The Colloquium Committee at Amrita School of Business, Kochi serves as a bridge between academic learning and industry practice by organizing interactive sessions with experienced industry professionals, corporate leaders, entrepreneurs, and subject-matter experts. These sessions provide students with valuable insights into real-world business practices, emerging industry trends, leadership experiences, and professional challenges, helping them connect classroom concepts with practical applications. Through these industry interactions, Colloquium aims to broaden students’ perspectives, encourage knowledge sharing, and enhance their understanding of the corporate world.
Over the course of the academic year, the Colloquium Committee organized several insightful sessions featuring distinguished industry professionals and experts from diverse fields. These sessions covered a wide range of topics, including managerial effectiveness through AI, leadership in change management, startup and innovation ecosystems, and investor awareness. The following highlights showcase some of the colloquiums conducted and the key insights shared by the speakers.
The session on Enhancing Managerial Effectiveness Using AI Tools featured Capt. Muthu Krishnan Iyyappan, who shared valuable insights from his career in the Indian Army and discussed the ASKOI principles for personal and professional success. The session explored the growing importance of Generative AI in improving managerial efficiency and decision-making. Participants were introduced to various AI models, their applications, and the fundamentals of prompt engineering. The session highlighted how managers can leverage AI tools effectively to enhance productivity and navigate the evolving business environment.
The session on Role of Leaders in Change Management explored the importance of effective leadership in navigating organizational transformation. Mathew Kizhakkethil John discussed the PCO model and its phases, project and people management, stakeholder engagement, and strategies for successful change implementation. The session covered prominent change management frameworks, including the ADKAR model, Kurt Lewin’s Three-Step Model, Kotter’s Eight-Step Model, and Prosci’s approach. It also examined common barriers to change, such as organizational culture, communication gaps, and resistance, emphasizing the role of leaders in sustaining change and achieving organizational objectives.
The session, Building a World-Class Startup and Innovation Ecosystem – Trialogue with the Ecosystem Commanders, brought together Prajeet Prabhakaran, Nasif NM, and Joseph Babu for an engaging discussion on entrepreneurship, startup development, and innovation. The speakers shared insights from their professional and entrepreneurial journeys, highlighting the challenges and opportunities involved in building successful startups. The discussion also covered the Kerala Startup Mission, key takeaways from Google I/O, and the use of AI tools in innovation. Through their experiences and interactions with students, the speakers emphasized the importance of industry exposure, continuous learning, and entrepreneurial thinking in building a thriving startup ecosystem.
The investor awareness session conducted by Valentina D’Cruz and Hafiz Gafoor of the National Stock Exchange of India Ltd. focused on financial literacy and informed investment practices. The session introduced students to stock market fundamentals, the process of investing in equities, the role of the Securities and Exchange Board of India (SEBI), and its investor awareness initiatives. The speakers also highlighted fraudulent activities in the securities market, including scams involving fake intermediaries, and discussed mutual funds and the power of compounding. An interactive quiz further reinforced the key concepts and encouraged students to develop a better understanding of responsible investing and investor protection.
