Friday, November 14, 2008

"XL Dream Run" curtain-raiser on Youtube

Hello,

"
XL Dream Run" curtain-raiser is up on Youtube
... thanks to the amazingly creative work by Mayur Bhutani & Varun Gulati (09BMD batch)

XL Dream Run (Nov 16th, 2008)

http://in.youtube.com/watch?v=zq1cIKS2poI
Do have a look

ciao
madhukar
==============


A Fund-Raising Event
for
The XLRI Social Entrepreneurship Trust
SBI XLRI Branch Code: SBIN0004660
A/c No: 30274085172
[Pl visit the website to donate through Paypal]

Wednesday, November 12, 2008

XLRI bags top prizes at IIM Indore contest

More news on something I blogged about before now reported in the Telegraph

XLRI excels at turning rural dreams into reality
- B-school projects Parichay & Swavalamban bag top prizes at IIM Indore contest

Jamshedpur, Nov. 11: Ideas born at XLRI School of Business and Human Resources have clicked again. And this time nationally.

Two projects engineered by the students of the premier B-school beat 101 entries from across the country to bag the top prizes at Kalpavriksha — IIM Indore’s much acclaimed social business plan contest — on November 8.

The annual event is described as a forum for self-sustainable business plans with the potential to make a difference to society and XLRI indeed made a difference.

Parichay, the project that bagged the first prize, began six months ago. It is a gateway to the market for rural and tribal artisans. It was launched with the objective to revive traditional art by giving them a contemporary makeover and to ensure direct access to the market for artisans.

By winning the Indore contest, Parichay has secured its place in the semi-finals of the Global Social Entrepreneurship Competition (GSEC) slated for February 2009 at Foster School of Business in Seattle, US.

The XLRI project that won the second prize at the meet is Swavalamban. Under the project, students used an ox-driven generator to light up homes in remote villages.

Swavalamban has already bagged orders from the Jharkhand Renewable Energy Development Agency and the Tata Motors corporate social responsibility department. The National Thermal Power Corporation has also ordered 200 units at a research level.

Both the projects have been supported by the XLRI Social Entrepreneurship Trust, which was established to promote and support students and alumni of the institute. Talking to The Telegraph, Madhukar Shukla, the chairperson of the trust, said: “We are glad that the work of our students has been recognised. This will prompt us to motivate those keen on becoming entrepreneurs.”

Ankur Saboo, one of the members associated with Swavalamban, said he felt very proud. “I had a gut feeling we would win because people had liked our project and we had already bagged a few orders,” he said.

The panel of judges at the contest included representatives from organisations such as Aavishkaar India Micro Venture Capital Fund, IndianNGOs.com and India Development Gateway. The winner and the first runner-up received cash prizes of Rs 120,000 and Rs 80,000, respectively. The members associated with the projects would also get mentorship (guidance) from IndianNGOs.com, a social enterprise, and India Development Gateway (IDG), an organisation of equity investment.

Monday, November 10, 2008

Latest Update on XL Dream Run

I am happy to update you on the XL Dream Run (Nov 16, '08) - http://www.xldreamrun.com - being organised to raise funds for the XLRI Social Entrepreneurship Trust from the alumni.

As you know, on Nov 16th morning, 300 of our students and some faculty and staff have registered to run for the cause (you will find the list on the xldreamrun website.)

So far, alumni have contributed $5,670 + Rs 129,500 from across the globe (USA, UK, UAE, Singapore, Switzerland, Bahrain, Egypt... and of course, India) - and from across the batches (58 to 2008).... and more are coming.

This event has also helped us "market" the XLRI Social Entrepreneurship Trust among alumni, as now they are aware of the Trust and its activities.

Tata Sports Academy, Reebok, Pepsi and Amway-XL have been kind enough to commit their support to the event in "kind".

Contributions to the Cause can be made through:

1. Paypal account (Please visit http://www.xldreamrun.com) to link to Paypal account.

2. Bank-transfer or checks to:
XLRI Social Entrepreneurship Trust
SBI XLRI Branch Code: SBIN0004660
A/c No: 30274085172
[Pl send the transaction details to Madhukar, if making a bank transfer]

ciao
madhukar

Sunday, November 9, 2008

XLRI's Social Projects sweep "Kalpavriksha"

Two Projects supported by XLRI Social Entrepreneurship Trust (*), Parichay and Swavalamban were judged 1st and 2nd respectively in the IIM Indore's Social Business Plan contest "Kalpavriksha" - a forum for self sustainable business plans with the potential to make a difference to society.

The two projects were selected from among 103 entries from across the B-Schools, and were judged by executives from Aavishkaar India Micro Venture Capital Fund, IndianNGO.com and India Development Gateway

Besides the prize money, along with other finalists they will also receive mentorship by executives from IndianNGO.com and India Development Gateway, a capital market place for social ventures in India. They will also be able to put up their ideas on India Development Gateway.

As the winner of the event, Parichay will get a direct semi-final entry into the Global Social Entrepreneurship Competition (GSEC) to be held at Foster School of Business in Seattle, USA (Feb 23-27, 2009)

-------
(*) On Nov 16th, more than 300 students and faculty will participate in XL Dream Run, to generate funds for the XLRI Social Entrepreneurship Trust, which supports such projects.

Saturday, November 8, 2008

The "other" runners

besides the 300 students...

