PAN IIM & GIT 2021 World Conferences: A Confluence of India’s Two Soft Powers – Spirituality & Management
Kozhikode: The three-day 8th PAN IIM World Management Conference (8th PAN IIM WMC) and 2nd International Conclave on ‘Globalizing Indian Thought’ (GIT 2021) concluded on a high note with close to 400 research papers presented on global management thought and practices and the impact and influence of Indian Thought in a 21st century world. The valedictory function was graced by Prof. Dipak Jain, Former Dean of Kellogg School of Management (USA) and INSEAD (France); Mr S Sivakumar Head of Agri & IT Business ITC & Sister BK Shivani, renowned meditation teacher, Brahma Kumaris Spiritual Movement in India and Prof. Debashis Chatterjee, Director IIM Kozhikode.
The gathering witnessed a wide range of discussions and exchange of ideas with Prof. Jain giving a detailed presentation on enduring values of management education and its primary responsibility of ‘making a real difference in this world’. He emphasized on a DIET (Digital Learning, Innovative Mindset, Entrepreneurial Spirit and Talent development) as the fulcrum for encouraging entrepreneurialism for creating a better world. Sister BK Shivani in her motivational address underlined the humane need of the hour to prioritize ‘person’ over ‘performance’ and encouraged listeners to embrace the power of affirmation inspired by ancient Indian concept of ‘Sankalp Se Siddhi’. Mr S. Sivakumar with his presentation on ‘Sustainable Agriculture Practices – India’s lessons for the World’ emphasized on the need for critical thinking to come up with innovative ideas.
With its theme ‘Responsible Business for Sustainable Development’ the PAN IIM WMC 2021 hosted by IIMK registered participation from not only the 20 IIMs in the country but from also 15 other countries – Australia, Bangladesh, Brazil, Denmark, India, Iraq, Italy, Nepal, Portugal, Russia, Singapore, Sri Lanka, Switzerland, Turkey, United Kingdom and United States. 262 papers were accepted and presented after a rigorous review process with an acceptance rate of 40%. The tracks were co-chaired by experts from various institutions including Singapore Management University, IIM Ahmedabad, Penn State Behrend, IIM Calcutta, IIM Indore, The University of Oklahoma among others with participation from 343 delegates. Besides these, panel discussion on – Building a Successful Career in Academia, Social Innovation; thematic panels on Gender and Economy, stakeholders and sustainability, humanities and liberal arts, marketing, finance & accounting, Information Systems, Marketing, Organisational Behaviour & Human Resource, Strategic Management, Quantitative Methods, Operations Management were also conducted. Practitioners session witnessed representatives from reputed companied like KPMG, Pidilite, TCS, Safexpay who excitedly engaged the virtual audience.
‘Globalizing Indian Thought’ (GIT 2021), IIM Kozhikode’s signature conclave witnessed 117 papers presented over 26 sessions in three parallel tracks and 160 delegates participating. True to the spirit of the conference to explore India in all her facets, we witnessed a diverse range of presentations related to Indian cinema, Sports and Health, Management and Business, Wellness, Environment, India’s diverse knowledge system, Indian politics and bureaucracy, and India for All; along with a special a track titled “21st Century Gurukul and Asceticism: A quest for spirituality”. On one hand the ‘Distinguished Speaker Series’ gave participants opportunity to converse with Swami Sarvapriyananda of the Ramakrishna Mission whereas, on the other hand ‘Meet the Editors’ session with top Chief Editors of renowned global journals encouraged and guided Indian researchers on how to carry out excellent scholarly work suitable for high impact publications.
Prof. Chatterjee, Director, Conference Patron PAN IIM 2021 & Conference Chair GIT 2021 thanked the Speakers, the attendees and remarked that the two landmark events (16-18 Dec) were conducted seamlessly by virtue of intense planning throughout the year by the dedicated efforts of the Conference Team / Faculty and Staff of the Institute, showcasing IIM Kozhikode’s prowess as a World class premiere Institute. He also felicitated the winners of the Best Paper Awards for PAN IIM WMC 2021 & GIT 2021 and appreciated their efforts. (The list of Winners of Best Paper Awardees for PANI IIM WMC 2021 & GIT 2021 is annexed in this release)