| NAME OF THE GUEST | TOPIC | DATE |
|---|---|---|
| Dr. Harish Kumar Visiting Professor, Amrita School of Business |
Investment Strategies in Equities | 13-02-2021 |
| Mr. Rahul M. K. General Manager, Operations Reliance Trends |
Breaking the Bulk – Journey from Mandi to Click | 06-02-2021 |
| Mr. Monish Shah Senior Director, Deloitte Touche Tohmatsu India Limited |
Fin-tech Revolution and Money Circulation | 17-09-2020 |
| Mr. Vinay Mohan COO, NZIA, Singapore |
The Future of Digital Value | 15-09-2020 |
| Ms. Dipti Deshpande Associate Director & Senior Economist, CRISIL Ltd. |
Monetary and Fiscal policy responses to Covid induced Economic crises | 05-09-2020 |
| Dr. Sashi Sivramkrishna Director, Foundation to Aid Industrial Recovery |
Macroeconomics & Modern Money | 03-09-2020 |
| Dr. Amalendu Jyotishi Professor, School of Development, Azim Premji University |
The Evolution of Money | 01-09-2020 |
| Dr. A. V. Arunkumar Consulting Economist and Development Researcher |
The oil economy of Middle East and its implications | 25-08-2020 |
| Mr. Subramanian Krishnan | Interview skills for Business Professionals | 25-02-2020 |
| Effective Presentation Skills: A key Business Competency | 24-02-2020 | |
| Mr. Minoor Manmadhan L & D Certified trainer and Psychometric Analyst |
Self-employed Cross-Cultural Communication and Etiquettes | 20-02-2020 |
| NAME OF THE GUEST | TOPIC | DATE |
|---|---|---|
| Mr. Satish Kumar Menon, Head of Research & Development unit, Environmental Systems Research Institute (ESRI), Sharjah, UAE | The importance of implementing the paths of self-realization in real life | 24-10-2019 |
| Mr. Unnikrishnan D., Assistant General Manager, Geojit Securities | How real time trading of shares in stock market is done? | 23-10-2019 |
| Mr. Krishnakumar M., Manager-Marketing & Brand Development, Lawrencedale Agro Processing (India) Pvt Ltd. | Stress Handling | 19-10-2019 |
| Mr. Harikrishnan M. R., Area Sales Manager, Bajaj Auto Finance Limited | Importance of Internships | 12-10-2019 |
| Dr. Bala Prasad, Retd. Special Secretary, Ministry of Panchayati Raj, Govt. of India | Sustainable Development Goal | 22-08-2019 |
| Dr. Bala Prasad, Retd. Special Secretary, Ministry of Panchayati Raj, Govt. of India | Leadership and Strategic Management | 19-08-2019 |
| S. Madhav, Financial Advisor | What should be done to fit in the corporate industry | 01-08-2019 |
| Ms. Babita George, Principal Consultant, Banking & Finance, TEGS Consulting LLC, Dubai, UAE | Life after College | 26-07-2019 |
| Prof Muraleedharan. S Retd Associate Professor Economics, Retd Associate Professor Economics, Maharajas College Ernakulam | Budget Analysis | 06-07-2019 |
| Mr. Shambhunath Pradeep Team Manager, Operation Division, Amazon | Life at Amrita & Amazon work culture | 22-06-2019 |
| Mr. Pranesh Annamalai Sales Manager, UST Global | Myths that MBA students typically have when they join a B-School which hinder their growth potential. | 15-06-2019 |
| Dr. Dorothy Siaw-Asamoah Clinical Assistant Professor, Organization and Human Resources, School of Management, University at Buffalo |
Interactive sessions on learning, identifying one’s strengths and leadership. She also gave a comparative analysis on the learning practices in the other parts of the world and India. |
18-02-2019 |
| NAME OF THE GUEST | TOPIC | DATE |
|---|---|---|
| Dr. Minta Thomas Post Doctoral Researcher at Fred Hutch, Gretaer Seattle | Applications of Machine learning algorithms | 10-11-2018 |
| Mr. Balagopal Padmakumar, Lead-West Region at brand-comm, A Madison World Company | Brand Communication in the Modern Era | 06-09-2018 |
| Mr. Sumesh Ramankutty, Vice President, Media Strategy and Operation, SBI | Digital Marketing in Banking Sector | 06-08-2018 |
| Ms. Sulakshana Unnikrishnan, Clinical Psychologist | Stress Relief | 29-06-2018 |
