THE CONVERGENCE ISSUE 1 VOL: 2

MARCH 2022 | VOLUME 1 | ISSUE 2 THE CONVERGENCE NEWSLETTER OF THE SCHOOL OF BUSINESS AND MANAGEMENT (BBA) IN THIS ISSUE (CLICK ON THE NAME TO GO TO THE RESPECTIVE SECTION) EVENTS AND FESTS MAGIC OF MUNDANE CAMPUS ROUND-UP TOPICAL KALAकृ ति 1 MORE SHOT PLEASE! BIZ WIZz ACADEMIA DE’STRESSING SINCE ‘14 CHRIST (Deemed to be University), Pune Lavasa Campus - 'The Hub of Analytics' TOLL FREE: 1800-123-2009

THE CONVERGENCE VOL 1 ISSUE 2 | MARCH 2022 EVENTS AND FESTS Inspira 2021 One-Week Leadership Program Inspira 2021 started off with the inauguration ceremony on the On the inaugural day, a panel consisting of Dr Amalesh Bhowal, morning of the 13th of November 2021 where our honourable chief Professor, Assam University, Dr Naveen Das, Pro Vice-Chancellor guest spoke about the importance of being a responsible citizen, (Academics), Adamas University, Kolkata, and Mr Rajesh Dhariya, our Dean and Director, Dr Fr Jossy P George spoke about the CEO, APSS Media deliberated on the topic “Sailing smoothly in importance of ‘beyond the class learning’, and our HOD new normal: Leadership challenges” under the moderation of Dr emphasized the role of each and every team member for any Parameswaran S, Program Coordinator of the BBA (Business event to be a success. Analytics). Dr Sumitra Binu delivered a preamble for the session - leading from the front. Panelists shared difficulties and challenges faced in the academic and the corporate forefront during the pandemic time. Panelist also highlighted the role of virtual leadership as virtual work has grown in popularity and collaboration through regular communication, transparency, and accountability. Departmental newsletter “The Convergence” was released during the inaugural session. The panel discussion was followed by the webinar by Mr Aniruddha Ganguly, Founder, EuMatter Consulting. It highlighted on the importance of building trust and respect in the organisation. The day was then followed by the enthusiastic participation of On the second day, Ms Pooja Menon, Assistant Vice President - students, from colleges across India. The Best of Managers and Digital Marketing at Kotak Life, expressed different types of their teams fought against the pressure of being pitted against conflicts and their resolutions. She clarified about how one can the clock. There was a rise and fall of stocks and rounds to test avoid conflicts and insisted on bringing the positive result in which how future traders plan on handling the news. There were pitches both the conflicting parties are satisfied. being delivered in Elevators and products being ideated for a On the third day, Mr Laxminarayan, Founder, MyShiksha debated better tomorrow. the importance of consultants and explained the various ways in Each judge came prepared for a fiery round of questioning. Stress problem-solving. He expounded on the split-brain theory using left interviews, presentations, and crisis aversions were all thrown and right-brained approaches to problem-solving. around for a bit of the “real world” feel. The rounds were both a On the fourth day, Dr Biraj Hazarika, Senior HR Manager, Oil India challenging and learning experience for the participants. Ltd., described the importance of mentoring and coaching to improve employee performance. He elaborated on the different tools and techniques required to be adopted along with GROW model for coaching. CHRIST (DEEMED TO BE UNIVERSITY), PUNE LAVASA CAMPUS - 'THE HUB OF ANALYTICS' | SCHOOL OF BUSINESS AND MANAGEMENT (BBA) 1

