Data security is one of the major concerns in the telecom and IT industry. While cloud solutions have emerged as a viable option, the adoption of the same has not occurred at the expected pace. This was the topic of discussion during the National Seminar on Information Security, Cloud Computing: Implications for MSMEs, organised by the PHD Chamber of Commerce and Industry (PHDCCI) on 30^th May, 2012, in association with its knowledge partner Albion Infotel, a leading IT solutions provider.

Shri Kapil Sibal, Honourable Minister of Communications and IT, Government of India; Sanjeev Gupta, President & Managing Director, Albion Infotel Pvt. Ltd; and Sandip Somany, President PHD Chamber of Commerce and Industry, were present at the day-long seminar and discussed pertinent issues related to Data, Information and Cyber Security. The focus of the seminar was on leveraging IT at its best without compromising the security of remotely stored data.

Cloud Computing represents a new paradigm in Information Technology and will have a major impact on how IT services are created, delivered and consumed in the future. Dr. Krishna Rao, Dean- JRE School of Engineering along with Prof. Sanjeev Pippal- one of the esteemed professors of JRE also attended the seminar exchanging useful information on the subject.

Speaking on the occasion, the minister of Communication and IT Kapil Sibal said, “With over 2,50,000Gram Panchayats being connected over fiber optics, everybody is being connected at an enormous speed in India. In the new world, we need new solutions and cloud computing is a business model to manage competitiveness of businesses in this environment. However, security is a very important aspect which should be addressed while we are putting together the building blocks of this new technology in India.”

Sandip Somany president, PHDCCI added, “With growing advancements in technology, cloud computing is the buzz word today. There are many reasons why organizations of all sizes are adopting this technology, especially MSMEs due to the reduced need for physical infrastructure. Cloud computing will create nearly 14 million jobs within the years 2011-2015. We now need to better understand optimal use of this technology while addressing concerns about security and privacy.”

The sessions were informative, interactive and interesting and the program facilitated networking during the lunch break: particularly with Mr. Rahul Jain (Sr. Consultant, Security Practices, Data Security Council of India): Data Protection Strategy, Mr. Panchaleswar Nayak (Technical Expert, EMC²): Journey to the Govt. Cloud and Dr. K Subramaniam (former Senior Deputy Director General, NIC, Govt. of India): Securing the Cyber Space.

The healthy discussions were most certainly fruitful as Mr. Rahul Jain (Sr. Consultant, Security Practices, Data Security Council of India): Data Protection Strategy showed keen interest in pursuing industry-institute collaborative projects with JRE School Of Engineering.

A workshop on Advances in Fossil Fuel Technologies & Investment for Power Generation was held in New Delhi on the 6^th-7^th of June, 2012. Organized by Asian and Pacific Centre for Transfer of Technology (APCTT) in cooperation with Ministry of Power, Government of India, the workshop also saw JRE School of Engineering as a part of this event. National Thermal Power Corporation (NTPC), India and World Energy Council- Indian Member Committee (WEC-IMC) were also other major names in the energy domain that shared their presence at the event. JRE was represented by Dr. Krishna Rao, Dean-JRE School of Engineering and Mr. Yudhishthir Pandey, Asst Prof, Dept of Electrical Engineering.

Dr. Nagesh Kumar, Chief Economist, UNESCAP and Director, Sub- Regional officer for South and South-West Asia, New Delhi gave the welcome address followed by an opening address by Mr. Arup Roy Choudhury, CMD, NTPC & Secretary, WEC-IMC, New Delhi and an inaugural address by Mr. P. Uma Shankar, Secretary, Ministry of Power. Many eminent personalities from governmental & non-governmental organizations were also present.

The objective of the workshop was to share research findings of coal based power generation, regulatory frameworks, investment and climate change concerns in countries like India, China, Afghanistan, Kazakhstan, Kirgizstan, Uzbekistan and Ukraine. There was also a discussion on current opportunities and challenges in developing and deploying advanced fossil fuel technologies in India. The participants shared their experiences regarding the best possible ways of funding and creating an investment climate for cleaner electricity production. The workshop sought to enhance technology used in coal combustion and power plant capacity by increased coal mining and the use of Fluidized Bed Combustion and Clean Coal Technology thereby increasing efficiency by 45%. Now, in order to enhance such capacities focus would have to be made on FDI & domestic funds to meet the investment needs.

