It seems like only yesterday that we were huddled over our desks, brainstorming, embracing and refuting ideas, sipping chai to the beats of a healthy arguement on what could be an initiative that could bring the Krea community together, each week, bound together by the accomplishments, challenges and the sheer joy of being a part of the Krea family and therein was born - Krea, this Week. Something that could echo the sentiment of coffee-room conversations and banter over the water filter, with a generous helping of professional camaraderie. Today, as we publish the 25th edition, we are filled with humility and gratitude at having achieved in bits and pieces, exactly what we had set out to do. From students, faculty members, and staff to external readers, who have shared with us suggestions, advisories and news to be shared, week on week, we are thankful and request the bouquets or brickbats irrespective, continue to be sent our way. 

This week the Krea community continued to knit together stories of triumph and novelty through various strands of the Krea fabric, and engaged and executed, a fair share of immersive discussions, suggestions, learnings, and much more. Here is raising a toast to the sentiment that’s Krea, which brings together people from across geographies, social brackets, interests, and ideological choices to pave the way forward, together. Here is to embracing the spirit of the collective.

Embrace is an initiative and programme by the Inclusive Learning Support Office (ILS).

Embrace represents mental health at Krea University, aiming to ensure accessible mental health awareness, facilities, and engagement for the students. Embrace organises events and activities like celebrating mental health awareness weeks, mindfulness, mandala drawing, and awareness workshops, which allow students to engage with issues of mental health, both at a wide-scale as well as an everyday level as an individual. Further in this attempt to foster a safe space that prioritises mental health, Embrace is also home to the Peer Support Programme, where Krea volunteers are trained to provide non-judgemental mental health support to their peers. 

On Krea’s social media platforms, in the coming week, we will give you a glimpse of the significant work done by Embrace over the recent months.

On 15 August 2023, the Krea campus resounded with patriotic fervour as all the Kreators came together to commemorate the 77th Indian Independence Day.

Kickstarting the event with patriotic spoken-word poetry, Kreators built the momentum for the hoisting of the national flag. The Guest of Honour, Prof S Sivakumar, Dean of Research, accompanied by Lt Col C P Satya Saran (Retd), Chief Administrative Officer, hoisted the Tiranga and lauded the everlasting efforts of the wardens and ancillary staff for being an integral part of the ecosystem at Krea. This was followed by Dr Aivinor AMS, Assistant General Manager, Office of Student Life delivering a gripping speech acknowledging the momentous occasion. Furthermore, students from IFMR Graduate School of Business (GSB) and School of Interwoven Arts and Sciences (SIAS) all came together to showcase their poetic temperaments by honouring the soldiers and martyrs of our country through their art. Traditional Indian games along with engaging activities like Treasure Hunt, Capture The Flag, and Musical Chairs, all adhering to the theme of Independence Day were organised to inculcate a sense of pride for the richness of our culture amongst all cohorts. 

Report by: Amandeep Singh, SIAS Cohort of 2027

In line with the commitment to enhance the overall well-being of the Krea community, a few developments have been made to the Krea gymnasiums. This includes the newly revamped main gym now further equipped with more tools for fitness. To add on, Krea University has partnered with Axon Multifit Gym in Tirupati to bring in a professional trainer who will guide the community members to achieve their fitness goal, at economical costs.  For the female students and staff, a multigym has been added with necessary gym equipment, and the team is on the lookout for a skilled female professional trainer to assist with the workouts. Also on the cards is an open-air workout space. 

The Career Services Office (CSO) is hosting a session along with Red Pen, an educational consulting organisation with the aim to empower students with knowledge on what really matters while filling up application forms for higher education to universities abroad. The session is slated for 19 August 2023 and will elaborate on what matters in the Masters’ application, beyond test scores. If you are a student looking at higher education in top universities globally, this is an opportunity for you to gear up for the same, strategically.

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Sarvah Crafts is a socially-conscious enterprise co-founded by Harsha Malhotra and Seema Achan who were colleagues at Tata Institute of Social Sciences (TISS) in Mumbai. The duo had always aspired to work in the field of craft-based livelihoods to empower marginalised communities across India.

Krea Social Studies Talk hosted a session, India in Africa and Global South Possibilities by Dr Manjusha Nair, Associate Professor and Director of PhD Program in Sociology, George Mason University on 17 August 2023. 

The resurrection of Asia and Asian economic engagements in Africa through the processes of investment, trade, loans, developmental aid, and technology transfers have been criticised by many as neocolonial attempts to render the continent to injustices that replicates its centuries old subjection to North Atlantic capitalism. 

A more experientially grounded anguish and uncertainty has been shared by black African scholars and activists, about the intentions of the new Asian presence in the continent. Such anguish comes from a place of genuine concern from living through the historical legacies and trauma associated with colonialism and Western imperialism. Dr Nair showed that many of the criticisms have emerged from thinking of the rise of Asia as extending the inviolable logic of global capitalism that subsumes everything on its path, along with interacting and replicating colonialism and racial capitalism, the legacies of which are still very much definitive though not conclusive on African futures.

This latest video series deep dives into the unique academic approach of different disciplines at IFMR GSB, Krea University.

In this episode, Dr Vinod Kumar, Associate Professor, Finance, Accounting and Quantitative Finance explains the philosophy and pedagogy of the Accounting and Finance stream at IFMR GSB.

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If you have time this weekend, please do check these productions and publications from the recent past, give them a listen, watch or read.