Testimonials

Our Three Months at IGTC
I am taking a break from reading cases and studying accounting to write a few thoughts about my first term at IGTC. Sitting in my chilling classroom at IGTC, which is so cold probably because they are preparing us for the icy cold weather of Germany, I can’t help but realize that I am sitting in the same classroom as Mr. Arun Roy, CFO, Chevron, had sat when he was reading cases and studying accounting.

As I took my first step into IGTC, I stared at the tall rustic building etched with the name Indo-German Training Centre, and the thought of coming here itself gave me a lot of confidence. As I looked through the vast classroom, I saw the name tags of people who were diverse in every sense. The students came from different parts of the country, some engineers, some arts graduates and some even from the hotel industry.

As much as I was in awe of the environment, part of me was concerned if I would be able to feel comfortable spending so much time with the people whom I have just met. But all my suspicions have now gone down the drain as after spending more than 12 hours every day with my classmates, we have already become very close, just in a three month term.

Change. Or Leadership. These are the topics we often talk about. It’s not a surprise if we hear these discussions in an operations management class or an accounting class. In the end, every subject is linked to each other and to the basic crux of management in some or the other way. Now after 3 months, we can easily relate the Managerial Economics principles with what we had learnt in the Fundamentals of Management class.

We started our journey at IGTC with Descriptive Statistics. Engineers are supposed to be the best at math but thanks to Chitra Ma’am, now everyone in the class can solve complex probability problems with ease. After all, why should engineers have all the fun?

“If you don’t change, you will die” were the golden words of Prof. Leslie Rebello in the first lecture of Organizational Management where we were studying Change Management. Thus we now make it a point to come out of our comfort zones more often than not, and strive towards changing ourselves with the ever-changing world.

Our very first encounter with financial accounting and cost accounting were at IGTC. After studying assets, income, expenses and liabilities in detail, I can definitely say that we all IGTCians are being moulded into “Assets” for our hiring companies. Fundamentals of Management and Managerial Economics are taught to us by the veterans, Prof. Sydney Prabhu and Prof. Harkant Mankad. These subjects are highly relatable as we are basically studying to bridge the gap between management practices and economic theories. Morardian Sir’s operations management has taught us much more than just operations. Thanks to his “principles of management”, we begin to lead a new way of life.

Undoubtedly, each professor at IGTC believes in only one thing and slowly the students are also imbibing it, that there is no elevator to success…you have to take the stairs. Hence, studies are taken very seriously here.

The first term climaxed into a very intense week consisting of major presentations in each subject. Every day was a challenge and that is exactly the culture of IGTC, preparing the students for playing in crunch overs. We had Organizational Behaviour, HRM, Business Communications, IT presentations where we had been given a topic and had to research, prepare presentations and deliver in front of the whole batch and faculty. Marketing assignment was one of the most interesting ones as we had to deliver a presentation on how would we start our own new venture and how would we market it. The topics given were also quite interesting ranging from opening an Asian cuisine restaurant in India to re-launching Tata Nano in the market.

Once the presentations were over, it was time for the exam week. All the students slogged through it but in the end everyone seemed quite content with their hard-work. Some of the exam patterns were really creative and new for us. One example of this is the economics exam where we were not only tested on our concepts but we had been given the Economics Times from which we had to discuss an article of our choice.

‘Nothing can substitute experiences’ is the one line that IGTC has taken very seriously as we had the chance of experiencing an unsupervised examination. There was not only an exam of academic knowledge but also of trust. The subject for this exam was also strategically selected to be Cost Accounting because this is an area where students have a strong impulse to cross-check the final answer. This stimulated an experience for us where we could demonstrate superior emotional intelligence by not cheating and breaking the trust of our faculty when we have a hundred percent chance, need and impulse to do it.

By the end of the first term at IGTC, we realized that through every briefing and interaction with our Director, Radhieka R Mehta, we were gradually being steered and being prepared for our corporate internships. We had started understanding what we are expected to do and what all should we expect from the companies. From being extremely professional, to making an impact with our work, to carrying forward the values of IGTC, we were guided thoroughly. Moreover, working for huge German multinationals that too as a first time for many of us, can be scary. But IGTC has acquainted us so well with the German culture and beliefs, we are confident that we will be in sync with the company’s norms. We are all set to learn as much as we can from our internships and keeping in mind the motivation that the expert in anything was also a beginner once.

Most of the time in the first term we have listened attentively to our professors relating the most complex management concepts to simple life experiences. Our language is changing. We have started are journey towards being a full-fledged MBA student. We now use jargons and phrases of the corporates (which is working in our favor and making us look brainy to the outside world).
“Why IGTC?” is what I am often asked. I reply to this question with another question:
“Tell me, what is it you plan to do with your one wild and precious life?” – Mary Oliver, The Summer Day.

Article contributed by students of IGTC, Mumbai’s PGPBA Batch 2018 – 2020: Aruja Singh and Gargie Paliwal

Honoring future CEOs

On 9th September 2018, managers of the 8th Executive Business Management Programme (EBMP) batch moved a step closer to becoming future CEO’s in their respective fields. Although eagerly awaited by all, this day was filled with bitter-sweet moments. Sweet because it was an accomplishment and a milestone in their professional careers; bitter because it was an end to the beautiful, one-year journey of learning and friendships at IGTC. The atmosphere was brimming with excitement and positive energy as the managers arrived with their families. Children walked in with a cheeky sense of pride into their parent’s graduation ceremony. Never in their wildest dreams had they imagined that they would get to see their parent’s graduation.

