MICA Hosts its 24th Annual Convocation Ceremony

Ahmedabad, March 31, 2019: India’s premier institute for Strategic Marketing and Communication, MICA Ahmedabad celebrated the Annual Convocation Ceremony on its main campus lawn on March 31, 2019. The event was hosted for the 24th batch of its flagship PGDM-Communications Program and the 28th Batch of Crafting Creative Communication (CCC) Course.

In the event, 4 Scholars of MICA’s Fellowship Program in Management-Communication (FPM-C) Batch of 2014-17, and 2 scholars of the Batch of 2015-18 were awarded their Fellowship at the Ceremony. The students, proud parents, relatives, faculty and staff watched the events unfold. The MICA President & Director, Dr. Shailendra Raj Mehta, Dean Dr. Preeti Shroff, Governing Council Chairperson, Dr. Tridip Suhrud, Governing Council Members Dr. Anantha Babbili and Dr. Bhaskar Das were among the topmost guests.

It was an exhilarating affair of graduation of yet another dynamic and vibrant batch of MICAns, moving in the direction of becoming industry leaders, global professionals and game changers for societal and transformation, besides the FPM Scholars pursuing academic careers. The distinguished industry leader Mr. Amit Jain, Managing Director for L’Oréal India, was the chief guest for this occasion.

The event commenced with the Invocation ceremony and was declared open by Dr. Tridip Surhrud, the Governing Council Chairperson, after the lighting of the ceremonial lamp.

MICA Dean, Dr. Preeti Shroff extended her warm welcome to those present and instilled the importance of the timeless adage that, “Never underestimate what a small, determined group of people can do.”, Setting the pace for the vibrant ceremony. She welcomed the Chief Guest Mr. Amit Jain, the General Council, and all guests.

Post the conferring of Diplomas & Fellowships, the academic awards for the flagship PGDM-C Program were conferred. The Gold Medal was awarded to Ms. Sanya Sitlani, the Silver to Ms. Arpita Choudhury and the Bronze to Ms. Malvika Adukia from the PGDM-C course. And the CCC counterparts for Gold, Silver and Bronze medals were Mr. Rishav Chatterjee, Ms. Suzanna Mathew, and Ms. Vaishali Shukla respectively.

The MICA Year Book, which captured the essence of nostalgia and fond memories for the outgoing batch of students, was also released by Mr. Jain.

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This was followed by a convocation address by Mr. Amit Jain. He began by acknowledging the 15-year-old relationship between MICA and L’Oréal; some of their brightest talent, Pankaj Sharma who is from the 2003 batch and heads the brands - Garnier & Maybelline, and more than 20 alumni of MICA have joined us over the years.

He had 3 lessons to impart – “Have a sense of purpose in what you do. In whatever you are going to do; be it working in a media company, an advertising agency or even L’Oréal, it is not just about creating and selling but finding a deeper meaning in what we do. Make a difference and have the courage of conviction. Have a passion for learning, and build a strong foundation. Balance your ambition with the desire to grow.” Finding the occasion to also be a good time to reflect, he said, “I would like you to reflect upon whom you wish to thank. Find a mentor or somebody you look up to. The trick is to identify the right mentor and getting them adequately engaged and motivated to giving time. In L’Oréal, we actively practice Reverse Mentoring”.

He concluded with a quote by Victor Hugo saying, “Nothing succeeds like an idea whose time has come.”, wishing the bright curious students the best of luck for their future endeavors.

The Chief Guest speech was followed by a note of appreciation by Mr. Shailendra Raj Mehta, President, MICA. He spoke of the various achievements of MICA in the last academic year and complimented the various committees for their outstanding work. He said, “There are globally over two thousand MICA alumni and their contribution is immense in making MICA what it is. He concluded with couplets in English, Hindi, and Urdu, including George Bernard Shaw, where he asks the question,” Why not?”

The MICA council for Students Affairs gave a poignant trip down memory lane and the highlights of their batch through these two years, using pop-culture references and contextual humor. They expressed gratitude to the Dean, President, Registrar and all staff members of MICA for their enduring support.