XLers Unlimited

Slot 0. Slot 1. Slot 2. Slot 3. Rolling. Internship. PPO. Back to XL. Interviews. Slot 0. Slot 1. Slot 2...

This summer, yet another bunch of students will strap their bags on, leave XL and board trains or flights to reach the HQs/branches of the companies where they will intern for approximately two months. A motley bunch- doctors, engineers, accountants, psychologists - most of them will be long past the initial seven days packed with confusion, uncertainty, swearing and the 'Man, it's so frikkin arbit!' feeling of when they sat for their SIP 2010 interviews. I won't have forgotten, nor will have most seniors- after all, this is our second SIP interview process. Once before, we were in the hot seat, overwhelming Small Auditorium with our suits, questions and hopes, cracking smiles when the last thing we wanted to do was to smile, staring straight ahead when we wanted to avoid an over-friendly sympathizer, politely holding back sheer disbelief when someone whom we felt didn't deserve it got a prize placement offer, peering at the brown board covered with SIP 2009 announcements- some new, some old- and asking our friends in one moment of open anxiety, "Yaar, mera ho jaayega na?", trying to hide a pang of jealousy when a close friend gained a better offer than we did, and celebrating with crazed relief, tired out but so, so happy that we were 'signed out of the process'.

This time, we're the seniors - we served, we controlled, we coordinated, we handled the logistics, we formatted CVs and one bunch of us spent sleepless nights to help place the entire batch. Also, the same people who sat in that auditorium, mostly feeling lost, anxious or confused, stepped in to provide Valuable Advice for the juniors; we offered our Excellent Tips on Company Pecking ("No, no, A is always better than B, yaar, kyunki maine suna hai ki last year X who interned there told Y ki..."); we provided our Critical and Comprehensive CV Reviewing Services ("Dude, why don't you put all your Positions of Responsibility in this format? Max shortlists this way, trust me. And remember, tere saare internship details ko aise aam aadmi language mein HI likhna, otherwise recruiters won't understand, machi!"); we bestowed upon them our Sure Shot Interview Academia Primer ("Boss", with a heavy sigh guaranteed to create mass nervousness in juniors, "sabse pehle, jaake dekh ki Theory X aur Theory Y dono mein se which is what... Yeh sab pakka poochenge, PAKKA. DEFinitely coming in UGJIK company's interview, man."); and to top off the line up of services, we added the finishing touch: Our V V Special Tips To Handle Horror GDs and Ace Intimidating Interviews ("Start and finish evvvvery GD. Make your presence felt. Smile confidently and tell the interviewer if you don't know something - he will be hazaar impressed with your straightforwardness.)

Let's face it - SIP is a bit like life. Heck, it IS life, played over on a considerably smaller stage. The defining theme is randomness, of the highest order. And yet we will continue, batch after batch, to believe in such concepts as perfectly made offer-getting CVs (snort!), the correct answer to a company's subjective questions in its form, advice from 93 people to get the better of the Great Pecking Tamasha and a common set of tips to acing GDs and PIs (don't even get me started on this one). It is ironic if nothing else that we invest some much of time and energy in what process is essentially a function of uncertainty. However, things are remarkably different on the other side of the spectrum, and I know how I will feel, come CRP - so less of the sarcasm from me and more from Ground Zero.

I helped a tiny little bit in coordinating some parts of SIP 2010, and my role being much easier than others, I got the chance to observe the play of events inside the audi. I observed, partly curious, sometimes helpless, and sometimes just proud at how my- our- juniors were, for the most part, handling SIP 2010; after all, they were battling the sharpest force of nature - uncertainty. There were those who stood up to the pressure calmly and shrugged off rejects, though they undoubtedly had their quiet moments of worry; those who broke down only to rise again; those who sat friendless, slightly removed from the clutter of people all around, and celebrated solitary and silently when they were placed; those who sailed through the process on the first day but stayed on to cheer, encourage and support their friends and batch-mates. Moments of heartwarming bonding, and moments that made me shake my head. The public nature of this post prevents me from taking names, but some of you absolutely rock, you guys, your friends won't forget how you stood by them. Hats off.

