Changes and Challenges in the Finance Domain
The B-School of SRM University-AP frequently organises invited lectures and guest talks by renowned industry experts that enlighten the students of the Paari School of Business on the evolving domains of business, finance and management. A recent guest talk featuring Dr Manish Jha, MD of Briisk Limited, founder and MD of Finkai and Myra Academy, as the keynote speaker was conducted on the topic “Digital Transformation in Financial Services: Challenges and Opportunities” on May 27, 2023.
Dr Manish Jha explicated the various nuances of the industry and advised the students on the specific skillsets that have to be mastered to survive in the rat race. He stated that improvisation skill is more important to survive in this dynamic field. Dr Jha explained the importance of an MBA and the difference in expectation and reality while pursuing a Master’s in Business. A detailed overview of different specialisations along with their scopes and opportunities was also discussed. He had also real-life examples from his own journey that deeply impressed and motivated the students and faculty of the school. Dr Jha also addressed Ms Sudha, who was also a guest at the talk and remarked that she is an inspiration for all the girl students who are interested in building up themselves.
- Published in Departmental News, News, Paari Current Happenings
Best Paper Award: Conferred to Dr Raviteja KVNS at RAISE 2023
The Department of Civil Engineering is glad to announce that Dr Raviteja KVNS, Assistant Professor, has received the Best Paper Award for his paper titled “Compressibility Characteristics of Bentonite Amended Fly Ash Liners Exposed to Phosphate Contamination” at the 2nd International Conference RAISE 2023 (Recent Advances in Sustainable Environment) held on May 15-16, 2023. Dr Raviteja collaborated with Dr Janga Jagadeesh Kumar and Dr Krishna R Reddy, Civil, Materials and Environmental Engineering, University of Illinois Chicago for the research paper. Their cutting-edge research focused on developing alternate liner materials for waste containment systems.
Abstract
Waste containment systems like landfills, and impoundments are often lined with low permeable clays of hydraulic conductivity less than 10-7 cm/s. However, it is often challenging to get large volumes of low permeable clays near the project site. Conveyance of large volumes of clay from distant locations can be unsustainable due to the associated carbon emissions and energy costs, and not viable financially. Hence, there is a need to identify alternative liner materials without compromising on the containment capabilities. This study proposes the use of fly ash, amended with bentonite, as an alternative to the traditional liner systems. From preliminary studies, it is understood that a mixture of 80% fly ash amended with 20% bentonite is optimal to function as an effective liner material. However, the hydro-mechanical stability of liners needs to be investigated under different contamination scenarios. The present study reports the compressibility behavior of the proposed liner system under phosphate contamination, typically found in landfill leachate, impoundments, and stormwater retention ponds. One-dimensional consolidation tests were conducted on pure bentonite and fly ash with water to study the compressibility characteristics of individual materials. The optimum mix (80-20) was then tested at three different solutions exposure: water, 3.2 mg/L PO4-3-P and 12 mg/L PO4-3-P. It is depicted that the addition of 20% bentonite to fly ash did not affect the compressibility significantly, while the presence of phosphate contamination did not compromise the hydro-mechanical stability of the proposed liner system.
- Published in CIVIL NEWS, Departmental News, Faculty Achievements, News, Research News
MoU with NITTE (Deemed to be University) to foster research in Biological Science
SRM University-AP inked an MoU with NITTE (Deemed to be University), Mangalore, on June 16, 2023, to promote academics and research in Biological Science. The MoU was signed at the NITTE Mangalore campus by Dr R Premkumar, Registrar, SRM University-AP and Prof. Dr Harsha Halahalli, Registrar, NITTE, in the presence of Prof. Dr MS Moodithaya, Vice-Chancellor, NITTE.
Prof. Dr MS Moodithaya termed this association a very important one for the university and expressed his confidence that the formal agreement will foster a mutually beneficial relationship through knowledge exchange, academic excellence, and research of societal relevance between the Universities. “I hope this collaboration can leverage both university’s strengths and complementary skills to undertake research projects that require a combination of expertise. I look forward to the synergy leading to more comprehensive and impactful research outcomes”, commented Prof. Manoj K Arora, Vice Chancellor, SRM University-AP, in response to the MoU.
Prof. Jayaseelan Murugaiyan, Head-Department of Biological Sciences, SRM University-AP and Dr Krishna Kumar, Associate Professor, NITTE University Centre for Science, Education and Research (NUCSER), have been collaborating for the last couple of years in the field of antimicrobial resistance. Prof. Anirban Chakraborty, Director- NUCSER and Prof. Jayaseelan Murugaiyan, SRM University-AP, are the authorised representatives from the respective universities. The Director, R&D; Director, Projects and DST-NUTEC; Director, Academia- Industry collaborations; Director, Institute Innovation Council; and Director, PG Studies and Clinical Research were among the others present on this occasion.