The dais for the evening comprised of Bernhard Steinruecke, Director General, Indo-German Chamber of Commerce; Thomas Fuhrmann, President, Indo-German Chamber of Commerce; Chief Guests Avinash Chintawar, Vice President – Plant Technical Head, Bosch Limited and Sanjeev Taneja, President & Managing Director, Region India, Evonik India Pvt. Ltd.; and Radhieka Mehta, Director, Indo-German Training Centre. The graduation ceremony commenced with a beautiful dance performance of the Ganesh Vandana by one of the managers, Priya Daryani.

“Where are all the ‘bachas’ in this crowd?” Mr. Steinruecke asked as he began his opening address at the EBMP graduation. “The bachas are the future; the entire ceremony is for them! They are going to be responsible for their parents’ pension after all. We need to focus on the future. India needs to get moving in a major way to fill the development gap. And since there is time for the bachas to grow up, the people who can help fix this development gap are the EBMP graduates, the future CEOs of industry.”

The opening address continued with Thomas Fuhrmann, President, Indo-German Chamber of Commerce, expressing his joy for being present at the event and interacting with the young students.“As a part of the German fraternity we are honored, to be able to touch upon and contribute to what we call the German Style of providing training to the society. We are humbled that as managers, you are very happy to receive this knowledge and make your job even better.”

So, what does an EBMP graduate have to do to be a successful CEO and a successful employee at the same time? Avinash Chintawar, Vice President – Plant Technical Head, Bosch Limited gave the graduates an insight on the importance of pursuing higher studies and how can they channelize this into developing new skills, getting better job satisfaction and continuing the process of learning throughout their professional careers. Not just being content and satisfied with being a high performer at work or achieving materialistic goals but also working towards a higher purpose in life.

The keynotes continued with Sanjeev Taneja, President & Managing Director, Region India, Evonik India Pvt. Ltd. He began by congratulating IGCC and IGTC for doing such an incredible job in bring the German fraternity together. Mr. Taneja, too reiterated on having that ‘purpose in life’. He made reference to a Ted Talk by Simon Sinek, motivational speaker and organizational consultant, who spoke about how leaders can inspire cooperation, trust and change. This talk changed his way of thinking profoundly and how he was inspired to work toward the outcome.‘If you do something do it with passion otherwise don’t do it’ he quoted and concluded his talk by emphasizing on continuous learning.

Finally, it was time for the graduating managers to take the stage. What makes a CEO? A question put forth to all by Olive D’Silva one of the graduating EBMP managers. The answer to it seems fairly easy, but as we all know what seems easy is never really so easy! According to her, a great leader should have three qualities.

• First, if you do what you did, you get what you got. Leaders should be open to accepting change and look at it as an opportunity than as a threat.
• Second, learning should be continuous in one’s life and it is an essential element which needs to be inculcated into a human being, let alone a leader.
• The last quality is one of the famous management principles given to all students by the operations faculty at IGTC, Boman Moradian. Have no double standards in life. People would need a high EQ to abide by that principle in their life.

The journey of the past year at IGTC has enveloped all three quotients: Change, Learning and Emotional. The bond that the managers have shared with the IGTC faculty and team was evident, as the managers remembered specific lessons from faculty lectures and even included witty one-liners about the professors in their remarks. With humility, all due respect and a standing ovation, the managers and the IGTC team jointly felicitated and honored every faculty member present in the audience one at a time. Words and emotions fell short as gratitude made its way from the heart for these living legends!

There were families of the batch, who also wanted to share their journey while their spouses, fathers and mothers were away studying. Arya, daughter of one of the Bosch managers, missed her father while he was in class but also poked fun at him for studying so much at his age. The spouses too had lot to express about their better halves as they saw the changes that programme brought in them. It is truly said that with family support, one can achieve their dreams.

The celebrations had begun as ceremony was close to its finale and what better way than inviting our EBMP Alumni who were in their nostalgic state. Rajesh Jakhmola, National Sales Head – Linde Material Handling India, said that he was back in time when he was students and could relate to very jargon used during the ceremony. Shankar Kottur, General Manager, BASF India Ltd. recalled how the programmed excelled him to communicate with his peers and how practicing all the things that were taught in class has helped him achieve his goals in life.

Finally, Radhieka Mehta, Director, Indo-German Training Centre, concluded ceremony by a vote of thanks to the dignitaries, faculty, alumni, participants and their families.

The spirits were high and the stage was set for a musical game of Antakshari. The room echoed with some old and new songs and while everyone cherishing the moments.

We wish the managers the very best in their path to becoming future CEOs of industry and like the faculty, Moradian Sir quoted, “Don’t let this stay a dream”.

The third quarterly meeting of the Indo-German HR Partner Forum was held on 14th August 2018 at Evonik Catalyst India Pvt. Ltd., Dombivli. The theme for the day was selected as HR Role in Integration: Mergers and Acquisitions. Evonik India had acquired Monarch Catalyst in 2015, which has now become Evonik Catalyst India Pvt. Ltd. Subsequently in 2016 and 2017, two more acquisitions were also made by the company. Hence, the hosts were well equipped to share their expertise on the subject.

