Talking about the highlights of the meet, the media relations committeespokesperson for IIML says ``the event was a forum where Indian businessleaders got together to discuss contemporary topics and lend their visionfor the future.''

The spokesperson adds that ``such an event has been conceptualised andexecuted for the first time in this country with the aim of setting out keyimperatives for an `India: Towards Economic Renaissance', the theme for theforum.''

On why the institute had organised the business forum, the spokespersonsays: ``Recognising the challenges that face all stakeholders of society inthe new millennium, IIM Lucknow took this bold initiative to integrate thethoughts of these diverse stakeholders into a common cauldron.''

In terms of career development, the meet was a learning ground for thestudents of the Institute. ``For the students behind this venture, it was ahuge learning experience,'' says the spokesperson. Not only did the studentsget to interact with the honchos of Indian industry, they also got anopportunity to listen to various points of view.

``This will certainly inspire the students to make a greater contributiontowards building India's global competitiveness,'' he adds.

Elaborating on the purpose of the summit, he says that ``IIML aspires tomould its students not just into good managers but also into concernedcorporate citizens. The summit was a definite step in this direction.''There's yet another way in which the summit was useful. And that's in thearea of research projects. The summit was a platform for students toundertake active research projects. For instance, one of the students who isdoing a research project on virtual organisations used this opportunity toget responses from the well-known participants.

Another student is doing a study on what Indian business can learn fromhistory. The spokesperson says that the results of this project will be ofimmense value to Indian industry.

``In this manner, the student community also attempted to convert this foruminto a two-way exchange process, wherein they gained insights from industryand offered to share with the business community the results of theirstudies.''

On the whole, it was a meaningful relationship between would-be managers andindustry. More so because business houses are becoming increasingly open tofresh ideas that students of IITs and IIMs. ``This is the formation of a newlink, an actual two-way interaction between industry and academics thatIIM-Lucknow has pioneered.''

Among the corporates who attended the meet were A Vivek, VP, TELCO; AbhayNalawade, MD & CEO, Thermax Ltd; Aditya Narayan, MD, ICI India Ltd; ArunSahay, MD, Scooters India Ltd; Ashish Kumar, Country Manager, IBM India;Ashok Chindarkar, former ED, Siemens; Ashoke K Maitra, director, Bennett,Coleman & Co. Ltd; Bhuvan Chaturvedi, MD, Eicher Ltd; J J Irani, MD, TataIron and Steel Co Ltd; Reena Ramachandran, CMD, Hindustan Organic ChemicalsLtd; Shailendra Narain, MD, Small Industries Development Bank of India(SIDBI); Uddesh Kohli, CMD, Power Finance Corporation Ltd; V P Kochikar,Chief Knowledge Officer, Infosys Technologies Ltd; Gurcharan Das, ex-CEO,Procter & Gamble; H L Zutshi, CMD, Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Ltd; H RKhusrokhan, MD, Glaxo; Habil F Khorakiwala, CMD, Wockhardt Ltd; LakshmiNarayanan, President and COO, Cognizant Technology Solutions; Niamatullah,MD & CEO, SBI Mutual Fund; R P Singh, CMD, Power Grid Corporation of IndiaLtd; R Ravimohan, MD, CRISIL; R Seshasayee, managing director, Ashok LeylandLtd; and RSSLN Bhaskarudu, former MD, Maruti Udyog Ltd.