NextBillion - An Initiative of the William Davidson Institute at the University of Michigan

The Social Responsibility Conclave, organised by the Net Impact Club at the Indian School of Business, is a congregation of thought leaders from various sections of the society- including NGOs, business schools, industry, academia, and politics. Through a rich exchange of perspectives among members of this diverse group, the Conclave aims at generating insights and a plausible plan of action on issues relevant for the society at large. This year’s conclave is on October 20, 2007. You can register for the event here.

The focus of this year’s conclave is on Education. Education has been a prime focus area and a constitutional directive for development in post-independence India. Yet, surprisingly, illiteracy remains endemic at different levels and education and awareness levels are low among people. The inherent complexity and magnitude of the issue due to the interplay of cultural and economic factors, makes it largely intractable and includes concerns about scale, accessibility, and quality of education. In India where a sizable part of the population lives below the poverty line, there is a need for increased adoption and much wider alliance for broadening the base of education.The Conclave aims at the following objectives:

• Provide a platform for exchange of views: By bringing various stakeholders of the educational sector on a single platform, the Conclave aspires to provide opportunities for learning from each other.
• Influence business leaders of tomorrow: The Conclave aims at sensitising the business leaders of tomorrow–the students of participating business schools–to the issues concerning the spread of education and to bring about positive social development in India.
• Conceive models for action: By bringing together future leaders, this Conclave aims at generating feasible, actionable, self-sustaining plans to achieve well-defined targets to promote education at various levels in the country.

Paper Writing Competition (Deadline: October 9, 2007)

From perspectives to problems, the final phase of the Conclave focuses on the implementation of innovative and scalable solutions to champion the cause of Universal Education in India. Five short listed student teams from across the country will present their ideas to the panel of judges at the Conclave.

The paper presentation will provide management student’s perspectives to address these problems to improve the quality and reach of education in India.