THE CONVERGENCE D E C E M B E R 2 0 2 1 | V O L U M E 1 | VI SOSLU E1 I2S S U E 2 | M A R C H 2 0 2 2 The fifth day of the leadership week was all about dealing with There were 300+ participants from all the years from our college. change. Speakers Ms Padmaja Alaganandan, Chief People Several events happened through online mode both by pre- Officer, and Ms Ranjini Director at PwC India justified the crux of recorded video submissions and live performances. The first week the concept of change. According to Dr Ranjini, adapting to of Darpan, included literary events that showcased the talents change requires following standard methodology where every through live performances and challenges through War Of Words, individual’s interests, concerns, and fears are kept in mind and Adzap, Turncoat, etc. Dance events had a variety of competitions critical positive aspects which derive the change are taken into including both group and individual performances, also giving consideration. The session as a whole was a great insight for the them the opportunities for both classical and western styles. budding leaders in the form of students to understand the concept Theatre events included live events like, Act it Out and also a new of change, the ways they can derive the change by keeping in category of POV reels which resulted in a lot of enthusiasm and mind all the indispensable factors and at the end accept the participation. Music events consisted of both western and Indian, change themselves and also help their counterparts through the solo and group performances along with instrumental events. Art process of change. events included a lot of creative and interesting initiations like Cast A Shadow and Surrealism where the liberty to choose their own themes were given. On the last day Ms Darishinee Balasingam Senior HR Manager, All in one, the Darpan event was a great hit with a good number Private Medical Centre (Klinik Penawar Negeri Sembilan), Malaysia of participation. We had a total of 300+ participants from all the emphasized on the challenges faced by virtual leadership. She departments of Law, Commerce, and Management. Students were highlighted the expectations versus the reality of virtual leadership enthusiastic and active during the event. Talents were showcased and leadership criteria for a high-performance virtual team. even through the online mode by a variety of innovative, creative, To conclude, these sessions during the leadership week were live, and pre-recorded events. extremely insightful, knowledgeable, and of great help to all the participants who attended the program. Darpan 2021 Darpan is a platform for students across various departments to showcase their charisma in the fields of art, music, dance, and theatre with 25 events in total. This platform is an evolving ground for the university's team in various intercollegiate fests. The winners and mentionable accolading participants make it to this team and emerge as the face of the college. It’s a buffet where participants can choose from unlimited options of competitions to lock horns with their peers and classmates. The participants who can outperform the rest are chosen to substantiate their performance in other fests as part of the University Cultural Team. Students are not restricted by their departments and are encouraged to flourish in their chosen field of the competition. CHRIST (DEEMED TO BE UNIVERSITY), PUNE LAVASA CAMPUS - 'THE HUB OF ANALYTICS' | SCHOOL OF BUSINESS AND MANAGEMENT (BBA) 2

THE CONVERGENCE VOL 1 ISSUE 2 | MARCH 2022 MAGIC OF MUNDANE You Snooze, You Lose! Beauty & Cliche by Ankita Satish (3BBA ANLT B) by Rishav Adhikari (1BBA ANLT B) What makes my ordinary college life extraordinary? This has so Well, what could be more extraordinary than to take that crucial much potential to be a rhetorical question, but I do have an decision to live a life less ordinary, to choose a path less travelled, unexpected (or maybe very expected) answer to it. I used to be a and to dare to achieve the impossible? homebody, A lazy one I must say. I never really expected myself to perform certain chores without my mom nagging me 24/7. Here I Being born in a middle-class family, pursuing a good program from am in college, living in some distant valley far from my family and I a good college, having four to five hobbies, and doing pretty much have all the reasons to certainly not do any household chores. On everything that an ordinary college student does are a few things the contrary, I enjoy doing these chores here all alone, keeping that make my life quite ordinary and pretty much contrast to what myself organised and I get anxious when I look at undone dishes the previous sentence enlightens. But, maybe still there are some rotting in the sink. extraordinary aspects in my ordinary life, they may be the various thoughts that arise out of nowhere in the subconscious mind as if According to me, this has been one of the significant changes they are not even mine, thoughts that further develop into an idea which my own family refuses to believe to date because I am a or a vision as if to give me some kind of direction and guide me different person at home. Admittedly, I’d have to mention that I towards a purpose that constantly motivates me to look within enjoy that sense of satisfaction when I know that everything myself, realise my true potential and achieve all that I dreamt as a around me is clean and organized. child. Is trying to develop a strong, open mindset and a constantly evolving thought process extraordinary? Maybe it is, it is extraordinary to try to think differently, in a way no one else can, for it’s a person’s mindset that sets him apart. It may also be extraordinary to have an urge to be a great entrepreneur or an industrialist or any great figure who is passionate about changing the mindsets of people and contributing significantly to the betterment of society, country, and humanity at large. Therefore, I am all but ready to travel that extra mile to live an extraordinary life. CHRIST (DEEMED TO BE UNIVERSITY), PUNE LAVASA CAMPUS - 'THE HUB OF ANALYTICS' | SCHOOL OF BUSINESS AND MANAGEMENT (BBA) 3

