Summary
The Vienna-based non-profit forum invited students, managers and entrepreneurs from around the world to share insights from their experiences
he 2021 essay challenge received submissions from 49 countries across six continents and all three winners in the student category were Indians
Two students from XLRI Jamshedpur have won the 2021 Global Peter Drucker Forum essay challenge. The Vienna-based non-profit forum had invited students, managers and entrepreneurs from around the world to share insights from their experiences that would enable the global workforce to tackle the dynamic challenges of today’s world.
The 2021 essay challenge received submissions from 49 countries across six continents. All three winners in the student category were Indians, two among them being Dr Nadeem Ahmed and Prabath Kuzhikkat from XLRI Jamshedpur.
Ahmed is an emergency physician-turned-healthcare technology consultant who founded a cross-functional pro-bono initiative called ‘Corona Consult’ – with 16 doctors and over 50 domain experts – to flatten the curve and empower start-ups striving to widen healthcare bottlenecks.
The insights gained from battling the pandemic, both in the emergency room and in the boardroom of coworking spaces, inspired him to formulate the Quadruple-P framework for crisis management. It stands for empowering people, building processes, inspiring perseverance and creating paths.
He narrated his experience in an essay titled, “The Quadruple-P Framework – Lessons from a Crisis physician’s tryst with business management while handling COVID-19”, which secured him the third prize in the essay contest and a cash reward of $800. The forum’s recognition of his contribution during the pandemic propelled his framework for publication. He is currently striving as a global digital ambassador to enable strategic collaboration between thought leaders and execution powerhouses globally.
From December 2021, he began spearheading HPHR (formerly Harvard Public Health Review) as the managing editor.
“The guidance and goodwill of XLRI faculty mentors equipped me with the resilience needed to persevere through the tribulations amidst the pandemic, and the clarity to synthesise my learnings into an industry-agnostic framework for managing crises capable of helping countless others,” said Ahmed.
Kuzhikkat, a 29-year-old marine engineer who would soon be joining Amazon as a product manager, banked on his diverse experience to pen his essay, titled “From the perils at sea to the predicaments at the shore – what crisis can make of managers?”
The essay is an amalgamation of the wisdom of Peter Drucker – considered the father of modern management – and the multiple crises he faced at sea, to deliver to its readers a unique perspective of overcoming any crisis. This bagged him the first prize, a cash reward of $1,500 and an opportunity to visit the Peter Drucker Forum in person. He attended all the plenaries and connected with many like-minded individuals.
“The emphasis XLRI lays on sustainability, ethics and human empathy helped me connect further with the plenaries I attended at Drucker Forum,” Kuzhikkat said.
Last updated on 27 Dec 2021
