Report on ENTRE PLEXUS 08 Annual EDI Alumni Meet. Theme : HOW SUCCESSFUL PEOPLE BECOME EVEN MORE SUCCESSFUL Venue : EDI Campus Dates : 4-5 January, 2008

The EDI-PGP Alumni Meet, Entre-Plexus 2008 was organized at EDI campus during 4-5 January 2008. Around 200 students attended the meet. The objectives of organizing such a meet were to;

• establish a network among EDI Alumni,
• discuss and share their experiences while establishing and managing their businesses,
• provide counseling on issues and problems they face during NEC process and
• to further develop their soft skills through Ten Entrepreneurial Commandments.

Day 1 :

2008 got a glitzy start at the lush green lawns of EDI, Ahmedabad on the evening of 4th of January. Majestic aura thumped the evening by the sheer intellect that bestowed its presence on campus. Mr.Gaurav Parmar, the President of EDIAA started proceedings by describing what Entre-Plexus – the annual alumni meet of EDI was all about.

Dr.Sunil Shukla, the PGP Chairperson of the institute, then got on to the dais where in he enlightened the audience about the current and recent happenings on and about the EDI Campus. He disclosed that the one year PGP program that EDI’s been hosting for the last ten years will hence forth be a two year encapsulated program recognized by the AICTE.

Dr.Dinesh Awasthi, the Director of EDI went about discussing the progressive stance that the Alumni Committee has taken to date and appreciated the efforts taken to bring about this meet to happen. He expressed pride at having the Chief Guest of the evening Lead India Finalist Mr. Devang Nanavati on campus.

The highlight of the evening that got about the aura glitzy was the crisp, surreal and enigmatic flow of words that was showered upon the audience by Mr.Devang Nanavati. From business to politics, corporate chivalry to Indian history, Mr.Nanavati took the entrepreneurial audience by storm and left them spell bound. His mesmerizing speech did achieve its desired target of sensitizing the young audience towards nation building entrepreneurship. The chief guest then unveiled the first EDIAA newsletter.

Mr. Mihir Gajrawala, Secretary of EDIAA, unleashed the 10 entrepreneurial commandments for new age entrepreneurs. The commandments summarized various factors that lead to the success of businesses in the modern era.

A speed networking session followed, where in the alumni exchanged a round of quick introductions. The session was hosted by Prof. Siddiqui, a senior faculty at EDI.

Luscious food followed next, galvanizing the audience with swanky appetizers and informal discussions with the faculty core. Post diner, the Dj spun some of the raunchiest numbers leaving the audience gasping for breath. All in all, just another day at work for the wanna be entrepreneurs.

Day 2 :

A power-packed Saturday, kicked off by Dr. Sunil Shukla’s address wherein he shared the FUTURE DIRECTION FOR EDI PG PROGRAM. This was followed by a high charged lecture by EDI’s founder and former Director Dr. V G Patel. He chose to speak to the alumni on SUCCESS MANTRAS for 21st CENTURY.

What followed next was a superlative presentation by Dr. Urmish Chudgar, MD, INTAS BIOPHARMACEUTICALS on ‘HOW SUCCESSFUL PEOPLE BECOME EVEN MORE SUCCESSFUL’. Dr. Chudgar was the chief guest for the event and his wonderful speech did full justice to his presence. His articulation of his experience was so subtle and clear that it left the audience asking for more. The presentation was followed by a free-wheeling interactive session wherein the guest had to confront many topical issues ranging from ethics to strategy to corporate social responsibility.

The second half of the day started with a fun filled contest called the ‘SMART ENTREPRENEUR’. A panel of three eminent faculties, Prof. Siddiqui, Prof. Ramkrishna Mistry and Prof. Panda grilled the contestants on a variety of witty and wacky questions. The responses of each contestant left the audience in splits. Adil Bandukwala was adjudged the SMART ENTREPRENEUR.

Later Mr. Munish Patell, Director, Kennsville Golf and Country Club spoke to the audience on ‘Business Networking on Golf course’. It turned out to be quite an exciting session that generated pretty engaging debates. Next was a presentation by EDI alumnus Mr. Vikash Kumar who gave a presentation on ‘MICROFINANCE FOCUS-INDIAS FIRST MICROFINANCE ONLINE MONTHLY MAGAZINE’

Later on the alumni committee interacted with the participants and discussed the objectives of the Alumni Association. The President of EDIAA spoke about the benefits of coming together and asked the alumni to become registered members of the EDIAA. EDIAA Secretary announced that the next important initiative will be the development of a highly interactive website for the Association members. EDIAA committee also announced that all the future events/initiatives of the Association shall be for the members of the Association. Turned out to be quite a breezy session with valued interventions by Dr. Sunil Shukla. By the end of the evening there were already 60 registered members to EDIAA. An encouraging beginning for the Alumni Association.

The evening encountered a rocking Cultural Show hosted and organized by the 10th batch of EDI PG program. Scintillating dances, skits, mimes and a host of electrifying acts filled the atmosphere with excitement and exuberance.

The evening ended with a Gala Dinner where in the alumni had a chance to interact with Edi director and other senior faculty. As if this was not enough the students and alumni interacted with each other around a Bon fire. The starry winter night was made memorable as the alumni shared their hostel days with the current batch of students.

Entre Plexus is the coming together of effervescent minds so as to generate vibrant debates and discussions to further the cause of successful entrepreneurship. It just proved to be so, for all the bubbling entrepreneurs.

A Brief Report on “Entre-Plexus 2007"

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