Testimonials

The second Indo-German HR Forum in 2016 was held on 10th May 2016 at the Mercedes-Benz India Limited (MBIL) premises in Pune. The theme of the day was Employee Engagement Strategies with special focus on Blue Collared Workforce. The entire meet, organized mainly by Mr. Suhas Kadlaskar, Director – Corporate Affairs & Human Resources and Ms. Colleen D’Souza, Deputy General Manager – HR Development & Performance Management, was a reflection of superlative standards of excellence and attention to detail after all it had to be “The Best or Nothing”.  Simply put – it left all the HR managers STAR Struck!

The MBIL Centre of Excellence was the venue for the day.  As the top management of MBIL welcomed each of the participants, the famed STAR hospitality could not be missed – personalized agenda sheets, planned seating to ensure that the group gets completely integrated with each other and constant service of refreshments. If one was not already STAR-Struck by then, the endearing Welcome Video of a baby in the driving seat of a MBIL prototype futuristic automated driving car, surely did the trick!

“People are our No. 1 assets. According to me, the role of HR is to balance our needs and engage in cross functional activities across employees. At Mercedes-Benz India, we believe that Trust, Motivation and Right Communication are the key to achieving this balance.  Experience has shown that appreciation by the management has a positive reflection on Blue Collared Workers”. With these short but impactful words, Mr. Roland Folger, MD & CEO, MBIL delivered his Welcome Address and set the tone for the meet.  An in-depth overview on MBIL’s strategy for India was given by Mr. Kadlaskar and Mr. Piyush Arora, Executive Director – Operations.

The introductory session was followed by an extremely innovative, exciting and unique HR Marketplace. Based on four STAR models, all the HR managers were split into four groups of and taken around four stations.  Each station showcased four key HR areas of work – Talent Acquisition, Employee Engagement, Industrial Relations and Learning & Development,– via poster charts.  Senior MBIL HR representatives who were stationed at these focus areas gave detailed explanations and patiently answered the barrage of questions.   This was truly an igneous idea and “food for thought”, and many of the partners expressed the desire to implement something similar in their own organization.

Post lunch, the Cerebrus team lead by Mrs. Varda Pendse, Director and Shalini Mishra, Senior Consultant ensured that one did not fall prey to the post-lunch slumber syndrome by engaging everyone in a quiz based on IR policies.  The teams, based on seating arrangements, were highly competitive as each correct answer won the respective team a bar of chocolate!

Now, having the full attention of the participants, the topic of the day – Employee Engagement Strategies with special focus on Blue Collared Workforce was brought into the forefront.  Cerebrus made a presentation on Trends in Engaging with Workforce at the Shop floor which covered the following areas: Changes in employment model and profile; Compensation structure and benefits; Skill upgradation approaches; Career growth and progression; and Managing performance.

At the end, the unanimous feedback was that the STAR truly lived up to its expectations. The networking, interaction and learnings were immensely beneficial to the entire forum.  Participating companies were: A.T.E. Enterprises Private Limited, Bajaj Allianz General Insurance Co Ltd, BASF Group, Bharat Forge, Bosch Group, Brose India Automotive Systems Pvt. Ltd., Evonik India Private Limited, Häfele India Pvt. Ltd., HDFC ERGO General Insurance Co. Ltd., INA Bearings India Pvt. Ltd., KSB Pumps Ltd., LANXESS India Private Limited, Schaeffler Group and Siemens Limited.

These were some of the statements made by the German students of the Duale Hochschule Baden Wuerttemberg (DHBW) at the end of their 13 days – Business Environment India, International Student Exchange Program which took place from 10th – 21st January 2016 at IGTC Mumbai. This international exchange between IGTC and DHBW has become a tradition as it started in 2012 and with each year it has grown in its significance and value addition for the German students as well as for the partnering institutes.  This year, the 21 students were accompanied by Professor Volker Ihle, Dean of the Business and Engineering Program at DHBW and Founding Director of IGTC India and the newly appointed Dean of DHBW Karlsruhe, Prof. Dr. Stephan Schenkel. During the course of the program, Prof. Hans-Peter Mengele, Director General, IHK Karlsruhe and his wife also joined the delegation for a few days.

The program literally got off to a “sizzling” start with the delegates being introduced to the famous Indian Sizzlers during the Welcome Dinner on 10th January 2016. Mr. Bernhard Steinruecke, Director General, IGTC formally welcomed the delegation at IGCC on 11th and gave them an overall view on the bi-lateral trade relations and thereafter, the Mumbai Highlights bus tour gave them an introduction to the city which never sleeps. And the first day concluded with a traditional Gujarati Thali dinner.

The program consisted of a mix of industry lectures on topics like Logistics, Economy, Marketing, Advertising and the Indian conglomerate TATA as well as company visits to Tech Mahindra, Mercedes Benz, Bosch Chassis, Siemens Kalwa, Godrej and the Associated Cement Companies (ACC). They also visited institutes such as the German Consulate General, Bombay Stock Exchange (BSE) and Reserve Bank of India (RBI) and got a feel of the “charitable “as well SME side of Mumbai through the visit of Dharavi and the NGO IMCARES which works with children of Dharavi.

The practical aspect of the lecture on the Logistic Industry was demonstrated by a live interaction with a Dabbawala and IGTC students along with their professor demonstrated the cultural aspects of India and patiently answered questions such as – what is the “Bindi”, what is the right “dress-code” etc.  Prior to visiting ACC they visited the construction site India Bulls Project at Lower Parel and from the 25th floor of the under construction luxury tower they were treated to a “top view” of Mumbai. And as one cannot leave Mumbai without seeing the Elephanta Caves and Crawford Market, those were also visited. At Crawford Market they got an impression of a “local” shop as they visited a perfumery and garment shop owned by an IGTC student’s family.
 

They were taught some Bollywood dance steps by IGTC students, who not only accompanied them to some of the program points but also “entertained” and introduced them to the night life of Mumbai throughout their stay. The German female students were super excited and full of gratitude about their Mehndi session which the IGTC had exclusively arranged for them.

