Director – Academic Speech - Delivered by Prof M. Anil Ramesh, on 3rd September Inauguration of SSIM second shift programmes - Part - I

It is a great honor to stand before you and deliver this speech as the Director – Academic. I stand before you with a mixed bag of emotions. The emotions include a tinge of sadness, happiness, sense of achievement and more than anything else a sense of purpose and determination. The sadness is because I am leaving a great department that is the department of marketing where I have worked in this prestigious group. I had a lovely team of people and it was great working with them. But things have to move on and so have I. But I promise that my heart always beats for marketing and any time the department wants my services I will be there as a loyal soldier.

The sense of purpose and determination is the bigger emotion that is swirling in my mind right now. It is very rarely that a person gets a chance to associate with an organization right from the time of its inceptions. I am honored to have that distinction. The sense of determination to prove to the management that I am up to the challenge and the goal that has been set for me and my team.

Yes the challenges are many and they are worth a mention. The challenge to set up an organization that is equal to the standards that have been set by Siva Sivani institute of Management (first shift). I have an advantage which is that I have all the stalwarts associated with SSIM standing next to me ready to extend a helping hand. I can always approach them in any case of need.

The next challenge is to groom the students to see that they emerge as equals and be compared as being as good as the students of the first shift. They will have to stand on their own and make a place for themselves and I am sure that they would take up this challenge earnestly and prove me right. The present set of students have a solemn goal in first of them. They are going to be our first batch of students. It is up to them to set the tone and tempo of students’ affairs. They will have to set a high bar of excellence. A high bar that can be scaled but only with a great effort.

An appeal to the young students who have assembled before me. You are all bright eyed aspirants of this hallowed magical kingdom called management education. Pause for a second and visualize your thoughts. Let me speak out your thoughts. Why I am doing this PGDM? Is it for money, a great job, is it because my parents have said so, or is it because it is the in-thing or the fashion or is it because somebody else has done the same. If It is for any of the above reasons it time you have revisited your own thoughts. Management education for me is an attitude changer and personality builder. It is not education but it is a career that we are grooming you for. I will treat you as employees on a loan from the corporate world.