Testimonials

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 Program 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 Program 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 program

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 Programs: The Journey of Selection, Engagement and Business Returns derived from the programs.

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 program 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!

The annual graduation ceremony at most educational institutions are a devoted to celebrating the most important point in a student’s life. This is point were each individual is filled with unbridled optimism towards a future of achieving their hopes goals and dreams. It is a time were we sing peons to the efforts of students, the support of parents, faculty and administration which helped them learn and develop as individuals. As you look at the smiling faces of students you can help but wonder what the future holds for each of them. Some of them will reach for the stars some of them will meter down their goals according their perception.

The day of convocation is a day of idealism and happiness of the days gone by. The students had come in as individuals and strangers while leaving as friends and as a batch with camaraderie and aspirations to lead the transformation of the world into a better place. However learning is a lifelong process and any institute worth its salt recognizes that its primary objective is to instil the ability to learn continuously in its students. They also have to be a microcosm of the real world with challenges and trials mimicking the real world to prepare them to recognize and proactively handle them in the most effective manner. Lastly they have to demonstrate the importance of having a personal value system and a code of ethics that will take them much farther in life than any skills they may learn in a professional course.

It is with this intent that IGTC was formed in the early 1990’s to emulate the structure of a German dual education system to better serve the needs of what was then a rapidly growing India after liberalization. There were obviously concerns of how such a system would prove useful for students raised in a traditional British education system. IGTC has gone on to prove with the success of its multiple batches that a system which facilitated conversion of knowledge into practical applications faster. This is even more imperative in today’s rapidly changing digital world that such academic endeavours grow and develop further. It is important that students look at the big picture of where they fit into the society and environment as whole.

The Convocation Ceremony of PGPBA Batch 2016-2018 of the Indo-German Training Centre Held on 17th February 2018 commenced with the singing of the IGTC anthem, which is a legacy in itself to live by and at its coda the entire hall at The Gallery’ – Four Seasons Hotel in Mumbai was reverberating with “Phenomenal we will be”. Bernhard Steinruecke, Director General Indo-German Chamber of Commerce then addressed the students congratulating them on their graduation and reiterated that youngsters are running the country today saying “As world looks at India, India looks at you”, which is not only a great achievement and privilege but also an abundant responsibility.

In the President’s welcome address Thomas Fuhrmann, President, Indo-German Chamber of Commerce and Managing Director at TUV Rheinland India Pvt. Ltd. congratulated IGTC for its 27 years of contribution to providing sophisticated training and moulding students to be enablers of successful businesses. “We, Germans, are very proud to see that the Dual System is contributing to the businesses in Germany and that the concept here is India is immensely well-known and accepted” He ended his address with the promise to become a partnering training organization with IGTC Mumbai in the near future.

Dr. Juergen Morhard, Consul General, German Consulate General in Mumbai and Guest of Honour urged the students to celebrate this feat as they had gone an extra mile to arrive at this destination. But he also cautioned them not to see this as just another milestone, but as a stepping stone in the lifelong path of learning and development. “The personalities and the way of thinking developed at IGTC despite the challenges and resistances will transform companies helping them thrive and help the country grow”. In conclusion, he hoped that even though graduation speeches are ephemeral, the graduates would cherish the joy of this morning throughout their life.

It was also a touching occasion for Christa Lützenkirchen, Head of Global Human Resources, Covestro Deutschland AG, being one of the primary architects of IGTC’s training program in her capacity in Human Resources at Bayer, as she reminisced on the challenges faced initially while advocating the dual program in India. She expressed her pleasure to be present at such a momentous occasion and to see the system implemented so many years ago, still works. “It is not about the ‘I’ but what ‘We’ can do together, it’s about society and not ourselves and this is the philosophy on which IGTC is still run” Her message to the graduating class was as leaders of future it was their duty to feel responsible for themselves and ‘Make the World a Brighter Place’.