On 21st January 2016, the German students gave their final presentations that would help them to earn a grade back at the DHBW.  Thereafter, they were taken on a nostalgic walk to Marine Drive to witness the sunset while sipping on coconut water before heading for the Farewell Dinner at The Village in Cuffe Parade on a double decker bus.  And just like the start of their exchange it ended with a sizzling “impromptu” dance and song sequence at the restaurant where everyone present – from IGTC & German students along with their faculty danced and sang with such gaiety and were so much in sync with each other like the perfect Indo-German relationship.

This compact seminar was a very life-enriching experience for me! I learnt so much about the Indian culture in professional as well personal life. The Indians are very friendly people and this was very much reflected in the program. I can only advise/urge everyone to take part in this exchange as it also visibly changes how one views certain things in life! – Moritz Obermueller, Business Administration and Engineering, Michelin Reifenwerke

Delegation from DIHK led by Dr.Martin Wansleben, CEO of DIHK, visited IGTC on 23rd March, 2016.
Dr. Wansleben was accompanied by Dr. Jürgen Friedrich, CEO of Germany Trade and Invest, Matthias Kruse, MD of IHK Rhein-Neckar, Benjamin Leipold Head of AHK-Network of DIHK and Nadine Fund, Head South/SE Asia/ Asia Pacific of DIHK.

The Association of German Chambers of Commerce and Industry (Deutscher Industrie- und Handelskammertag, DIHK) is the central organisation for 79 Chambers of Commerce and Industry, CCI (Industrie- und Handelskammern, IHKs) in Germany and 90 AIHK (Auslandshandelskammern) worldwide. DIHK has been awarding Industriekauffrau and Industriekaufmann (Industrial Manager) certificate to IGTC students on successful completion of the Post Graduate Program in Business Administration. The Certificate from DIHK has added immense value to the IGTC students and alumni and has opened opportunities to shape-up their career globally.

So when Mr.Wansleben, who personally signs these certificates every year, visiting IGTC was a perfect occasion to present the Industriekauffrau certificate to Tasanya D’lima, winner of the Dr.Günter Krüger Award for Excellence 2016 along with graduating students from PGPBA Batch 2014-2016.

Students from the graduating batch and the junior batch were present to meet the delegation. Abbas and Surbhi from the graduating batch shared their experience of IGTC and the new journey into corporate life. Their small speech interspersed with Deutsch was appreciated by the guests. Learning German language and learning about German culture through various events and meeting distinguished dignitaries has been an added advantage to student life at IGTC.

Tasanya highlighted the advantage of learning German language at IGTC while sharing her successful journey  at IGTC, ‘When we completed the 1st level of German language, we realised that this not end of it. Hence, when an opportunity was presented to us to pursue the next level of Language, we grabbed it immediately. Learning the language helped us in learning the culture as well ‘.
Tasanya would be travelling to Berlin to take German language course as a part of the Dr.Günther Krüger Award Prize.

Sharing her experience of internship at Bosch plant in Jaipur, Tasanya added, ‘I could learn a lot in the 6 months I spent at Bosch. I have studied about Production processes and Industrial engineering in college. But to see a plant working live in front of me was completely different feeling. When you see them firefighting, trying to meet deadlines, is something you will never be able to grasp just by reading the textbooks or attending lectures.’

Dr.Wansleben shared his happiness about being at IGTC and getting to meet young Indian students.
“I am very happy to be here. When people really understand India than they talk about happy people, about their incredible zest for life. I also wish that with the opportunities you get through further education at IGTC, you can pass on the happiness, the vigour to others l and motivate them to learn something”.

2016 is a significant year for the Indo-German Training Centre (GTC), as it marks 25 years of successfully practicing the famed German Dual Education model in India. Placement for the 57 students of the PGPBA Batch 2014-2016 commenced in January 2016 immediately after the final training phase was completed and by end of February more than 80% of the students were placed – a new IGTC record!  They got placed in the field of Sales and Marketing, Corporate Finance, Plant Controlling, Legal and Compliance, Human Resources, Operations, Corporate Communications, to name a few. Despite the challenging market conditions, this phenomenal rate of placement reiterated the recognition given to the IGTC for their high quality management training and values by the Indo-German business community!

The first student to get placed was Unmesh Chandak who got his Offer Letter in October 2015 by his training company Hirschvogel Components India Pvt. Ltd. even before starting his final internship phase in the month of November 2015. This is what he had to say about his journey from an intern to an employee:  “My internship projects were really helpful to learn new tools and techniques in Operations. The confidence and inspiration given by my mentors helped me to perform better. Now my new challenge is to develop Hirschvogel production System in-line with Toyota Production System and I am really excited about working on this project.”

Even this batch had a significant conversion of internships into employment as the General Business Management curriculum of IGTC gives a strong base to management career across various functions in companies. One such example is Ketki Sonawane, a qualified Electrical Engineer who interned with Siemens Ltd. and now is part of their Corporate Communication team: “Siemens has been an amazing learning opportunity during my internship tenure. Now I am more excited to learn the insights of the Corporate Communications department. I consider myself very fortunate to join the same organization along with the same team where I was interning with.”

Incidentally Siemens, a Founding Member Organization of the IGTC, has been one of the biggest recruiter this year with around 15% students placed with the company.  Bosch Limited and GEP Consulting have also been major recruiting partners with 19% of the students placed in these two companies. Siddhant Karnik, who interned and got placed with Bosch at their plant in Nashik recollects those moments: “I still remember the selection process at IGTC, the joy of getting a chance to intern with Bosch was immense. Internship was just a stepping stone I had landed upon. The next thing step was to be a Boschler. Today I can proudly say YES I AM A BOSCHLER”

Prestigious partnering organizations associated with IGTC are dream employers for many students. Ajita Shringarpure , trained by Rittal India and placed with Mercedes Benz through the IGTC  Open Placement process had this to say: “Who hasn’t heard of Mercedes Benz? Yet, never even in my wildest dreams had I thought of working there. I am joining Mercedes as Manager – After Sales and I am incredibly excited about it! It’s a new adventure for me; something which would have been impossible to achieve without IGTC!” 

This year, the IGTC also welcomed new associates like Terragni Consulting to its fold. Prajkta Shimpi, who got placed through Open Placement with Terragni Consulting, shares her journey:“IGTC stands out differently among all other MBA institutes because of its unique placement process structure! I was interning with Knorr- Bremse Technology Centre, and during my internship was in the HR department, I realised that I wanted to pursue my career in HR related processes. I focused all my energy and all my hard work in the placements and I got placed with Terragni Consulting Pvt. Ltd. I consider this as a big time opportunity as lot of exposure is involved in the profile”.