After a short safety briefing, Ritu Joshi, Head HR – India Region, Evonik India, along with Raina Vaidya and Neha Bharadkar, Managers, Human Resources took over as hosts and presented the history of Evonik to the forum. Following this, Sanjeev Taneja, President India Region and Managing Director, Evonik India Pvt. Ltd. spoke on Evonik’s ‘Continued growth journey – Evonik’s footprint in India’. Being associated with the company for about 30 years, he was undoubtedly the best person to capture Evonik’s history, its growth and integration with various companies over the years. “Even though Evonik is only 11 years old, it is a combinations of a lot of companies most of which are about 160 years old. One thing which unites everyone, is resistance to change” he stated, emphasizing on importance of HR as an enabler to change as they become the eyes and ears of the organization.

“Journey from India to Germany: Germany to India”, Thomas Tacke, Managing Director, Evonik Catalysts India Pvt. Ltd., shared the current status of Evonik after acquiring Monarch Catalyst. To ensure a smooth transition, he said “integration is a two dimensional at Evonik – between the two different companies and with Evonik’s global company as well.” He also spoke of HR’s role in integrations from this aspect along with the histories of two companies being different, processes are also different. Keeping in mind these differences, he mentioned that there was a need for a ‘One HR Project 2018’ within Evonik Catalyst India.

Ritu Joshi then spoke of the experience form acquisitions from an HR perspective. She gave the about the overall concept for HR integration, and the various measures taken, such as:

1. Safety was made a part of the targets as a step towards safety culture
2. Transition of the Performance management process during and post the acquisitions
3. Alignment of policies impacting employee experience

Raina Vaidya, Neha Bharadkar and Satishkumar Nair from the HR team continued the presentation about the various projects in progress. They elaborated on the communication channels maintained before, during and after the acquisition and the intercultural training given to all employees to ensure a smooth transition.

After lunch, Satish Mahapatra, Vice President – Human Resources, C&B, Global Mobility, M&A, Siemens Ltd. presented the role of HR in M&A from the Siemens perspective. He elaborated on the many mergers and acquisitions from 2008-2018 at Siemens, the key steps undertaken during, role of HR in due diligence, and the various legal aspects of integration.

The day ended with an active discussion between the HR partners on the new changes in data privacy in today’s changing environment. Post the discussion, everyone was taken on a brief tour of Evonik Catalysts’ Quality Control and Research and Development Centre. On behalf of the entire forum members, Mr. Shantanu Ghoshal, Vice President – HR, Schaeffler Group gave the Vote of Thanks.

The attendees included HR Partners from companies such as BASF India Ltd., Bayer Group in India, Bearlocher India Additives Pvt. Ltd., Bosch Ltd., Covestro India Pvt. Ltd., Fuchs Lubricants (India) Pvt. Ltd., Häfele India Pvt. Ltd., Knorr-Bremse Technology Centre India Pvt. Ltd., LANXESS India Pvt. Ltd., Schaeffler Group, Siemens Ltd., TUV India Pvt. Ltd., Volkswagen India Pvt. Ltd. and Wacker Chemie.

When a Member of the German Parliament blends with Indian Youth Christian Hirte’s Visit to the Indo-German Training Centre

Indo-German Training Centre, Mumbai warmly welcomed the delegation of Christian Hirte, Member of Parliament and State Secretary, Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy on Saturday, 11th August, 2018. Christian Hirte was accompanied by Arne Kueper – Director, Economic Relations for South and South East Asia, Australia and New Zealand, Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy and Dana Loeschke, member of the Ministry for Economic Affairs and Energy.

The delegation was received by Radhieka Mehta along with the IGTC team and the PGPBA students. She gave the delegation a detailed overview on IGTC, its various programmes, number of students and managers trained so far and how IGTC continues to shape the future of students, while being the most respected platform for German companies in India. Some of the IGTC students showcased their fluency in German by greeting Christian Hirte and the delegation in their native language. They expressed their happiness with the overall IGTC experience, the learning opportunity in class and their training companies, as well as their recent intercultural learning trip to DHBW, Karlsruhe.

Christian Hirte, one of the youngest Member of Parliament, was quick to identify with the student audience and addressed them enthusiastically about their unique positioning in the world market. He mentioned that India was progressing in the developed world, especially the IT industry. He focused on the unique opportunity to collaborate India’s IT sector with the German manufacturing sector, which would be beneficial for both the countries. “With your IT industry, I think we can create an economy industry 4.0 together, that will not only not only foster the relationship and collaboration between our countries but also bring forward both of our countries and companies in Germany and in India”. He concluded saying that IGTCians have a very great and bright future by participating in the dual system of education being imparted to them with the engagement of German companies such as BASF, Bayer, B.Braun, Bosch, Deutsche Bank, DHL, Haefele, Schaeffler, Schott Kaisha, Siemens among many “I think it is great that you have taken this step and joined this course as it will change our life. You will have a big opportunity for a prosperous life in the future”, encouraging the students to keep in touch with Germany.

