The Guest Lectures Committee has embarked on an innovative journey with the inception of ‘Careers and Conversations’, a novel initiative to enrich students’ understanding of the professional realm. This initiative serves as a dynamic bridge between the academic environment and the corporate world. It offers a platform for esteemed professionals to share their personal and professional experiences with budding professionals.
In an era where theoretical knowledge often intersects with practical application, ‘Careers and Conversations’ emerges as a beacon of insight. Through this initiative, the Guest Lectures Committee aspires to give students a holistic perspective on their future careers. The committee invites distinguished individuals from various industries, finance, technology, marketing, or entrepreneurship, to engage in candid dialogues about their journeys.
The first guest at ‘Careers & Conversations’ was Director, KJSIM and Dean, Faculty of Management Studies, Somaiya Vidyavihar University, Dr Raman Ramachandran, talking on ‘Coincidences & Choices’ in his professional life. His life is an exciting journey of an agriculture graduate who went on to pursue a PhD at the University of Adelaide to become a research scientist to securing a government job, quitting it to start his corporate career in his early 30s to go on and head world’s largest chemical company, BASF’s South Asia operations, to becoming an academician.
Dr Raman Ramachandran talked about how making difficult decisions has defined his life. For instance, when he was offered two options to choose from, one being living in Melbourne and pursuing a comfortable and a rewarding job or coming and settling in Mumbai to turn-around one of the most least profitable businesses, he chose the former and that’s what made all the difference in his professional life.
Dr Raman also touched upon the importance of Goal-Setting in life and shared various insights from his Industrial experience where the habit of setting quantitative goals has aided him achieve the maximum output in minimum time frame. He further discussed his passion for academia and his profound inclination towards Change Management which were the key pillars that resulted in him joining the K J Somaiya Institute of Management. The members of the audience were truly inspired by the rich career trajectory of Dr Ramachandran and drew home some valuable insights that were in sync with the theme of the conversation.
Report by: Nisha Panjabi, MBA, K J Somaiya Institute of Management
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