The Hindu Business Line : IIM-A's Confluence from Thursday

The eighth edition of the Annual International Management Summit of the Indian Institute of Management-Ahmedabad (IIM-A), Confluence-2006, will be organised here from November 23 to 26, its Director, Dr Bakul Dholakia, said on Monday.

"The Indian Phenomenon" will be this year's central theme of the event, started as a conventional business school summit in 1999, that has now shaped into an avenue of opportunities for students to explore issues, share ideas and gain insights into the emerging trends, and be at the forefront of management practices.

"The question no longer is, whether India will grow, but when and how fast. Confluence 2006 attempts to take a peek into this phenomenon and what is driving it," he told reporters here.

Representatives from 19 countries, comprising 52 teams, will participate in different programmes during the Confluence. With participation through case contests and online submissions exceeding 5,000, Confluence is now the largest business school meet in Asia-Pacific, Dr Dholakia said.

An advisory committee, headed by the HDFC Ltd Executive Chairman, Mr Deepak Parekh, has been formed to organise Confluence 2006.

Besides the lecture series and panel discussions, a business quiz, management games and a corporate business plan competition will also be organised on the occasion.

Speakers at the event will include Mr A. Vellayan (Vice-Chairman, Murugappa Group), Mr Ajay Piramal (Chairman, Nicholas Piramal India Ltd), Mr Arun Maira (Chairman, The Boston Consulting Group, India), Mr Kishore Biyani (CEO, Future Group), Ms Naina Lal Kidwai (CEO, HSBC India), Mr Nitish Kumar (Chief Minister, Bihar), Mr R. Seshasayee (President, CII), Mr Shekhar Gupta (Group CEO, The Indian Express Group), and Ms Sudha Murthy (Chairperson and Trustee, Infosys Foundation).