Apeejay students pledge to soar higher on their graduation day

Apeejay School of Management (ASM), Dwarka, organised the 22nd Convocation Ceremony at the college auditorium for students of the batch 2020-22. A total of 106 students were conferred the Post Graduate Diploma in Management. 

Prof. Nageshwar Rao, Vice Chancellor, IGNOU and Mr Aditya Berlia, Co-promoter Apeejay Stya and Svran Group and Co-Founder and Pro-Chancellor of Apeejay Stya University presided over as the Chief Guests for the event. The other dignitaries present at the convocation ceremony were Dr Alka Munjal, Director, ASM, who delivered the welcome address, Prof Kamal Kishore, Dean, ASM, Dr. Etinder Pal Singh, Deputy Director at ASM, Dr. R P Hooda, Emeritus Professor and faculty members. 

The graduation ceremony began with the academic procession walking in the hall followed by Mr Berlia declaring the 22nd Convocation Ceremony open.  

Words of wisdom

Mr Berlia, who is also an honourable Member of the Board of Governors at ASM, congratulated the graduates and said, “Looking back, when I graduated from MBA college in 2010, I had lot of great mentors, to many I didn’t listen to, and to those I did, may attest to that. But I did get a few pieces of wisdom, which I thought I would pass on.” 

“I have been spending hours trying to understand the new world we are in today. In the last two weeks, there have been 25 major game-changing AI announcements across the world . Artificial Intelligence and  Machine Learning are playing a crucial role and with this will come phenomenal opportunities for all of you.” 

Further, Mr Berlia advised: 

1. Dedicate a couple of hours everyday to understand how AI & ML works and that will make you extremely productive as well as will truly act as a force multiplier to chase your ambitions and dreams. This will put an incredible amount of duty on everyone to become people, who are wealth creators and job givers. 

2. Understand the impact that you will tend to have on this world. How are you going to personally contribute to the major cause in the world? I would like you to treat the degree not as a new license, but rather an impetus to push for lifelong learning.  So, at the beginning of the year, have a personal learning calendar because learning doesn’t happen by accident.

3. Work hard –  All of you are here because you have been working hard . That doesn’t stop when you graduate. The coming years will be the most productive years of your life. You have ten good years to really push and excel. As you age, your ability to put in more hours to work will become more complicated.

4. Never close any door and this I learnt early. Always keep the door open for friendship, family, work, teachers, processor, even if you dislike it. This also for your future employees and employers as well, please do not ghost them. Walk away with dignity and with a good impression. 

5. What’s a professional? Those wearing a tie and suit are merely well dressed people. A professional has two components ingrained: consistent delivery and integrity. Integrity is a word thrown around a lot in many parts of the world less and less followed. 

6. Starting your spiritual journey. With spiritual, I don’t mean religious. Rather, start thinking about who you are, what you want to achieve? What’s your purpose in life, how do you fit into this world? 

7. Take a moment once in a while to step back and reflect. Each time you do that, you will learn something new about yourself and find better solutions. 

8. Respect those who came before you. Don’t get mired in their thoughts. What we do learn is both good and bad. But respect should always be there. 

9. Learn to deal with rejection. This is a life skill that people take a long time to learn. Learning to accept rejection is part and parcel of life, and if you can’t accept rejection, you will stop trying. 

10. Practice the art of being joyful and extend your gratitude to all you have and to everyone who supported you in your journey.

Don’t limit your thinking power

Prof. Rao, in his convocation address, highlighted the importance of both logical and innovative thinking. He highlighted, “You all have excelled in your performance. You must take the responsibility of excelling and creating a brand name for yourself like your alumni. Management has universal application. It’s because the basics of any of the management courses that you have studied are very applicable in many situations. You know what mind power is? Psychologists have mentioned that our brain has two halves. The left side of our brain talks about rationality, logic, and justification. But the right side of our brain, talks about imagination and dreams. And there is no boundary where you can start thinking and get the best. This is the trait which you all possess. However, we mostly lay emphasis on the left side of the brain, but imagination, innovation, thinking, working and presenting differently is very important.

Following the convocation address, Mr Berlia and Prof Roa conferred the awards and diplomas to the achievers.

‘It has been an enriching journey at ASM’

During the occasion, Sarthakk Khera and Blossom Kaur were conferred the gold and silver medal respectively for their outstanding performance. In addition, seven students were awarded with the medals for excellent performance in various streams. They were Rishibha Singla for Finance, Ansh Bhal for International Business, Sarthakk Khera for Operations, Blossom Kaur for Marketing and Jyotsana Sabharwal for Human Resources. 

Expressing his joy in this proud moment, Sarthakk, the gold medalist said, “It’s been an exhilarating experience for me to be part of such a big institute and pursuing my PGDM from here has been a pleasure. All the faculty members and my batchmates have been very supportive. I want to thank my parents who have been so supportive throughout my journey. 

The students were administered an oath of integrity and ethical performance. They were also formally inducted into the ASM alumni family by Deepankar Khare (alumnus of 2016-18 batch) and Shambhavi Bajpai (alumna of 2019-21 batch). 

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All the graduates must dedicate themselves to the betterment of the society.

-Dr Alka Munjal, Director, ASM

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