From SIP, last year and this one, I have some observations. Some you may know, others you may recognize, and even disagree with some. One, SIP is and will always be unpredictable, so the hype can be reduced. The Hype is the worst part- nothing creates pressure like the talk. Two, there will always be people who will take it in their stride and people who will break, and the unexpected often occurs. Some build respect for the calm with which they handle the entire process. It's called maturity. No amount of mock anythings will help the breakers and none are needed for the steady rocks, but the majority lies somewhere in between and wholehearted support from a senior batch helps. (Incidentally, I had a wonderful senior student coordinator last year called Meetesh Jha - he kept me from pressing my ever-ready panic button. Trust me, It Helps.) Three, there is life beyond SIP, which it is very easy to forget those seven days. Those who remember and put things in perspective make life easier for themselves.

A good number of people in this junior batch did keep things in perspective. Today, they're all placed for summers. And so next summer, they'll strap their bags on, and leave XL and board trains or flights to reach the HQs/branches of the companies where they will intern for approximately two months. A motley bunch- who started out not knowing where they'd end up, but all of whom made the cut, in the tradition of every batch before them.

Congratulations, Class of '11. Nice work. Rock your summers! :-)

XL is number 5.

Here's the story from MBAUniverse.com

While Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad (IIM A) is the # 1 B-school, Indian Institute of Management, Bangalore (IIM B) and Indian Institute of Management, Calcutta (IIM C) has been ranked as the # 2 & # 3 B-schools in India. Indian Institute of Management, Lucknow (IIM L) is ranked at #4. Jamshedpur based Xavier's Labour Relations Institute (XLRI) is pegged at #5 position.

For the 100th post on this site we have this great creative video on the XL Dream Run

Two Projects supported by XLRI Social Entrepreneurship Trust (*), Parichay andSwavalamban were judged 1st and 2nd respectively in the IIM Indore's Social Business Plan contest "Kalpavriksha" - a forum for self sustainable business plans with the potential to make a difference to society.

The two projects were selected from among 103 entries from across the B-Schools, and were judged by executives from Aavishkaar India Micro Venture Capital Fund, IndianNGO.com and India Development Gateway

Besides the prize money, along with other finalists they will also receive mentorship by executives from IndianNGO.com and India Development Gateway, a capital market place for social ventures in India. They will also be able to put up their ideas on India Development Gateway.

As the winner of the event, Parichay will get a direct semi-final entry into theGlobal Social Entrepreneurship Competition (GSEC) to be held at Foster School of Business in Seattle, USA (Feb 23-27, 2009)

The team of three — Abhilash Somen, Ankur Saboo and Anand Raghvendra — all business management students, has developed an animal powered prime mover (generator) where mechanical energy can be converted to electrical energy will the help of oxen.

The students today invited eight NGOs of Jamshedpur to present the idea before them.

The concept of the project was born when the students visited some villages last year as part of their curriculum.

"When we visited the villages last year, we thought of doing something constructive. We began our research that time. The technical specification is not completed as yet. The project would benefit the villagers as it is low on cost compared to solar energy," said Ankur.

The generator consists of a shaft, a bearing, a battery and CFL lamps. The shaft attached with the generator has to be rotated by an oxen to charge the battery connected to it, generating electricity.

A generator is connected to a battery of 44 lamps that can light up four houses. A single generator can also be connected to three generators or more. Electricity will be generated depending upon the power of the batteries.

The students have presented their project before Tata Motors and will be working in a village near Rakha Mines.

Actually two honors according to this news report:

 XLRI has bagged the prestigious Dewang Mehta Business School Award 2008 for the “best academic input (syllabus) in human resource”.

[Original Post here]

An espresso coffee machine which functions without electricity, a special bamboo which lasts longer and is more durable or medicine for asthma made out of traditional herbs may soon be a reality.

Innovations like these and many more would soon be patented in the innovators’ name if XLRI has its way.