Other key recruiting partners at IGTC have been B Braun Medical India, Baja Aliianz General Insurance Co., Bharat Forge , Bayer Group, Bosch Group, Cerebrus Consulting, Colliers International, DBOI global Services, Evolute Group, Extentia Information Technology, GEP Consulting, Groz-Beckert, Häfele India,  KSB Pumps, LAPP Group,  Neilsoft Limited, Oasis Resource Management, Schaefer Systems, Schaeffler Group, Sheorey Digital Systems, TÜV India and Urban Ladder.

It is moment of great pride and happiness as these students start their career with these renowned organisations and we hope sky is the only limit for their achievements. The PGPBA 2015-2017 will be a new challenge altogether with 78 students graduating – an all-time record at the IGTC! But with the continuous faith and support from the industry, faculty, alumni and all others who have so far immensely contributed to the success of the Placement Process, we look forward to 2017 placements!

“Today is a celebration” with this opening statement, the President of the Indo-German Chamber of Commerce (IGCC) , Mr. Hubert Reilard welcomed everyone to the Indo-German Training Centre’s (IGTC) 23rd Convocation Ceremony  of Batch 2014-2016 in Graduate Program in Business Administration (PGPBA) held on Thursday, 25^th February 2016. And what a celebration it was for the 57 students who received their certificates for completing the 18 months course in the presence of their parents, dignitaries, representatives from the Indo-German business community,   IGTC faculty, IGTC Batch 2015-2017 and well-wishers.

The Opening Remarks by Mr. Bernhard Steinruecke, Director General, Indo-German Chamber of Commerce (IGCC) got the Convocation Ceremony started followed by Mr. Reilard, who besides calling it a celebration, also emphasized the importance of staying in a company for at least 2-3 years:“Don’t change jobs fast because your ideas will only come to fruit over time and you will only know of the results if you stick around. The results are the only thing in life that can tell you how good or bad your ideas are”.  He went on to say: “Realize that small companies play an important role in the German Economy as about 85% of domestic products in Germany come from small companies (SMEs). Even the Chamber President (referring to himself)today comes from a small German Company (he is the Managing Director, EFD Induction Limited). In conclusion he quoted the famous line “the best way to realize your dreams is to wake up”!

When Radhieka R Mehta, Director of IGTC called upon the next speaker, an IGTC faculty, to share his experience of being at IGTC, it was a sight to behold as 57 graduates gave a standing ovation to Professor Mankad also, popularly known as the Sachin Tendulkar of Economics. He literally wooed and moved the audience with his emotional speech to such an extent that everyone including the speakers became his attentive/mesmerized “students”!  He started out by stating that IGTC to him is like the tree in Gautam Buddha’s story which stood forever and IGTC would be the last institute he would give up as being part of such an institute has kept him a student! He went on to say that instead of using the “Convocation” for today’s ceremony, he would rather use the American terminology “Commencement” as “the rest of your life commences from today – stepping forward to a new journey”. He asked the students to internalize VUCA (Volatility, Uncertainty, Complexity and Ambiguity) in every sphere of their lives as “Success is keeping up with the world as it changes”. He concluded his speech, to a rousing round of applause and once again to a standing ovation from the students by quoting J K Rowling: “Don’t fear failure”

The next speaker, Mrs. Colleen D’souza, Deputy General Manager, Human Resources, Mercedes Benz spoke on behalf of IGTC’s Business Partners. In her speech she narrated how the “Tristar’s” association with IGTC came about: “Weat Mercedes-Benz India piloted our first IGTC internship program in the year 2014 with 2 Students.  First impressions do count! It is the business experience with these two that paved the way for the next batches of 4 interns in 2015 and 7 in 2016.  Internships apart, our corporate connect, has been enriched through the several IGTC alumni who are employed at our company  and 16 of our employees successfully completed the Executive Business Management Course (EBMP)  course in 2015 and another 15 will do so at the end of this year”. Her parting thoughts to the students were her 4 principle lessons through which she learns and gains wisdom: 1.Stay in realm of Learning, 2. Seize opportunity when it comes your way, 3. Stay rooted in Principles and Values and 4.Let your Light Shine.

The first Guest of Honour Mr. Michael Siebert, Consul General, German Consulate in Mumbai, championed the German Dual Education System and applauded the IGTC for doing such an incredible job in promoting and implementing this famed system for the last 25 years. For the students he had this to say: “The pioneers of this program are you students with Indo-German careers. You have all the keys to open new doors between the two countries. You have with you, all the necessary ingredients – in terms of people, businesses, culture and economies. You’re set on a path of opportunities both in India and perhaps Germany as well”.  He also thanked the corporates for their continuous support and cooperation without which this kind of education would not be possible.

Burkhard Thost, THOST Projektmanagement GmbH & President, IHK Nordschwarzwald (North Black Forest), the second Guest of Honour  commended the students on their achievements and looks forward to having them as future partners and key staff in the Indian branches of German organizations. He rounded up his speech by saying: “I believe it would be brilliant if our economies were to grow with the Indian Heart and the German Thinking”.

The Keynote address by Dr. Steffen Berns, Managing Director, Bosch Ltd. and President, Bosch Group India, gave valuable insights into the working culture of Bosch whose foundations are based on Ethics, Customer Focus and Employees. He credited the success of Bosch to the fact that all Boschlers (as Bosch employees are known) are trained across all possible fields of studies and in different forms leading to Life Long Learning. He also cautioned the students by saying: “Though you’ve been prepared and you are ready for the rest of your life, always be humble and prepared to be challenged. Never deviate from the path of ethics and values as money lost can be earned back but not reputation”.  His encouragement to the students was to work on their hobbies and give back to society in order to remain social beings instead of becoming dull. And also hone their freshly acquired skills as such leaders take responsibility for their actions and make changes happen as “success stories don’t just happen. They are made. And that – by people like you”.