Bernhard Steinruecke, Director-General of the Indo-German Chamber of Commerce, who accompanied the delegation, also gave his welcome address to the PGPBA students. “IGTC is a lot of hard-work, and we appreciate the trust that you have put in us. In return, we also have a lot of faith in your strengths and abilities and hence this will be a win-win story for everyone – you, the German companies and IGTC. To get qualified people is the biggest challenge that we face in India as well as in Germany. You are the back-bone of the future, and I can promise you that after these 18 months of training, you will be a different person.” He also gave his traditional German speech to the students, assuring them that it was an easy language which they can master in no time, since in Germany “even little children and tiny tots speak German!”

The delegation concluded positively, expressing hope for a deeper collaboration between India and Germany in terms of skills and growth in every sector.

Diversity grows at IGTC as the EBMP 9th MumSophia Ambosta, Assistant Professional, Mobility Management, Siemens Ltd. EBMP Participant 9th Mumbai Batch 2018 – 2019 bai batch is inaugurated with 9 Women Managers

On 4th August 2018, Radhieka R Mehta, Director, IGTC along with faculty Dr. Harkant Mankad and Shuaib Fakih inaugurated the Executive Business Management Programme (EBMP) 9th Mumbai Batch 2018-2019. The lamp of knowledge was lit by Radhieka R Mehta, along with the faculties, the IGTC team and participants of the new batch. The inauguration continued as managers were inducted into IGTC by the faculties, the IGTC Team and the current senior batch. Faculties Dr. Harkant Mankad and Shuaib Fakih addressed the new batch giving them a brief insight on the programme and subjects. The senior EBMP participants also spoke to the new batch about how the programme has helped them evolve and grow professionally as well as personally.

32 high performing mangers have been nominated by partnering companies such as: BASF India Ltd., Bosch Ltd., Evonik Catalysts India Pvt. Ltd., Evonik India Pvt. Ltd., Fuchs Lubricants (India) Pvt. Ltd., Hafele India Pvt. Ltd., Inde Global Consulting LLP, Lanxess India Pvt. Ltd., Organic Recycling Systems Pvt. Ltd., Pheonix Appliances Pvt Ltd, Putzmeister Concrete Machines Pvt. Ltd., Rastek Pvt. Ltd., Rittal India Pvt. Ltd., Sarin Technologies India Pvt. Ltd., Seavie Pvt. Ltd., Siemens Healthcare Pvt. Ltd., Siemens Ltd, Spectrum Chemicals, Uma Surgicals and Volkswagen India Pvt. Ltd.

This diverse group where almost 30% of the batch consists of women, has also come from diverse areas such as Administration, Customer Services, Engineering and Commissioning, Finance and Accounting, Gemologist, HR & Admin, Marine Coordinator, Marketing and sales, Mobility Management, PMO Support, Quality Assurance and Technical.

Our 32 enthusiasts also introduced themselves and highlighted their expectations from the programme.

‘I enrolled myself for EBMP@IGTC Mumbai through Bosch Ltd. with very basic expectation. However as I went through the faculty profiles, I realized that this is not just another management institute. This is an institute that believes in imparting knowledge & the faculties attached with IGTC are great achievers in their own fields. IGTC is a place where learning is fun & teaching is all about story telling’.

Himanshu Mamtani, Zonal Manager – Institutional & Industrial sales (West & North), Bosch Ltd.
EBMP Participant 9th Mumbai Batch 2018 – 2019

“When I registered for the EBMP and was told that 4th Aug would be the Inauguration followed by Lectures, I just thought it would be a normal welcome to all participants and then lectures would start. As I walked up the steps curious to know what would be waiting for me, as I had never been to IGTC, but when I entered I felt so much at ease when I was welcomed by the IGTC Team calling me by name and with a wonderful smile. The atmosphere was wonderful when we lit the lamp. It was nice to hear the experiences shared by the senior batch; it really motivated us a lot”.

Sophia Ambosta, Assistant Professional, Mobility Management, Siemens Ltd.
EBMP Participant 9th Mumbai Batch 2018 – 2019

HR Capability Building Initiative by the Indo-German HR Partner Forum in Association with the Indo-German Training Centre

Beginnings are even more beautiful, when our combined efforts and collaboration culminate into a reality. ‘Horizon Redefined’, a HR Capability Building Initiative by the Indo-German HR Partner Forum in association with the Indo-German Training Centre was launched on 28th June. “Let us all partner companies come together and build our HR capabilities which will be sustainable for the future. With this objective the initiative got defined, thanks to Radhieka, Dr, Lakshmi and Ramesh who have been the core drivers behind the initiative. We formed a small core group which we called the HR Capability Building team. This team brainstormed and decided the competencies that should get framed and learnt. Once we had the competencies defined, we went back to the HR forum for finalizing. We realised that we need to do something really simple and Rupesh came up with the concept of doing our ABC’s right and thus the ABCDE came about” – Padma Gupta, Director – Human Resources, Häfele India Pvt. Ltd.