The keynote address was given by the Chief Guest R.S. Subramanian, Senior Vice President & Managing Director, DHL Express India. He shared his personal story of beginning his career in the corporate right after graduating from IIM and how in his illustrious career he moved between 12-13 different roles which helped him acquire insights into various aspects of business. He ended by advising students saying “there is no substitute to ‘burnt shoe leather’ where you meet your customer/ consumer face to face and talk which leads to ‘KYC- Know your customer’. Both are extremely important to succeed in your careers. Next deserve before you demand and finally to never stop learning”. He also highlighted the rapidly changing technology landscape of today, while on a lighter note he joked about his struggles of switching to his phone to make notes for this very speech.

Kamlakar Takavale, Vice President, Human Resources, Volkswagen India advised the graduating batch “Industry likes to recruit result oriented people, go- getters, who can play the role of a team member as well as a team leader as well as people who can handle responsibilities & challenges well. You have a dream of being someone who can contribute to decision, strategy & policy making in the organization. IGTC helps you realise that dream with the dual system of education. At the same time, it is essential to gauge whether the company culture & individuals expectations are a right fit or not. The industry also evaluates whether the highly skilled people also has the right behavioural aspect. Thus your training exposure helps the right person for the right job”. He then congratulated them for this milestone.

Suhas Rane, academic faculty for Logistics and Supply Chain Management at IGTC began by informing the audience that even faculty get nervous during convocations companies get a chance to see the final products of the faculty (the students). He then in his classic laconic style had the following advice to his graduating students:

• Be aware enough in life to not constrain your life to a silo and be open to the new things in life
• Prove yourself, challenge yourself
• lf continuously and never waver from the path of self-improvement
• Never give up, there is always a way ahead, it just has to be forged
• Fulfilment in life come from giving, therefore volunteer
• Strive to a goal of self-actualisation and don’t expect remuneration for everything you do
• Failures teach you more than successes

Finally it was time for the graduating batch to share their experience. However this batch decided that their parents, the faculty and companies should have the privilege of experiencing what they had achieved over the last 18 months which they conveyed through a very emotive video.

The toppers of the class then continued with an encouraging speech that left the entire class aspiring to become future leaders. “The quality of our expectations determine the quality of our actions.” The outcome can only be as good as our effort. What lies in our sphere of control is our efforts so we have to give our best shot. The program taught us to focus on our goal even when the going got tough. As we were always pressed for time, we learn to think on our feet becoming more creative and resourceful. We learnt to work as a team, adjusting to one another’s weaknesses and playing to our strengths. Some amount of patience and tact was involved but we all emerged as good team players, a learning that will prove to be most essential as we start with the working phase of our lives. And now after all the memories of the last 18 months, we now have the biggest sign of hope – US!!My fellow future managers and CEO’s because we have lots more work to do.” Their final assignment to the batch being, ‘Let us begin today for a better tomorrow’!”

It was then time for the students to reap the benefits of all their hard work- The distribution of the certificates. Each students was called out with a unique title – one that described them the best, each student came up the stage and collected their PGPBA certificate while the entire audience cheered them on with immense gusto.
Some of our Award Winners for the Batch were:
Tanay Kadam, received the ‘BASF Award for Business Ethics and Corporate Governance’ from Paramita Sarkar, Head-Nutrition and Health, South Asia, BASF India Suresh Babu, Head- Compensation and Benefits, BASF India and Swati Arora, Human Resources, BASF India. Through a specially-designed curriculum, top management professionals from BASF enter the IGTC classroom to engage students in a course that sensitises them to the topic of Business Ethics and Corporate Governance. Paramita Sarkar, Head-Nutrition and Health, South Asia, BASF India spoke of the four important aspects of business – Accountability, Fairness, Transparency and Independence. She also spoke of the unwritten codes of conduct while proudly mentioning about how BASF has been continuing to abide by them since its inception in India.

