra. Everything seemed to be in place and well organised as the students were escorted by the HR team to their newly built auditorium. The SCIT batch was a privileged group to be the first audience of the newly inaugurated auditorium. As the students settled in the auditorium,

TECH MAHINDRA VISIT FOR MBA-ITBM 2013-2015

Reflections August 2013 Events & Happenings Guest Lectures

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the two speakers for the day, Mrs. Vaishali Pathak and Mr. Arun Menon, were welcomed by the Tech Mahindra staff by presenting a bouquet to them. A short video of Tech Mahindra was shown to the students which focused on the slogan, “Mahindra, Rise”. The comperes for the event then introduced the first speaker, Mrs. Vaishali Pathak. Mrs. Vaishali Pathak is an Electronics Engineer, has done her Masters in Computer Management and has an experience of 18 years in the industry, ten of which being in Tech Mahindra. She said, “I was associated with the Symbiosis Family from 1996 to 2000. In 1999, Dr. S.B. Mujumdar took the initiative to establish a specialised college in the Information Technology field and I was a part of the core committee responsible for the inception of SCIT.” Mrs. Vaishali Pathak spoke about Leadership as the students heard the speech in rapt attention. She introduced the students to two leadership program initiatives by Tech Mahindra- Young Leadership Program and Global Leadership Program. These programs aimed to identify potential and nurture it. Speaking of Leadership, she said, “Leadership has got something to do with your attitude, your mindset. Never go into a compromised performance attitude. One of the key attributes of a leader is his risk taking ability. A Leader should always take ownership of his decisions and actions.” Speaking of ethics and credibility, she said, “It is important to see how you behave when no one is watching you.You should be passionate about whatever you do.” The curious nature of the students brought up many questions which were answered by Mrs. Pathak. She ended her speech by giving a beautiful philosophical touch to it by saying, “Believe in the Law of the Universe- just do your bit and the universe gives you back manifold.” The comperes then introduced the second speaker for the day, Mr. Arun Menon. Mr. Menon is a veteran with an experience of 20 years in the industry. What stood out the most when he began talking was his ability to hold the audience’s attention. He decided to give an extempore speech and the students were asked to choose any topic of interest from “What telecom is and where it is headed”, “How is Tech Mahindra doing in Telecom” and “The role of IT in Telecom”. Students unanimously chose the last topic and thus began a very interesting speech. Insights were given about the Telecom industry and how Information Technology supports the Telecom sector. Students from the IT background were given a brief overview of Telecom. “You need to have discipline and rigour to do things,” he said, bringing a halt to his speech. He took up questions from the students and cleared their inquisitive minds of all the doubts. The students were then provided refreshments by Tech Mahindra and were taken on a campus tour, the visit ended with a vote of thanks given by the representatives from SCIT and Tech Mahindra.

Reflections August 2013 Events & Happenings Guest Lectures

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The month of August started with the guest lecture delivered by Mr. Ravi Sathe on Governance. He has retired from Tata Sons ltd as a Consultant Advisor to Chairman’s office, Tata Sons, Mumbai. With the idea of making full use of the skills acquired by him during the three decades of his service to Tata Steel, he was given responsibility of heading the Synergy Group working directly under the Managing Director, Dr Jamshed J Irani. He shared his experiences and his journey in the industry. He also talked about the current challenges and threats faced in the corporate governance domain, how corporate governance is valuable and how it could impact overall organization’s strategy. Working for almost four decades, he actually contributed a lot in many business verticals of Tata and hence his knowledge and wisdom was immense. He explained the various strategies of Tata in making policies for Corporate Governance. He told that in today’s ever competitive environment, it’s really challenging to abide by the rules, ethics and moral values of Corporate Governance however Tata is one of the companies which abides fully by the same. Mr. Ravi delivered the lecture with great enthusiasm and energy. He made the session interactive with the question answer session. His expertise in topic really helped the students to get insight on the importance of corporate governance. Overall, it was very informative and knowledge gaining session for the students.