“Mit einem indischem Herz und einem deutschen Gehirn, IGTC has practically made us half Germans by exposing us to every aspect of the German culture & its wonderful people” this was one of the many “learnings” the “real” stars/ VIPs of the day- the graduates shared while taking the dais. Three students on behalf of the class reminiscence about their 18 month journey and classmates and another two shared their experience as interns with Siemens and Häfele in a lively banter interspersed with witty dialogues about their fellow students, lecturers and IGTC life in general.  The specially created short film, documenting their journey drew lots of laughter, amusement and applause from the audience. As they left the dais they had these rather profound words to say: “As we carry the expectations of 25 years of a legacy, all we would like to say, “Be phenomenal or be forgotten”.
Before the concluding part of the ceremony, the Director of IGTC for the last time addressed the batch: “It has been wonderful that our paths crossed for the last 18 months, and we shared this journey together.  These memories have been imbibed in my heart forever, and I hope that the learnings and qualities remain ingrained on your soul.  Uphold the legacy of IGTC in every aspect of your professional and personal lives, love your life ahead and stay happy forever!”

The ceremony concluded with the distribution of certificates to the graduating batch and awarding ofAwards of Merit to certain students.

Bayer Scholarship Award: This award is also called Championing Success was conceptualized under the leadership of Mr. KS Harish, Country Group HR Head of Bayer and keenly implemented by the HR department.  Through a rigorous and exhaustive selection process, they identify some of the best talent at IGTC and reward them with a cash scholarship of Rs. 50000/-.  This year there were four recipients:  Tousif Chamanshaikh, Vipul Bajaj, Aishwarya Patwardhan and Urvil Matalia and Mr.VaibhavRane, Country Expert – Talent Attraction, Bayerhanded out the certificates and cheques.

BASF Award: Through a specially-designed curriculum for 24 hours, top management from BASF including the Chairman and Managing Director step into the shoes of being a faculty, into the IGTC classroom to engage the students into a course that sensitized them on the topic of Business Ethics and Corporate Governance. This initiative is now in its fourth year at IGTC and is indeed a very large commitment in terms of time and effort from the organization and the IGTC is greatly indebted to BASF for this deep involvement.  This year’s recipient was Ms. Shweta Deshpande and she received her award fromMr.  Raman Ramachandran, Chairman & Managing Director, BASF India. Before handing out the award Mr. Ramachandran reminded the students that in professional life, one’s ethics and values will be tested on a daily basis in a number of ways and the one thing that is not appointed by a majority vote is one’s conscience. He also asked them to think about how they would like to leave a legacy and why some people are talked about long after they have left a company : “This is not because of new technologies or new systems as much as it is because of their respective exemplary code of ethics”.

Dr. Günter Krüger Award of Excellence:  This is to recognize and award the Top Two at IGTC; the very best! Their success is a culmination of their academic grades at IGTC and practical training results.  And they are presented with the prestigious Dr. Guenter Krueger Award for Excellence from the Indo-German Chamber of Commerce.  This award gives the student an opportunity to study a language course with the Goethe-Institut in Germany and to understand best business practices in Germany through hands-on, practical training in his/her company.  The formal certificate will be given at the 60^th AGM of the Indo-German Chamber of Commerce, but in the meantime they are awarded with a small trophy for their outstanding performance.  And after 10 years, a young lady, Ms. Tasanya D’limareceived this award along withMr. Vivek Kulkarni.

For the 3rd consecutive year, IGTC’s partner university – Duale Hochschule Baden-Württemberg (DHBW) hosted 26 IGTC students from 3rd to 15th October 2015 in Karlsruhe, Germany. Just like the previous years, this exchange program has become a highlight in the IGTC student’s life as it not only gives them an understanding of Germany’s business culture and its people but also memories, experiences and friendships that go way beyond the “academics” of life.

Harsh Sanghavi from the PGPBA Batch 2014-2016 Batch and Management Trainee with Mercedes Benz India quotes, “My father coerced me to take part in this trip. Today, I thank him profusely for his decision and wisdom, because had it not been for him, I would have missed the opportunity of a lifetime to experience Germany in such a profound and exhilarating way. I had the best time of my life all thanks to my father and IGTC!”

Here’s a narrative of the impactful intercultural visit as experienced by the students:

Willkommen in Deutschland

As our flight took off, close to a month’s worth of anticipation made time and distance seemingly fly past by our windows. Fifteen hours later, as we made our way to the bus bound for Karlsruhe, the driver warmly welcomed each one of us. This first glimpse of German hospitality kept getting embedded deeper through the duration of the program. Our chef at the Jugendherberge Karlsruhe (Youth Hostel), had even looked up Indian recipes on the internet to somehow try to match our Indian palate. The professors patiently shared their professional and personal experiences with us and our German student-counterparts, with whom we instantly bonded as friends, completed the ‘international exchange’ and made us feel right at home.

Professor Volker Ihle, Dean of the Business and Engineering Program at DHBW and Founding Director of IGTC Mumbai, welcomed us and gave a brief introduction on DHBW and Karlsruhe, ayoung city, aging close to three hundred years.  He and his ever so efficient team organized an amazing program for us – packed with a good balance of business and social lessons from an intercultural perspective.

Inspiring Guest Lectures

Our first formal lecture was with Mr. Rajiv Kumar, a senior International Project Manager at Siemens AG. Through topics such as investment management, decision making, project costing and crisis management in an “unconventional” market like Iraq, he gave us a glimpse of the factors one would need to consider while executing an international project. This was our first taste of internationalization, albeit from a broad, generalized perspective.

Communicating with people from different parts of the world was discussed through a lecture conducted by Dr. Sherida Altehenger Smith, an American professor married to a German and teaching at the DHBW.  Her lively presentation on the different aspects of communication along with various interactive exercises made us realize the importance of being understanding and respectful of different cultures.
Mr. Ashutosh Kumar, Chief Business Consultant, Head of Mobile/UX Strategy Services for EMEA region, SAP Germany gave us a perspective on working for an MNC.  He explained to us the nuances and scenarios involved in setting up a business in either India or Germany.  At the end of his session he mentioned that even though Germany and India seem so different in many aspects but when it comes to business, both have the same fundamentals and values.  This is why they are such strong partners in trade as well as culture.

Company and Institutional Visits: Be a Trend Maker, Not a Trend Taker

German companies as well as institutions are known to have mastered the art of “Being Trend Makers instead of Trend Takers”. Their approach, methodology and strategy were not just “eye-openers” but also made us understand why German companies are such industry leaders and giants. The emphasis and investments seem to be in R&D, in order to ensure highly quality, sustainable and niche products without compromising on the famous ‘Made in Germany” brand.

