Honing Acumen

Through different activities formated like fun games,the schoolkids learnt how things work in the supply chain,how decisions of personnel management must be taken and were made to present a plan for year 2025 in a mock Parliament session.

“The institute has been hosting Ocumen since 2004 and it is an initiative to create awareness about Management theories and practices among those on the threshold of college or professional studies,” says Gaurav Dixit,in the first year of pursuing Post Graduate Diploma in Business Management from IIM-L,spokesperson of the Media Relations Committee.

“We hand out useful methods and tips to develop quantitative skills through ‘treasure hunt’ and give an idea of operations by creating a supply chain,in which the youngsters realise how profitability and feasibility is achieved in live situations,” he says.

But the guiding process doesn’t end here—students are given the phone number and mail id of their ‘mentor’ at the event and they are free to consult the IIM student any time in future when working on a project or planning a career move.

The children,on the other hand,popped a surprise displaying acute accerption and responding most intelligently to the posers. In the Parliament session,they presented ‘Vision 2025’,playing cabinet ministers suggesting ways to address the issues of security,energy conservation,brain drain,education and health.

Student of Bal Bharti Public School,Delhi,Nishchay Mehta couldn’t contain his surprise at eye-openers the event threw up. “I always thought operations was only about tedious calculations,but I came across several interesting situations here that demand managerial skills.”

But it wasn’t only the students who benefited. Teachers who came along with them picked up some nuggets too. “Interacting with the IIM professors helped us pick some creative ideas to improve our method of teaching,” said DK Chatterjee,the teacher who accompanied students of La Martiniere Boys College,Kolkata.

In all,19 schools from seven cities participated in the event,said Ishani Pruthi,of Ocumen,the IIM-L team that holds the event.