Aadish Tanskale, Anuj Sharma, Purna Gothoskar and Sakshi Aher received The Bayer Scholarship ‘Championing Success’ award from Rohit Sharma, Head- Human Resource Operations, Bayer India and Amruta Ayya, Human Resource. Bayer India presents this award to the 4 students who best emulated values of Bayer- LIFE (Leadership, Integrity, Flexibility and Efficiency) and rewarded them with a cash scholarship of INR 50,000. Rohit Sharma, Head- Human Resource Operations, Bayer India, in his speech left the class with a profound message saying “The chances you take define what you will become. Our job is to be a better person than yesterday”

Rutuja Sindekar and Rahul Shetty received ‘The Siemens Award for Excellence’ from Lakshmi Chatterjee, Head- Strategy, Siemens Ltd.; Pramod Sant, Head of Import Export and Export Control and Customs, Siemens Ltd. and Rupesh Basu, General Manager, Human Resources. The Siemens Award for Excellence is a prestigious award presented to two winners who exemplify consistent demonstration of the Siemens values of “Innovative, Responsible and Excellence”. This award reimburses to the student the entire IGTC tuition fee. Lakshmi Chatterjee, Head- Strategy, Siemens Ltd. advised the students saying “the values of Siemens Ltd. are not only core to our company but also on how to succeed in life, so keep them with you always”

Anindita Subramanian, Gayatri Ghate, Sharvari Agashe and Rahul Shetty received the Dr. Guenter Krueger Award for Excellence from the dignitaries on the dais. This award of the Indo-German Chamber of Commerce (IGCC) in conjunction with the Goethe Institut recognizes and awards the top students by giving them an opportunity to study a language course with the Goethe-Institut in Germany. The formal certificate will be awarded to the winners at the next Annual General Meeting.

After the distribution of the certificates Radhieka R Mehta, Director, Indo-German Training Centre gave the vote of thanks and bid adieu to the graduating batch with her final piece of advice “I had a dream to work in Disney world. I used to go to Disney world and I used to be very happy with the parade and for me that was the world happiest place to work there. After working at IGTC, I realised that IGTC has become my Disney world. You all are entering the International work place now and just go there and create Disney Worlds wherever you are!!” Her words thus ensured that the magic of IGTC remained alive in them in all walks of life.

It was then time to capture the final memory as a batch a faculty, corporate partners and the VIP’s for the day – the graduates of PGPBA Batch 2016-2018 posed for a group photograph. They then said their final good bye and marked the end of a chapter in their lives as they ceremoniously tossed their graduating caps towards the skies.

“What could be a better way to start the New Year than with a bunch of fully motivated and charged people who have gone though a year of through training and the pain of spending every other weekend to learn new things?” These were the opening lines of Bernhard Steinruecke, Director General, Indo-German Chamber of Commerce as he gave the welcome address at the Certificate Awarding Ceremony, 4th Pune Batch 2017 on 5th January 2018. He continued by emphasizing on the theme of change, advising them to continue on the learning path as the world keeps evolving and changing continuously.

An evening unlike any other, this year’s Certificate Awarding Ceremony was quite different as two of the participants – Anmol Sahore from Mercedes-Benz India Pvt. Ltd. and Saurabh Khera from Wirtgen India Pvt. Ltd. – hosted the ceremony as the largest batch of 58 managers graduated from the program.

The evening commenced with Master Om Khera, 4-year old son of Saurabh Khera, giving adulation to the faculty by singing the ‘Guru Vandana’.

The first German in the EBMP program, Frank Hoffman, Regional Director, Indo-German Chamber of Commerce, Pune, then took to the stage, saying “Last year I could not join the batch, as the batch was full and that is a testimony to the success of the batch” He praised the course on its relevance in industry and also on how it helped him put things in an Indian perspective.