List of Runners

Faculty/Staff

Prof. Ashis Kumar Pani
Fredrick D'Souza (Freddie)
Fr James Santhanam
Prof. Madhukar Shukla
Prof. Madhvi Sethi
Prof. Raghu Ram Tata
Prof. Sanjay Patro
Prof. Sanjeev Varshney
Prof. Santanu Gupta
Prof. Sharad Sarin
Dr. R Parameswaran
A Fund-Raising Event
for
The XLRI Social Entrepreneurship Trust
SBI XLRI Branch Code: SBIN0004660
A/c No: 30274085172
[Pl visit the website to donate through Paypal]

Wednesday, November 5, 2008

Update on XL Dream Run

Contributions to the XL Dream Run have reached $2050 and 13,500Rs. There's still a way to go before hitting the targeted 10,000$ mark.

To inspire you to donate, here are some appeals from XLers who have already donated to the cause.

Now that the clouds have parted and beam of sunlight shines on the US of A, I would like to remind you guys to reach into your pocket and give some money for this good cause. According to Madhukar, they have reached 50% of their target. This was what I had contemplated doing graduating from XL, but did not have the guts to do so. These new kids have the conviction to do it. So for the sacrifice of a week of Starbucks lattes or a dinner at a decent restaurant, you can help these guys succeed in their endeavors. Yeah, I know times are tough, but see it as a opportunity to kick that caffeine habit.
Regards
Subash


From someone from the 81 batch :
madhukar... can i do a parallel effort ..since none of us can be in jameshedpur for the run. So '81 batch, here is the option: i am attempting to cycle 75km on 16th november as part of the bangalore ultra marathon (ok, its a run, but as an ex runner, i am being allowed to cycle it, and 75km is a huge strecth for me, i may end up doing far less)- so will any of you pledge moneys for every 5km I cycle ? and pay directly to the Xl dream run site , once i confirm back on how much i was really able to achieve on 16th It will also be a huge motivator for me to push on !

Update from Madhukar :


XL Dream Run is a unique – and perhaps first of its kind in any B-School – event, when 300 students of XLRI Jamshedpur would run to raise funds for a cause – The XLRI Social Entrepreneurship Trust.

The event will be held on November 16th, '08 in Jamshedpur.

The 300 students registered for the event also include the exchange students from 5 b-schools in France, Germany, Manila, and Sweden who are spending one term at XLRI. Some faculty have also registered for the event.

The funds are donated by XLRI alumni through the website of the event (http://www.xldreamrun.com) or through bank-transfer/ cheques.

The donations have started coming in – and are increasing everyday – from alumni across batches & located across the globe - USA, UK, UAE, Egypt, Singapore, Switzerland, and of course, India.

SBI XLRI Branch Code: SBIN0004660
A/c No: 30274085172
[Pl send the transaction details to xldreamrun[at]xlri[dot]ac[dot]in, if making a bank transfer]
Pl visit the website to donate through Paypal

The XLRI Social Entrepreneurship Trust was established to promote and support “entrepreneurship with a social cause” among the students, alumni and community. At present it supports 3 social ventures which are launched by some of the present batch (07-09) students, who have decided to take this “road less traveled” as a career option (and skip the campus placements in '09):

1. Parichay


A large part of India’s traditional rural and tribal art is dying because (1) the artisans, being disconnected from the market, have not been able to contemporize their designs, and (2) since they have no direct access to the market, do not find their work remunerative enough to continue.

Parichay is a venture to connect the rural/tribal artisans & craftsmen to the market. Started 6months back, the venture:

  • has co-opted some well-known designers, who are developing product-prototypes for them, and

  • is negotiating with NIFT, Pearle Academy, etc. who have shown interest to send their students for internship

  • has built The Learning & Design Center, where the rural/tribal artisans will be trained to develop the product-prototypes, and the first workshop is likely to be held within a month or so.

  • is being considered by Jharkraft for recognition and support

  • is in the initial stage of negotiation with NABARD, which has shown interest in the venture

    2. Swavalamban


    A large number of Indian villages are geographically scattered, a for most the national power grid passes by kilometers away. Providing electricity can only be done through a more decentralized and self-sustaining model.

    Swavalamban aims to use patented "ox-driven generator" technology to provide electricity to the villages in Jharkhand. So far the venture has made following progress:

  • Got their first order from JREDA (Jharkhand Renewable Agency Development Agency)

  • Got sanction from the Jharkhand Tribal Minster to electrify one village as a working “proof of concept”

  • After seeing the working model, Tata Motor's CSR dept and SEEDS (an NGO) have accepted to order 5 units each for testing in the villages they serve.

  • NTPC has agreed to acquire 200 units at a research level

  • L&T has seen the prototype, and in principle agreed to acquire some for their CSR activities... etc.

    3.Dream4Others


    This is the youngest venture of all – got registered as a firm less than a month back. It is a venture which aims to use online market-surveys to generate funds for registered NGOs.

    It is being mentored by an XLRI alumnus, with more than 20years of experience in market research.

    ------------
    will sponsor the T-Shirts for the event.
  • Monday, November 3, 2008

    AACSB accepts XLRI's Membership

    The US-Based international accreditation agency The Association of Advance Collegiate Schools of Business (AACSB) has accepted XLRI as a Member Institution.

    The membership is the first step towards the accreditation process.

    555 institutes have been accredited by AACSB worldwide. No Indian business-school has been awarded accreditation so far.