| B. Balakrishnan, Senior Management Professional | MBA – Basics, Expectation, Qualities, Industries, Information System | 23-06-2018 |
| Mr. Vincent N. P., Chief People Officer, Motivational Speaker, Digital Transformation Thinker | Digital Transformation | 19-06-2018 |
| Mr. Bibek Ray Chaudhuri, Asst. Prof. Indian Institute of Foreign Trade, Kolkata | Trade in ASEAN countries | 16-03-2018 |
| Mr. Vijaya Mohan Pillai, Faculty, CDS, Trivandrum | Faculty, CDS, Trivandrum | 08-02-2018 |
| Mr. Christo George, Chairman and Managing Director, Hykon Group of Companies | Entrepreneurship | 05-02-2018 |
| NAME OF THE GUEST | TOPIC | DATE |
|---|---|---|
| Dr. Peter, Visiting Faculty, Amrita Centre for Economics and governance | 31-10-2017 | |
| Mr. M K Chandrashekaran | 15-10-2017 | |
| C.A. Jayaprasad Ramakrishna, Financial Controller in PNG of QBE Insurance | Diverse career choices and career opportunities for MBA students | 13-10-2017 |
| Capt. K. A. Pillai, Retired Captain (INDIAN NAVY) | Motivational Talk | 15-09-2017 |
| Mr. Salil Pillai, Senior Manager – Customer success, Middle east & Gulf, Software-As-A-Service Suite, Oracle |
Recent Technology and Career Choice | 14-07-2017 |
| Mr. Varghese Cherian, Director – Osmosis Australia | Starting your own business | 13-07-2017 |
| Mr. Amlan Ray, Head , Education Business – Jain TV, New Delhi | Indian Trade and its Global Perspective | 08-07-2017 |
| Sri. K. Sathyan (District Judge), currently Member Secretary, Keralam State Legal Services Authority (KELSA) | How to be “socially responsible” as managers | 06-07-2017 |
| Mr. Madhu V Ganesh, Country Head India/Bangladesh and Sri Lanka of VICI | Skills and Aptitude for a Successful Career | 27-06-2017 |
| Mr. Amit Antony, Head – Human Resources (India), Fragomen Immigration Services India Pvt. Ltd | Identifying skills, interests, career preferences | 21-06-2017 |
| Mr. Lenny Abrao, Group Director- Abraogroup of companies | Logistics | 19-06-2017 |
| Mr. Lenny Abrao, Group Director – Abrao group of companies | 3PL (Third Party Logistics) | 19-06-2017 |
| Dr. Arvind Subramanian, Chief Economic Adviser, Ministry of Finance, Government of India | A Discussion On Indian Economy And The Economic Survey 2017-18 | 14-03-2017 |
| Mr. Yukio Ohara- GM (India Operations), Mr. Kochat Narendran- Head Bengaluru Branch, Mr. P. Harikrishnan- Assistant Manager (Sales) | Logistics | 22-02-2017 |
| Dr. Staffan Lindberg, Professor emeritus, Lund University, Sweden | Science, innovation and learning | 11-02-2017 |
| Mr. Balraj Nair, Senior Manager Information Services —Cargo & Ground Handling in Qatar Airways | Data Analytics | 20-01-2017 |
| Mr. Balraj Nair, Senior Manager Information Services – Cargo & Ground Handling in Qatar Airways | Importance of Analytics in current scenario, Artificial Intelligence and IOT technology | 20-01-2017 |
| NAME OF THE GUEST | TOPIC | DATE |
|---|---|---|
| Mr. Mahesh Narayan, Senior Manager at Accenture Analytics group | Data Analytics | 04-09-2016 |
| Mr. Frankur D. Jayan and Mr. Sreejith V. | GST | 31-08-2016 |
| Mr. Nikhil A. B., Chief Digital Marketing Officer, South Indian Bank and Mr. Madhav Manmohan, Regional Digital Marketing Officer (Ernakulum Region), South Indian Bank | Digital Banking Overview | 20-08-2016 |
| Ms. Sudha Sudeep, Senior Education Promotion Officer, Nuffic Neso India, Chennai | Interaction with Students | 26-07-2016 |
| Dr. Harish, Fund Manager | Basics of Stock Investing | 25-07-2016 |
| Mr. Dony Peter Director and Lead Life Coach at Petersons Leadership Consultants |
He highlighted the importance of value creation, idea generation and personal goal setting through his extremely engaging session with our MBA students. | 04-02-2016 |
| Mr. Jidhun Mohan and Ms. Nanda Nambiar Alumini of Amrita School of Business, Kochi. |
Interaction with students | 28-01-2016 |
| Mr. Sujith Ravindran, Co-Founder of Being at Full Potential. |
