A confluence of knowledge community at WeSchool

Knowledge Management (KM) Conference- 2014 on 26th June 2014 at WeSchool, Mumbai

WeSchool Management Development Center (MDC), eClerx and Mumbai KM Community jointly hosted a 1-day Annual KM Conference on Friday, 26th June 2014 at WeSchool. The event began with Opening Remarks and Welcome Note by Prof. Dr. V.H. Iyer (Dean-Management Development Center, WeSchool) wherein he traced the history of KM, the roles of various stakeholders and KM’s significance today. This was followed by Mr. Alakh Asthana, co-founder and core team member of Mumbai KM Community who spoke about the design/format of the conference and the sessions to follow. The sessions began with Mr. Avi Kedem (Chief Knowledge Officer, Israel Aerospace Industries Ltd.) presenting his thoughts on a six-step structured process for capturing and preserving the knowledge from experts within as well as those retiring or exiting the organisation. He shared the lessons learnt at his organisation which has been implementing the process since 2008. Earlier, Mr. Kedem had a meeting with Prof. Dr. Uday Salunkhe- Group Director, WeSchool.Next, Mr. Madhukar Kalsapura (Co-founder, Knowurture Health and earlier, CKO at Lanco Infratech) drew parallels between real life world problems and those faced by an organization, why such problems occur, and how to manage them by tools, techniques, and projects. He suggested that organisations identify and value the problem to obtain return on investment. Thereafter, Ms. Shubha Ashraf (Business Head, Kitchenware and former Head of KM, Eureka Forbes) spoke about her experience with various business problems that were identified and managed by the KM practice at Eureka Forbes. A presentation by Mr. Rudolf D’Souza (Founder and CEO – InKnoWin Consulting) titled ‘Managing in a VUCA World!’ followed. He described the current business environment as Volatile, Uncertain, Complex and Ambiguous (VUCA) in which KM, as it exists, has a limited shelf life. In order to provide value and remain relevant to the organization, he felt, KM needs to evolve, quickly. Ms. Ritu Grover (Head- KM, KPMG India), the next speaker, shared her perspective on how KM involves enabling creativity and innovation as well as how best practice organisations use KM approach to become more effective innovators. In the concluding session by Mr. Ricky Tsui (Director and East Asia Region R&D Leader, ARUP, Hong Kong), he shared the knowledge cycle in his organization and went on to give details how it leads to outcomes such as easy access to best practice and project knowledge for reuse and building skill networks. The KM Community called for greater collaborative effort with WeSchool for enhancing knowledge and skills needed by the KM community in the coming years.  

by: Prof. Sharad P. Nileshwar, Head-Industry Interface (MDC), WeSchool