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Foundation Day

Foundation Day 2023

Entrepreneurial journey of Shri. R K Patil, CEO, Vayavya Labs, Belagavi.


Karnatak Law Society’s Institute of Management Education and Research (KLS IMER), Autonomous, Belagavi Conducted its annual flagship event ‘Foundation Day’ on September 16th, 2023 to mark its 33rd year of inception. The day is chosen to commemorate the birth anniversary of KLS patron Late Shri Rao Saheb B. M Gogte.

As the convention goes, KLS IMER felicitates renowned entrepreneur from Belagavi for his accomplishment. This year Shri R K Patil, Cofounder and CEO of Vayavya Labs, Belagavi is honoured as Entrepreneur of the year 2023.

Shri R K Patil is a known name for his entrepreneurial skills and journey. Starting from Belagavi his business conquered the western hemisphere predominantly USA and eastern hemisphere predominantly Japan. Having 11 US Patents under his belt, he is considered as veteran in the semiconductor software industry and embedded software solutions.

In his acceptance speech, he has accentuated importance of taking risk and building long term career. He has discussed the concept of materialistic growth and holistic growth. While receiving the honour he has thanked to his college teacher, Professor Venugopal for all his guidance and support.

Dr R Srinivasan, Professor of Strategy and Chairperson of Master of Business Administration (MBA) at IIM Bangalore was the chief guest of the ceremony. A fellow of IIM – Ahmedabad, Dr Srinivasan is an academician of high repute and would keep on visiting the globe to advise industry and academia. He is most sought after resource person for planning, and strategic performance management for various multinational, government, public, and private organizations.

In his keynote address Dr Srinivasan discussed the making of digital India. How Bharat is able to scale with speed and create wealth for its countryman was the theme of the speech. With numerous examples he has accentuated the importance of building digital infrastructure for the nation and the benefits of the same.

Shri Anant Mandagi, President, KLS, Belagavi presided over the function. In his presidential remarks immensely acknowledged the contribution of Shri R K Patil and his decision to sticking to Belagavi for building the business and hence the ecosystem. He also reiterated the need of building wealth for the family and the nation and following the dream.

Mr. R. S. Mutalik GC, KLS IMER in his welcome address expressed his deepest gratitude to KLS patron Shri Rao Saheb B. M Gogte at the behest of KLS Management and staff. He emphasized on the convention of KLS IMER to felicitate entrepreneurs on the eve of Foundation Day.

Shri Pradeep Sawkar, Chairman, KLS, Belagavi, Shri Vivek G Kulkarni, and Shri S. V. Ganachari, Member Secretary, GC, KLS IMER were the guest of honor. Shri Ram Bhandari, Vice President KLS, and other members of KLS Management were present during the occasion and offered floral tributes to Late Shri Rao Saheb B. M Gogte.

Dr Arif Shaikh, Director, KLS IMER proposed the vote of thanks. The students Compeered and Dr. Shailaja Hiremath read out the citation. Miss Lakkshi and Mr. Nikhil compeered the ceremony. Miss Kartika and team invoked the almighty with a soulful song. Foundation Day 2023 was coordinated by Dr. Shreekant Naik and Prof Sumanth Desai.


Foundation Day 2022
Entrepreneurial journey of Mr. Anish Metrani, MD Sneham International presented by KLS IMER

Karnatak Law Society’s Institute of Management Education and Research (KLS IMER), Autonomous, Belagavi Conducted its annual flagship event Foundation Day on September 16th, 2022 to mark its 32nd year of Inception and to commemorate the birth anniversary of KLS patron Late Shri Rao Saheb B. M Gogte During the occasion, KLS IMER will perpetuated its legacy of felicitating a renowned entrepreneur from Belagavi for his/her accomplishment. Mr. Anish Metrani, MD, Sneham International, Belagavi as Entrepreneur of the year 2022. Foundation Day 2022 Witnessed categories of awards besides felicitating entrepreneur namely Women Achiever and Emerging Entrepreneur

• Mrs. Shilpa Chougule, Proprietor, Gandharva Products, Belagavi was chosen and felicitated as Women Achiever

• Mr. Sujith Hukkerikar, CEO, ADIS Technologies, Pvt Ltd, Belagavi was chosen and felicitated as an Emerging Entrepreneur


Mrs Tejaswini Anantkumar, Managing Trsutee, Adamya Chetana, Bengaluru was be the chief guest for the occasion. Shri Pradeep Sarkar, Chairman, KLS, Belagavi presided over the function Mr. R. S. Mutalik GC, KLS IMER in his welcome address expressed his deepest gratitude to KLS patron Shri Rao Saheb B. M Gogte at the behest of KLS Management and staff. He emphasized on the convention of KLS IMER to felicitate entrepreneurs on the eve of Foundation Day and took names of many successful entrepreneurs who were felicitated in the past by the Institute.

