On Target 2014
PMI Pune-Deccan Chapter organized its annual national conference, OnTarget 2014, on 16 February in Pune. OnTarget is an annual mega-conference of business leaders, practicing project managers, senior leaders in government and professional organizations, academicians, and school and college students. This year’s theme was “Leadership for Effective Project Management.” Over 250 practicing project managers, senior managers, entrepreneurs, and academicians attended it. A major highlight of the event was global participation through the Webcasting option by people from different geographies. Practitioners participated in online discussions and shared their thoughts, feedback, and queries through 500+ tweets and numerous Facebook comments, besides interacting on the chapter’s collaboration portal, WizTango. The conference has set new benchmark in terms of the services offered and the value delivered to delegates. The professional track has seen 125 percent year-on-year growth in delegate registrations. This year’s introductions of multi-track sessions for diverse interest groups and the e-learning collaboration platform, WizTango, were highly successful.

In his welcome speech, chapter president, Mr. Girish Kadam, spoke on the importance of leadership in effective project management. The other conference speakers were Mr. B. G. Jayaram, past president, PMI Bangalore Chapter; Mr. A. C.

Chaturvedi, executive director and chief knowledge officer, National Thermal Power Corporation; Mr. Achyut Godbole, managing director, Softexcel Consultancy Services; and Ms. Rena Striegel, president, Empowered Business Strategies. For the first time this year, the conference had parallel sessions in which experts presented on a variety of topics centered on leadership and people in project, program, and portfolio management.

The conference was also an occasion to honor members and organizations for their contributions, including the PMI Pune Awards for Life Time Achievement, the PMI Pune Awards for Outstanding Contribution to Social Sector, and the PMI Pune Awards for Outstanding Project Management Practitioner.

The GyanLahari students’ track of OnTarget 2014 was organized on 8 February and was hosted by Pawar Public School, Magarpatta, Pune. GyanLahari is an initiative through which the chapter works towards nurturing and building leadership competency among high school students. The event had over 150 students and 20 teachers across five schools in Pune. It was inaugurated by Dr. Anil Avachat, social worker, sculptor, poet, and literature awardee. There were a host of activities, including speech, essay writing and skit competitions for students.

OnCampus 2014 was an integral part of OnTarget 2014, and is an annual event for students, alumni, academia, and professionals. Students gained knowledge about project management from professionals. The event was held at the Institute of Industrial and Computer Management and Research (IICMR) on 22 February. Besides speeches, there was a networking session and a panel discussion.

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