EDUCATIONAL TOUR  On Sunday, 23rd February, 2013, an excited group of over 75 IASAP ladies commenced their journey from Mumbai in 2 buses, and another 31 enthusiastic IASAP members from Pune joined in the Educational Tour to L&T’s Leadership Development Academy at Lonavala.  It was Yvonne Alphonso - IASAP All India President who thought a visit to L&T’s LDA would enhance our learning, and Grace Tressler, an L&T-ite, brought it to fruition by obtaining the necessary permissions with the senior-most executives, and Mr. Neville Lobo, Director, LDA, graciously acceded to our request, and that’s how we reached Lonavala. At 6.00 am, the buses rolled out from Mumbai heading towards Lonavala.  Enjoying the bus ride with a mini snack, a cup of hot tea and a sing-song session by our nightingales Janice, Vijayam, Grace and many others in chorus, we reached the beautiful site, and well in time for a super and sumptuous breakfast.  Mr. Marshall D’ Souza, Facility Maintenance Head of LDA warmly welcomed and guided us to the battery-operated buggies – L&T’s compliance with green concept regulations, precludes entry of outside vehicles. As per schedule, we assembled in one of the huge halls at the Learning Centre. Yvonne started off by welcoming Ms. Veena Bengle, Pune Chapter Chair and her team to this offsite.  She continued by sharing news and other information, especially about the much-awaited ASA Congress to be held in Karachi, Pakistan during September 2014.  Now for the actual learning, Ms. Rajashree, Program Manager, LDA took us through a virtual walk-through of the LDA Campus, Programs and Infrastructure Facilities, by means of a presentation.   

  The Management Development Centre (MDC), inaugurated in 1997, was initially was built on 7½ acres of land. Today, the idea of `Management’ has yielded to the larger and more inspirational concept of `Leader’. MDC has now metamorphosed into the `Leadership Development Academy’ and the capacity has expanded to 23½ acres of land.

  LDA’s objective is to provide world-class training, and support learning & development to the Company. Leadership development takes place through various programs at the LDA, directly through hand-picked faculty and through tie-ups with reputed Indian and international universities viz. IIMs, XLRI, Symbiosis, Narsee Monjee.  The LDA has been recognized by Symbiosis International University, enabling L&T-ites to pursue their Ph.D. Programs with National Law School of India University, National Institute of Construction Management and Research and many more.

  The ATL Facility which Rajashree spoke about at length made Any Time Learning easily available online for L&T-ites to complete various Certification Programs/Modules at their convenience. The 7-Step Leadership Development approach of the company was explained in detail.

  Infrastructure facilities :     There are 2 Learning Centres at the LDA. o    Learning Centre 1 has 6 learning halls and 1 hall specially designed to conduct

assessments, a computer lab with 8 computers, 6 syndicate rooms with capacity of 30- 45 o    Learning Centre 2 has four learning halls o    A computer lab with 24 computers o   22 syndicate rooms, fully equipped for confidential discussions

o    An auditorium to seat 300 participants, or if the dorma partition is used, 2 learning halls emerge fully equipped to accommodate 90 persons on each side. All the halls have good acoustics.

      Lecture rooms are modelled on global centres of learning.  One can choose from a variety of seating patterns – theatre seating, conference style or group discussion.

     The tele-presence facility belongs to a boundary-less university which overcomes the limitations of geography.  Incorporating state-of-the-art IT systems, it can help students attend a class conducted by professors and experts across the globe. It allows simultaneous lectures and live, real-time interaction and connects 16 locations at a time. The process is highly interactive, aptly supported by movement-sensitive inbuilt cameras.

        Keeping the Indian values in mind, a separate Gurukul (hexagonal-shape) has been created within the campus in the open under a mango tree for conducting various Art of Living, Soft Behavioural programs, Meditation, etc.

        The library, the soul of every learning centre, has over 8500 titles with shelves spread over two floors. They expect to increase this number to 50000 soon. The library has been specially designed to meet the needs of the browser as well as the researcher with reading area, private reading rooms, DVD browser area, wi-fi connectivity and easy access for all.