THE CONVERGENCE VOL 1 ISSUE 2 | MARCH 2022 CAMPUS ROUND-UP Excitement and Cons of Offline! Attitude of teachers from your perspective? by Varshika G (3BBA ANLT D) by Sehej Gumber (1BBA ANLT C) University life is something we often hear about and look forward to during our school days. Due to the pandemic, I was unable to connect to the university to the extent in which I wanted to, and that was disappointing. Having received an official mail regarding the opening of college, I am super excited. I have actively been a part of online events and cannot wait to experience what the offline platform has to offer. I believe that the offline platform will provide me the opportunity to make true connections and be a part of something bigger. When in University, students get to interact personally, imbibe knowledge directly and also learn through experience. These aspects make me believe that the offline mode will be fruitful and exciting. There is a significant distinction between high school instructors and college professors. Being at college for the past few months has taught me that college instructors are a little more critical and strict in their teaching approaches than our high school ones. They stick to a fixed deadline and strictly adhere to the established requirements. I feel, in high school, we were a bit spoon fed with reference to what to do, how to do and in what way the assignments should be presented but in college, we have been given the liberty to solve the assignments in our own way. These past few months in college have been quite eventful as I have had a lot of ups and downs already. But one thing I truly appreciate is the respect we are shown by both our classmates and the professors in this university. CHRIST (DEEMED TO BE UNIVERSITY), PUNE LAVASA CAMPUS - 'THE HUB OF ANALYTICS' | SCHOOL OF BUSINESS AND MANAGEMENT (BBA) 4

THE CONVERGENCE VOL 1 ISSUE 2 | MARCH 2022 TOPICAL Technology's Future Evolution: Will it Save or Destroy Us? by 21111431 Lohith Vankina (1BBA ANLT B) Have we ever considered what it would be like to live in the year 2050? Isn't it amazing to live among flying cars? Can we tell if the person standing next to us is a human or a robot? Isn't it fantastic just to think about it? Do you want to live in a world where Amazon delivers packages via drone? Well, I like the idea of drone delivery. In the year 2050, contemporary AI will be significantly more advanced than it is today. Self-driving automobiles may one day be able to operate without the assistance of a driver. Even If Artificial Intelligence were headed in the proper direction, catching it would be extremely difficult. We may quit eating fresh fruits and vegetables in the future because we may have developed a machine that instantaneously turns the soil, air, and water into food. As fantastic as that may sound, this is merely the technology's good side. Drone technology may rapidly improve to the point where criminals may use it as a weapon of mass destruction. The corruption of a giant AI could result in our destruction. If a criminal decided to commit a crime, compromising the food-production equipment would be enough to eliminate humanity. It is also difficult to apprehend the actual offender in this situation. It is tough to predict the future. We have no notion if these advanced innovations will benefit or harm us. Predictions cannot be used to create anything. We will only be able to experience the future when the time comes. CHRIST (DEEMED TO BE UNIVERSITY), PUNE LAVASA CAMPUS - 'THE HUB OF ANALYTICS' | SCHOOL OF BUSINESS AND MANAGEMENT (BBA) 5

THE CONVERGENCE VOL 1 ISSUE 2 | MARCH 2022 KALAकृ ति Things Will Never Be The Same Promises Will Never Let You Go Peacefully by Samaksh Johar (3BBA ANLT C) Today I started to rise from my bitter bed, My heart will never beat the same With thoughts of sadness in my head. My heart will never beat the same, My idolizes has been dead, Facing the day with my ending dread. You are the only one to be blamed. My roads are like trudging hill, This wasn’t because you gave me your heart, And I was halfway to hell. It’s just because you abandoned me at last. To you, You stood everywhere where I found happiness, I want you to know that, But not there, where sorrow was in abundance. The Promises wasn’t entirely a word, that I used to cover up lies. Since the day, I read between the lines, Forever, isn’t a blank promise I made, And understood my only friend was time. For it had taught me that you made my soul hollow, also, it wasn’t just a souvenir that will fade too soon. Monday, we part our ways and Saturday, it is you who follow. Now the God called me to his home, You provoked me to leave no space for love in my brain, To be with him. And so, something will never be the same. You look up at the moon with the smile So that I wish I could meet you as bright as a star at the night. Goodbye, my love, and be happy. CHRIST (DEEMED TO BE UNIVERSITY), PUNE LAVASA CAMPUS - 'THE HUB OF ANALYTICS' | SCHOOL OF BUSINESS AND MANAGEMENT (BBA) 6

