Bangalore, Aug 17: With the onset of pandemic and subsequent lockdown the entire eco system witnessed radical change; the sustainability of eco system had to be viewed from three different aspects Business, Economy and Society. Businesses had to re think their practices, the economy took a paradigm shift and these resulted in the variations in the society and pattern of living as well. The shift from offline to online functioning irrespective of the type of the entity – corporates, educational institutions and other institutions was inevitable and demanding.
The conference envisioned the above perspective as the theme. Hence, the objectives of the conference were: providing a forum for deliberations on the shift in the businesses and their sustainability in the wake of new normal and to reflect on the multidisciplinary aspects of business and economy and its influence on the society at large, during and post pandemic situation.
The online inauguration ceremony was hosted on 5th August, 2021 on Zoom platform.Dr. K.S. Lakshmi, Conference Convenor gave a briefing of the conference. Dr. Y Lakshman Kumar, Director of ISBR Business School, welcomed everyone by introducing the topic and narrated numerous facets of India’s sustainability. He highlighted the current global predicament as a result of the Covid-19 pandemic.
The conference was inaugurated by Professor Paul Edmund Green, Dean of faculty of Business and Management Sciences at Cape Peninsula University of Technology in Cape Town South Africa. Prof Green elaborated on the measures taken by the government and other administrative bodies in South Africa to combat the pandemic effect. He also emphasized the importance of Research, Leadership and Entrepreneurship.
The keynote address was delivered by Prof Rachid OUMLIL, Research Professor, ENCG Agadir, University of IbnZohr, Morocco, North Africa. Prof OUMLIL who also happens to be associated with African Research Centre for Innovation and Development, emphasized the need for open innovation and its research opportunities.
Dr. Manish Kothari, presided over the inauguration. Further he elaborated on the reports given by various monitoring agencies on how pandemic made the remote working an unavoidable choice, shift from offline to online working. He later delved on the workforce crunch in the emerging economies. He declared the opening of the International Conference. Inaugural session was attended by around 200 members across the globe. Subsequent to which the papers were presented by research presenter scholars both at the national and international level.
The inaugural session concluded with the Registrar and Dean (Academics), Dr. B.S. Patil offering his felicitations and best wishes to the participants.
Around 160 papers are to be presented in the two-day conference by research practitioners, academicians and corporate delegates. The conference also has a Panel Discussion on Sustainable Development Goals and LGBTQ+ inclusivity. The Conference is sponsored by AICTE and proceedings are approved by Ministry of Education.
Vijay Singh
