The Kerala Chapter of NIPM hosted its Biennial Conclave and Exposition-24 on the 16th and 17th of May. Anish Aravind and I had been in conversation for a long time about making this happen. This year, it finally did. And I was glad I could be there.
After the event, the Flyntrok team shared a post on LinkedIn. I think they did a fantastic job. So, leaving it here.
“The Kerala Chapter of NIPM hosted their Biennial Conclave and Exposition-24 on the 16th and 17th of May. It was an event that featured an impressive lineup of speakers and well curated topics. The event has left an impression on people who have participated going by first hand accounts and commentary online.
Flyntrok’s Kavi Arasu attended the event—or at least, most of it. He shared his key insights from his experience with the Flyntrok team. Heres what stood out from his engaging recount.
Kavi began with Madhu Nair, the CMD of Cochin Shipyard, who delivered an inaugural address that caught everyone’s attention. Nair compared carrying his 20-odd kg daughter on his shoulders during the Guruvayoor temple festivities to lugging around a bag of cement of equal weight. The difference between the two is pronounced, although the physical effort is just the same.
This simple analogy seemed to have set the stage for a recurring conversation throughout the conference, taking on different names: Work-Life Balance, Work-Life Integration, Work-Leisure Balance.
We had a quick internal discussion about how a large part of the workforce doesn’t have identities boundaried by work or profession, while for many others, work defines their identity. We are sure that we haven’t seen the last of this ’20Kg sack of cement’ metaphor!
Kavi found Satish Pradhan’s keynote particularly thought-provoking. Pradhan scattered dots of data and wisdom across his talk and asking the audience to do the work of connecting them and drawing context to anchor their learnings on. Thats precious! From Star Trek to Fuzzy Logic, and from murmuration to Augmentation. It was a rich mix of ideas that left plenty to ponder and act upon. “Delectable fare”, Kavi remarked.
Kavi noted that Biju Dominic‘s insights into neuroscience and decision-making are legendary and it held the audience in rapt attention. Prof Arvind Sahay offered persuasive research from the academic and marketing worlds. Dr Saundarya Rajesh , who has helped over 200,000 women return to work, struck a chord with her emphasis on the ecosystem and not just the individual. “That’s our tune too,” Kavi remarked. “Just when things couldn’t get more interesting, Sangeeta Kalyan stood upside down to get everybody interested in yoga! Talk about going the distance.”
Session moderation by Prof. Anandakuttan Unnithan, Prof. Biju Varkkey, and V.K. Madhav Mohan, who provided space for conversations and presentations in good measure, got some good airtime in the briefing.
Kavi himself was part of a panel on “Technology with a Human Touch,” moderated by the erudite Prashanth Nair, co-panellists Jonas Prasanna and Vaishali Gambhir who have provided personal examples and points of views. Given Flyntrok’s focus on change work at the intersection of technology and humanity, this was right up our alley. The conversation seemed to resonate with quite a few people.
From all the sharing, Kavi emphasised two specific aspects that made a difference to the audience. One, the sessions offered practical takeaways, not just limiting themselves to cerebral ideas, theoretical constructs, and frameworks. He cited the thought leadership session with Rajesh Nair, Atul Singh, and Vijayshankar Ananthanarayanan as a prime example.
The second was the subtle (and effective) presence of sponsors in this conference. “They seamlessly blended in without overwhelming the event, allowing the focus to remain on the content”, said Kavi.
And as a delightful bonus, a DEI fashion show on the 16th evening is reported to have lit up the evening.Yes, a fashion show! Kavi, who usually skips and rarely mentions anything outside the core agenda of a conference, gave this fashion show a special nod. “Very thoughtful,” he said. Must have been something!
A good conference goes beyond a mere event. The conversations it sparks and the ideas that linger long after the conference is over are a testament to how well it has served its audience and the topics discussed. Kudos to the folks at NIPM Kerala Chapter for stringing together a super show that continues to stay alive.”