THE CONVERGENCE VOL 1 ISSUE 2 | MARCH 2022 1 MORE SHOT PLEASE! Atharva Joshi (2BBA ANLT A) Vighnesh B (4BBA ANLT A) Akshat Singh (3BBA ANLT D) CHRIST (DEEMED TO BE UNIVERSITY), PUNE LAVASA CAMPUS - 'THE HUB OF ANALYTICS' | SCHOOL OF BUSINESS AND MANAGEMENT (BBA) 7

THE CONVERGENCE VOL 1 ISSUE 2 | MARCH 2022 BIZ WIZz Crossword DOWN ACROSS 6. The founder of Coca Cola 1. The brand ambassador of Adidas India 8. The CEO of Tata Consultancy Services 2. The brand ambassador of Puma Motorsport India 9. The brand ambassador of Nestle India 3. The youngest billionaire from India 10. The founder of Nykaa 4. The founder of Tesla 5. The CEO of Hindustan Unilever 6. The CEO of Yeezy by Kanye West CHRIST (DEEMED TO BE UNIVERSITY), PUNE LAVASA CAMPUS - 'THE HUB OF ANALYTICS' | SCHOOL OF BUSINESS AND MANAGEMENT (BBA) 8

THE CONVERGENCE VOL 1 ISSUE 2 | MARCH 2022 ACADEMIA zAPP iT! Walee by Nupur Dhomne (1BBA ANLT B) by Amaan Jan (1BBA ANLT B) A high percentage of Indian women are housewives and are not financially independent. The idea is to provide jobs to destitute women and those women who can not support themselves because they couldn’t complete their education. Majority of them will know how to cook and clean and so they can use these skills to earn money. The first step would be to make them undergo training to enhance their skills and make sure that they can interact well with our customers. I would then create an app where people can avail these services. Basically, the app would assign one of our trained staff to them who can provide these services. The app will provide two services, cooking and cleaning and the This is a concept for a leather business that makes products that customer can opt for either one of them or both of them. If they ‘YOU’ will urge to buy for yourself to make your life easier. opt for cooking, our staff would go to their house and cook a fresh ‘YOU’ need a product that makes you feel special that’s why we meal for them either using the ingredients available at their house chose premium eco-leather to make all our product so that the or we will get the ingredients required if the customer requests for you feel special without effecting the environment at the same it. The customer will have to let us know in advance what meal time. they would prefer so that we will be well prepared. As soon as Eco-leather is leather is an alternative to regular leather that does they create a request for a cook on our app they will need to not come from an animal. It is made from plant-based material provide their address, what meal they would want to have and if and vinyl. Keeping our environment safe and easy to suggest to they require us to bring the ingredients. Once the customer fills in our beloved customers. the above details we will send one of our cooks at the requested Products we offer: time however the time has to be more than two hours from the time the request was created. This is done to ensure that we will Walee Portfolio get enough time for travelling and getting prepped. Travel Organiser The other service is the cleaning service where once the customer Card Holder creates a request for it, one of our staff will be dispatched to their wallet location with all the materials required for cleaning. Again, our Toy + Coin Box staff will only be able to provide this service minimum two hours after the request has been created on the app. Initially we will focus on providing this service only in Bangalore and if we have enough manpower, funds and resources we will expand to other cities. This business plan will highly benefit both the destitute women and the customers. These women will find a means to provide for themselves even if they have not completed their education and our customers can get fresh home cooked meals of high quality without any hassle. CHRIST (DEEMED TO BE UNIVERSITY), PUNE LAVASA CAMPUS - 'THE HUB OF ANALYTICS' | SCHOOL OF BUSINESS AND MANAGEMENT (BBA) 9