Moreover, in order to cut costs, technology for the coal mining and combustion industry needs to be indigenous, not imported. Another important inference drawn in the workshop was to focus on renewable energy sources for sustainable development.

The workshop was organized by various departments of the United Nations and hence the research & findings have given valuable insights on power generation and sustainability.

An ISO 9001-2008 awareness program was held at JRE Group of Institutions on 16^th July 2012. All faculty members from the Schools of Engineering and Management along with Administration, Marketing and non teaching staff participated in the session.

 Dr. Krishna Rao, Dean, JRE School of Engineering, introduced Mr. Akash Batra, Quality Consultant & Trainer from Quality and Technical Services. Mr. Batra outlined the key ISO principles and quality management system and addressed a range of queries from the audience.  He discussed the eight major principles of quality management, emphasizing the importance of customer satisfaction, leadership, collective participation, a systems approach, ongoing improvement, factual approach for decision making & risk taking and creating a mutually beneficial supplier relationship. In the post-tea session he introduced the participants to the fundamentals of ISO 9001 and the critical requirements for meeting the standards.

The participants showed a high level of commitment and recognized the potential benefits of introducing the system for the improvement and smooth functioning of JRE and maximizing resource usage.

Professor Stephen Rawlinson, Academic President, JRE Group of Institutions emphasized the importance of implementing ISO standards in JRE, especially when the Institute aims to achieving international recognition and accreditation. Dr. Rao expressed his gratitude and thanked Mr. Batra for the informative session. 

JRE Group of Institutions celebrated its 1st Annual day “CANVAS 2012” with great fervor and enthusiasm on 3rd & 4th April 2012 comprising of sports and cultural events. The Annual day was inaugurated by Mr. Harpeet Singh (President- ERHEL) and Prof. Steve Rawlinson (President- JRE Group of Institutions).

Students of JRE School of Management (JRE -SOM), JRE School of Engineering (JRE- SOE) and Millennium Academy of Professional Studies (MAPS) participated in events.

The sports event started with Cricket tournament followed by Table Tennis tournament on 3rd April 2012. The athletics continued the next morning with various exciting competitions like long jump, short-put, three legged race, 100m, 200m, 400m, and 800m race. The students have participated with great zeal and shown a team spirit during the competitions. Students were encouraged and appreciated by the judges and were awarded with medals, trophies and certificates of winning and participation.

Now was the time for youth to spread the colors of their talents. We started with Cultural event by welcoming our guest of honors- Mr. Sharat Kumar, Mr. Prateek Dubey and special guest Mr. Gagan Bajaj. In the cultural event students showed their talent by participating in various competitions like Skit making, Solo dancing, Singing, and Video Clip making. The Dance Performances and Video Clips kept the audience enthralled.

The event was coming towards end with a prize distribution ceremony. The President and the guest of honor gave away the prizes to the winners and certificates to all the participants.

The event highlighted the rich cultural, social, ethnic and linguistic diversity of India.

Institute reaches milestone with a 130% internships record in its first operational year

Two students from JRESOM (JRE School of Management), have bagged internships with the Royal Sporting House, Australia, in positions requiring Marketing specialisations. Priya Garg and Sonal Pandey from JRE have been placed in the company on a stipend of 1,000 Australian Dollars a month. JRE is a joint educational establishment by Raffles Group from Singapore and the renowned Educomp Group from NOIDA.

 The Educomp Group, which was established in 1994, is a Globally diversified Education Solutions Provider and also the Largest Education Company in India. The group reaches out to over 29,000 Schools, along with 19 Million Learners and Educators across the world. JRE has already achieved an enviable internships record (within a span of just a year) since its courses were launched. Students at JRE have been routinely placed across major Indian organisations such as Coca Cola, Honda, LG, HDFC Bank, Zee News, PWC, Escorts Securities, Videocon and Business Standard, amongst others.

Priya Garg and Sonal Pandey have also received internship offers from Escorts Securities and United Biscuits respectively, like many other students who have also received multiple job offers; thus giving JRE a whopping 130% internships record in its first year itself.

The institute has so far maintained an excellent internships record due to its industry-oriented and practical-learning based educational offering. Consequentially, its students have now entered a variety of sectors across diverse fields -- such as Automobile manufacturers Honda; Banking giants HDFC Bank; Media organisations like Zee News and Business Standard; Mutual Fund companies like the SBI; FMCG companies such as the Coca Cola and United Biscuits; along with Electronics manufacturers like LG and Videocon, among others.