Taking a step ahead in its endeavour to bring grassroots innovation to the mainstream, XLRI has recently selected about 25-odd grassroots-level innovations across eastern India to get a patent and be marketed as business ideas.

The move, to be implemented in association with the National Innovation Foundation (NIF), comes in the wake of NIF setting up a research advisory council at the B-school recently.

Set up in association with the department of science and technology, NIF was established to provide institutional support to innovations across the rural pockets of India and grassroots-level workers in transforming their ideas into a profit venture.

“According to the agreement with NIF and XLRI, the regional research advisory council would assess the innovations made at the grassroots in Bihar, Bengal, Jharkhand, Chhattisgarh. The body would later provide marketing strategies for the launch of these innovative ideas in the market,” said T. Raghuram, the assistant professor in strategic management, XLRI.

The council would comprise B-school professors, NIF members and also senior authorities from institutes like IIT (Kharagpur) and IIT (Guwahati).

“We have so far received about 25 such interesting innovations from absolutely grassroots-level workers — farmers, mechanics and electricians. Right now we are in the process of studying their technical possibilities and validation,” said Raghuram.

Once finalised, the selected innovations would be funded by National Innovation Foundation (NIF) and also be protected under intellectual property rights.

“We are not revealing the innovations for we are in the process of patenting these innovations in the founders’ name so they can be saved from being copied,” added Raghuram.

Wow!

Check here

From the XLRI blog:

Faculty Exchange: AIM and XLRI will exchange at least 2 faculty members per academic year.
Joint Executive Development Programs: AIM and XLRI agree to jointly design, market, and conduct short-duration executive development programs in 3^rd countries—especially in the Asian region.
Joint Research: AIM and XLRI agree to identify research themes of international, particularly Asian, relevance
Case Development: AIM and XLRI agree to launch a concerted drive to develop Asia-based cases and, thereafter, publish jointly a compilation on an annual basis.
XAT: In order to attract Indian applicants for admission, AIM agrees to join the group of business schools that accept XAT
Joint Management Journal: AIM and XLRI agree to jointly launch a new, international-class management journal by January 2010.
Student Exchange: AIM and XLRI agree to continue student exchange as per the agreement signed between them earlier on December 13, 2004.

From the Telegraph

XLRI School of Business and Human Resources is set to get deemed university status.

XLRI director Father N. Casimir Raj told The Telegraph: “UGC has agreed in principle to grant us deemed university status.”

He, however, clarified that that though a verbal assurance has come from the University Grants Commission, the business school is yet to receive a formal notification.

“UGC has verbally told us that in principle they agree to our proposal for deemed university status which was sent about a year ago. Now we will pursue the matter so that the written confirmation reaches as soon as possible. We will then apply for a no-objection certificate (NOC),” Fr Raj said.

An NOC from the state government is a must for any institute to begin autonomous operations.

At present, Birla Institute of Technology (BIT), Mesra, and Indian School of Mines, Dhanbad, are the other deemed universities in the state.

From the XLRI blog:

With domestic stipends reaching astronomical heights of Rs. 5 Lakhs (Lehman Brothers), the process resulted in the batch of 2009 being placed in exclusive roles with the best companies in the industry, both from India and abroad. Lehman Brothers, J P Morgan Chase, Hay and Microsoft offered stipends of more than a lakh (for domestic offers), while Novartis, HUL, ABG, P&G, Transworld, Asian Paints and ICICI made foreign offers. HSBC, Ernst & Young, ABG, Edelweiss, Deloitte Consulting, IBM and Nokia were the largest recruiters this year with the highest number of accepted offers. Other premier recruiters include Carlyle, Accenture Business Consulting, KPMG, TAS, Yahoo etc.

• Highest Domestic Stipend of Rs 5 Lakhs by Lehman Investment Banking
• Highest International Stipend of Rs 1.75 Lakhs by Novartis
• Around 10 overseas offers were made from Novartis, HUL, ABG, P&G, Transworld, Asian Paints and ICICI
• 2/3^rd of the batch placed in Slot 1 in less than 36 hours
• First time recruiters in the Financial sector include Lehman Investment Banking, 8 Capital Hedge Fund, Indea Capital, Lotus Asset Management etc
• 20 companies took part in the process for the First time
• 60+ companies made internship offers to the batch

In the business standard

XLRI will help Chhattisgarh in drafting a management policy for better utilisation of human resources available in the state.