THE CONVERGENCE D E C E M B E R 2 0 2 1 | V O L U M E 1 | VI SOSLU E1 I2S S U E 2 | M A R C H 2 0 2 2 Global Immersion Program - Dubai On the other hand, we also visited Dubai's Global village and experienced the multi-cultural dimension of the world. If Expo Global Immersion Program – Dubai, is a specialized international 2020 showed us a future worth looking at, then Global village study trip that is unique due its strong focus on academic rigor showed us the present picture. We visited Dubai Silicon Oasis and and real world experiential learning in an international setting. quickly viewed trading and a global tech hub. Our team secured Students actually go out in the Dubai market to gain first-hand 1st place in the competition organized by Ureka Education Group information that they then analyse and use in their projects and \"Business Project\" named \"Pet Consultancy Project.\" We were presentations. The student group, a total of 45 students, were forced to get out of our comfort zone and work with new people divided into 9 groups with 5 members in each group. Each group and visit different pet shops to understand the pet industry of were given 3 assignments in the course of the GIP program, a Dubai. We analyzed the current situation and accordingly came up vlog, a pet project and an observatory based inference project at with the plan which can help the pet owner in increasing her the Global Village. visibility and will help in improving her services. Each module of the program has a specific learning objective and Dubai, the city of giant buildings and shopping malls, has our dedicated University of London trained program leader transformed from a desert outpost to a destination du-jour, where ensures that these objectives are met during the program. tourists flock for sunshine and family fun. Watching world-famous building \"Burj-Khalifa\" and shopping malls that come complete 7 Days of my Life - Exploring Dubai with mammoth aquariums and indoor ski slopes. Traversing old Dubai 'Bur Dubai,' taking an abra (small wooden ferry) between by Sakshi Singh the ferry points on the creek's Bur Dubai and Deira banks, sand When I began this journey, I was a girl who despised traveling and duning in the desert, and soaking up the sun at Jumeirah Beach. socializing. I was the most comfortable within the four walls of my Every day was different and filled with excitement and surprises. If home. I needed change in my life and decided to take up this I get the chance, I would again like to visit this city. Those 7 days opportunity of the Global Immersion Programme. And frankly, of visiting Dubai and learning different things through GIP were Dubai was the temptation for me. Right from the first day, we the highlight of my 2021. were stunned by the city. Dubai didn't fail to amaze us, and we were overwhelmed with the exciting attractions, activities, Dubai Trip shopping, and nightlife. We also got the opportunity to visit Expo 2020, and that experience itself was terrific. by Anuj Jain Have you at any point needed to see the world's most extravagant country? A country that is covered with intriguing sea shores, Food that resistantly fixes your taste buds, sumptuous vehicles wherever you turned your head, seeing various individuals from everywhere in the world dropping by. A place that will surely entertain you. To experience this way of life that is abroad, you have to visit Dubai. Being a Christite and capturing an experience like this was one of the best trips we all students accomplished. The trip was a complete mixture of knowledge and leisure. We all students were a part of the Global Immersion Programme 2021. This programme was unique as it gave a strong focus on academic rigor and real-world experimental learning in an international setting. We went out in the Dubai market to gain first-hand information and then used that information in our projects and presentations. After a wonderful flight with all the faculties and christites we checked in the DSO University Residence which was a place to call home, a comfortable accommodation to relax and unwind. After attending the orientation hosted by the Director of Ureka Education, we proceeded for the Dubai City Tour. We came across one of the largest malls in the world, The Dubai Mall which consists about 1200 shops. Coming next to one of the most famous places in Dubai, The Burj Khalifa. It is a symbol of its length. The tower is surrounded by beautifully landscaped buildings and Dubai’s charming fountain. We then made our way to the old city of Dubai which was an area of r​ esidence for rich Persian merchants. Visiting the old city gave us an idea of how exactly trade in done in the local street market. Before coming to CHRIST (DEEMED TO BE UNIVERSITY), PUNE LAVASA CAMPUS - 'THE HUB OF ANALYTICS' | SCHOOL OF BUSINESS AND MANAGEMENT (BBA) 10

