April 8, 2009
Commerce and Management Dept, Amritapuri
 

All over the world, universities are attempting to make their campuses green. The concept of an earth-friendly campus, although still rather new is India, is already beginning to make some important shifts in the way things are done at Amrita.
 

For instance, the Commerce and Management Department at Amritapuri celebrated a management fest titled En’ Masse on April 3rd and 4th. This was the first student event organized on campus that made no use of flex displays or paper posters. Recycled newspapers formed the backdrop for the main gazebo, papers used were all two-sided, and environmental awareness was the theme underlying most contests. For example, the topic for the paper presentation contest was Green Management Strategies. A collage contest had the theme, Women and Mother Nature. Mind Bender was another contest wherein students were asked for solutions to the problem of pollution caused by plastic.
 

En’ Masse is a French word which means together. The fest was also meant to give students a hands-on experience in team building. “I had many opportunities to practice time management, team work and negotiation,” said Shashi Sekhar, a final year BBM student. Shashi will graduate from Amrita next month; theirs was the very first batch of students when the BBM program started in Amrita three years ago. “The fest is almost like a dream come true for us,” he added. “The student organizers displayed tremendous enthusiasm and patience,” stated Ms. Jayashree S, coordinator of the B Com program. “They stayed well within the allotted budget, this was an opportunity for them to put into practice what they had learned.”