February 25, 2010
School of Business, Coimbatore
Nearly 220 students from 21 B-Schools participated in the Annual B-Fest Pragati conducted at the Amrita School of Business on February 19 and 20. The fest mascot, Cafoo, helped create an awareness about ways to reduce carbon emissions and sustain the life on earth.
“For a sustainable future, we have to change the way we live and progress, such that the earth is not destroyed,” reiterated Mr. R. N. Mukhija, President (Operations) of Larsen and Tourbo Limited, Mumbai, the Chief Guest.
Mr. S. C. Sarkar, Vice-President L&T, Coimbatore and Mr. Surendra, Ex-President of L&T, invited guests, were joined on the dais by Dr. Sanjay Banerjee, Dean, Amrita School of Business. Various forums organized games and events for participants.
Exhibits displayed by the Ozone forum won this group the trophy for the best decorative and creative ideas. O-Cle, their cycle mock-up, emphasized increasing the use of bicycles as these do not give out carbon emissions.
O-Bins, made of wooden reapers and cloth, were set up everywhere to encourage the use of eco-friendly bins instead of the usual plastic ones. The forum members had taken the time to create displays that were useful and thought-provoking.
‘Planeta Ecologica’ conducted by the Jagriti forum required financial and marketing plans for ‘feasible, sustainable and eco-friendly’ products. “Sewage management, eco-friendly restaurants, all teams had something innovative to talk about,” stated Naitika Raval, a member of the jury.
‘Sanaatanah’ was organized by the forum Relations and was based on managerial concepts mentioned in the Bhagavat Gita. Participants competed in four rounds named Vyaakhyaa, Saadhati, Lakshya and Rachna. Contestants also participated in ‘Dec 21, 2012’ by Technocratz, a computer game in which the earth had to be saved before it ended.
“I have never been to a college where students and faculty have such a good rapport. You guys are like buddies,” stated Ms. Jasmine, who won the “I am Legend” game conducted by the marketing forum, Gen-M. Gen-M conducted yet another event, ‘Monopoly Chase’ that had contestants suggest tag lines for social awareness advertisements.
The events were sponsored by twenty companies including Commtel Networks and Mascon Global Limited. The event logo for Pragati 2010, in keeping with the theme of global warming, was green in color, with a footprint for ‘P’ and the mascot Cafoo planting a tree for ‘I’. “We wanted to depict the importance of nature,” stated the organizers.
