President Pratibha Patil inaugurated, [/b]the Contributor Development Lab (CDL) at Prin. L. N. Welingkar Institute of Management Development & Research on 13 March 2012. The CDL is a unique pioneering platform created by We School[/b], to recognize, create and nurture its students as contributors to society. It aims to bring about self-awakening within its students so that they embark on a life-long journey of contributions. The President also inaugurated the “dmagics”- Design for Management and Growth in Corporations and Society Exhibition - set up by WeSchool to showcase socially beneficial innovative business concepts developed by its students. Among the other dignitaries who graced the occasion was Shri K Sankaranarayan, governor of Maharashtra, along with the Chief Minister Shri Prithviraj Chauhan, Dy. Chief Minister Shri Ajit Pawar and Shri Dilip Walse Patil- Speaker Maharashtra Assembly.
Stressing the need for development of vocational and entrepreneurial skills for creating large scale self-employment opportunities, the president commended the contributions of WeSchool. “Converting thoughts into action by offering practical innovative and technology-driven programmes is perhaps an indication of the approach required in our country,” she said.
Mentioning a quote of the Greek philosopher Socrates, President Patil focussing beyond skill development said, “Education is as much about learning to deal with life, as it is about character building. Hence, educational institutions have a responsibility to nurture the future generation with knowledge, culture and values that will help them achieve their full potential and be responsible citizens.”
Explaining the idea behind the CDL and “dmagics” exhibition, Prof. Dr Uday Salunkhe, Group Director, Prin. L. N. Welingkar Institute of Management Development & Research (We School) said: “Time has come look beyond giving degrees, to nurture - not just managers but citizen manager of India; in fact, a step further, nurturing global citizen managers, who have a global mindset and are ready to play different roles keeping in the with the demand/challenges of the current times. There is a growing ‘trust deficit’ in society coupled with heightened global economic uncertainty. This requires people who have the urge to make a difference; whose contributions are not restricted by one's designation in an organization and the Contributor Development Lab (CDL) and “dmagics” exhibition are steps in this direction.”
At the Contributor Development Lab (CDL)[/b] the students are encouraged to create business enterprises that serve a social purpose. This is based on the realization that there is an urgent need today for redesigning management education to be responsive to the needs of the society at large, via the business enterprises route. Along with academic excellence, management students here are mentored through practical insights, and encouraged to have adaptive flexibility and social responsibility.
The ‘dmagics’[/b] exhibition showcases the innovative, workable design solutions devised by We School students to transform goods and services to better address the market needs. “Dmagics”, takes the ideas closer to the industry across various business verticals and sectors with a view to benefit the society, build concept prototypes, complete business plans and create actionable and sustainable strategies. The exhibition of projects done with the design thinking philosophy portrays unfolds the magic design thinking can work in enterprises. WeSchool students have applied design thinking to develop innovative business concepts, new business strategies, products and services in different industry sectors that would have an impact on the society and growth in the industry.
*****