Siemens AG in Siemensalle, Karlsruhe, was our first company visit. Founded in 1950, as manufacturers of Printed Circuit Boards (PCB’s), they started off with providing for radios and televisions. Today, they continue to be one of the biggest technology drivers in the world, pushing the boundaries of globalization, urbanization and digitalization. The factory tour showed us that their focus was on manufacturing large and complex products with moderate volumes; approximately producing 800 different kinds of PCBs and industrial computers on 9 production lines. Thereafter we had a session on Total Integrated Automation (TIA) which provided more information on the aspects of process automation and manufacturing automation.

The Mercedes Benz factory in Rastatt, a nearly fully automated manufacturing plant was an “out of the world” experience. The sheer visual impact of seeing robots at work for four assembly lines – A, B, CLA and GLA class of vehicles – felt like being a part of a “science fiction” movie.  A guided tour of each stage of the assembly of a car, showed us the “Fishbone System” and it’s enablement of Just-in-Time and Just-in-Sequence, inspiring ideas that can be implementable back home. The factory uses a variety of KUKA robots including the complex 6-axis/7-axis KUKA models. Other precision based processes like Lazer Brazing, Spot Welding, Stud Welding, Clinching etc. are also done by robots. We also saw the Siemens industrial computers at work!

From hardcore manufacturing, our journey took us to the 3^rd largest software company in the world – SAP. The SAP Pavilion, designed to showcase the services of SAP in a “humanized” form through interactive gadgets and visuals, was a real treat. One cannot leave SAP without meeting HANA, an in-memory data platform that is deployable as an on-premise appliance, or in the CLOUD. These advanced ERP systems have been introduced in 2015 to further broaden the CLOUD technology platform and make the delivery of software easier to customers.  The presentations by Mr. Ashutosh Kumar and Mr. Markus Bell focused on SAP’s Global Vocational Training and the Importance of Digital Businesses.

On the Technology, Research and Development front, we got a chance to visit the prestigious Karlsruhe Institute of Technology (KIT) – one of the top ranked institutes in the world.  We saw first-hand how KIT caters to all research and development across the spectrum – be it from nano-technology to ‘Zebrafish’.  The process of making fuel from ‘hay’ as a substitute for petrol and diesel is currently into development at KIT. In another world of science, KATRIN a massive super-cooled, electromagnetic particle accelerator is being built and worked upon to study the mass of a neutrino.

SEW Eurodrive, a family owned business but a market leader in drive technology with 79 Drive Technology Centres (DTC’s), uses full automation to manufacture all types of industrial gear systems for the B2B industry.  SEW Eurodrive uses real-time part monitoring systems to check and verify their parts against defects. We also saw line following/self-guiding robots, made by ‘Eisenmann’ that pick up pallets from the source, navigate the route on their own to the destination without any input from the operator, and then place the pallets at the desired position. Another set of robots, ‘Lisa’ lift and place the pallets into the desired racks.  In essence, SEW demonstrated to us how a company that operates on a global platform must implement the philosophy – “Think global, but act local.”

LAPP Kabel (Cables), another family owned business, is the leading manufacturer of copper cables, connectors and multi-purpose wires and truly a Stuttgart SME. In our minds, this was a delight from the operations management perspective where “theory met practice” – where fast and lean processes are at the center of the value system of the LAPP group.  KANBAN, Jidoka, Vendor Management, Classical Re-order, High Deliverance, etc. are the activities on which the LAPP group emphasizes to maintain a fast pace in its production line.

DM – Drogerie Markt, an original Karlsruhe company, is a leading chain of supermarket stores dealing in cosmetics and healthcare products.  At this visit, after an introduction to retail marketing, we were made to participate in an interactive activity. We were involved in a feedback process about its existing products – including suggestions and opinions about the design elements, across their product range to give us an understanding of branding in Germany. The highlight was the team exercise, wherein each team had to create and market their own products from scratch with raw material provided by them within an hour’s time.

The visit to the IHK, the German Chamber of Commerce and Industry in Karlsruhe gave us an understanding of how the Chamber of Commerce is an asset to any company seeking to set up business in Germany. The structure and provisions of IHK were described in great detail, to us by Mrs. Sonja Waldherr-Rummel, Sr. Aide Occupational Training Int’l with emphasis on the importance of the dual-system of education. She enlightened us as to how best we could maximize the advantages of the dual-system of education practiced at IGTC and incorporates it into our corporate lives.

The reception and meeting with the Erster Bürgermeiser (First Mayor) of Karlsruhe, Mr. Wolfram Jäger at the Mayoral Guest House gave us the experience of socializing and networking amongst the political establishment. He will be visiting Mumbai, India with the Karlsruhe delegation in January 2016 and we extended an invitation to visit IGTC during that time.

Cultural Highlights

In Karlsruhe, we explored the city extensively especially the shopping malls! The Schloss Bruchsal, an ornate 18^th century Baroque palace was a splendid example of how the country preserves its architecture, culture, heritage and history. In Heidelberg, the quaint little tourist and student city, our tour guide was a Senior Citizen who put all of us to shame with her abundant energy and enthusiasm. We also got to see a live wedding shoot and an impromptu street music performance by our very own classmates!  Thanks to Europe’s steepest, and most technically advanced, funicular railway, we conquered the landmark Merkur Mountain of Baden-Baden, located at an altitude of 2,191 feet.The view from there was literally breath-taking. In Stuttgart, we were lucky to experience the last weekend of the Oktoberfest. The jaw dropping rides, food, music and hoards of people made us feel right at home. The visit to the famous Mercedes Benz Museum made us fall all over again “in love” with “The Star”. To show off our sporting skill, we visited The Kletterpark – a multi-tasking outdoor adventure sports activity centre. At the Black Forest we not only got to see the making of a Black Forest cake but also visited the Open Air Museum Vogtsbauernhof- a live demonstration of how people lived and worked in Black Forest farmhouses during the last 400 years.

Auf Wiedersehen and Danke Schoen

All good things have to come to an end and after 13 exciting and enriching days, we said “Tschüß” to Germany and our lifelong friends.  Now we look forward to saying “Swagat” to the DHBW Business Environment Mumbai, India delegation in January 2016!