The topics chosen as part of this initiative were:
• Analytical Mindset
• Business Acumen
• Consultative Mindset
• Digitalization
• Employee Relations (ER)

The initiative was inaugurated by Dr. Raman Ramachandran, Chairman & Managing Director, BASF India Ltd. and Head, BASF, South Asia; the dignitaries also included Ramesh Shankar, Executive Vice-President and Head – Human Resources.; Dr. Lakshmi Nadkarni, Director – Human Resources BASF, South Asia; Padma Gupta, Director – Human Resources, Häfele India Pvt. Ltd.; Ricky Kumar, Head – Human Resources, Covestro (India) Pvt. Ltd.; Rosette Silveira, Corporate – HR & Admin Manager; Wacker Chemie India Pvt. Ltd. and Anjali, Manager – Human Resources, TUV India.
“We thought we need to build our own capabilities as HR professionals before we build the capabilities of others. This is a great model because when organizations come together and you are able to do a programme, the cost is low but quality is high. So we are able to share the best practices, the best faculty and leverage the power of numbers.” – Ramesh Shankar, Executive Vice-President and Head – Human Resources.

The dignitaries then lit the ceremonial lamp and officially flagged off the beginning of this learning journey undertaken by the Indo-German HR Partner Forum for their HR colleagues.

Dr. Raman Ramachandran Chairman & Managing Director, BASF India Ltd. and Head, BASF, South Asia and Guest of Honour for the event, addressed the participants on the changing Global Landscape in today’s world. “Globalization is on the verge of being reversed and this will require many strategic changes in the way we think about investment in the future. The second unpredictable change we face is digitization. Digitization is changing the way we think. Third is the concept of Sustainability. For many companies sustainability is about CSR – it is no longer about CSR, it is the way we think about how to run a company in terms of governance, sensitivity to society we live, environment health and standard, so the whole realm and paradigm of how we do business is changing and more so in emerging countries like India because of the challenges we face in this country are more.” He then continued stating the growing and changing environment of HR in organizations “Recently I heard from a sociologist that the new generation if millennials, will change 14 jobs on an average in their life time. Hence this concept of ‘hiring till retirement’ can be forgotten about. And hence HR becomes different about how you think about hiring, talent development and letting people go. So congratulations to all who thought about bringing this together to advance the organizations”.

There was an over whelming response for the programme as HR professionals from 22 Indo-German member organizations signed up for the various learning programmes that are to be conducted in the upcoming year. Over a 100 nominations were received across all programmes ensuring that each of the programmes is conducted in 2 batches.
“One thing that struck me as something that probably we need to see through today is the kind of humility displayed by the leaders of our partner organizations throughout this initiative. None of them said, this programme is happening in my company so I don’t want to participate even though each one of us is doing something to raise the capability of our people. This was the best collaborative experience I have seen between companies with Radhieka being the hub for it. I thank all the leaders of member companies.” – Dr. Lakshmi Nadkarni, Director – Human Resources BASF, South Asia;

The first programme on Employee Relations kicked off with 21 participants. Mr. Suman Mitra, Senior General Manager – Human Resource, Bosch Ltd. was the trainer for this programme which was conducted over 2 days.
“It’s a great start and a great opportunity for all of us to network. I ask you to learn the nuances, the small things we do so well in our work place. Pick those nuances and achieve excellence in HR. The world is changing very fast so let’s change with the world or bring the change so we can all adapt to the digitation and business models which are changing so rapidly” – Ricky Kumar, Head – Human Resources, Covestro (India) Pvt. Ltd.

The session was packed with new and relevant content and examples. The trainer, Mr. Suman Mitra from Bosch, with his vast industry experience in Employee Relations, gave the participants an insight on how ER is important to the advancement of an organization and its sustainability and applicability across industries. Some of the learnings that were covered during the session: History of IR in India, Changing concept of IR to ER, Statutory Compliance & its importance, Negotiation Process, Disciplinary Proceedings – Factory Discipline & Work Culture, Grievance Handling – its Process and Expectation, Employee Engagement Forums to deliver the objective along with power of communication, Public Relation & handling media , International IR and OECD (How it can impact us), Managing People Proactively and Contract Labour-Engagement and Compliance.

The 2 day power packed session ended with Dr. Lakshmi Nadkarni, Director – Human Resources BASF, South Asia distributing the certificates to the participants who were now ecstatic about being a part of this Capability Building Initiative. The proof on the success of this programme lies in the pudding as during the final discussion they decided to form a forum for Employee Relations to discuss best practices and learn from each other, similar to the way the Indo-German HR Partner Forum contributes to the member organizations.
“The way the programmes were brought together on a cost sharing basis, the finesse with which it has been done and the heart with which it has come together, is what will take the initiative a long way. Companies are feeling involved, they have owned the programme, it’s their baby more than mine. We have all worked on it with a lot of love and passion and belief. Sometimes it is just belief that takes it through. So welcome to IGTC, it’s a place where our motto’ IGTCians at heart, phenomenal you will be!! This applies to our youngsters but also applies to you older ones because everyone who goes through training, learning and skilling just emerge better human beings. For IGTC it definitely is a Horizon Redefined”