THE CONVERGENCE D E C E M B E R 2 0 2 1 | V O L U M E 1 | VI SOSLU E1 I2S S U E 2 | M A R C H 2 0 2 2 the end of our day we went to the Gold Souq Market which consists of traditional markets that offer hundreds of stores selling primarily gold jewellery. Second day started by visiting the Curtin University, and had a brief talk with Mrs. Brightly who is a fashion and retail specialist. We then made our way to Dubai Expo 2020 which is a unique way of connecting minds and creating the future through sustainability, mobility and opportunity. Third day began by visiting the apple store, where a workshop was organised for the students to give a brief idea of how the sales is managed by the company. We then made our way to Nasdaq Dubai which is a Dubai based stock exchange that lists regional and international shares in the Middle East. This helped us to gain knowledge of the stocks in the market. Coming to the Global Village where we were assigned a task to compare two different cultures of two different countries and later had to present each of our presentations. Global Village is a combination of 90 countries. We visited each countries pavilion and learned about their culture. Next day we visited The Heriot University and had a university tour with one of the alumni’s. Coming almost to the end of the trip we lastly had a great fun at the Desert Safari. A beautiful ride in a land cruiser across the desert along with a delicious barbecue dinner. Coming to the last day we presented our presentations and lead to the award ceremony. It was a great trip that was organised by Christ University with complete facilities and amenities. We all students were very curious to know if the information we have gathered about Dubai is similar to what we imagined in our mind, or better or less. That feeling of longing makes us more interested in visiting it again. CHRIST (DEEMED TO BE UNIVERSITY), PUNE LAVASA CAMPUS - 'THE HUB OF ANALYTICS' | SCHOOL OF BUSINESS AND MANAGEMENT (BBA) 11

THE CONVERGENCE VOL 1 ISSUE 2 | MARCH 2022 DE’STRESSING SINCE ‘14 “Stress Management: A Student Perspective\" by Dr. Benny Godwin Stress, being an output of the body’s exposure to pressure, can be positive and negative. For instance, something overwhelming can cause stress and something depressing and sad can also be a reason for stress. In the era of digitalization, students are the ones who are most likely to be exposed to stress due to various reasons such as financial crunches, over commitment, peer influence, comparison, family expectations, over commitment, semester, CIAs, assignments, deadlines, workload, perfectionism, relationships, and what not? Stress is often experienced when there is a feeling of fright, when you lose control over a situation, and during events that are unexpected or completely new. Students have dissimilar ways to handle stress based on their personality, economical situations, and social circumstances. Sometimes going through an optimal level of stress can increase productivity, but too much of it can often lead out to burnout. The art of stress management is the optimal strategy to overcome it. When you experience stress the first thing that you need to do is to identify the antecedents of stress, then take control over it by making small steps, and overcome it with realistic solutions. Let me explain few strategies for effective stress management: Positive Thinking o The key to healthy life is positive thinking with positive affirmations, which will keep your body and mind relaxed. Time Management o Procrastinating things is the primary cause for stress. Pushing away assignments and trying to do them in the last moment can really turn stressful. o Take one step at a time, and at the same time being organized can save you a lot of time. Hence managing time, taking adequate breaks, and being proactive is very essential. Eating and Sleeping Habits o A good balanced diet plays a major role in improving your mood. o Getting the right amount of nutrients and appropriate water level will enhance the mental wellbeing. o Nevertheless, getting the right amount of sleep is very crucial as it will assist you in being fresh and active. The ‘Me-Time’ o Establishing a daily self-care routine without an apology can treat oneself. o By doing thinks we love the most can make us feel so special. Express Yourself o Develop a supportive relationship by expressing the way you feel and never be alone. In what is being called a ‘scientific breakthrough’, researchers at School of Medicine, Indiana University have found that biomarkers in blood can be used to determine the condition of depression using simple blood-tests. Interestingly, with precise medicines one can overcome depression. This is still under evaluation stage and hopefully it works in the near future. Hopefully, sooner or later, we might as well get a drug to manage stress – you never know! There are infinite ways to manage stress. Apparently, no one way is right or wrong. Just follow your instinct on what may help you relax and feel good – Just Do It Your Way! CHRIST (DEEMED TO BE UNIVERSITY), PUNE LAVASA CAMPUS - 'THE HUB OF ANALYTICS' | SCHOOL OF BUSINESS AND MANAGEMENT (BBA) 12