Guest Lectures

Varun Madoki MBA 2012-14

Mr.RAVI SATHE on - “Governance”

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Jai Hind! 15th August, a day so auspicious that it is celebrated by every Indian across the globe – be it any religion, caste, creed or age. 67 years ago on this day, India got its Independence from the British Empire and the tricolour was unfolded by Pandit Jawaharlal Nehru on the barricades of the Red Fort at Delhi. The citizens watched with excitement and paid tribute to thousands of martyrs who had sacrificed their lives for India’s freedom. The feelings remain the same to this day, with flag hoisting ceremonies carried out in almost every nook and corner of the country to pay homage to the martyrs and thank them for the freedom with which we live today. This year, SCIT had the honour of hosting the Independence Day celebrations at SIC. The fountain area at the entrance was decorated with streamers and a beautiful tricolour flower rangoli was made. The response of the crowd was overwhelming. Our celebrity guests were the future torch bearers of India – the kids. The guest of honour was our Director Sir Dr. Raman, who hoisted the flag with other dignitaries of the occasion Mrs. Pratima Sheorey and Col. Kadam. Symbolizing the spirit of freedom, a bunch of balloons was released in the air by the Director along with the children present at the ceremony. As a token of gratitude, the SIC staff was felicitated by the dignitaries for their round the year contribution towards SIC in ways; both seen and unseen. The show concluded with a melodious performance on ‘Mile Sur Mera Tumhara’ by our band which beautifully captured the essence of India – “Unity in Diversity”. The act put together brought back memories of the ‘Doordarshan’ video which had instilled a sense of pride and promoted unity.


Sports & Cultural

Independence

Day

Aditee Thite MBA 2013-15

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Jovial smiles and high spirits marked the welcome party for the batch of 2013-2015. The party organized at ‘Le Royale’ manifested enthusiasm at its full flow. With pulsating ambience, flashing lights and foot tapping music, began the fresher’s party with a difference. As the mercury began to rise, the dance floor was left open for some unbridled exuberance. Though the party lasted for round about 4 hours, the preparations for the same had begun long back. The Sports and Cultural Committee had been working for days to make this much awaited party a huge success. From deciding the venue for the party to finalizing the cuisine for dinner, everything was planned to the minutest of details. To add a little spice, the seniors introduced a pre party twist. All the juniors had to ask out a senior as a date to accompany them to the party. For some days, prior to the fresher’s party the environment of the campus had completely changed and was a much needed break from the study routine. On 16th august, 2013 at 6pm seniors welcomed the newcomers to be a part of the SCIT family and made every effort to make it a memorable evening. “It was the best thing that happened”, said a girl reflecting the sentiments of the entire batch. While guys made this do a loud one with their energy, for girls dressing up stylishly was the order of the day. The titles of Mr. and Miss. Fresher’s were won by Yusuke Tamura and Dhanashree Tembhare respectively. The smiles on their faces while receiving the bouquets reflected their happiness. Dancing on foot tapping numbers, the students also complimented the DJ by singing the songs together. A hip and happening crowd, a perfect ambience to rock on the dance floor and a splendid meal all added to the mood of fun and enjoyment.


Sports & Cultural

Welcoming the Freshers!

Garima Bansal MBA 2013-15

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When the clock struck 10:30, everyone was a little disappointed as it seemed like the previous 4 hours had just flown by. Nobody wanted the party to come to a close. The juniors thanked the seniors for the awesome blast and vowed to give an equivalent farewell party to bid them goodbye. In the end the ‘fuccha’ brigade seemed excited about the fact that they were starting their academic year with a bang!

Sketch Credits: Mayur Pawar MBA 2012-14

Reflections August 2013 Events & Happenings SnC

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“We abuse the land because we regard it as a commodity belonging to us. When we see land as a

community to which we belong, we may begin to use it with love and respect”

– Aldo Leopold

Every day we read in the papers about global

warming, deforestation, climate change,

diminishing plant and animal habitat but does

it have any effect on us or we just pass it as

another story? If the latter is true, then we

seriously need an attitude change. As aptly

said by Theodore Roosevelt,

“The nation behaves well if it treats the

natural resources as assets which it must turn over to the next generation increased; and not

impaired in value.”

You reap the benefits of tomorrow only if you sow the seeds today. With this thought, the SSR

(Student Social Responsibility) team of SCIT organized a tree plantation drive in collaboration

with ‘Clean Earth’, one of the most reputed NGO's in India working towards this noble cause.