The admission process at the Indo German Training Centre (IGTC), Mumbai is a time when class rooms turn into interview booths and the great house of knowledge witnesses a flood of emotions and a spark of fire in every individual present there, be applicants, senior students, management and our very energetic Director, Radhieka R Mehta. The trainee selection process at IGTC is unconventional. It has evolved over the years making it more and more efficient in terms of identifying the deserving students for with the right training partner. IGTC has an extensive support from partnering companies like A.T.E. Enterprises Pvt. Ltd., B|Braun Medical India Pvt. Ltd., Bajaj Allianz General Insurance Co. Ltd., BASF India Ltd., Bayer Group in India, Bearlocher India Additives Pvt. Ltd., Bosch Automotive Electronics India Pvt. Ltd., Bosch Limited, Brose India Automotive Systems Pvt. Ltd., Cerebrus Consultants Pvt. Ltd., Covestro India Pvt. Ltd., Cummins Limited, DBOI Global Services Pvt. Ltd., DHL Express India Pvt. Ltd., Dr. Oetker India Pvt. Ltd., Epcos India Pvt. Ltd., Extentia Information Technology Pvt. Ltd., Faurecia Automotive Seating India Pvt Ltd., FEV India Pvt. Ltd., Forbes Marshall Pvt. Ltd., GEP Consulting, Häfele India Pvt. Ltd., Hella India Lighting Ltd., Helpline Impex Pvt. Ltd., Indiva Marketing Pvt. Ltd., Kärcher Cleaning Systems Pvt. Ltd., KSB Pumps Ltd., LANXESS India Private Limited, Mercedes-Benz India Pvt. Ltd., NRB Industrial Bearings Ltd., Phoneix Mecano India Pvt. Ltd., Pune Gas, Robosoft Solution, Schaeffler Group, Schott Glass India Pvt. Ltd., Schott Kaisha Pvt. Ltd., Siemens Limited, SMS India Pvt. Ltd. and TUV India Pvt. Ltd.

The admission process for the Post Graduate Programme in Business Administration (PGPBA) Batch 2018-2020 was held over four days from 4th to 8th June 2018. Innovation and creativity was brought into the process. The prospective students were shown ted-talks and for example one was on how to draw your current state and future state on paper. Applicants watched the video and then articulated everything on a piece of paper. This was presented to the director by each individual student in the group discussion thus showing strengths, weaknesses of that individual.

After the tedious process of the online aptitude test and group interaction, the candidates come back once again for the final stage of the admission process. A feeling of nostalgia passed through us as we recollected our own individual journey to IGTC, Mumbai. But being a part of the core organizing committee, the scenario seemed equally complex and uncertain from the other end of the table as we now had new challenges to overcome.

The newly formed core team from the PGPBA Batch 2017-2019 were briefed on every bit of detail by our Director. A lot of planning and preparation was involved right from the setup to the selection of students for PGPBA Batch 2018-2020. As students we aspire to be great managers of tomorrow and hence all efforts were made to prove our self, leaving no stone unturned nor any room for loopholes. The preparations for this interview process had all of us on our toes until the very last day. Keeping our experiences from the previous year in mind we gave our inputs on making the process easy. The IGTC team took these suggestions into account and implemented it which helped evolve the process into an easier and hassle free 4 days.

Day one and two i.e. 4th and 5th June, 2018 was when all the engineering students and the third day i.e. 6th June, 2018, was when the commercial students were called in for the interview process. Each student had the opportunity to showcase their talent in front of panel members from each company. Convincing the panel members and then being taken on board as an intern in these companies, which allows admission to the course is no easy task. However our task managing 100 students also wasn’t easy, but it definitely taught us to have patience and stay calm in times of difficulty, as the students were filled with anxiety, parents with their endless concerns and the partnering companies with special requirements. Interaction with the senior most employees of the partnering training companies taught us how to maintain relations with them. At every level we were put to test on our managerial, communication and decision making skills.

Fewer companies, fewer candidates are left. On the last day i.e. 8th June, 2018 a mix of engineers and commercial students came in to give their best and join the IGTC family. As the numbers decreased, the competition increased. The applicant’s expressions grew more anxious, more curious, more puzzled and more worried faces as they waited for the companies to interview them. At the end of the day however some applicants left with happy faces, while there were some who left with the hope that there is always a next time.

The core team took care of all the activities from lining up candidates for their interviews to reducing the anxiety of applicants by sharing our experience from last year to networking with the panel members from companies to understand what they are looking for in prospective candidates. Each day was a new learning for all of us on the core team. These 4 days of interview process taught us how to take super quick decisions, how to tackle in the moment issues and help with the smooth functioning of the interviews without bottlenecks. The admission process gave us a clear image as to how as a management student, one has to manage time, manage people, take up initiative and responsibilities and help each other in the time of need. It was not only performing our duties but also encouraging the applicants to be positive and stay relaxed and delegating responsibility to our batch mates who volunteered to help on each day and managing the coordination and movement of a 100 odd students and 18 odd companies on each day taught us just that.

The major take away from the process was the knowledge and theory which we got from books, we were able to effectively apply those skills practically in the four days, right from planning the timeslots for 190 applicants appearing for the interviews from different academic backgrounds, to interacting with the panelists of various German companies and catering to their needs. Lining up the applicants and at the same time not compromising on any company’s requirements and finally at the end of the day dealing with happy faces and some disheartened ones too! We did it all!!
After all the planning, organizing and scrutinising process, our IGTC family grew with our new junior batch of 104 promising students forming PGPBA 2018-2020.

On 25th April 2018, everything changed in the blink of an eye. The feeling of being granted the prestigious German Chancellor Fellowship as a Prospective Leader from India was beyond my imagination. Words fell short and my eyes became hazy with the clouds of my dreams coming true.
My German connection started in 2010 when I joined IGTC with a speck of knowledge of what impact it could make on my career and my life. In the year 2011, I became the first recipient of the Bayer Scholarship which ushered in another golden opportunity for me and, hence, I went on to join the Bayer Group.