Rahul Raj, Senior Manager, ThyssenKrupp Industries India Pvt. Ltd., then addressed the audience explaining how the course helped him gain a 360 degree view of business for his international assignment in Germany. He thanked IGTC profusely for shaping the rough uncut stones for the future.
Jayesh Sule, Senior Manager and Murtuza Kothawala, Manager from Volkswagen India Pvt. Ltd. gave the audience a glimpse of the time that they spent as a part of the Business Environment Germany, an intercultural study program organized by IGTC in synergy with DHBW Karlsruhe, Germany.

Abhimanyu Bartwal, Country Sales Manager, Oemeta India Pvt. Ltd. created a stir among the audience with his passionate speech “I must congratulate all of you including myself for successfully completing the course. It has been an amazing journey and we have transformed ourselves as future ready managers.” He then continued by beautifully encapsulating all that was taught during the course. He ended his address to the audience by resonating the one feeling that had overcome everyone “phenomenal we were, phenomenal we are, IGTCians at heart…phenomenal we will be”.

In continuation to Abhimanyu’s address, Ashwini Potinis, Senior Engineer, A Raymond Fasteners India Pvt. Ltd. addressed the audience and revealed that she and her colleague Nitin Walhekar were the first guinea pigs nominated from their organization for the EBMP program. However, on witnessing their transformation, their company has nominated 5 participants for the next EBMP Batch.

After the participants it was time for the faculty to steal the limelight as Dr. Mankad, faculty for Managerial Economics; Jaya Joshi, faculty for Individuals and Organizational Effectiveness; Sagar Narsian and Rajeev Chawla, our two faculty for Marketing Management; and Anant Amdekar, faculty for Business Law gave their powerful but short parting messages to the graduating students, imploring them to never stop learning and also discovering themselves.

Ensuing the outstanding speeches by the managers, it was time for the family members, the ones who sacrificed their weekends, to share their experiences. Rajalaxmi Venkatnarayanan, wife of Venkatanarayanan S., General Manager, Mercedes-Benz India Pvt. Ltd. was grateful to IGTC saying “Saturdays and Sundays initially were very boring as he was charged up every morning for class and I couldn’t understand why. However as the classes continued we started discussing what was taught in class over a cup of tea, something which would not happen prior to him joining the program.”

After a wife, it was time for a husband to share his experience. Narhar Gosavi, husband of Rupali Gosavi, Senior Manager, INA Bearings India Pvt. Ltd., “I am extremely happy that my wife was part of this course so I do not mind being the minority gender in spouses here today. When I did my MBA she gave me immense support so this was my time to reciprocate. This was a great opportunity for her and has completely transformed her.”

However the highlight of the evening was the daughter of Shailendra singh Bajaj, AGM – Logistics, Volkswagen India Pvt. Ltd., Jasleen Kaur Bajaj. “I don’t know what has happened to my Papa” she asked the audience as she innocently narrated changes she observed in her father during the course “After the start of the program, he has changed all our names at home. My mother is management, I am the shareholder and my younger sister is the future. Not only had this, during dinner ROTI became Return on Time Invested and ROSE as Return on Shareholder Equity”. She ended her sweet speech by thanking IGTC on behalf of all the little children for making their fathers future CEOs and MDs.”

Maria Arunalayam, daughter of Anil Arunalayam, Senior Manager, Bosch Ltd., proudly stated that she is happy as her dad has achieved this significant milestone in his professional life. She continued “Going back to studies after a long time is difficult and as children we could relate to them in searching through books and last minute projects that they had to put in. I was happy to see my father go through the pain that I go through every day. The course helped him evolve intellectually and emotionally”.

After a nostalgic video made by IGTC for the batch, it was time for the dignitaries to finally take the stage. Dr. Juergen Morhard, Consul General, German Consulate General in Mumbai addressed the audience saying “I come here because seeing the graduating ceremonies of the batches of IGTC is one of the best shows I could ever see in this country. It makes me proud how the IGTC team and the chamber really put together groups, who only meet 50 times a year, but at these ceremonies I am touched to see the spirit which has been developed over this short span of time. In the end you do this for yourself, to transform your personalities so now you have to encourage your colleague sand peers to do the course. That way everyone will progress in the same pace”.

