The Goa Institute of Management (GIM) held their annual Grand Alumni Meet (GAM) on August 13, 2017. The event brought together alumni from GIM's founding class to recent graduates. It celebrated the last 24 years of GIM's operations. The Director revealed plans to launch a new PGDM program in Big Data Analytics. A distinguished alumni award was given and alumni mentored current students through "buddy talks" and entrepreneurship sessions. The event strengthened the bond between alumni and students.

1. THE GIM GRAND ALUMNI MEET 2017 WAS POWER PACKED
WITH ALUMNI AND INSPIRING NARRATIVES OF THEIR
SUCCESS
Whenever it’s time for the Grand Alumni Meet (GAM), one finds unmistakable
regalia in the air around the campus. So 13 August 2017 was no different.
With each year, the number of attendees has been significantly increasing.
From the alumni of the Founding Class to the latest graduates, GAM makes
the Sanquelim campus go younger by years.
The 2017 edition was special for many reasons. The annual meet did not only
witness familiar faces sharing ideas, memories, and hearty laughter, but also
celebrated the last 24 years’ successful operations of the school. The event
also witnessed Dr. Ajit Parulekar, Director, Goa Institute of Management
reveal the school’s upcoming plan to launch a new course – PGDM in Big
Data Analytics.
GAM 2017 started with the Annual General Body Meeting of the alumni. It was
the first order of business, which was attended by all alumni members from

2. different parts of the country. The general body meet has been an invaluable
resource for sharing updates on various initiatives at GIM and discussing new
ideas – with those who have been there, done that – for the coming year.
In the Director’s Address, Dr. Parulekar shared highlights of the progress GIM
has been making. Citing recent trends, he said, “I am really happy to
announce that we have a substantial 30% jump in applications this year. The
percentage acceptance of offers during admissions has also gone up from
70% to 85%.” Speaking about new initiatives, he continued, “To augment our
program offering we are launching PGDM in Big Data Analytics under the
leadership of Dr. Anand Teltumbde, for which we will start with an intake of 60
students.” Dr. Parulekar also shared a piece of news that got everyone
excited. GIM has been chosen by NITI Aayog for setting up the Atal
Incubation Centre on its campus. This is particularly heartening for GIM since
NITI Aayog has selected less than 20 institutes from among 3048
applications.
Father Romuald’s short but inspiring speech on his vision about the changing
role of alumni and how that will contribute towards a brighter future for GIM
proved inspiring for everyone.
The eagerly anticipated ‘Distinguished Alumni Award’ was also announced.
The award was presented to Mr. Gagan Banga, VC & MD, Indiabulls Housing
Finance, from the 1998 batch of GIM. In his acceptance speech, Mr. Banga
reminisced about his GIM days and his goals, aspirations, and journey to
success where he finds himself today.
An institution’s alumni play a key role in mentorship and this is taken very
seriously at GIM. The gathered alumni spread themselves across five
classrooms, one each for the four sections of PGDM course and one for the
HCM course for ‘Buddy Talk’. This is a particularly useful initiative by GIM,
which fosters Student–Alumni interaction and helps current batch students
benefit from alumni industry insights.
In parallel, ‘Opportunity Mapping’ – an incubatory/mentoring session by
alumni for the benefit of budding entrepreneurs in the current batch – was also
conducted. The students presented their ideas in front of a panel which
weighed the pros and cons of the business models and helped to polish them
into better and more effective plans.

3. The evening wrapped up with a stand-up comedy by a PGP1 student, Osama
Kamran, and musical performances by GIM’s very own musical band,
Midnight Jam. As with all good things, even this day had to come to an end.
GAM ended on a note of everlasting bond between the alumni and the current
students. The alumni headed back having inspired many and the students
retired to their routine, waiting for the day when they will return to GIM as
alumni and mentor others.
source by www.gim.ac.in