During my work experience in the field of Procurement, I had an inclination towards Sustainable Procurement aimed at, both, protecting the organizational interests and developing a mind-set which would have a positive impact on the society. Thus, this fellowship turned out to be a natural progression for me towards my goal.

I conceived the idea of the project in the year 2016 and started working towards it under the able guidance of my IGTC professor and former colleagues. India is still a developing economy with its manufacturing sector growing at a faster pace than ever before. Sadly, sustainable practices are seldom followed and the concept of sustainability in procurement is still at a very nascent stage. Hence, I believe that this is a great time for me to receive this fellowship as India with its “Make in India” initiative is at the forefront of becoming a manufacturing hub and with my research; I will be able to contribute towards the adoption of best procurement practices at a very appropriate time.

Germany is a leader in technology and a huge research power house and what better way to learn than to get an opportunity to stay within the country and learn from the experts.

Humboldt German Chancellor Fellowship is a program which nurtures the leaders of tomorrow who have the potential to build bridges between India and Germany and ability to discuss the issues of modern society, meanwhile, fostering career development as well. It not only brings prospective leaders from different countries together but also provides a platform for exchange of ideas.

All said, I believe that the German Chancellor Fellowship is a door to infinite opportunities to explore, meet & interact with influencers, government officials, business executives, university professors and international fellows with whom we can share our views on globalization and progressive economy. This is going to act as a catalyst in the trajectory of my career.

I am looking forward to work on my project with my host Prof. Dr Elisabeth Fröhlich, (President, Professor of Strategic Supply Management), Cologne Business School. She is a well-known expert in the field of Green Procurement Strategies and has conducted lot of research in the area of Sustainability. This stay will allow me to learn from the experiences of leading faculty in my domain and industry experts while enhancing and expanding my knowledge and skills in the field of procurement.
Finally, my goal is to meet the objectives of my research project by equipping myself with the best practices of Germany and making a positive impact on the procurement practices followed.

My piece of advice to everyone who wants to be a part of this prestigious program is to think different, dream big, believe in yourself and dare to achieve it!

Keep exploring!
Indian BuKa – Vaishali Baid

The second Indo-German HR Partner Meet for the year 2018 was hosted by Siemens Limited on 03 May 2018 at their new and innovative open office in Khargar, Navi Mumbai. The topic of discussion for the day was Position Evaluation. The extremely, interesting agenda was planned out by Ramesh Shankar, Executive Vice-President and Head – Human Resources, Siemens Ltd., Rupesh Basu, General Manager – HR, Siemens Ltd. and their HR colleagues.

The attendees included HR Partners from BASF India, Bayer India, Bosch Limited, Brose India Pvt, Ltd., Covestro India Pvt. Ltd., DHL Express India Pvt. Ltd., Evonik India Pvt. Ltd., FEV India Pvt. Ltd., Hafele India Pvt. Ltd., HDFC Ergo, KSB Pumps Ltd., Lanxess India, MAN Trucks India Pvt. Ltd., Mercedes-Benz India Pvt. Ltd., Schaeffler Group, Siemens Ltd., TUV India and Wacker Chemie India Pvt. Ltd.

The day began with a welcome message by Ramesh Shankar, Executive Vice-President and Head – Human Resources, Siemens Ltd. It was then followed by a presentation by Aon Hewitt on the ‘Job Evaluation’ – its evolution, the support required by those in leadership roles while re-evaluating positions, the challenges faced by the management, HR and the employees and how a company can effectively design, implement and measure change in positions during re-organizations. After this formal presentation that dwelled more on the science of position evaluations, it was time to informally learn the art of position evaluation from Gajendra S Chandel, Chief Human Resources Officer, Tata Motors Ltd., who took the audience through a captivating narration of his personal insights on the full reorganisation of Tata Motors.

Satish Mohapatra, Vice-President, Human Resources, Siemens Ltd. further enhanced the group’s knowledge through a mix of videos and presentations on ‘Position Evaluation’. Priya D’cruz, Vice-President, Human Resources, Bayer Group made an extremely interesting contribution to the meeting by sharing the concept of gamification used at Bayer for job evaluations. Raina Vaidya, Manager, Human Resources, Evonik India shared their job evaluation process and how they use Hay Methodology guidelines in problem solving and setting accountability.

After a very sumptuous lunch, Siemens took all the HR Partners for a tour of their unique ‘Open Office’, a concept which is fast catching up in today’s digital world, taking into account all department requirements and making it a cost-effective option for businesses. Some of the features of the Open Office are advance mobile work, full use of IT equipment, established Open Office landscape, defined non-territorial usage, clean desk policy, noise regulations and enhanced work-life integration.

The icing on the cake was Rohan Kadlay’s presentation on the Siemens Training Academy, a contribution to the Government of India’s Skill Development and Make in India initiatives. Initiated by Siemens for students interested in a career in the technical field but unable to pursue this dream due to financial constraints. Siemens Training Academy imparts technical skills in two trades – Electrical and Fitter. On completion of this world-class training, students can get direct entry to Diploma Engineering in their required stream, Good students from a financially challenging background (e.g: children of dependants or below-the-poverty line category like maids, gardeners, drivers etc.) have a big scope in coming into the main-stream.  The course starts from the first week of October every year and the details are available on the site www.siemens.co.in/dualvet.

