8th International Entrepreneurship Conference held at Great Lakes Institute of Management, Chennai

Great Lakes Institute of Management hosted its 8th International Entrepreneurship conference at its campus today. The Conference was based on the theme – “Data Driven Insights, Disruptive Innovation & Entrepreneurship – Convergence”.

The Chief Guests for the conference included Guest of Honor(Special Video address) - Dr. Raj Sethuraman, Marilyn and Leo Corrigan Professor and Chair of Marketing, Cox School of Business, Southern Methodist University, USA, andChief Guest - Dr. Arati Deo, Senior Manager, Machine Learning, Amazon.

Dr. Bala V Balachandran, Founder, Chairman & Dean, Great Lakes Institute of Management, Mr. Mohan Lakhamraju, Vice – Chairman & CEO, Great Lakes Institute of Management, Dr.VaidyJayaraman, Associate Dean, Great Lakes, Dr. K C John, Professor of Technology, Innovation & Entrepreneurship, Great Lakes Institute of Management, Prof Veeravalli, Director - PGXPM, Associate Professor, Faculty Mentor – Center for Innovation & Entrepreneurship & Conference Convener, Great Lakes othercommunity entrepreneurs were also present at the event.

In the inaugural address, Dr. Bala V Balachandran, Founder, Chairman & Dean, Great Lakes Institute of Management, said,” Today’s business scenario is data driven. Huge amount of data is available for any business every second. But how do you make use of it the next minute, next hour, next day or next year makes all the difference to your business.”

Dr. Raj Sethuraman,Marilyn and Leo Corrigan Professor and Chair of Marketing, Cox School of Business, Southern Methodist University, USAthrough a video presentation, spoke on how to derive insights from data which in turn leads to Innovation and Entrepreneurship. He added with real time examples from Amazon and Google, and added on strengthening the linkage through dashboards and drill downs.

Chief Guest Dr. Arati Deo, Senior Manager, Machine Learning, Amazonspoke on the Range of Machine Language and Analytics Application in e-Commerce Market Place. Explaining the process and challenges in Amazon when it comes to machine learning, Dr.Deo remarked, “Machine Learning holds big promise for solving important challenges in the industry.

At the same time, decision makers should understand not every problem needs a machine learning solution.” She also added that with large scale and diversity in data, there are new opportunities and challenges.

The event also witnessed a Panel discussion on ‘Data-Driven Insights, Disruptive Innovation & Entrepreneurship’ moderated by Mr. Mohan Lakhamraju, Vice-Chairman & CEO, Great Lakes Institute of Management. The panelists for the session were Mr. Mukund Venkatesh, Vice President, Global Analytics India Operations, Mr. Naunidh S. Chadha, Product Technology Manager, Google, Mr. Dilip Thosar, Senior General Manager, Taxiforsure and Mr. Sangh Gautam, Chief Technology Officer, HT Media.

The 8th International Entrepreneurship conference concluded with Prize Distribution to the winning teams of Business Plan competitions – “PaisaVasool, Oyster, and Hyperion”, conducted at Great lakes prior to the conference.