Public Policy SIG or Pub Pol as it is more popularly known around here is a student club which aims to promote careers in policy domain among students and to get the students to debate policy. What other challenge can be more stimulating for the best brains in the country than the sprawling policy issues of our country? And who else can add better value to public systems than the students of the best management institute of the country? The Special Interest Group started officially in July 2011 and has been in full swing ever since.In the first year, we arranged lecture series of eminent people in policy domain, giving our students a chance to interact with the likes of Arvind Kejriwal (Social Activist), Paranjoy Guha Thakurta (Activist, Commentator and Educationalist), Dileep Cherian (Communications Consultant and Political Campaign Advisor), and Prof. The issues that were discussed ranged from Lokpal bill to Land Acquisition Bill to Ethical Issues in Indian Media. Extending the debates on campus, the SIG plans to take an active part in policy consultations for legislative bills. Taking the role of students from beyond learning to contributing, the SIG organised a policy feedback session where students, under the guidance of Prof. Rekha Jain, critically analysed the New Telecom Policy and submitted their feedback to the government as part of public consultation process. Next year, the SIG plans to take its rich legacy a step further by putting student initiatives at the centre of its activities. So this year, the SIG’s newly formed Student Think Tank body, apart from organizing more policy feedback sessions, will also give students, the opportunity to contribute directly by taking live projects from public policy think tanks, research institutes and government organizations. The Student Think Tank will also release its annual policy magazine which will feature articles by students, faculty and experts that explores policy issues in depth. IDEAFest, the speaker series event is one of the major activities of Pub Pol. It is organized along with the Entre Club if IIM-A. Some of the speakers who were part of IDEAFest 2012 are Ms. Kiran Sethi (Educational entrepreneur, River Side School and TED speaker), Prof. Jagdeep Chokkar (Founding Member, Association for Democratic Reforms(ADR), Former Director IIM A), Mr. MR Madhavan (Co-founder, PRS Legislative research) and Mr.Vineet Rai (CEO, Social Venture Fund, Aavishkaar). Website: http://stdwww.iimahd.ernet.in/pubpol/index.html
Media Coverage for IDEAFest: DNA(http://www.dnaindia.com/academy/report_ideafest-at-iim-ahmedabad-concludes_1638808), Cool Avenues(http://www.coolavenues.com/b-schools/news/ideafest-kicks-and-inspires-students-iima)