SSR Tree Plantation Drive

Akshay Deshpande

MBA 2013-15

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It is necessary to plant trees to sustain human life, environment and biodiversity. The alarming rate

at which trees are diminishing today has lead to a reduction of bird species as their habitats are

being damaged and destroyed. To keep a check on this, SSR and Clean Earth decided to have their

first outbound activity on August 25, 2013, ‘Tree Plantation-Shramdaan’ drive at Baner Hills.

‘Shramdaan’ means doing voluntary work through some effort. The SCIT students’ waking up

early on a Sunday morning and contributing to this activity was praiseworthy.

The agenda was to be:

Collection of saplings at “Dhanavantari Hospital”

Short trek to the designated location on the hills

Tree plantation and watering

Continuous Contour Trenches (CCTs) activity for plants and natural water reservoirs

Maintenance of Plants

The students accompanied by Prof. Shaji Joseph left the campus at 7 am by bus and reached the

base of Baner hills in half an hour. For nature lovers and trekkers, it was a treat in paradise-perfect

early morning weather, light drizzle, lush greenery and isolated hill top.

The SCIT team was greeted by volunteers

from Clean Earth, volunteers from corporate

and an army of local villagers and nature

lovers named ‘Greenforce’. The

‘Greenforce’ team has a unique way of

celebrating birthdays, anniversaries,

weddings and festivals. They do so by

planting saplings, one for each occasion for

every individual.

Clean Earth volunteers briefed the young and

enthusiastic crowd of 70 members about the benefits of tree planting, the techniques used, the

impact on nature and the various flora and fauna.

Reflections August 2013 Events & Happenings SSR

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As Lucy Larcom puts it- “He who plants a tree, plants a hope.”

The volunteers came to know that Clean Earth volunteers have transformed the once barren Baner

hills to a green resort by planting 10000 trees. It being an inclined area, they faced numerous

difficulties because of soil erosion and rain, but with their determination they successfully adopted

the turban style of plantation. By building continuous contour trenches, which served as a support

for the saplings they managed to protect them from uprooting. The water that trickled downhill

was also blocked due to the trenches and provided the required nutrition for the saplings to grow.

Thereafter, all the volunteers were divided into groups of 5 and were given 5-6 saplings. It was

perfect team work exhibition. The members of the team ploughed the soil, planted the sapling,

covered it back with soil, watered it and built the trenches. In all they planted around 80 saplings.

It was a wonderful activity that bonded people and gave them a feeling of doing their bit for

Mother Earth. After planting the saplings, the volunteers were treated to a light breakfast which

energized them even more. All of them ensured that they would not litter or throw waste on the

hill top. Instead they carried it along with them downhill and dumped it in the garbage bin. The

volunteers were very enthusiastic in knowing the schedule for the next plantation drive and Clean

Earth promised to intimate them shortly.

As rightly said by Rene Dubos, “Man shapes himself through decisions that shape his

environment.”

Some of the experiences shared by the student volunteers:

The feeling that I got after planting the sapling was awesome. I felt I

belonged to Mother Nature and tried my best in contributing to it

– Kangkan Baruah

It was a great experience and the weather was perfect. While ploughing, we

encountered a lot of stones and rugged land but clearing the hurdles and planting

the sapling was something really worth it – Ankit Shukla

It was a first time for me. I got to know the importance of planting trees.

Also came to know that one of the plants is also used in treating patients

undergoing Chemotherapy – Pankaj Sukhadeve

Reflections August 2013 Events & Happenings SSR

http://www.goodreads.com/author/show/519259.Lucy_Larcom

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Yet another event of “Prayatna” to do something special for under privileged kids!!

Prayatna is a committee in SIC that works to uplift under privileged kids of slums. It is now

working for 25 kids of the slum area behind Cognizant, Pune and D-hostel, Symbiosis.

Prayatna needs funds to help these kids with their school fee and books. For the purpose, Prayatna

organizes fund raising events like Housie, Prayatna fest and Rock Show. Rock show is the Flag ship

event organized by all three colleges of SIC with the motto that “Music is above everything”.

The buzz of the rock show started a week before. Prayatna guys were to be found in every corner of

the SIC selling tickets for 50 bucks. To our wonder, Prayatna was running out of tickets in a few

days time. Prayatna also organized online “Rock Quiz” and the winners got Prayatna Mugs.