        The LDA combines the rigours of learning with the softer hues of recreation: a beautiful pool that conforms to international standards (25 m x 15 m). The outdoor recreational facility at the LDA has a built-up area of 45550 sq.ft, and houses world-class synthetic coated lawn tennis courts, basketball and volley ball courts. Apart from this, a 1.2 km jogging track is embellished with landscaped horticulture. For those who wish to learn the basics of golf, there is a Golf-Putting Green Lawn ready.

       The indoor sports-cum-recreation facility offers games such as snooker, table tennis, carrom, chess, playing cards, and a modern gymnasium on the ground floor. The first floor presents a calm and relaxed setting with its magnificent décor conducive to activities such as yoga and meditation.

         A spa with Jacuzzi, steam bath, etc. is another facility provided.         The cafeteria is impressive, generous and designed to accommodate 300 diners at a

time as it provides 2 floors with 2 separate dining areas. There are 2 separate kitchens - vegetarian and non-vegetarian, to satisfy all diners.

        The LDA has 5 residential blocks with twin-sharing, single occupancy rooms and suites. The residential blocks are connected by an aesthetically designed bridge. LDA has a total of 194 rooms and accommodates around 320 program participants at any given time.

        Learning infrastructure of this kind is too good to restrict to L&T, so they have allowed the LDA to open its doors to other corporates. A number of training programs are conducted by companies like IDFC, Siemens, Piaggio, etc. The virtual tour concluded with a Vote of Thanks by Yvonne to Rajashree and her team with special thanks and a memento to Mr. Neville Lobo for approving this visit. `Seeing is Believing’, and so we split into 3 groups each led by Rajashree, Natasha and Marshall for a full tour of the campus.  We witnessed every part of the facility as presented to us in the slides. The LDA has a grace and charm that speaks of thoughtful and tasteful design. It has the air of a retreat home that welcomes everyone into its fold. The atmosphere is serene and surrounded by lush green plants. The buildings at the LDA are certified ‘Green Buildings’ to conserve energy using solar lighting and heating systems. The imposing gateway projects L&T’s world-class engineering and construction image. An elliptical archway, extending into the limits of space and merging with vertical and horizontal planes, projects the multidimensional facets of L&T. 

After a long walk, buggy rides and innumerable photo sessions, the group came back to the Dining Hall for a splendid buffet lunch spread. Post lunch, the team assembled back in the Learning Centre, this time for some fun-filled sessions.  But first, we paid due respect to the memory of Ms Roxanne Mistry from the Taj Group, an active GC member who lost her young life to Cancer, by observing 2-minutes silence. We split into 10 groups thereafter, and enjoyed some games, conducted by bubbly Sharon Pires.  Cryptic quizzes which needed common sense to solve, a game which had us eating wrapped goodies (like chocolates, a groundnut, coconut pieces, even carrots) in quick-time, had us in splits. The game of Housie had prizes which kept going on and on and on, with first house, second house, third house, interspersed with prizes for Bull’s Eye, four corners and single lucky number, and made us want more. LDA rules prohibit giving tips to any particular worker.  While the GC members were busy adjudging the winner of the quizzes, Grace informed everyone about a Welfare Fund that is kept to aid the housekeeping and estate maintenance staff, for their education, health, medical needs, welfare and upbringing including their families. In a matter of moments, we collected an amount of Rs.5220/- which was donated to this Fund. At the tea break, we were served varieties of cookies, delicious cakes baked in the LDA kitchen, and samosas.  It was so enjoyable.   Lonavala is synonymous for its famous chikki, fudge, sweets and Cookies. Everything was meticulously arranged within the campus, so could lighten our purses and return with loads of the sweet stuff. After a group photo session (the skilled photographer managed to include all 106 beautiful ladies in one frame), we dispersed to board our buses home.  There was perfect blending with the Mumbai  and Pune members.  As we exchanged our goodbyes, we offered our sincere thanks to Mr. Marshall, and his team and finally raised 3 Cheers to our very own petite Grace Tressler who stands as tall as the L&T giant for making this trip an educative, inspirational and memorable one.  Being an L&T-ite myself, made me immensely proud.  Learning is a race without a finish line.  So, for more information on how Corporates can avail of LDA’s facilities, please visit the e-brochure at http://lnt-mdc.com, or write to: Rajashree.Chakraborty@larsentoubro.com, or call Tel: 02114 302211.  AKSHATA VICHARELARSEN & TOUBRO