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Great Lakes Institute of Management, Gurgaon, welcomed its 8th batch of PGPM on 14th May, 2019 at its scenic lush green campus. The inaugural address at the event was delivered by honorable Chief Guest, Mr Gautam Ray – Executive Director, Human Resources and Administration, CESC Ltd. and President HR – Power Sector companies, RP Sanjiv Goenka Group.

Dr. Debashis Sanyal, Director, Great Lakes Institute of Management, Gurgaon, addressed the newly instated batch of PGPM students, as he congratulated them for their well-deserved candidature. He began his speech by expressing his pride and gratitude over the recent AMBA (UK) Accreditation that Great Lakes Gurgaon has received, bringing it on par with other AMBA Accredited institutions worldwide in terms of quality of curriculum, delivery and infrastructure. He then spoke about the institute’s renowned faculty of the highest caliber, especially Dr. Umashankar Venkatesh, Director - PGPM, and Prof. SK Palhan, who would be conducting the Karma Yoga, an experiential leadership program which aims to shape future leaders by letting them experience and solve problems of rural India. Inspiring as he always is, Dr. Sanyal had a few pearls of wisdom for the new batch as well. Staying relevant, working hard, making the most out of one’s time in campus, taking care of one’s health, building one’s network, and not finding faults in one another were some of the most important words of advice he had for the students.

Congratulating the students on starting their new endeavor, Mr. Gautam Ray expressed that this is an excellent opportunity to gain exposure and expand their network with their newfound peers, as a good network is a treasure to be cherished for a lifetime. He inspired students by stating that they should treat this one year as a transformational journey and, at the same time, synchronize themselves, at a fast pace, to the changing dynamics of the outside world. He encouraged the students to walk out of their comfort zones and be open to learn new things, and emphasized on the importance of continuously unlearning and learning new things.

Further, he advised students to prepare themselves for the uncertainties as success depends on one’s ability to handle unexpected events. He also shared a few anecdotes for a successful stint in the service sector. To begin with, he advised them to be empathetic and develop an attitude to listen to the others with an open mind, and come up with innovative solutions. Secondly, to develop social intelligence – the ability to connect with people and speak their language. Thirdly, to believe in adaptive thinking & mobility – the ability to collaborate with teams and with the virtual world, from one place to another, or one culture to another. “Acquire as much knowledge as you can,” was his parting message to the students.

The commencement event concluded with Dr. Umashankar Venkatesh delivering the vote of thanks and, keeping up with the Great Lakes tradition, announcing the name of the new PGPM batch - SPARTANS.