Department Of Commerce

As the World was hit by a Pandemic, spirits were crushed worldwide. Uprooting the day-to-day activities, emotionally challenging billions of people and mercilessly destroying the Global Economy, COVID-19 had a multifaceted effect on everything. The country was hit hard, and yet,
emerging resilient in times of agony, The Department of Commerce, Lady Shri Ram College for Women stood tall in the face of devastation.

Following the mantra of ‘Adapt and Conquer’, we witnessed yet another sweeping academic year 2020-2021 with all the activities shifting to a virtual set-up. With a variety of events ranging from informal sessions to a skill enhancement workshop, the Commerce family didn’t leave any
stone unturned for providing its students with an experience of a ‘normal year’.

We kickstarted the first semester for the incoming batch of 2020 with a formal freshers. Themed as ‘Khoj-e-hunar’, we saw the young minds amaze everyone with their stellar performances. A multitude of games were also conducted by the senior batches to welcome the batch of 2023.

A dose of knowledge and a helping hand, this is how we describe the informal sessions conducted within the department. The seniors instructed everyone on the Do’s and Don’t’s in CV building. Guiding the incoming batch through every difficulty, this year also witnessed several
informal sessions where the seniors took it on them to share their experiences of a plethora of competitions and providing the former with an insight into the actual ‘DU life’.

To the rescue of our perplexed minds burdened with a hundred different choices, came the formal session on ‘Career Options’ conducted by the esteemed speaker Mr Amit Poddar. It certainly helped us soothe our minds and decide our path.

Comquest’21 was themed as Anastasia – A Ream of Resurrection, and was celebrated as one of the best online academic fest of all times. Every event was designed peculiarly to give out an example of ‘overcome and adapt’.

The Department of Commerce, Lady Shri Ram College for Women, organized its Annual International Academic Meet Comquest: Anastasia- A Realm of Resurrection on March 4, and 5, 2021. The theme ‘Anastasia’ signifies the quest for revival and bouncing back from the most
turbulent of times.

Going virtual for the first time, social media was the go-to medium for creating the buzz for Comquest’21. This year too, there was enthusiastic participation from students across the sub-continent.

On the 3rd of March, the contingent event (Among Us- The Cosmopolitan Battle) took center stage. The rounds were designed with the utmost care and cleverly exhibited that teamwork indeed makes the dream work.

The following day commenced with the Opening Ceremony and a heartfelt welcome note by Mrs. Jyotsana Arora, our esteemed professor. Dr. Maninder Duggal also chimed in with her positive message and best of wishes.

This year’s Panel Discussion, titled ‘To Survive and Thrive: A Post-Pandemic Predicament’ highlighted the plight of various industries and their strategies to recover unscathed from the impacts of the unprecedented challenges posed by the Covid-19 pandemic. The discussion saw
the insightful viewpoints of eminent top executives, including Mrs. Gayathri Vasudevan (Chairperson, LabourNet Services), Mr. Parikshit Choudhury (CXO, MakeMyTrip), Ms. Akhila Dobbali (Associate VP, Pine Labs), Mrs. Deepa Menon (SVP CSR and Corporate Communication, PVR Ltd.), Mr. Deepak Pareek (Content creator, co-founder at Career Keeda), Mr. Naman Shrivastava (CEO and co-founder of Global Governance Initiative) and Ms. Divya
Dixit (SVP – Direct Revenue, Marketing and Analytics, ALTBalaji). Ms. Priyanka Awasthy expertly moderated and guided the discussion towards a fruitful conclusion. Over the course of the next two days, with the relentless efforts of the department’s Faculty, Union, Core Teams, Event Heads and volunteers, several exciting and insightful events were organized- Icarus: The Reign of Resurgence (E-Cell event), Divergent: The Ultimate Battle of Wits (HR-PR), Finance Espresso (Finance) and Stock the Market (Marketing), to test the abilities of the participants to maneuver through any crisis and emerge with the most creative, thought-out solutions.

The events were carefully created and executed, thereby ensuring that only the teams that turned the tables with their dazzling ideas and spontaneous solutions to the direst of situations ultimately took away the Comquest crown after evaluation by notable and eminent judges.

Comquest’21 concluded with the acknowledgments by the Union in the Closing Ceremony wherein the victors were announced and a tear jerking behind-the-scenes video was released. Comquest was not just a meet, it was a journey- a journey full of insight, learning, and sweet
memories.

In April, it was an honor for us to host Mr. Ankur Warikoo, a mentor with millions of viewers to share his learnings of life with a small cohort of LSR. We also had TIME, one of our sponsors conduct a session on career options after graduation and CAT preparation. Post the annual meet, we had a series of brief of sessions named Consulting Chronicles where we invited alumna working at the bigher firms like LEK and Bain to share their experience and preparation startegy. To fiscuss the ushering of e-audit, we had Mr. Neeraj Arora discuss his insights on the topic and democratise knowledge on the subject.

Last but not the least, the department once again created a platform for skill enhancement and learning opportunity by introducing the 8-session ‘Financial Modelling and Business Valuation’ course. It not only kept our grey cells working but also opened our minds to a world beyond the
conventional accounting practices.

It’s safe to say, that up until now we had seen each other soar in the face of adversity, but this passing year, we have seen each other struggle, fall and then rise above every possible limitation to make 2020-2021, not only like any other year, but even bigger, better and grander.