- Published in Biology News, Departmental News, MoU, News
Dr Naresh Kumar Vemula
- Published in Assistant Professor, EEE Faculty, Faculty, SLASS
World Environment Day Celebrations – An Initiative to Beat Plastic Pollution
The Department of Environmental Science and Engineering celebrated World Environment Day on June 05, 2023, initiating awareness of the need to combat the climate crisis posed by global plastic pollution. The department organised two invited lectures from industry experts to expound on the theme of World Environment Day 2023, “Solutions to Plastic Pollution”. Efficient ways to tackle plastic pollution in the country and local waste management systems and policies were key points of discussion. Prof. K V Jayakumar, Professor, Department of Civil Engineering, National Institute of Technology, Warangal and Mr M V Chary, President, Jindal Urban Waste Management, Guntur, Andhra Pradesh, were the invited speakers.
Prof. K V Jayakumar lent thought-provoking insights into the types of water and how marketing strategies sell water at high prices to consumers. He also shared his experience of his visits to other countries in Europe and Asia where water is utilised wisely. Apart from water and plastic pollution, he also addressed the pressing issue of climate change happening over the years and the consequent increase in temperature. Prof. Jayakumar also suggested the book “Silent Spring” by Rachel Carson, which is often viewed as a landmark work of environmental writing, focusing on the harmful effects of pesticides on the environment.
Mr M V Chary shared in-depth information about the Jindal Urban Waste Management at Guntur, stating the various source of waste, collection points, transportation to the Jindal Waste – Energy Plant, and how waste is converted to energy (through incineration) at the plant. Unique aspects of the plant were also discussed at length, along with a video presentation demonstrating the complete working of the plant. The interactive session with Mr Chary, wherein he shared his expertise in the industrial sector, was beneficial for the students.
A pledge was taken by all participants at the end of the seminar emphasising the importance of saving the environment, sustainable resource management and the need of awareness among all in reducing the pollution as well as global warming and climate change.
Dr Karthik Rajendran, HOD of the Department, delivered the welcome address and the event witnessed an active participation of 85 participants which constitutes Professors, Faculty, PhD Scholars, Undergraduate students from various departments. There were also faculty and scholars from neighbouring colleges such as Acharya Nagarjuna University, Sidhartha Mahila Kalasala and Ministry of Culture, New Delhi.
- Published in Departmental News, ENVS News, Invited Talks, News
Mr Rajesh Yelchuri
- Published in Assistant Professor, CSE Faculty, Faculty, SEAS
Dr Mallavalli Sitharam
- Published in Assistant Professor, CSE Faculty, Faculty, SEAS
An Algorithm to Assess Employee Attrition Rate in Organisations
Socially relevant and community-centric research is of primal focus at SRM University-AP leading to innovations that transpire into transforming society. Dr Vimal Babu and his research scholar Ms Rukma R, Paari School of Business, have undertaken creative research to understand employee attrition in organisations critically. The research cohort employed a modified Random Forest Algorithm for assessing employee attrition and analysing its findings and benefits to Human Resource departments of corporate houses. Their groundbreaking invention and research titled “A System to generate a Model Predicting an Employee Attrition Rate and a Method Thereof” with Application No: 202341031320 has recently been filed and published under the Patent Office Journal.
Abstract
The problem of employee attrition in every organization concerns the employee turnover ratio, thereby increasing the cost of investment in human resources. Various factors are reasonable for the rapid attritions at different phases. The purpose of the current study is to predict the employees who are likely to leave the organization. The factors that lead to attrition are identified using the Random Forest algorithm. Random Forest algorithm is one of the widely used supervised machine learning technique for both classification and prediction. However, the random forest algorithm has specific issues, such as it is too slow and ineffective for real-time predictions. i.e., the large number of trees can make the algorithm, which results in a slower model. Therefore, the study proposes a new alternative for choosing the appropriate decision trees based on the concept of fractional factorial design of experiments. The different performance criteria were compared across the modified random forest algorithm, existing random forest algorithm, Support Vector Machine (SVM), Logistic Regression (LR), Navie Bayes (NB), K – Nearest Neighbour (K-NN), Decision Tree, XG Boost tree and Neural Network (NN). It was found that the modified random forest algorithm excelled in all criteria and performed better than the existing ones.
The findings of this study offer valuable assistance to human resources departments by providing necessary insights into potential employees’ decisions to leave the company. By analysing the identified factors or reasons for leaving the organisation, HR professionals can better understand attrition patterns and make informed decisions to improve employee retention. The proposed method not only assists in identifying the factors contributing to employee attrition but also predicts the likelihood of attrition based on employee signals. This predictive capability enables organisations to proactively address potential attrition cases and take preventive measures to retain valuable employees.
Practical implications of the research
Overall, the practical applications include designing retention strategies, predicting attrition cases, tailoring employee engagement initiatives, developing HR policies, optimising recruitment and selection processes, benchmarking attrition rates, and implementing continuous improvement measures. These applications can collectively contribute to reducing employee attrition and enhancing overall employee retention in organizations.
Collaborations and Future research plans
The applicants, viz. Ms Rukma, R.; Dr Vimal Babu and Dr Vijaya Prabhagar, M. plan to collaborate in the intersecting area of HR and analytics to arrest employee attrition by employing sophisticated analytics models and explore the future scope of our research to come up with impactful research outputs benefitting the industry.
Phases of prediction of employee attrition
- Published in Departmental News, News, Paari Current Happenings, Research News