Dharmesh Arora, President and CEO, Schaeffler India and Guest of Honour, nostalgically reminisced when he finished his executive program six years ago. Accentuating on the ever changing world, he said “The pace of change has definitely quickened but change has been a continuum forever. The future generation will always be faced with the dilemma of changes that are yet to come. And you will be the inventors for changes to come. I congratulate you for undertaking the change in your life and coming back to education as you will be the ones creating the new world”.

Ramesh Palagiri, Managing Director and CEO, Wirtgen India and Guest of Honour was impressed with the passion, energy and team work that each one had brought to the class. He then stated “You completed the course out of sheer passion and because you wanted to become knowledgeable and make a difference in your companies. My advice to you is – find something you are passionate about at the earliest and even if it takes time but keep looking for it”.

After the speeches it was finally time for the most awaited moment of the evening. The distribution of the certificates. Each participant was greeted with a title that best described them. The evening ended with Radhieka R. Mehta, Director, Indo-German Training Centre, giving the Vote of Thanks “In today’s days and age where everyone wants to look into their smart phones instead of each other eyes, it takes a lot to keep the batch connected. Every year, we feel daunted by the challenge as every batch comes with expectations. However, over a period of one year we bond, change and develop a relationship that will last. It has given us the greatest satisfaction to bond with you and have you as our brand ambassadors”.

The final icing on the cake was the singing of the IGTC anthem which truly resonates what IGTC stand for encouraging every alumni to hum ‘IGTCians at heart, phenomenal we will be!!’

BASF Corporate Governance and Business Ethics Seminar Series

“Ethics cannot be compromised in any situation”

With innovation as the key to everything, it is only natural that BASF strives to better their best each year. Hence, the 7th BASF Corporate Governance and Business Ethics Seminar Series for the IGTC PGPBA Batch 2016 – 2018 was inaugurated in exceptional style at the BASF Innovation Campus, Turbhe.

The entire class of young IGTCians were welcomed warmly and given a detailed orientation to BASF as a Chemical Company by the senior HR Partners and the existing GROW trainees at BASF. This was followed by a tour of the BASF Innovation campus, wherein the students got the opportunity to see testing labs and the various state-of-the art equipment used. The hosts left no stone unturned to treat the students to a scrumptious terrace-top lunch.

Post lunch, Dr. Raman Ramachandra, Head South Asia, Chairman & Managing Director, BASF India, officially commenced the Corporate Governance and Business Ethics Seminar Series by giving an enthralling lecture on how ‘Values create values’ in a corporate setup and the importance of values and ethics in an organisation. Some of the key learnings from his session were as follows:

• Ethics cannot be compromised in any situation.
• Company’s sustainability not only depends on profitability but also its people and environment.
• Company’s values and ethics should be made a part of the entire value chain.
• Awareness about the whistle blower policy and the various other channels that one can approach anonymously to report unethical practices in an organization.
• Importance of the enquiry that the company undertakes to ensure that an innocent person always gets justice.
• The management should Walk the Talk.

The launch day ended with the students being put through some thought-provoking moments. What happens when values and ethics are lost? What happens when values and ethics are adhered to? They had to write an essay with some real life examples on these two questions.

Over the following weeks, the seminar series continued with speakers from the top management of BASF across its various departments such as Procurement, Human Resources, Finance, Legal, and Corporate Affairs, who imparted knowledge to the PGPBA Batch through interactive lectures at IGTC. Every session was unique in it own way as the speakers shared their work experience and examples through case study, TEDx videos and role plays.

The “Inside Job” depicted the fact that how the biggest of the institutions fall victim to doing things in unethical way for monetary benefits. The TEDx video by Prof. Clayton Christensen introduced the class that an individual must not use monetary and social parameters for measuring success. It also taught us the importance of overcoming instant gratification and how integrity helps in making the decision between what is right and what is easy. The clipping from the movie “Talwar” explained the importance of ethics and how money and morals play a vital role in the corporate world.