Then came the day of music! The rock show was organized on 28 of August in the auditorium of

SIC. The event started in the evening and Mr. Vibhu Gangal, former Prayatna Team lead from

SCMHRD, addressed us. Vibhu was the mentor of a kid, named Sandeep, during his days of

association with Prayatna and because of his efforts Sandeep now studies in D.Y.Patil, Pune. It was

a morale booster for all of us that our efforts really bear fruits in the end. Vibhu then provided

certificate of participation to the Volunteers of the week, who not being the part of Prayatna, made

efforts for those kids.


Prayatna

Rock Show

Abhinav Parihar

MBA 2013-15

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Soon we saw the auditorium packed, all seats taken and aisle over crowded. It was Prayatna kids

singing the song “Ye to sach hai ki Bhagwan hai”, made us all a little emotional and serious, but

who can stay serious at SIC for long…. Soon it was drums and guitars all around and the music had

begun, the bands were ready to perform!

On the public demand it was SIIB who was going to perform first. They started with one of the

most famous rock number “Sindbaad the Sailor”. Soon every cell phone was out of the pockets and

screens were glowing red blue n green. To our surprise the next number was called yellow. The

band sung yellow and audience painted the town red. The band continued playing numbers like-

Bring me to life (Evanescence), Dare you to move (Switchfoot), Starry Night (Joe Satriani)

Everybody's fool (Evanescence), End of heart ache (Killswitch Engage), Vultures (John Mayer) and

the audience kept cheering for them.

It was then when SCMHRD band took over the stage and it was impossible for the audience to stop

tapping their feet on the song “Pareshaan”. The band then played the song close to every heart

present there, summer of ‘69, and everyone was on their feet. No later there was no use of

auditorium because entire audiences were standing in front of the stage cheering and dancing on the

song “Whats up” and “Jo bhi main”. The performance of the band SCMHRD ended with the solo

performance on piano which was peaceful and calming.

As the third band entered the stage, there was a roar of “Mighty Mighty SCIT”. Yes! Band SCIT

was on the stage and they rocked the show in their very first performance. Anish sang a song “Ye

meri kahani”, the second one to set the stage on fire was Varun with “Arabian Nights”. After all

who does not has the sweet childhood memories of Alladin and Genie. Akanksha and Varun

continued the show with a rock number “Rolling in the deep”.

All this rock numbers were followed by something different, something we never saw and never

experienced

Reflections August 2013 Events & Happenings Prayatna

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It was the first time in SIC that we had a duet of Drums & Guitar vs. Tablas & Violin. The bait was

who can entertain the audience more. The show of SCIT ended with a melodious number of Coke

Studio called “Madari”. Band SCIT got a standing ovation and a huge round of applause.

But the best was yet to come, all three bands of SIC performing together. Best vocalist, guitarist and

drummer were selected and stage was set to rock again. They sang “Led Zeppelin’s Rock n’ roll”

and “Highway to Hell”. Anyone could understand the energy of the performance when the bests of

three perform together. It was the best performance so far and also the last performance of the day.

It was really appreciating how the three colleges worked together to achieve something great,

something that they are proud of. It was not about collecting funds for the kids but was about giving

them the chance to live a better life.

Reflections August 2013 Events & Happenings Prayatna


Graffiti Corner

It was indeed a pleasure interviewing students of 2013-15 batches. Initially the interview schedule looked very long and boring, but it became more and more interesting as days passed. I was really impressed by the talent of this batch. They not only have a great understanding about Graffiti but also have a great dedication which was evident from the research they have done before coming for the interviews. I am sure that Graffiti’14 would be bigger n better than that of last year and would set a new benchmark.

View on Graffiti’14 Team

SUMEDH DHOKE

MBA 2012-14

Main Co-ordinator Graffiti ‘13


Jay Magdani

MBA 2012-14

Main Co-ordinator, Graffiti ‘13

The interviews for selection of the graffiti team 2014 saw more than 140 aspirants, the interviews for which spanned over a 7 day period. The talent in the 2013-15 Batch is incredible. The

participants were very anxious to be a part of the team. We could not possibly do more than 20 interviews per day even though we sat for 4 hours daily. That speaks volumes for the dedication

that the new team is showing. They were willing to sit for the interview for 20-30 minutes each plus wait in line for hours. I feel that the event is going to be a mega success again.

