SHILLONG: EmergE 2013, the Annual Entrepreneurship Summit of IIM Shillong commenced recently. The event was inaugurated by the Director – IIM Shillong, Dr. Amitabha De, who congratulated the students for organizing EmergE 2013.
He stressed on the importance of grooming an individual to be a job creator rather than being content as a job seeker.
Dr. Keya Sengupta, Professor of Economics, and Faculty coordinator, EmergE, also congratulated the students on the excellent execution of an event of such magnitude. She brought to the attention of the audience that such an event was ideal to serve as an excellent platform for the exchange of ideas.
The session meandered into the intricacies of ‘Social Entrepreneurship’, marked by a conclave, which was moderated by Assistant Professor Dr. Sanjeeb Kakoty who has vast experience in the field of documentary making and writing. The esteemed speakers of the conclave were Arun Krishnamurthy, Founder-Environmentalist Foundation of India, Parag Mankeekar, Founder-Director Neeti Solutions and A Muruganantham, Founder-Jayashree Industries; all leading entrepreneurs in their respective domains.
The event commenced with the launch of the inaugural edition of INCUBATOR, the annual entrepreneurship magazine of IIM Shillong and was followed by a panel discussion. The panelists raised concerns about the inability of the people in understanding the challenges of economic development and sustainable environment, thereby stressing the need for entrepreneurs who can garner public interest and contribute towards sustainable economic development.
REVEAL, the inter B-school Case Study Competition, conducted in association with POLARIS as part of EmergE 2013 saw Team Khublei from IIM Shillong emerging as the winners while Team Core Bankers from NMIMS securing the runners up position. The winners took home prize money of Rs. 40,000 while the runners-up won Rs. 20,000.
The event was followed by the e-commerce Conclave, which took place in the evening of September 14, 2013. It witnessed the participation of three experts in e-commerce: Anaggh Desai – Advisor, Retailers’ Association of India, Ms. Rubia Braun – CIO, Metro Brava and. Parikshit Borkotoky – Founder, Kraftinn. Prof. Tara Shankar Shaw, Assistant Professor – IIM Shillong, moderated the discussion.
The discussion analyzed various logistics problems in e-commerce and possible ways to deal with them. The participants of the discussion gained valuable insights into the operational problems in e-commerce in India and the benefits that would give to the Indian consumers.
Also, the discussion explored consumer behavior and the role of the government with respect to e-commerce in India.
The panel unanimously decided that e-commerce is the way forward but it must overcome the present hurdles and come up with innovative solutions in order to grow and tap the huge market potential in India.
The valedictory function was presided over by Prof Sanjoy Mukherjee, Chairman Placement, PR & Student activities.