THE CONVERGENCE VOL 1 ISSUE 2 | MARCH 2022 Touching lives through Touch Screens: An Introspection of an Offline to Online Teacher by Ms. Shubhashree Acharya While jostling with daily life’ s rut and routine most of us forget to pause. Spending time with ownself is a week-end chore!!! Despite that life moved on for the World. But nature has her own way to mock at the mankind and this time it was through COVID-19. The entire World had to impose a deliberate ‘pause’ to everyone’s life. New words like ‘Quarantine’, ‘Lockdown’, ‘Work-from-home’ and a few more became the lingo during COVID times. One particular word that transformed our approach to life was ‘ONLINE’. From board meetings to family get together to Diwali celebration went ‘ONLINE”. Senior citizens who were reluctant to touch a cellphone transformed into ‘Online grandparents’ and children attended ‘Online kindergarten’. In between this transformation there is one community for whom the ‘pause’ became a ‘restart’. This community is the “Teaching clan”. A community that has thrived on the ability to impart knowledge and influence the world faced the challenge of imparting the same virtually. Although with a brave facade we rose up to the occasion, every teacher would have had the moments of excitement and anxiety as if it was the very first class of his/her career. This was the restart button with absolutely no respite for a pause. Grappling with new technology, facing empty and blank screens instead of glowing young faces, unsure of making sense to one’s own self is indeed nerve racking. The expectations from the stakeholders of education remains same. The same teacher who once was effective, struggled to converse in front of the camera looking at his/her own video. “Am I audible, am I visible” became the opening line of every class. In this jostle of online education, We, the teachers; became the butt of jokes. The teacher who took immense pride in his/her lecture and lecture notes faced the challenge of becoming redundant. With many educational institutions encouraging online education, this profession of teaching had to transform. There was no time to reflect because time was running out. In this race we as teachers ponder often about the true calling of our profession. Are we able to inculcate the spirit of learning and wonder with the same conviction in an online mode or have online classes eroded social and genuine interaction between us and our pupils? At times We are apprehensive that if the real connections and conversations outside class with students have now become a mere hope? We reflect if real connections can be virtually real? The young and vulnerable youth who are our responsibility; are we able to teach life skills to them? Are we able to fulfill this role even in new normal? Of course, the spirit of teacher in us goes that extra mile to mentor a pupil but not without a concern that how far can real touch be replaced by 'touch' screen? We the teaching community can rarely err but don’t we deserve a pat on the back for all the screen exhaustion we face? We require some tolerance and patience too. The parents said online teachers are unable to manage, management said adapt, deliver, or perish and students who are our biggest judge laughed at the helpless teacher who became the content worthy of a meme and social media joke. As teachers how we wish that some more time was given to us to prove our online mettle. We know we ought to be effective in online teaching and as a teacher we feel guilty if we are unable to go beyond the screen but sometimes, we need a little more time and acceptance. An inspiring teacher about to reach super annuation age became an ineffective teacher in 60 days because he/she could not deliver the same punch?? The expectations of the society from a teacher are the same and is completely justified. However, the teacher too goes through a learning curve. We are learning and climbing the learning curve. The intention and will, has not changed and will not change but what has changed is the channel. We hope in the era of “new normal”, normal becomes “new” and hope that we , the teachers would be able be touch lives through touch screen as well. CHRIST (DEEMED TO BE UNIVERSITY), PUNE LAVASA CAMPUS - 'THE HUB OF ANALYTICS' | SCHOOL OF BUSINESS AND MANAGEMENT (BBA) 13

THE CONVERGENCE VOL 1 ISSUE 2 | MARCH 2022 THE EDITORIAL BOARD Note from the Student Editorial Board Life as we know it, keeps running with fast pace and speed, but thoughts and mindsets are things that keep each other together. Team Convergence works in bringing people together and delivering what we achieve and experience. We are hoping we will do justice to the name of this newsletter and make it a memorable addition. The fun-loaded journey with the sparkling sunrises and soothing sunsets each day and each place gives us a hundred memories to keep running in this race of life. Before we breeze past the tip of every day, month or year, it is necessary to hold back and re-watch the things that keep us moving. We stand as a podium to keep sharing what you love and engaging every opportunity to be presented out. We believe in curating the classic updates from every corner and learn more each day, with fun-filled hours. So rather than feeling discouraged about “not having as much to share”, we focus on what we have to share and what new values we can bring. Though it’s easy to run out of things to say, we hope you don’t run out of people to celebrate! Vennela Juloori Sanjit Mallik Student Editor-in-Chief Design Lead Aishwarya Saran Saumya Singh Aashna Kalra Varian Crasto Krishni Tiwari Amaan Jan Mitali Mankani Siddharth Anand Lakshita M Mansa M Shivang Kalsi Aditya Shinde Shrey D CHRIST (DEEMED TO BE UNIVERSITY), PUNE LAVASA CAMPUS - 'THE HUB OF ANALYTICS' TOLL FREE: 1800-123-2009 lavasa.christuniversity.in