The series had immense key learnings, some of which are captured below:

• Marketing and Corporate Affairs teams should establish consistent messaging in their communications and pinpoint a common goal to create credibility for their organization.
• It is extremely important to take into consideration not only our own intuition, but also the intuition of the opposite person.
• Treating employees ethically can garner long-term employee trust and loyalty, which conveys a range of distinct benefits to employers.
• The structured consolidation of The Companies Act, 2013 emphasized why companies need to be more compliant today, especially with stringent laws coming into play.
• The court of conscience is bigger than any other court of justice.
• It is all about you as an individual when it comes to ethics.

A key highlight of the seminar series was the session when the students had to present a role play on how does a brand tackle a negative episode or a challenge? How did they face the situation and deal with the media and PR? How did they take onus of the situation to stand by their ethics? It was impressive to see some of the creative and innovative ideas put forth by the students. They presented the Maggi and Cadbury controversies among others. The role play adjudged as the best one was the one on how the Mumbai Police can stand as a brand and showcase themselves on social media, and reach out to the different stakeholders.

The series concluded by strongly instilling Jack Welch’s quote, “Look around you: there are five fewer officers here than there were last year. One was fired for the numbers, four were fired for values.” And that is the essence of life.

IGTC Alumni

Learning has always been a social activity. It is then no wonder why learning through sharing of experiences, has such a strong impact on others. This is what the “Best Practices in German Organisations” aims at, where learning real life experiences can enhance and influence students’ lives. There couldn’t have been a better opportunity to invite IGTC alumni and share their journey with the PGPBA batch of 2016-2018.

IGTC and the PGPBA Batch of 2016-2018 were excited to welcome nine of our alumni who are now leaders in their field of expertise and years of experience.

This was a home coming for our alumni and one could only expect thought-provoking discussions, engaging topics and sharing of real life stories and experiences.

The series was conducted through November and December, 2017.
Following are some of the key speakers:

Dheeraj Rakho! Entrepreneurship; making the jump from corporate to start-up

Yash Somaiya, Entrepreneur,
Alumni Batch 2011 – 2013

Yash Somaiya, a motorcycle buff, music lover, avid reader, spoken word poet and now an entrepreneur our young alumnus has it all. From working with Siemens Financial Services for two years, to setting his own manufacturing firm, Yash was a perfect choice to inaugurate the Best Practices Lecture Series 2017.

Yash inspired the batch by sharing his journey from being a sales employee to becoming an entrepreneur. The session covered concepts on Entrepreneurship, Self-Management, Self-Analysis and putting our best foot forward. The highlight of the session was ‘Deeraj Rakho!’- (Patience) being patient is of utmost importance which one needs to develop professionally and personally.

Yash ended the session by quoting – A wise man once said ‘what gets measured can be controlled and eventually be improved upon.’ Along with an inspiration and motivational video on the 2010 AFM racing season.
 
Supply Chain Planning

Durvesh Javle, Manager – Global Demand Archroma India Ltd, Mumbai , India
Alumni Batch 2009 – 2011

It was a comeback for Durvesh as he returned to the IGTC campus after 7 long years. Feeling nostalgic Durvesh began the session by sharing his experience at IGTC and how life has changed ever since.

The lecture continued on Supply Chain Planning within which he covered topics like Analytics as Career, Evolution and overview of Analytics and Stats vs Machine Learning. The part of his presentation also covered the reviewing, evaluating and analysing resumes. With the increasing pressure on students for placements Durvesh’s insight on the do’s and don’ts on resume’s enabled students upgrade their resume to the market standards. Students highly appreciated the assistance that they received from Durvesh’s feedback.
 