Contributed by: Anubhav Deb, Pankaj Murali and Rohan Raj (2015-2017 Batch)

Post Graduate Program in Business Administration Batch 2015 – 2017

IGTC – The Kindergarten for Business Enthusiasts!

“Here’s to the crazy ones, the misfits, the rebels, the troublemakers, the round pegs in the square holes… the ones who see things differently! And while some may see them as the crazy ones, we see genius, because the ones, who are crazy enough to think that they can change the world, are the ones who do.”

– Steve Jobs

It is one thing when these ‘crazy ones’ are working with you, or for you. The game, however, is drastically redefined when they’re the ones you learn from. At IGTC, to our absolute delight, we’ve found them, not just in teachers (the Faculty), but also mentors (the Administration) and leaders (the Directors) – all working in tandem to help us walk the right path. The classes aren’t only about subjects, they also include life lessons that equip us for the world at large. Disciplined work and work ethics go hand in hand here. That’s why the alumni are so illustrious and that is the legacy each new batch attempts to uphold, andhas ‘managed’ toso far.

“In a nutshell, IGTC in itself stands tall on its values of hard work, integrity and discipline. I look forward to embarking on this journey of knowledge and aspirations. – Gitu Kumar, trainee with Siemens Limited”

“IGTC is a place where minds are enlightened and encouraged to look beyond the usual while people are made ready for stable and sustainable careers.” – Sapna Ashar, trainee with DBOI Global Services

Shedding some light on the German Dual Education System, it is imperative for students to be selected at least by one company (affiliated to the Indo-German Chamber of Commerce) to be accepted into the  program. The selection is determined by an exhaustive process involving IGTC Written Test, Group Discussions and Personal Interviews. The Post Graduate Program in Business Administration provides a combination of learning from a distinguished faculty and training with some of the leading global organisations. Doing so, there is a remarkable learning environment, which adds new dimension to the experience of doing a business management program. The General Management curriculum has a variety of subjects from different areas, giving us deeper insight into the corporate world.

“Words fall short to express the sense of pride and accomplishment, when you are selected as a trainee with the world’s leading German organisations!” – Rohan Raj, trainee with Schaefer Systems International

Our very first lesson came from Ms. Radhieka R Mehta, Director – IGTC, during the interviews before we began the course – ‘If the journey is perfect, the outcome will not matter’.  Each student of this batch – perhaps like those before us – already speaks of the course as a journey; and we recognise already that there can be no compromise for hard work, sincerity or punctuality at any point along the way.

“The new book is opened, has just begun! Look, it is the first page! And it is a beautiful one!” – Shivani Joshi, trainee with Mercedes-Benz India

“At IGTC I’ve found a second home and family. Each professor has told us that we’re back in Kindergarten. Our seniors feel more like big brothers and sisters, and absolutely everybody cares” – Ninad Naik, trainee with Euro Diesel Group

“The perfect start to the IGTC journey. We were warmly welcomed to be part of not merely an institution, but a family.” – Anaita Lobo, trainee with SCHOTT Glass India

At our induction, we had the privilege of meeting and being addressed by Mr. Bernhard Steinruecke, Director General, Indo-German Chamber of Commerce. His energy was contagious, his humour enrapturing and his words were priceless. Mr. Steinruecke got us acquainted to the big family we were about to become a part of. Our seniors, whose shoes we must prepare to fill, left a lasting impact on us with their contribution to our induction. At the root of the bond between us lies the fact that from the very beginning, they’ve been around to pat our backs and give us a broad smile, saying “It’s going to be okay! This journey is about fun and learning. And we are here whenever needed.” Once you are comfortable and happy where you are and the people you are with, the journey becomes a life time experience

“We got a warm welcome from IGTC. The treasure hunt changed the dynamics of the entire batch by the evening. It was fun, broke the ice, and taught us so much. Thanks to our dear seniors.” – Rupali Patil, trainee with LANXESS India

“This was the perfect welcome. The seniors showed us all the important places we will need to know. I came to realise I’d made the perfect decision in becoming a part of this institution that now feels like family.” – Girija Kshirsagar, trainee with Volkswagen India

“The treasure we discovered that day had no colour, shape or physical form. What we found were grassroots of the propitious bond between ourselves, our seniors and our mentors. And the promise of a bright future.” – Rohit Sathe, trainee with Thyssenkrupp Industries India

Groucho Marx’s famous remark, “Time flies like an arrow. Fruit flies like a banana” could be construed to have several meanings. We use it here to say that time is of paramount essence at IGTC. There is little time wasted and a lot of effort put into keeping the work environment lively and progress-intensive. Ready to attend our very first lecture, at 9:00 in the morning, we were straight backed and nervous (with butterflies in the stomach). At 9.05, we were a part of something phenomenal. By the end we wondered at how time had flown. Later in the day, we had a moment of contemplative epiphany when our second lecturer asked us this – “From the day we are born, to the day we die, what is it we try to do anyway?” It’s a strange question: Simple, and without a singularly satisfactory answer.

“IGTC won’t feed you with solutions, it lets you find it yourself.” – Rachita Sejpal, trainee with Euro Diesel Group

Education in its essence, with the right instruction and enthusiasm is intrinsically enjoyable; we caught ourselves wondering (on more than one occasion) if these ‘Gurus’ of their respective fields could even see the elusive metaphorical box we keep trying to think outside of. The same joy of learning, however, is riddled with distinct undertones about how we have to push ourselves more than we ever have to succeed here, but it would be worth it. And in this regard of hard work, we find role models in our seniors. The way they conduct themselves, our interactions together, the tips and words of advice make the task seem less daunting, if not endurable.

“IGTC is not just a way of life, it is a much needed nourishment for young minds to grow, excel and prosper in the corporate world.” – Flavia Misquitta, trainee with Siemens Limited

“It’s about being the best we can. This is education created from a purist’s need point. That’s what makes it more fun.” – Anubhav Deb, trainee with DHL Express India

Drawing from ‘Rich Dad, Poor Dad’ – By Robert T. Kiyosaki – IGTC feels like the guiding hand that equips people first successfully get into, and subsequently leave the “Rat Race” far behind, winning as per our own definitions. We will be taught the rules of the game, but left to our own devices; within limits (during the course) set by the stern mother-like hands of the ‘all women team’ that make up the administration.