It has continually focused on innovating in Education via its courses - with facilities such as Digiboard, E-Learning, Harvard Corner and more - thus attracting many reputed organisations looking for skilled students. Furthermore, its presence in NOIDA gives its students a much needed practical exposure to leading industries, with visits by leading entrepreneurs being a regular feature at the institute. Adding a new feather to its cap with international internships, JRE has now taken a step ahead in establishing itself amongst one of the premier B-Schools of this country.

For further details, you may contact them at their website, www.jre.edu.in

Alternatively, you can find them on Facebook at www.facebook.com/JREManagement and www.facebook.com/JREEngineering or follow them on Twitter at www.twitter.com/JREENGG and www.twitter.com/JREMGMT.

The financial sector is never short of surprises; more so, in a developing and heterogeneous nation such as India where markets are continually influenced by endless number of political, geographical and socio-economical fluctuations. Explaining such various financial complexities requires acumen and experience; so when Mr. Ashok Jha, the President of Hyundai India spoke upon the current Indian financial scenario at JRE on March 29, 2012; students were certainly in for an intellectual treat of sorts!

He started off with a wisdom-filled quote from noted Nobel Prize winning Indian economist, Amartya Sen, which went -- “The frustrating thing about India is that whatever you can rightly say about India, the opposite also holds true simultaneously.” Terming India to be a ‘Land of Paradoxes,’ full of poverty on one side and billionaires on the other, he shared with enthused JRE students precious insights that many would envy. He held a positive view with regards to the Indian democratic setup, where free elections, free speech and civil liberties have managed to remain in existence; and added that democracy nevertheless came with its benefits…such as the elimination of famines which had never been eradicated during the British rule.

He pointed out that our economy has been on a roll despite a glaringly huge economic gap between the Rural and the Urban Indian setup. He also struck a positive note regarding the Indian educational setup, maintaining that although one- thirds of the population is still illiterate, India still has a large, well educated and highly trained population that provides skilled labour across a variety of fields. He added that in order to fill such crucial gaps across what he termed as the ‘Rural Bharat and the Rich India’, one needed to focus upon bringing to reality ‘Financial Inclusion’ across 3 sectors; namely, the Banking Sector, the Stock Exchange, and Microfinance.

In conclusion, he highlighted the need to focus upon generating more capital; by allowing for more banks to be set-up all across the country. He also added that the monopoly of the NSE and the BSE was gratuitous, and that setting up of regional stock exchanges was a need of the hour, a task ignored since many decades. His wisdom-filled words helped JRE students to thoroughly know and understand upcoming opportunities in the financial sector, along with ideas to help build an economically powerful nation!

Marketing. Such a popular word. Not only do we hear it everywhere, it is also the key word heard in every managerial communication, corporate discussion, board meeting and every other place that one goes to! However, such overuse tends to distract most from the genuine and serious art (and science) that marketing is. This time however, the JRE School of Management in NOIDA organised an all encompassing Marketing Panel Discussion on March 24, 2012; to discuss just how effective marketing can impact upon a brand, its development, its growth and ultimately, its profits!

The Panel Discussion was an attempt to bring together practitioners from various fields such as advertising, BTL (Below-The-Line) and ATL (Above-The-Line) marketing, digital media and public relations, all under one roof for a comprehensive and thorough understanding of each field and its varied specialties; as also to discuss the innovative mechanisms employed by each one of them to succeed.

The event saw participations from dignitaries such as Mr. Kishore Chakraborty from McCann Erikson India; Mr. Saurabh Uttam from Digital Genesis -- Burson-Marstelle; Mr. Ashish Verma from Wizcraft and Mr. Barid Baran from Brandcomm; making their presence felt at the event as panel members. Other major and eminent personalities who graced the event included JRE Group of Institutions President Mr. Harpreet Singh and Professor Pankaj Gupta, Director for the JRE School of Management. Event mentor Dr. Vaishali Agarwal; who is the PGP chairperson and Associate Professor for Marketing at JRESOM; gave directions to the discussion by formally introducing the topic.

Mr. Harpreet Singh took the reins of the session into his own hands, starting off with highlighting the importance of identifying and satisfying the REAL target consumers. He also spoke upon various marketing strategies with some great real life examples of each kind.