Real Life ‘Gyan’ – International Project Management

Amey Gangal, Director – Risk & Regulation, Global Workforce Strategy, Morgan Stanley
Alumni Batch 2004 – 2006

‘Ye Meri Kahani’, Amey began his lecture on a very happy note by sharing his life journey with the batch. It was an informal and interactive session on people management, change management, effective communication, various programming languages in different industries and politics in organizations. Strategy, Innovation, Finance, and Technology – some of Amey’s forte which he shared with the batch.
 
Life of Consultant

Hitesh Dama, Lead Project Manager, Mott MacDonald Pvt. Ltd. (MM)
Alumni Batch 2004 – 2006

Hitesh Dama, a growth driven professional 14 years of experience came to IGTC to share the life of a consultant. ‘Everyone is a consultant’ as a consultant is a hard working – lazy person, Hitesh quoted and began the session. The lecture gave insight on overall hierarchy, the fixed and growth mindset and how to take charge of your own career. The lecture ended up with the question ‘What are our strengths to succeed in this volatile, uncertain, complex and ambiguous world?’ which let to open discussion on various career choices.
The students also did have one on one interaction with Hitesh seeking advices on jobs profiles.
 

Four Dimensions of Business Excellence

Mr. Shandilya Oza, worked with TATA Group of Companies for two decades as Chief Financial Officer and Head of Business Excellence.

He comes with 30+ years of Global experience with consistent success in integration of organizational performance and competitive benchmark comparison. He has Demonstrated business acumen in driving sustainable growth and improving profits. The batch couldn’t have asked for more as Mr. Shandilya Oza addresses the batch for the first time at IGTC.

Mr Oza, has worked with TATA Group of Companies for over two decades as Chief Financial Officer and Head of Business Excellence thus his topic for the lecture focused on Four Dimensions of Business Excellence. Diagnose, Design, Drive and Deliver were the key area of discussion.
During this insightful session the students learnt systematic approach for the transformation from “Good” to “Great”, being responsive to change, understanding a company’s core strengths and weaknesses and how important it is to move beyond silos as integration is paramount to attain success
 

Introduction to Product Design and Idea Generation

Aaditya Koshe, Proprietor of Anant Engineering products
Alumni Batch 2007 – 2009

Aaditya Koshe our multi-talented alumni is a cyclist, basketball player and runner while he designs Industrial Automation, robotic vending machines and Developed a range of pneumatic products. Fascinating isn’t! The batch felt the same as this Best Practices Lecture Series was different from the rest. As exciting the topic sounds the lecture too was fun filled with activities and idea generation.

Activities like Mind Mapping, Developing “P” Charts and Mind Storming Chart kept the batch busy and thinking. To make it more exciting the class was divided into groups and were given various tasks in product designing marketing which kept the class on the toes.

By the end of the lecture the students had generated innovative ideas and designed products and presented them to the class.
 

Sustainable Procurement

Vaishali Baid, Maersk Procurement, Mumbai
Alumni Batch 2010 – 2012

IGTC’s alumni, winner of the Bayer scholarship ‘Championing Success’, Vaishali Baid is our young and dynamic leader, trained and worked with Bayer Group of Companies and now at Maersk Group. In her 4 years at Bayer Group of Companies Vaishali has worked in different sourcing positions. The session was all about procurement and moving towards a sustainable future. The lecture comprised of case studies, videos and questionnaire. Some of the key learning for the session were Innovation of sustainable future, sustainable supply chain, ethical work culture and a holistic view on research and discussion on Nike case study.

The students appreciated her brilliant style of presenting the topic and enthusiasm with which she interacted with the entire class.
 

What all it takes to be successful in the corporate world.

Rayomand Karkaria, Chief Manager, Solution and Services, Siemens Ltd.
Alumni Batch 1992 – 1994

“Opportunities don’t happen. You create them” and how to create and choose the path to success in corporate world? Rayomand Karkaria had the answers for all. One of our oldest Alumni came with 23 years of experience at Siemens Ltd and plethora of experience to share with the batch. A very simple session with immense industrial exposure he shared his own journey towards the various roles of leadership while growing in the corporate world. Rayomand kept the batch engaging as he kept the session an open dialog where the students were given an opportunity to ask questions on having a successfully career and sustaining in long term job.
 