Cheers to team Graffiti, Cheers to SCIT!!

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The groundwork for this year’s Graffiti kicked off with the induction of the 2013-15 batch and the subsequent distribution of the interview forms. A whopping 140+ entries were received and we had a tough task scheduling the interviews, with so less time in hand. Spanning over a week’s period, the interviews ran smoothly with the aspirants sending in their pre-interview tasks and turning up for their interviews bang on time. The interest within the junior batch is incredible and we, the interviewers, had a tough time evaluating them, and assigning them into appropriate committees. What was commendable was the willingness of certain aspirants to go the extra mile and put some serious thought into the tasks they were asked to do. All in all, there is a lot of energy in the junior batch and we are confident that they can pull off this Graffiti with the same pomp and grandeur as the last year…

Graffiti Corner


Rohit Menon

MBA 2012-14

Main Co-ordinator,Graffiti ‘13

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It is said that people always ‘need’ a leader, and that no community has ever existed without some form of hierarchy. I wonder why a leader is essential. After all none of us really ‘like’ our managers or people whom we are answerable to. Yet, do we ‘need’ them?

This seeming paradox explains one of the basic traits of humans - we are a race who have always been ‘lead’, but do not like to be called so. In fact, many of those who have lead us in the past are not even remembered by people, and are easily forgotten by history. How many of us know about the “Total Revolution” movement by Jay Prakash Narayan, which at that time shook the Iron lady of India?

So if leaders are forgotten easily, what do they accomplish? And what is all of their struggle worth? It is important to understand that leaders are forgotten, but the ‘changes’ brought about by them live on.

Thus, I believe leaders are agents of change. So be an agent of change. Bring the positive change that you dream of, let your team believe that you, as a manager, are not essential for the success of team. And what you do can be done by ‘anyone’. After all, true leaders of the world have faced suffering from the very people they strived for! And a true leader is born to serve!

Reflections August 2013 Contributions

Article

Understanding Leadership

Karthik Nedunchezhian MBA 2012-14

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We all are busy having fun in our lives, how many of us have ever thanked our DEMI GOD for being there, supporting us always? Here is my small effort to do so

Thanks for the birthday parties...

The fun we had at home, The warmth we had at home...

Could never match the farm houses, the restaurants and the beaches... Thanks for the lifestyle u gave.

Whatever we are is only because of your efforts. You made us brave!

Sorry for the times I’ve let you down, Sorry for the days I left you alone,

There were times I could not live up to your expectations. Am sure you were angry with me, but did not show it.

Would sure try to live it up, At least that can be like a small gift?

Thanks Mom, Thanks Dad!! Yogesh Shahdadpuri MBA 2013-15

Reflections August 2013 Contributions

Poem

EDITORS

DESIGN

Akshay Deshpande

MBA 2013 - 15

Garmina Bansal

MBA 2013 - 15

Anubha Purwar

MBA 2013 - 15

Khushboo Srivastava

MBA 2013 - 15

Saharsh Sahai

MBA 2013 - 15

Gargi Shukla

MBA 2013 - 15

Pratik Beedkar

MBA 2012- 14

Aanirban Chowdhury

MBA 2013 - 15

Juhi Singh

MBA 2013 - 15

MBA 2012- 14

Sarfaraz Khan

MBA 2013 - 15

Pratik Vimal

MBA 2012 - 14

Mayur Pawar

MEDIA

CORRESPONDENTS

Apoorva Siloiya

MBA 2013 - 15

Biswajit Mondal

MBA 2013- 15

Sarvesh Deshpande

MBA 2013 - 15

Neeraj Rai

MBA 2012- 14

Varun Mandoki

MBA 2012- 14

Abhinav Parihar

MBA 2013 - 15

Neelesh Ranjan

MBA 2013 - 15

Ruchi Nandita

MBA 2012 - 14

Priti Patil

MBA 2013 - 15

Aditee Thite

MBA 2013 - 15

Rugved Mehta

MBA 2013 - 15

Rohit Ranjan

MBA 2013 - 15

Deepali Sardana

MBA 2012 - 14

reflections august 2013

Documents

thoughts scit

ssr team

goswami ruchi nandita

rendezvous reflections

faculty positions

lot of events

months issue of reflections

independence day celebrations