Udit Vani, Jamshedpur: XLRI Jamshedpur’s PGDM-GM students successfully hosted Manakriti 2.0: Trust, Truth, and Transformation – Building Responsible AI for the Next Decade, a high-impact AI Conclave organized by the AI Nexus Club on November 29.
The event brought together senior industry leaders, policymakers, and AI practitioners for an in-depth exploration of artificial intelligence and its rapidly expanding influence on business, society, and ethical decision-making.
Inaugural Address Sets the Tone
The conclave opened with a powerful inaugural address by Prof. Giridhar Ramachandran, Associate Dean of XOL and faculty member in Marketing at XLRI.
Prof. Giri underscored AI’s growing significance as a force shaping the future of business and society, urging students to view AI not merely as a technological toolkit but as an ethical responsibility.
He emphasized that the coming decade will belong to leaders who balance innovation with wisdom and understand that trust remains the defining currency in an AI-driven world.
Event Overview
Held at the XLRI Jamshedpur campus, Manakriti 2.0 marked the second edition of XLRI’s flagship AI Conclave.
Built around the core theme of responsible AI, the event examined scalable engineering, workforce evolution, and ethical AI frameworks. Manakriti has rapidly emerged as one of XLRI’s most influential knowledge platforms, providing students with unparalleled exposure to decision-makers driving digital and AI transformations across industries.
Key Panel Discussions
Panel 1: Engineering Intelligence – Scalable, Explainable, Business-Ready AI
Experts discussed how enterprises are pivoting from pilot projects to full-scale AI deployments, stressing the importance of explainability, governance, robust data ecosystems, and strong alignment with business goals. Real-world examples highlighted the rising adoption of cloud-native platforms, MLOps, and cross-functional collaboration.
Panel 2: Redefining Talent – The Human Edge in the Age of AI
Speakers emphasized that AI augments rather than replaces human capabilities. Future roles, they noted, will demand hybrid skill sets combining technological awareness with creativity, empathy, problem-solving, and leadership. Continuous learning emerged as the foundational expectation for future professionals.
Panel 3: AI Ethics by Design – Building Fair, Transparent, Human-Centered AI
Panelists highlighted the growing urgency of fairness, transparency, bias mitigation, privacy, and global governance. Ethical AI is no longer optional—experts stressed that companies adopting strong governance frameworks will gain competitive advantage and long-term credibility.
Industry Leaders and Speakers
The event featured prominent leaders from Aptiv, Kearney, EY, Convera, Accenture, BCG, IBM, Dell, PwC, Microsoft, and more—offering students a 360-degree perspective on the future of AI.
Closing Note
The conclave concluded with an insightful address by Prof. Sunil Sarangi, who urged students to ground innovation in human values, societal impact, and ethical clarity.
He encouraged learners to lead with curiosity and compassion, reminding them that technology holds meaning only when it uplifts people.
Special appreciation was extended to Fr. S. George SJ, Fr. Donald D’Silva SJ, Prof. Sanjay Patro, Prof. Sunil Sarangi, and Prof. Giridhar Ramachandran for their continued guidance.
The event was seamlessly organized under the leadership of Prof. Kanagaraj Ayyalusamy, Ms. Haripriya B, and the AI Committee.
Manakriti 2.0 reaffirmed XLRI’s commitment to nurturing leaders who understand AI as both a transformative opportunity and a profound responsibility.
With dynamic discussions and deep student engagement, the conclave strengthened XLRI’s position at the forefront of management education at the intersection of technology, ethics, and leadership.
