Address by Mr. Krishna, V.P (HR), Bosch Ltd. @ IGTC Convocation 2010.
H.E. Mr. Matussek, Ambassador of the Federal Republic Of Germany, Mr. Deepak Parekh, Chairman of HDFC Limited, Mr. Steinruecke Director General IGCC, Mrs. Radhieka, Director, IGTC, students and proud parents. I am both honored and delighted to be here today to participate in the Convocation of Batch 2008-2010.
I really don’t know what I did to deserve the compliments that Mrs. Radhieka showered on me, I am yet confused. For us in Bosch we have had a very long and fruitful relation with IGTC starting from 1991 and when Radhieka asked me to share our experience with IGTC, it was very natural I agreed to be a part of this event. Therefore I use this opportunity to share with you some history what students have done with us and what has been our experience.
First of all we have been very happy that some students have stayed with us during attrition and the few that are left are now approaching senior levels in areas of Controlling and Human Resources in Bosch in India. Two students, Pravin Kumar from the 1st Batch of 1991 and Arun Roy, have made their career internationally in Bosch and have nothing to do with India. They are now local managers in Bosch, Australia and U.S.A. respectively.
Coming to a personal note, during my 17 years at Bosch I have been associated with students of IGTC in different areas and functions. My first contact was as the Head of Controlling in Finance in the Nasik plant. I was involved with a few students during their project phases in the plant. Thereafter I recollect one of my happiest memories as a Plant Manager in Jaipur where I met one of the IGTC students who actually wanted to get into Materials function. I thrust him into HR against his will, later he flowered and was the star of the company but he left for personal reasons and today is doing very well and risen very fast in Airtel in North India.
As stated earlier our association with IGTC has been very long standing one, 20 years to be precise. Coming to the recent past we are happy to have continuously recruited students over the last 3 years. Last year despite the recession we took 6 students, this year 7, earlier 2, in all 15 students from IGTC. They are now placed in various different functions. We have people working in HR, Accounts, Sales, Controlling, Finance, Purchase, Marketing and that says it all. We have also secured international internships for students for 3 months at our parent company in Germany. This is what we cherish and would want to do. We started this in 2008 and so far 9 students have got projects in Germany and have come back enriched both personally and professionally with this experience. We will persist with this endeavor in coming years as well.
Our experience with IGTC students has been extremely positive. They have as employees lived up to their potential which they showed at their training phases and worked on projects in varied areas. In addition what we found was that the close association in ways of internships helps them to gradually adjust to and imbibe the culture of Bosch and Bosch has a very distinctive and strong culture. They also develop a close and strong bond with the organization during this period.
The hallmark of this system is the German Dual System of Education. It gives a student a very clear practical edge at work and they come out clearly with their head on their shoulder and not in the clouds. Theoretical studies quickly get correlated to actual projects when they come and therefore as employers the learning curve is speeded up. Exposure to various departments’ multi-skills them and they get an opportunity to work in a number of areas. We are very happy to have rotated number of commerce students in different functions in their careers. During their stint in Bosch they network with middle-senior management and therefore it is very easy for them to take up a new job at the end of their education.
In conclusion I would like to compliment Indo-German Training Centre in providing us at Bosch with this steady stream of talent in its own typical understated way and I congratulate Ms. Radhieka Mehta and her excellent team for their efforts. I think you need a big round of applause. Finally I wish the students a bright future ahead. The power of India is in the energy of its youth. May your generation use that power and that energy to transform a country’s future and to shape your career.
