IIM-K to celebrate Business Evolution at Annual Fest Backwaters 2008

Indian Institute of Management, Kozhikode will celebrate this on-going evolution of Business in India through its annual management and cultural festival Backwaters 2008. The theme of the event will be Evolution which will begin from January 11 to 13, 2008. IIM K expects more than 25 international B-Schools to take part.

The fest will host Reliance White Knight 2008 to bring the discussion around the theme Urban Development and also the launch of a media contest in collaboration with Sony Entertainment Television.

Reliance White Knight is a search for innovative and effective solutions to specific problems in an Indian context that aims to improve the quality of life for everyone. According to the information shared by IIMK with MBAUniverse.com, This year White Knight discussion will bring the problems associated with burgeoning urban settlements into sharp focus. Students from leading B-schools will be asked to work on a business plan that will help alleviate some of the problems facing urban development. Apart from being crowned the champions, the winning team shall take home Rs 1.5 lakhs with an equal amount held in trust by IIMK and released to an NGO as and when the idea gets into implementation mode.

However, the media competition will churn out new ideas for innovative shows for Sony Entertainment Networks youth channel, SAB. According to IIMK, Participants will work with a detailed brief about the channel and the results of Sonys market studies, to come up with ideas that the company will look to implement for its forthcoming shows.

Backwaters, this year, will also feature a new business simulation game, spread across all verticals and organized in collaboration with a foreign university. While the simulation shall give an opportunity for participants to apply their classroom concepts to the real world, a huge online treasure hunt has been organized to keep them guessing throughout December. Various informal in-campus games and cultural events will also mark the three-day extravaganza, which shall culminate with the annual IIMK alumni reunion called Nostalgia.

B-school students will also have to fight it out with corporate houses across the country this year. The greater corporate participation levels this time will definitely widen the learning arena as we move forward with a much bigger platform for students, academics and the industry to interact and build familiarity amongst each other, said Harish Shashidhar, a member of the Backwaters organizing committee.

Backwaters 2008 is being sponsored by Reliance Industries, Freudenberg, Deloitte, Bristlecone, CapGemini, TCS, Vodafone, Lenovo, ONGC, RPG, SET, Gold Simulations and Paymate. Indias leading management portal MBAUniverse.com will be the Official Management Portal for the event.