It was also a pleasure for Prof. Vijesh Jain to be welcomed at Institute campus, as chief guest and keynote speaker for the inaugural ceremony of the National Seminar. Faculty and selected students of several IP university affiliated colleges attended the inaugural ceremony followed by a half day technical session cum “faculty development lecture” by him on the topic "Current Geopolitical Environment for Business".

Later in the day, there was another half day technical cum faculty development lecture by Prof. V.N. Bajpai, Professor of Marketing at I.T.S. The topic of the lecture was – Blue Ocean Strategies. The lecture was conducted in an interactive manner with a process focusing on experiential learning. The program was also attended by a number of faculties from Kamal Institute as well as other colleges affiliated to I.P. University, Delhi.

The FDP covered several new theories propounded by Sir Michael Porter including the theory of Scale, theory of shared value, theory of advantage by cluster approach and other ideas. These ideas are in line with the current changes taking place in businesses. It was argued by the speaker that the perception of entrepreneur about what their business does in the society and perception about the society what a business does are converging for good and so are the goals of the businesses and the governments. It was further argued that government partnership with businesses is must in the current context for the benefit of the business as well as the society. It was also discussed that governments and NGOs have limited resources to carry out welfare job effectively. This gap can be filled by the role of businesses as societal problem solver rather than societal problems creator.

Researchers have been working hard on the Brand, Consumption & Culture aspects of the products consumers consume. The landscape of branding is not limited to the name Logo, or even the image, but has far extended within the fibers of each singular aspect of Brand identity. Due to the various traditions and social aspects of culture, the field of marketing is expanding now towards culture where consumption is considered as a social & cultural activity, and it is no more a linear function. The cultural paradigm holds of vital importance to understand the Brand Consumption Culture.

The workshop was organized by Ms. Arbuda Sharma. Arbuda is a researcher and consultant in the area of Brand Consumption Culture, at XLRI Jamshedpur. Presently attempting to develop a framework of Brand Consumption Culture. The workshop focussed on the impact of culture on branding. The session explored various case studies on Kellog’s in India, MTV in India, Citibank. Further, topics such as input elements comprising of brand identity, brand persona, brand communication, Hofstede’s cultural dimensions were discussed.

The workshop witnessed participation from Industry and Academicia. It has been a platform to share experiences on the topic.