Spirituality and Management | 18-01-2016 |
| NAME OF THE GUEST | TOPIC | DATE |
|---|---|---|
| Dr. Enamul Haque Professor, East–West University Dhaka, Bangladesh |
Research Methodology | 30-12-2015 |
| Mr. Narayan Sharma Operations Management Consultant |
Effective Project Management | 24-12-2015 |
| Ms. Tanie Thomas District Mission Coordinator-KUDUMBASHREE |
Community based organization of poor and local self government the dynamics of space | 11-11-2015 |
| Dr. N. Gopalakrishnan Director of Indian Institute of Scientific Heritage |
Significance of leading a useful, purposeful, fruitful and meaningful life. He also emphasized the relevance of observation and listening for MBA students. | 01-11-2015 |
| Mr. Sajan Roy Regional Sales Manager, Tata Capital |
Whatsapping in Financial Services | 19-10-2015 |
| Dr. Diana Wais Executive Coach and Leadership Facilitator |
Environmental Problems | 09-09-2015 |
| Mr. Pravin Vijay Assistant Vice President of Marketing, Flytxt |
Data Analytics Club | 04-09-2015 |
| Dr. Kewal Gupta, Visiting Faculty, Amrita University |
Millennium Developmental Goal | 24-08-2015 |
| Mr. Dileep Choyappally Group Manager – HR (Learning & Development) at IBS Software Services |
Role of MBA in IT Firm | 10-08-2015 |
| NAME OF THE GUEST | TOPIC | DATE |
|---|---|---|
| Mr. Anish Nair ERP Techno Functional Consultant, Microsoft Dynamics GP |
Enterprise Resource Planning : Opportunities and Challenges | March 10 |
| Ms. Mrunmai Joshi IAS, Assistant Collector, Kochi |
Interaction with students | March 10 |
| Paul Couchman Head of School, Management and Marketing, Deakin University, Australia |
Role of Informational Technology | November 28 |
| Anju Bist Visiting Faculty, Amrita University |
Rural Fellowships | November 21 |
| Suraj Mohan Market Intelligence, SEBI |
SEBI as a regulator | November 20 |
| Amit Antony HR Head, Ernst & Young |
Organization Culture and Organization fit | November 1 |
| Pradeep Chandrasekharan CEO, Finmark Trainers |
Financial Market Shares and the Stock Exchange | October 17 |
| N. Sriram Managing Trustee-Samridhu Foundation, Chennai |
Sustainability | September 03 |
| Dr. P. K. C. Bose Managing Director and CEO, Saertex India Private Limited |
Managing Business Communication | August 23 |
| Mr. Kalyanasundaram Head – Business Excellence, Omnex India |
Quality Management | August 16 |
| Ms. Indu Menon Social Anthropologist, Kara Ventures |
Entrepreneurship | August 02 |
| Dr. Ajaykumar | Basics of Marketing | July 07 |
| Mr. A.P.Madhu Cost Accountant & Management Consultant |
Strategic Cost Management | February 15 |
| NAME OF THE GUEST | TOPIC | DATE |
|---|---|---|
| Prof. Chandrasekharan | Basics of Marketing | December 7 |
| Prof. Rajesh IV | The Relationships | November 14 |
| Sanjit Ravi | Managing the transition from college to corporate | October 26 |
| Andrine Mendez | Digital Marketing | August 20 |
| Mr. Nair Nandakumar | Project Management | August 19 |
| Dr. Paul Couchman Head of School Management and Marketing Deakin University, Australia |
Entrepreneurship in Natural Resources | July 29 |
| Nobel Laureate Dr. Rajendra Kumar Pachauri Senior Adviser to Yale Climate and Energy Institute (YCEI) Chairperson of Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change Ex-Director General of TERI Ex-Chairman of The Governing Council of the National Agro Foundation (NAF) Founding Director of YCEI. |
Green Campus Initiative (through A-View) |
July 25 |
| Mr. Deigo Guidi Director and Founder, Irribizia Consulting An alumini of Insead Social Entrepreneurship Programme |
Social Innovation and sustainability | June 24 |
| NAME OF THE GUEST | TOPIC | DATE |
|---|---|---|
| Mr. Lakshmanan H Khimji Ramdas LLC, Muscat |
The Corporate Life | February 3 |
| Ms Preetha Doctoral Candidate, Department of Management Studies Indian Institute of Technology, Madras |
