Prashant Goyal- Co-ordinator IRIS 2005
IRIS began as a small fest started by IIM Indore’s cultural committee. Earlier all the participants were from local colleges in and around Indore. Since then IRIS as a festival has come a long way. Last year (2004) was the first time that IRIS was organized on a full-fledged scale in IIM Indore’s new campus.
This year’s IRIS promises to be the biggest yet. We have introduced a lot of new games and also added a lot of informal events, which will make it 4 days of non-stop excitement.
Our Flagship event Ashwamedha promises to be the ultimate face-off between the best Managers from the TOP B-Schools. The various games and events scheduled are designed to test the skill levels of participants in every function related to management right from operations, finance, marketing to negotiation & presentation skills.
We also have talks and presentations from leading people from the industry as well as talks by Entrepreneurs who dared to do things differently.
IRIS is a very important event for IIM Indore because it is our chance to interact with participants from other b-schools. The image of IIM Indore in the eyes of the external participants would depend to a large extent on what happens here during the 4 days of IRIS. Hence, it becomes all the more important to ensure that everything is carried out smoothly. On a personal note acting as a Co-ordinator for IRIS has taught me a whole lot of things. It is an immense responsibility and an even bigger challenge to live up to expectations.
Dejo George, Events Co-ordinator: For me, IRIS means EXCITEMENT!
One of our faculties once said that the only event for which the students of IIM Indore give everything is not even placements but IRIS and I agree with that statement 100%. IRIS boasts of holding the maximum number of events across 4 days than any other management institute in India. Every one of the events have been developed and implemented by the participants themselves. A lot of games are also legacies that have been passed down from batch to batch and ever batch tries to improve on the game. Of course sometimes mistakes may have been committed but everyone puts in a lot of effort to ensure that the game is better than the year before. A lot of time has to be put in to ensure that the events are successfully held. Co-coordinator for any particular game needs to put in at least 5 hours a day starting 30 days prior to the event in order to ensure that the event is a success. Considering the rigorous academic schedule people still take time to go beyond and contribute towards making the event a success. It is nothing but the spirit of IRIS, which drives them. And it is this spirit that makes people own up to their responsibility. IRIS is the biggest gaming extravaganza in India. There is a lot to expect from it.
Parvez A Qazi – Co-ordinator, Participations: For me, IRIS is IIM Indore’s chance to show the world what we are capable of.
My responsibility is to ensure that the communication regarding various events at IRIS reaches all participating institutions. Also keeping track of queries from participants and entries for events is another important function. Once IRIS begins we assign participants the responsibility of taking care of external participants. Good hospitality needs to be ensured. Last year IIM Indore was applauded for the excellent hospitality provided to all the external participants. In fact, it’s one of the strong points of IRIS.
Last year was the first year where we had a full-fledged festival on the new campus. Even the online games were started last year. It was a first time experience of handling a crowd of about 150 participants on campus. This year the number is going to be much higher and the challenges would be greater.
Sanchit Shinghal –Co-ordinator Creative – For me IRIS means Ego, A matter of PRIDE for all of us
Purna Chandra Rao D- Co-ordinator-Media Partnerships – For me IRIS is a Challenge- It is our responsibility to make it bigger than last year.
As part of the media and creative team we are responsible for everything right from brochures, posters, banners, the website and publicity. At IIM Indore, we have always strived to be different. This shows in our communications too. For example if every other institute went for colors in their brochures and communication we try to make a statement with just Black and White. Again when most of the institutes were formal in their communications regarding events, we went for a splash of colour and jazz in the way we handle our fest.
Jitendra Saraogi – Co-ordinator, Finance: For me IRIS means ‘EXCITEMENT’
Iris is a matter of pride for all of us. What drives us is the desire for IRIS to be the biggest festival.
Iris had taught me a lot about negotiating, whether it is for getting extra financial support or for allocating money. Managing good control over the limited budget is crucial. Allocating prize money between various games all of which are competing with each other for the biggest prize money can be dicey too. IRIS, with its scale and number of activities provides a lot of challenges and excitement for the professional in me.
Saurabh Arya – Co-ordinator, Operations:
IRIS 2004 was praised because of the hospitality provided to the participants. Additionally every one of the events was held in clockwork precision and there was almost no case of any event being delayed. For the operations team, the 4 days over which IRIS is held is non stop work.
Working in operations teaches you about how things work in the background. It teaches you to work behind the scenes and ensure that everything is in order when the event starts to take place. Again it builds your relationships with the administration and staff at the college since over the 4 days you need all the help you can get from the administration and staff to ensure that the event takes place without a hitch. Most important thing with operations is that you need to ensure that every event is run on schedule and everything is ready before the event takes place. One also needs to plan for alternate events to take place so that events continue even in the event of any last minute glitches.
This year the scale is going to be bigger than last year, with around 200 participants. This year’s rock show will also feature ‘Euphoria’, which is one of the biggest Indian bands with a nationwide fan following. The Rock show is also one of the few events for which the local Indore population would also be present. Making arrangements to handle the crowd as well as coordinating the security and other arrangements to handle a show of this size is going to be a big challenge.
IRIS to me is Challenge-Fun-Excitement and finally JOY