– Contributed by Anubhav Deb, Flavia Misquitta, Sapna Ashar and Vishavpreet Kaur – PGPBA Batch 2015 – 2017

“Differentiating Workforce Strategy – The Changing Landscape”

Every addition to true knowledge is an addition to Human Power.

This profound thought holds its relevance to the Indo-German HR Partner forum, which is now shaped into a valuable knowledge forum and a great platform of HR fraternity to gain expertise from best practices across German organizations.

On 9th February 2016 Lanxess India hosted the 1st meeting for the forum in 2016, at Lanxess House, Thane. The topic this time was ‘Differentiating Workforce Strategy – The Changing Landscape’, which drew various views from the forum about ‘can one size fit all?’, ‘Person or Position?’, ‘How to identify key positions?’

Senior HR Professionals from Bajaj Allianz General Insurance Co. Ltd., BASF Group, Bosch Group, Evonik India, Häfele India, LANXESS India, Mercedes-Benz India, Schaeffler India, Siemens Ltd., TÜV India, Volkswagen India, Wacker Chemie India added their valuable contribution to the forum.

Lanxess HR Head Ms.Surabhi Mittal along with her team planned an informative and interesting day for discussing the topic along with a twist in tale with adding an angle of Indian Mythology into Business Strategy. Mr.Jacques Parez MD and CFO, Lanxess India presented Lanxess Business and the focus for the organization. His views as a Business Leader gave insights about expectations of top management from HR function. ‘How can HR make difference?’ and ‘How can HR create Competitive Advantage?’, he quizzed the forum for dialogue on these questions and the ideas started flowing. HR Partners from all participating organization shared their views about crucial role HR handles in driving business strategy. Mr.Parez added tremendous value to the discussion by openly sharing his experiences about performance culture in organizations, importance of ‘Fairness’ in evaluating people considering even the external factors affecting performance and many other questions from HR partners.

Mr.B. R. Suresh introduced the workforce strategy adopted by Bosch thorough a spontaneous yet detailed presentation, wherein he shared the templates and tools devised by HR team at Bosch for managing Talent lifecycle and strategic workforce planning. He shared his views and experience about overall topic which were related to other members as well and it resulted in great information exchange.

From the day Lanxess team shared the invitation to the forum, the idea of Chanakya as great HR strategist had left everyone intrigued. So post lunch Mr.Rajesh Kamat took everyone back in time to seek answers about their curiosity. Founder of group More Than HR (MTHR), Mr.Kamat has established link between Indian mythology and business strategy for conducting interesting training programs for organisations. Stories from Indian mythology and case studies of Indian companies were presented to drive crucial HR strategic concepts.

Ms.Surabhi Mittal then presented the case study by Lanxess HR Team on ‘Workforce Differentiation of Business Excellence’ which was one of the Top 6 case studies presented at AIMA case study competition. The case study was very informative, the strategy implemented by Lanxess to identify key positions and managing portfolio of positions to achieve great results was shared with forum as a good read. It was also a good take home about how Lanxess has designed its strategy along the lines of ‘Formula X’ it’s value system and implemented it with effective organizational branding.

As the day came to end, everyone summarized it as a wonderful learning experience with some great exchange of thoughts and wonderfully managed meeting by Lanxess team.

On 20th November, 2012 the Indo-German Training Centre inaugurated the nine-month Executive Business Management Program for 26 high performing managers of Clariant Chemicals India Ltd. at their Learning and Development centre at Thane. The objective of the program is to equip them with a holistic and cross-functional exposure to all aspects of management and the essential thought process and skills required to assume leadership positions in the future within the organization.

The senior managers participating in the program are from diverse functional areas and departments of their organizations like Design & Development, Human Resources, Production & Technology, Sales & Marketing and Technical Services. The inauguration commenced with the traditional lighting of the lamp and the welcome address by the Clariant team.

Ms. Radhieka R Mehta, Director IGTC, gave a brief insight on the training centre’s parent body – Indo-German Chamber of Commerce and its numerous services which it offers to its member companies. She welcomed the participants and expressed that given their rich and diverse work experience; experience-sharing is one of the highlights of the program with each one offering unique learning contexts. She encouraged the participants to make this 9 month journey one of the most enriching and fulfilling experience of their life.

Subsequently, a senior faculty Dr. H.H. Mankad, a Ph.D. in International Finance and a Post-graduate from the University of Pennsylvania, USA, gave an insight to the participants on the highly competitive and dynamic economic environment and the need for professionals to be updated with the current trends in India and the world. He emphasized on the fact that it is essential to have hunger for knowledge and zeal to learn something new each day. This will help them obtain valuable insights on the management concepts and its applicability in the new global context.

We hope and wish that the participants have a very fulfilling and enriching learning journey for the next nine months together.

IGTC conducted a nine-month Executive Business Management Program for Clariant Chemicals, specially customized for 26 of their high performing managers from diverse functional areas and business divisions of the organization. The objective of the program was to equip them with a holistic and cross-functional exposure to all aspects of management and the essential thought process and skills required to assume leadership positions in the future within the organization.

Lectures sessions were conducted by senior IGTC faculty who engaged participants to build knowledge, create understanding in core business principles, nurture sound thinking by providing challenges and opportunities to explore. The participants also interacted activelywhich made learning more enjoyable. To culminate their learning’s of the past nine months the program was concluded with a final Capstone Project where the participants took extra efforts to present significant business plans which could be taken up by the organization in the near future. The projects were evaluated by a panel of distinguished faculty along with Business Heads from the organization.

The program ended with a huge success due to perseverance, determination, time management and complete dedication of the participants. The commitment and hard work of the participants were acknowledged by Dr. Deepak Parikh, CEO and Managing Director of Clariant Chemicals India Ltd. and Mr. Claus Hefner, Head of Group Human Resources by presenting them with certificate of successful completion of the program and a small trophy which served as a symbol of achievement. Mr. Pravin Kalawar, Head HR, Clariant Chemical India Ltd., Ms. Radhieka Mehta, Director, IGTC Mumbai, a few business heads,faculties and other facilitators were all present to encourage and support the participants in their moment of glory.