Next to speak was Mr. Kishore Chakraborty, who captivated the audiences with his witty remarks and anecdotes. He spoke upon issues such as changing consumer mindsets, ways to connect with one’s consumers, relevance of media and technology with brands and its consumers, and how viral marketing works. Mr. Barid Baran followed with an insight into how mass media works and the need to understand how media is to be used for building and promoting a brand; citing the example of Lalit Modi’s IPL. He reminisced about the infamous ‘Cola-Pesticides’ and ‘Cadbury-Worms’ cases which had hogged headlines in the past. Mr. Ashish Varma spoke upon customer touch points, loyalty programs, trade partnerships and customer retention, while Mr. Saurabh Uttam spoke about Digital Media and the changes that dominate it.

Quoting Ms. Divya Uttam, Account Director and Digital Strategist at BBDO Proximity India, who said “Kudos to JRE for organising such a discussion for its students!,”; one can sure count on JRE for providing in-depth education that always remains relevant to the times and useful professionally!

It took just 1 day to affect the lives of 1.1 billion Indians. While Sachin Tendulkar’s hundredth ton brought delight to their minds, the Union Budget for 2012-13 had them grope safes and scrape pockets. Six days later, on March 24, 2012; JRE School of Management took the initiative to put the budget in perspective with an event titled “Budgetonomics – A Panel Discussion” -- that saw the participation of industry stalwarts, students and academicians, all enthusiastically discussing the finer points of the budget and its likely impacts.

Around a hundred people made their presence felt at the event, which saw the likes of renowned tax-expert and author, C.A. Dr. Girish Ahuja; respected academician Dr. C.S. Sharma; Mr. Rajesh Aggarwal, principal consultant at Accenture; along with Professor Stephen Rawlinson, President of the JRE Group of Institutions and Professor Pankaj Gupta, Director at the JRE School of Management.

Dr. Girish Ahuja started the session with a bang, giving eager JRE students a complete overview of types of taxes, tax laws, along with a trivia upon the impact brought about by changes to taxation slabs. He peppered his highly engaging lecture with many interesting anecdotes, insights and unknown historical facts about the Indian economy.

Mr. Rajesh Aggarwal, on his part, detailed the students upon how the budget would change things for consultants and organisations. He even gave students a thorough overview of how the budget has progressed and shifted over the years. Adding to that was Dr. C.S. Sharma, who struck a positive note with regards to the changes seen in this budget, while discussing many of the glorious chapters of Indian history that pioneered changes in our nation.

Professor Stephen Rawlinson stressed upon the utility of the event, adding that such sessions made students responsible and responsive citizens in the future; while Professor Pankaj Gupta spoke upon the necessity of such sessions to help shape young minds early.

JRE students were highly enthused about this discussion, and they all chipped in with their beautifully made presentations upon Economic Surveys, Railway Budget, Union Budget and the like. Many other aspects of the budget and its impacts were also scrutinised in the panel discussions that followed.

With practical insights into real world situations, JRE has once again stressed upon the need to merge academics with real life situations, in order to give students the finest education of practical and professional benefit.

(As contributed by Stuti Jain)

Bad officials are elected by good citizens who do not vote. Politics is not an end, but a means. It is not a product, but a process. And the one who facilitates the smooth flow of this process is called a politician, or more aptly a leader.

With a view to interact with young minds, Shri Jagmohan, began his address to young student managers at the JRE School of Management, by asking them to reflect upon the state of India. While there were some that were optimistic about it, there were others who were dubious too. As per Shri Jagmohan, while some were seeing the glass half-full and some were seeing it half-empty, to him it was immaterial; for he saw the problem with the mindset. He went ahead with the same notion by narrating an anecdote about a guy -- who had retired from a High post, and it was after he retired that he saw the negative state of India.

One that doesn't help you solve problems creates obstacles to solve them instead.

To instigate a vision in students to look at this negative side with a renewed vigor -- by getting them to think on new lines; Shri Jagmohan emphasized the importance of high values and of the idea of 'Simple living, high thinking'. Giving students the golden mantra to develop sensitivity about the issues around them, Shri Jagmohan very insightfully said that the future and the responsibilities of the youth lie in acting upon these issues by becoming sensitive to them in a way to create a society that we all would feel proud to live in.