The Diploma awarding ceremony of the second batch of Sankara Nethralaya executives was held on Thursday, 19th April, 2012 at the Sri V.D Swami Auditorium. Shri Suresh Kumar, Manager, SN Centers the compeer for the evening got the program started with a warm welcome to the dignitaries and a short note on the course. The proceedings got off to an auspicious start with an invocation song by Dr S.Meenakshi, Director Academics followed by a welcome address by Dr R.Krishna Kumar, Principal, Elite School of Optometry to the Chief Guest of the evening Shri M.V Subbiah, Former Chairman, Murugappa Group, Father Christie, Director & Professor of Decision Sciences, LIBA, the evening’s Guest of honour, executives receiving their diplomas and the senior management of Sankara Nethralaya, following which the esteemed dignitaries were introduced by Shri G.Ramachandran, Honourary Secretary, Sankara Nethralaya and Ms B.Karpagapriya, Senior Manager, Training and Development with an interesting account of their credentials and achievements and honoured with a memento by Dr SS.Badrinath, Chairman Emeritus, Sankara Nethralaya
Speaking on the occasion Shrimathi Akila Ganesan, Registrar, Sankara Nethralaya gave a detailed account on how the whole idea of a course to improve the performance of Sankara Nethralaya executives was conceptualized and the curriculum and modules finalized with critical inputs from LIBA. She explained that such a course would help in better team building, smoother inter-departmental working and a holistic approach to finding solutions to day to day issues. Shrimathi Akila explained the other areas of collaborative learning pursued by the Sankara Nethralaya jointly with institutions of repute; she observed that it was most heartening to note that there was already a qualitative improvement in the performance of the first batch of executives who had completed the diploma in healthcare from LIBA. A brief note on how Sankara Nethralaya provided an ideal work atmosphere for professional growth and nurturing of leadership qualities and how the senior management set a personal example of great leadership was delivered by Dr. S. Meenakshi, Director Academics, followed by a brief account on what makes a leader and the need to inculcate such qualities by Shri S. Vishwanathan, DGM, Optical Services.
Students completing the course were awarded their diplomas by the Chief Guest, followed by a feedback on the course, experiences in the classroom and a collective assurance on behalf of the entire batch to implement the classroom learning in real time and bring about a perceptible change by Ms. M.Rajeswari, Head of the Department, Contact lens Department who was among the successful candidates. Speaking on behalf of the faculty team Father Christie congratulated the students completing the course; he had a high word of praise for their deep involvement, commitment levels, regularity and adhering to a rigorous course discipline in the midst of their professional and family commitments. He expressed that although LIBA conducts such courses for top corporates across industry, the association with Sankara Nethralaya and the fact that a qualitative change could be brought to its noble efforts were most fulfilling. Delivering the chief guest’s note Shri M.V. Subbiah underlined his points with a generous dose of humour and interesting anecdotes. He emphasized the need to learn from one’s own experiences which according to him was the best way to learn. Shri Subbiah observed that Loyola as an institution run by the Jesuit principles of giving back to society and Sankara Nethralaya led by Dr SS.Badrinath whom he described as a Karmayogi was a great match. He congratulated the executives completing the course and exhorted them to give back to society, not as money but as time spent in its welfare.
The function ended with a hearty Vote Of Thanks by A Mahalingam, Academic officer, The Sankara Nethralaya Academy to the dignitaries, senior management members of Sankara Nethralaya, the TSNA team, members from the press and everyone assembled in the auditorium, followed by dinner at the rooftop.