The State Institute of Educational Management and Training (SIEMAT) will be the nodal agency to coordinate with XLRI in drafting the policy. XLRI will complete the work in six months and will assign three experts to complete the work within stipulated time, Nandkumar added.

Who says budding managers are not creative and poetic people. Check the sample of writings that the following folks from the 08 and 09 batch cooked up as part of Oktoberfest in XLRI. Seems like good fun was had by all. Writings are hosted on the Dracula blog...which is not so much an ode to the Prince of Transylvania but the Dramatics and Cultural Association of XLRI ;-)


Seniors

Kailash
Seema Narera/Bharath Rao
Shivani Nigam
Sonali Ahuja (2nd Place!)
Swati Jena

Juniors

Tushar Kataria
Ramakrishna
Kartheek Kanumuru
Srinivas
Krishna Bhaskar
Ankur Sawhney (1st Place!)
Ankur Sawhney
Mukund Madhav

For all XLers who are on Facebook, here's where you need to join in.

Hope Orkut junkies are already on the Orkut XL community there.

From MBA Universe

Outlook B-School Survey 2007: IIM-A, XLRI, FMS and IRMA top league tables

From Abhilasha:

"Stop the car right now!!" I shrieked, horrified at the news I'd just heard.

On my way from the Tatanagar station to XL for the Independence wetnight, I had just comfortably settled into the passenger side and casually asked Guppu, my junior, for campus news. He turned to me and, almost reluctantly, said "Dadu's has been broken down".

For a few minutes, there was complete silence as I tried to figure out if he was pulling one of his usual fast ones on me. He looked serious enough, concerned even... I asked him to repeat himself, a little slowly this time, from the beginning... even before he got beyond the first sentence I was screaming for the car to stop.

My eyes brimmed over and through the mist I could see two years of friendship, heartbreak, fun and nostalgia flash before my eyes. Our first days at XL, and finding my first set of friends at Dadus... the autumn evenings seated at the log... 'nimbu paani' by the litre during Ratanjee and XL-IIMC... taking a break during classes, leaning against the white washed walls proudly proclaiming 'Happy Diwali'... express sutta service for batchmates during SIP... winter mornings with seniors, banging on the blue counter window, waking Buddhu up to make a steaming cup of tea when the sun had barely risen... rediscovering friends and observing the new crop after summers, while the smoke trailed from our fingers... jumping the compound for impromptu dinner at Madrasi... from visiting dadus, to making it home--Niranjan da's smile and welcome small talk... discovering, in a cycle that I suppose repeated itself in every batch, friends among the junior batch while seated on the compound wall...

My heart was heavy as we headed to XL, the initial excitement having died down completely... it was near midnight when I got there, and in the rush of meeting people, it slipped my mind... the next morning, we took a walk down and I saw the shell that remained... I could not fathom why anyone would have wanted to break Dadus down--to me, it was as horrific as ripping one's own limbs apart...

Dadu's has now been moved behind GH1, where the broken furniture used to be kept... when I met Niranjan da, he told me all this had happened but a day before I got there... one look at their faces could have shown any fool that they felt cheated, betrayed by their own... to them, XL had been family all their life, and the little room known to the XL world as Dadu's their lifeline... to snatch that away must have taken an awfully cold heart and lack of all human consideration...

Is that where XL is headed? The official reason is that this is a part of an overall plan to beautify the campus.

Many XLers hold prominent positions in the corporate world... I ask of you, when you come to recruit us, does it really matter how green the garden is or how even the pavements? Or do you look for signs like these, that tell you what we value and what kind of human beings we are? And what does such blase destruction of a revered symbol of the XL tradition say about XL now? I, for one, am sorely disappointed......

Abhishek posts just this bit of news !

Any other detailed info, folks?