On 9^th January 2016, IGTC had a special start to its milestone 25^th year, with the Certificate Awarding Ceremony of the EBMP 1^st Pune Batch 2015 and the inauguration of the EBMP 3^rd Pune Batch 2016.

Certificate Awarding Ceremony of EBMP 1^st Pune Batch

Amidst a lot of euphoria and celebration, IGTC hosted the grand Certificate Awarding Ceremony for the 1^st Pune EBMP Batch 2015 at the Poolside of the Courtyard Marriott, Pune City Centre.

The year 2015, wherein IGTC committed itself to bring world-class learning and knowledge building to Pune, had flown by.  After 26 weekends of painstaking effort, hard-work and sacrifices of family life, it was a delight to witness the emotional journey of the 45 managers, as they stood tall amidst their professional network, filled with a sense of pride and accomplishment, while they received their certificate

The formal event commenced with Mr. Bernhard Steinruecke, Director General, Indo-German Chamber of Commerce extending a warm welcome to the talented gathering of professionals comprising of business heads from the organisations, the EBMP participants of all three batches in Pune and their families.  He remarked, “2016 is a very special year as the Indo-German Chamber of Commerce completes 60 years and IGTC completes 25 years of existence in India.  When I see the development of our training activities in India over these 25 years, the growth has been exponential and we just have to continue the graph.  We are happy for our member companies, because we do something that they need.  If our members like our services, there is nothing like it.”

Chief Guest of the evening, Mr. Roland Folger, MD and CEO of Mercedes Benz India endorsed, “I’m very impressed today to see the level of engagement, networking, emotional ties that have been created in this program, the team spirit displayed by the participants and their dedication to make time for this program.  I am very proud of our team of 16 people who have gone through this program.  The one that have finished are so overwhelming motivated and engaged, and I think that this is the spark that also jump over to the participants that will join from now on!

Mr. Umesh Nagarajaiah, MD of Bosch Chassis Systems India shared, “The feedback that I got from my company participants that the whole program covered the basics very well, explicitly, with clear examples and case studies.  The collaborative work that you have done together on your projects really speaks volumes that the course that brought about a change in you.” Further, he emphasised that knowledge is useless if it does not lead to action.  He urged them to sustain the change that they have undergone, to be agile, and to inculcate focus and passion in their daily lives, as that is what will take them places.

Dr. PKC Bose, VC and MD of Saertex India shared a high-spirited video presentation on the thought ‘Finish Strong’.  In his speech, he quoted, “Being an alumni of IGTC is big.  Going forward build your capabilities with focus, commitment, consistency & communication to gear up for the changing business scenario.”

The same joy and excitement resonated in the speeches given by the managers who were a part of the program.  In a heartfelt speech, Amit Talreja, Senior Manager – Finance & Controlling, Brose India Automotive Systems took everyone back to their journey of the year gone by.  Filled with gratitude, Amit spoke highly about the program and said that the practical approach in teaching gave them the direction to move forward.  “Approachability, ability to listen and flexibility to adapt were some of key learnings at IGTC.  It helped us to imbibe how structured we should be, how practical and grounded we should be, and how we can shape your career based on the knowledge that we have gained.”

Shashidhar Pasupulati, Lead Product Manager from Bosch Limited narrated the transition that they experienced through the program, “Over the course of time we realised that we were turning into CEOs. Though we all came from different backgrounds such as Finance, Sales, Operations, today we all speak the same language. We have started to think out-of-the-box and now we know much more about the business ecosystem”.

Shweta Singh, Senior Manager from Mercedes Benz presented the work of her team on their final business project plan on ‘Bonded Warehousing’.  This was the best project as judged by the panel of IGTC faculty.  She recalled, “All the faculty were so unique that I remained motivated throughout the journey to know what more is coming my way.  Their method of sharing practical knowledge and their experiences is what makes the course so special.”

Sameer Surani, Manager-Sales from Mercedes Benz India was specially invited and applauded for his 100% attendance through the program. Ms. Piyusha Jagtap, daughter of Mr. Sudhir Jagtap, General Manager from Bosch Chassis India also shared a few words of happiness on her father’s success.

What echoed through all their speeches was great gratitude towards the exceptional faculty and unconditional support from their family members.  The certificates were distributed among non-stop cheer and applause.  Finally, Mr. Zubin Kabraji, Regional Director of Indo-German Chamber of Commerce raised the Vote of Thanks to all the dignitaries, company members, esteemed faculty of IGTC, EBMP participants and their family members for their presence.

Off the dais, Dr. Harkant Mankad, Faculty, Managerial Economics quoted “I found the Pune EBMP Batch very vibrant and competent, and clearly one of the better batches that I have taught, not only at IGTC but across business schools, nationally and internationally, where I have been teaching!”

Elated participants shared a great time celebrating the special evening with their colleagues and carried the precious memories on the journey forward.  To conclude, within one year, the IGTC program has been an astounding success, far exceeding the expectations of the industry with 125 participants taking the course and 32 companies now partnering in this initiative.  For Radhieka R Mehta, Director, IGTC and the entire IGTC team, it was an evening of great satisfaction as they had somehow been instrumental in changing another set of 45 lives toward a better future, and that is all that mattered!

Inauguration of EBMP 3^rd Pune Batch

IGTC inaugurated its EBMP 3^rd Pune Batch 2016 with a record 50 participants.

Due to positive feedback from their existing employees, organisations such as Bosch Limited, Brose India Automotive Systems Pvt. Ltd., INA Bearings India Pvt. Ltd., Knorr-Bremse Technology Centre India Pvt. Ltd., Mercedes Benz India Pvt. Ltd., Puja Fluid Seals Pvt. Ltd., Thyssenkrupp Industries India Pvt. Ltd., Volkswagen India Pvt. Ltd. & Wirtgen India Pvt. Ltd. continued to endorse the program by nominating more employees.

Some new companies such as Erwin Junker, Garlock India Private Ltd., iHome Furniture Pvt. Ltd., Kendrion (Pune) Pvt. Ltd., Nederman India Pvt. Ltd., Pitre Business Ventures Pvt. Ltd., Softech Controls Pvt. Ltd. &Vulkan Technologies Pvt. Ltd. also chose to join the initiative and take advantage of this executive program for further training of their managers.

IGTC team and faculty welcomed the new participants as they embarked on this one-year journey of appreciation of various business functions.