The day ended on an emotive note as the forum bid adieu to Suhas Kadlaskar, Director, Human Resource and Corporate Affairs, Mercedes-Benz India Pvt. Ltd. who will be retiring shortly. A small token of appreciation was given to him for all his love, encouragement, inspiration, support, guidance, and leadership to the HR Community. We wish him all the very best for his 2nd innings!!

The Indo-German Training Centre (IGTC) fosters a ‘Pseudo-Corporate Environment’ to groom budding students at the start of their careers. In keeping with the recruitment process of the organizations, the admission process for the Post-Graduate Programme in Business Administration (PGPBA) Batch 2018-2020 took a different and distinctive route.

In April 2018, close to 400 students took the 2-hour IGTC Online Aptitude Test from the comfort of their homes in various parts of the country, without having to travel to IGTC, but under a strictly proctured, web-cam enabled process to ensure the right academic and ethical standards of evaluation. The online test was conceptualized as a 100 marks, moderate difficulty level test with four sections on Reasoning and Analytical Ability, Numerical Ability, Verbal Ability and Written Communication. The aim of the test was to shortlist students for the Group Interaction Round at IGTC.

The Group Interaction process was the big differentiator and the surprise element to all applicants. Instead of a conventional Group Discussion on a current topic, this Group Interaction was an intense yet interesting process. It was based on some pre-work, where it was essential to think on your feet and to think out of the box. In groups of eight, the applicants were first shown a short, motivational TED Talk. Armed with paper and some sketch pens they were then individually asked to visualise and draw out their personal interpretation of the Ted talk as creatively as possible. Interestingly, no two drawings were the same as each applicant had their own individual story to narrate. The second part of the pre-work was more conceptual. Applicants were given an interesting article to read, based on which they were asked to note down 5 main take-away points that struck them the most from the article. They were also asked to comment on their outlook of the article.

Following this pre-work, the applicants participated in a 1-hour long Group Interaction with the IGTC Admission Team, headed by Director Radhieka R Mehta. They were asked to share their personal introductions and stories, their perception of the Ted Talk and the visual interpretations, and their takeaways from the article. On the strength of their performance at the Group Interaction, the applicants were further shortlisted for the final round at IGTC, which is the Personal Interview with the Partnering Training Organizations.

The entire process helped the IGTC Admissions Team to gain a better understanding of the applicants before they present themselves to the organizations. Moreover, it helped the applicants to understand what it takes to become an IGTCian, in line with the quote of late Dr. APJ Abdul Kalam, “Learning gives creativity, creativity leads to thinking, thinking provides knowledge, and knowledge makes you great”.

The Journey of Selection, Engagement and Business Returns derived from the programme

Could there have been a better day than Valentine’s Day for the most loving, caring and empathic HR professionals to have their first meeting for the year 2018? On Wednesday 14th February 2018, Häfele hosted the Indo-German HR Partner Forum Meeting at their outstanding Häfele Design Centre SoBo. The theme of the meeting was Hi Potential Programmes: The Journey of Selection, Engagement and Business Returns derived from the programmes.

The attendees included representatives of organizations such as Baerlocher India Additives, Bajaj Allianz General Insurance, BASF Group, Bayer Group, Bharat Forge, Bosch Group, Brose India Automotive Systems, Evonik India, FEV India, Häfele India, HDFC Ergo General Insurance, KSB Pumps, LANXESS India, MAN Trucks India, Mercedes-Benz India Pvt. Ltd., Schaeffler Group, Siemens Ltd., TUV India and Wacker Chemie India.

Celebrations were certainly in the air and the mood was festive right from the start as the partners walked in dressed in red, which also coincided with the host’s brand colour. The day commenced with the most fascinating tour of the entire design centre which showcased all the business verticals of the Häfele brand. And having Häfele’s top management including MD Jürgen Wolf and VP-HR Padma Gupta with her entire HR team only added a sense of personal ownership to the brand.

After a brief overview of the company and its growth in India as a hidden champion, the discussion flowed to the topic of the day on Hi-Potentials. A couple of key learnings / messages came out quite clearly:
Potential should not be confused with performance.
For a hi-potential programme to succeed, it will need the support of the top management. There should be personal involvement and commitment.
The main reasons why hi-potentials leave the organization are an incompetent boss or if the hi-potential is not engaged enough.
80% productivity is sustained by 20% employees, while 80% problems are also raised by 20% employees.
Get the right people to use data and scientific methods to identify, evaluate and judge the hi-potentials

For the next three hours, the HR Partners had a very open and deep discussion on the Selection, Engagement and Retention of Hi-Potentials – sharing experiences, success and failure stories from their individual organizations. This Round Table was flawlessly moderated by Colleen D’souza from Mercedes Benz India and Rupesh Basu from Siemens Limited. The forum also continued to deliberate on their joint initiative on HR Capability Building which will be launched in 2018.

Through a unanimous nomination, the baton of leading this prestigious forum as Chairperson for the Year 2018 was passed on to Padma Gupta, VP-HR, Häfele India by Ramesh Shankar, VP-HR, Siemens Ltd. We look forward to her involvement and guidance for the benefit of the HR fraternity!