Consumer Insight Mining: Understanding New Media in Marketing | February 2 |
| Dr. Ananta Kumar Giri Associate Professor Madras Institute of Development Studies, Chennai |
Transformative Harmony | February 1 |
| Dr.Sam Pitroda Currently Advisor to the Prime Minister of India on Public Information Infrastructure and Innovations An Inventor, Entrepreneur and Policymaker |
Interacted with MBA Students via A-view | February 1 |
| NAME OF THE GUEST | TOPIC | DATE |
|---|---|---|
| Mr. Riju Viswanath Managing Partner Best Bakery Group of Companies |
Values in Corporate Life | December 16 |
| Mr. Pradeep Menon Director Quadrant Risk Management Middle East FZE |
Information Systems: Career Opportunities for MBAs | December 13 |
| Mr. Vivek Menon Head of Marketing,Corporate Solutiond EMEA Jones Lang LaSalle, London |
General Interaction: Choosing and sustaining the right career path | December 09 |
| Dr. A.S. Menon Psychologist and HR specialist |
Stress Management | November 23 |
| Mr. Litto Palathingal Advocate, High Court of Keralam |
How to overcome Stress | October 21 |
| Mr.Krishnan Subramanian Soft skills consultant |
Self Awareness, Interpersonal Skills, Interview Skills, GD | October 01-03 |
| Dr. K.K.Jayan Head, Training and Development, Kochi Refineries Ltd. |
Team Building and Leadership | September 12 |
| Dr. Diana Wais Entrepreneur and Executive Leadership Consultant |
The factor that predicts success in business | September 06 |
| Dr. Karmeshu Dean, JNU |
Modelling diffusion innovation and its applications | August 25 |
| Mr. George Mathew Manager, Business Standard, Kochi |
Scope and Future of MBA | June 27 |
| Mr. M. K. Krishnamoorthy Regional Manager (Results and Market Development Wing), The Times of India, Kochi |
Importance of media in the present business scenario | June 26 |
| Dr. U. Krishna Kumar Director, ASAS, Brahmasthanam |
Emotional Intelligence | Mar 7 |
| Prof. Jayaprakash Dept of Visual Media & Communication |
Importance Visual Media and Communication | Feb 25 |
| NAME OF THE GUEST | TOPIC | DATE |
|---|---|---|
| Mr. Pratyush Prasana Open Innovation Manager Xerox Corporation, Chennai |
Innovation in Product Management, Marketing, Sales and About the Ample of Opportunity in the Field of Product Management | March 20 |
| Mr. Sankar M/S Assyst International Ernakulam |
Enterpreneurship | March 15 |
| Prof. G. Thimmalah Ex-planning Commission Member Prof. R. S. Deshpande Director, ISEC Mr. Ravindran Fin.Controller, Target Mr. Vishweshwara Sr.Director, Deloitte Tax |
Insight of Indian Budget | March 15 |
| Mr. C. J. Mathews Development Commissioner Special Economic Zone, Cochin |
Operation of Special Economic Zone | March 12 |
| Mr. Krishnankutty GM – Corporate Relations Amrita Vishwa Vidyapeetham |
Preparation for Placement | March 11 |
| Mr. Raghu Ramachandran COO, Asianet |
Media Selling | February 22 |
| Dr. Sanjay Banerji Dean, Amrita School of Business |
Supply Chain Management | February 03 |
| NAME OF THE GUEST | TOPIC | DATE |
|---|---|---|
| Br. Kailash Amrita TBI |
Overview of TBI Programs at Amritapuri Campus | December 22 |
| Dr. Sanjay Banerji Dean, Amrita School of Business |
December 05 | |
| Ms. Madhushree Sarkar Senior Manager, Accenture Services Pvt Ltd., Bangalore |
Industry’s Expectation from Management Studies | December 05 |
| Mrs. Leela Menon Veteran Journalist, Social Activist Editor, Janmabhoomi Newspaper |
Women Empowerment | December 04 |
| Mr. Vijay Menon Orator and Management Expert |
Swami Vivekananda and Human Excellence | October 27 |
| Br. Abhayamrita Chaithanya Pro-Chancellor Amrita Vishwa Vidyapeetham |
August 01 | |
| Dr. Sanjay Banerji Dean, Amrita School of Business |
Tripple Bottom Line | July 30 |
| Mr. Venugopal C. Govind Managing Partner M/s. Varma & Varma Chartered Accountants, Ernakulam |
Emerging India – Challenges and Opportunities | July 23 |