Corporate Character

Neeraj Kumar Gupta, Deputy General Manager, Human Resource, Quality & I.T. ,
FEV India Pvt. Ltd.

Amongst all the alumni’s for the Best Practices in German Organisations Lecture series, we had a leader from the corporate world with an experience in Human Resources Information Technology and who demonstrates the history of working in the automotive industry. Neeraj kumar Gupta, an Engineer, a recruiter and a skilled employee engager came to share his passion for working at FEV and his journey to continue to grow in corporate ladder. He emphasised on several factors including globalization, rise of social media transparency, empowerment to individuals and stack holders. He also includes a task where the class had to discuss it in the group as to why it is important to define corporate character.

The students gained a lot of value from the lecture as Neeraj interacted with each one in the class and gave them insights on the recruitment process.

A Day of Qualitative Engagement

The last meeting of the Indo-German HR Partner Forum for the year 2018 was hosted by the leading quality certification company, TUV India Pvt. Ltd. on 7th November 2017. It was attended by the HR professionals from the following organizations: BASF, Bayer, Bosch, Brose Automotive Systems, Covestro, Evonik, FEV India, Hӓfele, Kion, KSB Pumps, Lanxess India, MAN Trucks, Mercedes-Benz, Siemens, Volkswagen, Wacker Metroark Chemicals and Wacker Chemie.  Anjali Joshi, Senior General Manager – Human Resources played the perfect host for the day along with her entire team.

The day commenced with a brief introduction to TUV India. Anjali hosted a candid conversation with Manish Bhuptani, Managing Director, TUV India on his ascend to the C-Suite. He attributed his internal growth story to his steadfast determination along with having a clear target and strategy, which has helped TUV attain highest growth profits in the year 2016-2017. His dialogue was a natural demonstration of his total involvement, passion and pride for the organization.

The HR partners were then given an interactive walk-through the key HR initiatives undertaken at TUV India for their employees in the field of L&D, employee connect and culture building. However, the eye-opener for the day was the extremely fascinating visit to the TUV product and food testing laboratory, which is one of its kind in Asia. Here, the HR partners were given a detailed explanation about the various testing techniques that are undertaken before products are certified with a stamp of quality by TUV India.

Post lunch, the forum continued its series of interviewing a senior HR Partner. The chosen speaker for the day was someone who has always been recognized by the entire forum as a ‘Gem of a Gentleman’ – Suhas Kadlaskar, Vice President Corporate Affairs and HR, Mercedes- Benz India Pvt., Ltd. This special tête-à-tête was interestingly hosted by his friend, Kamlakar Takavade, Vice President- HR & Admin, Volkswagen India Pvt. Ltd. It was truly a pleasure to hear Mr. Kadlaskar speak about his inspiring journey – from being the first employee of the prestigious ‘Star’ brand to his post retirement plans.

Following this, a core team of four partners – Kavery Thammappa from BASF, Ricky Kumar from Covestro, Rosettee Silveria from Wacker Chemie and Rupesh Basu from Siemens – anchored a presentation on ‘HR Capability Building’ as an integral project to be undertaken by the forum. They presented the model that will be essential for all HR Partners in the future. The forum proposes to build these competencies through joint programs. The project was very well received and appreciated by all the partners.

After the presentation, a brief discussion on HR interventions was a breath of fresh air as the topic revolved around ‘How does HR maintain the human touch in today’s world of digitalization?’ Some of the topics discussed were around learning and development, employee engagement, strengthening the relation between employee and manager, managing teams of young talent, programs to improve performance, role of HR to simplify policies for employees and role of HR as a change champion.

The day ended on an optimistic note with a promise to work closer and collaborate deeper in the coming year 2018.