Prayaas, the social responsibility initiative of EPGP, hosted children from shelter homes in Bangalore to conduct career guidance sessions and engage them in team building activities
20 February, 2023, Bengaluru: The students of IIM Bangalore’s one-year, full-time MBA for working professionals, the Executive Post Graduate Programme in Management (EPGP), along with the students of the school’s two-year MBA for working professionals, the Post Graduate Programme in Enterprise Management (PGPEM), hosted Prayaas Day on 19th February 2023 (Sunday). Prayaas is the social responsibility initiative of EPGP, which is aligned to IIMB’s ethos of building socially responsible leaders.
The theme for Prayaas Day 2023 was ‘Empowering leaders of tomorrow: One child at a time’. In line with the theme, the Prayaas team hosted children from care homes in Bangalore, conducted career guidance sessions and organized events to engage the children and help them bond with the IIMB student community.
The day-long event was inaugurated by Prof. Rishikesha T Krishnan, Director, IIM Bangalore along with Chairpersons of the EPGP and PGPEM. Hailing the EPGP and PGPEM teams for coming together to present Prayaas Day, Prof. RT Krishnan said that the culture of giving back to society is among the major objectives of IIM Bangalore.
Prof. Ashok Thampy, Chairperson EPGP and faculty in the Finance & Accounting area at IIMB, pointed out that education is the most powerful weapon which we can use to transform the world. “Education has an intrinsic value that is far beyond economic issues. The all-round development of a child is extremely important to help them shape their careers.”
Congratulating the students of EPGP and PGPEM for their joint effort in putting up Prayaas Day this year, Prof. Allen P Ugargol, Chairperson, PGPEM and faculty in the Public Policy area at IIMB, said, “Collaborative effort will have better and sustainable outcomes”, adding, “To empower children is to guide them to feel valued as well as capable, and to make them realize they play the role of creator in their own lives and futures.”
Special talks
The keynote speech was delivered by former cricketer Mahantesh G Kivadasannavar, President, Differently-abled Cricket Council in India (DCCII) and the Cricket Association for the Blind in India (CABI). He shared his experiences and challenges of being differently abled and how various elements of the society helped him gain strength and establish himself. “Resilience and grit are key elements that can conquer any disability”, he said.
The guest speaker, IIMB alumnus Manjunath, Sr. Rtd. Engineer, HMT International, in his speech on ‘Importance of Community Giving’, said that community service is crucial for people of all ages. “Community service activities help children define their values, experience empathy, develop social skills, and learn about their community.” He illustrated the work of Abhyudaya Foundation that works for children, and invited volunteers from the IIMB student community to join hands to give back to society.
Panel discussion
Prayaas Day also saw a panel discussion on ‘Opportunities for Strategic Leadership in Ensuring Education for All’. The session was moderated by Vishal Laxman Bengeri from the EPGP 2022 batch, currently working as Senior Manager - Strategy and Operations Planning at Ola Electric.
Panelist Sourabh Shetty, Co-founder, Sourcenode, and volunteer at the NGO Bhumi, spoke about the importance of technology education in a rapidly changing world. “Covid acted as an inflection point that increased digital adoption”. He shared his experiences working with children and empowering them through technology, robotics and IoT education. “Kids from shelter homes are very smart and can be very competent – what they need is exposure. Educated kids will be part of the decision-making process of the family and that helps to uplift the status of the family.”
Sharanya Gautam, Training Manager, CorStone, one of the panelists, pointed out that inside-out learning is essential to develop balanced learning for children in rural and semi-urban areas. “Resilience is also important for any social worker; being committed to change is the key to deliver the result. A multipronged approach – accessibility to technology, creating the right motivation, establishing a learning ecosystem and women empowerment are few factors that can enable education for all.”
Panelist Vishakh Venkat, Founder-President, Aorta Foundation, said that a country like India needs to invest significantly in the education of its children. “We need to be socially conscious. Pull strategies such as science experiments, sports, debates, quizzes, etc. should be an integral part of every child’s education in order to attract them to attend school. Corporate enterprises need to move from Fun Fridays to Impactful Fridays to make a difference in the society.”
The fourth panelist Nandini CK, Karnataka State Govt. Service, Dept. of Collegiate Education, discussed real-time experience of working with societies and communities, and challenges in a social career. She spoke in detail about strategies that can help empower children and encourage in building a robust education ecosystem. “Qualitative and quantitative assessments of the policies established by the government are essential for continuous improvement”, she added.
Other activities
The day’s events included a Career Guidance Session, which was an interactive session between children from care homes and the students of EPGP and PGPEM. The students addressed the children’s queries on career paths, courses and resources to help them achieve their dreams.
The children also participated in various team building activities and shared their perspectives on team building and the importance of collaboration in a team. They got a chance to utilize the sports facilities of IIMB as well – the volleyball, badminton, tennis and basketball courts in the campus. The children were gifted school bags and bottles as a token of remembrance of their visit to the IIM Bangalore campus.