Shri. Anish Metrani in his acceptance speech narrated his successful and insisted the youth to rise up to the global challenges and address them, He appealed to everyone to serve the country in the different ways. During the occasion debut awardees Mr. Sujith Hukkerikar and Mrs. Shilpa Chougule also spoke and shared the route they treaded on to reach the point of today by defying odds, Embracing skills, technology and uncertainties, failures are necessary elements of every journey towards success they mentioned

Dr Tejaswini Anantkumar in her address mentioned that schools, colleges should become the centres of grooming leadership skills for long term success. Best of the management lessons are learnt at home and social service. She exclusively accentuated on eco- friendly initiatives in everyday life .Zero kitchen waste, Green Kitchen Technology, Fossil fuel free kitchen, Liberation from pollution and plastic are the need of the hour and next big impending challenges before all of usBig things are done by small changes, he expressed

Shri Pradeep Sarkar, Chairman, KLS, Belagavi in his presidential remarks immensely acknowledged the presence of all the dignitaries and applauded the social concern of Dr Tejaswini Anantkumar . Shri Sawkar further said social change makers create revolution in the society through their selfless service, Mrs Tejaswini will inspire our students of KLS and many others. There lies a great opportunity before the students of Management domain to address the problems of the country, Youth force can be an incredible source of energy to change the face of the country, he said.

Dr Arif Shaikh, Director, KLS IMER proposed the vote of thanks. 2nd Sem students Compeered and Dr. Shailaja Hiremath Read out the citation Miss Spoorti and Miss Aishwarys invoked the almighty with a soulful song. Foundation Day 2022 was coordinated by Prof Shrikant Naik and Prof Sumanth Desai

Shri S. V. Ganachari, Member Secretary, GC, KLS IMER Shri Vinayak Lokur, GC, Chairman KLS VDIT, and other members of KLS Management were present during the occasion and offered floral tributes to Late Shri Rao Saheb B. M Gogte


Foundation Day 2021
Entrepreneurial journey of Mrs. Jyotsna Pai, MD Pai Bakery presented by KLS IMER.

KLS IMER celebrated 31 st foundation day, a flagship event, on 16 th September 2021, which accords with birth anniversary of Late Shri. Raosaheb Gogte, the patron of Karnatak law Society. Mr. Vishwas Shinde, Vice President- HR, Hindalco, Belagavi and West Coast Mines was the Chief Guest and Shri. R. S Mutalik, Chairman, GC, KLS IMER was the President of the ceremony. Every year the institute identifies a successful local entrepreneur from Belagavi, who has contributed significantly towards growth of the Belagavi, and honor him/her on this occasion. This year we honoured Mrs. Jyotsna Pai – Managing Director, Pai Bakery, Belagavi. Profile presentation of Mrs. Jyotsna Pai, highlighting her entrepreneurial journey, was presented to the audience comprising industrialists, entrepreneurs, academicians, members of management and students.

Citation was read by Prof. Shailaja Hiremath and dignitaries then felicitated Mrs. Jyotsna Pai. In her address to the audience she shared that there is no substitute to hardwork and positive thinking is the key to numerous problems and entrepreneurial success. She appreciated institutes Sandbox for startups a key differentiator in Belagavi in nurturing students into great managers.

The dignitaries offered floral tributes to Late Shri. Raosaheb Gogte on this occasion.

Chief Guest Mr. Vishwas Shinde, shared entrepreneurial journey of Dosaplaza and advised the students community of Belagavi to get inspired by women entrepreneurs’ like Mrs. Jyotsna Pai and follow their footsteps. Shri. R. S Mutalik in his presidential address congratulated Mrs. Jyotsna Pai for her entrepreneurial achievements and empowering women in Belagavi and thanked Mr. Vishwas Shinde for gracing the occasion. Dr. Atul R. Deshpande, Director of KLS IMER, welcomed the gathering and Dr. S. G. Chiniwar proposed vote of thanks. Event was coordinated by Dr. S. G. Chiniwar, Dr. Sanjay Deshpande, Prof. Shreekant Naik and students.


Foundation Day 2020

KLS IMER celebrated 30th foundation day, a flagship event, on 16th Sept. 2020, which coincides with the Birth Anniversary of Late Shri. RaosahebGogte, the patron of Karnatak law Society. Shri. ArvindGogte, Director, Gogte Infrastructure Corporation Ltd., and Shri. Sudheendra V. Ganachari, Member, GC, KLS IMER were the Guests on the occasion.

Shri. ArvindGogte and the dignitaries offered floral tributes to Late Shri. RaosahebGogte on this occasion. A video about the foundation day was presented by Prof. Sanjay Deshpande.

Mr. ArvindGogte in his address to the audience expressed his gratitude to KLS IMER for commemorating his father Late Shri. RaosahebGogte’s birthday as the founder’s day of the Institute. He appreciated the progress made by the Institute over the past 30 years and wished IMER a great future.

Shri. S. V. Ganachari, Member, GC, KLS IMER in his address narrated the significance of Foundation Day for KLS IMER and recognized the contributions made by Late Shri. RaosahebGogte and his family and congratulated the Institute on gaining autonomy.

A newsletter of KLS IMER Advisory Cell ‘CSR TIMES’ was released by the dignitaries on the occasion.

Dr.Atul Deshpande, Director, KLS IMER, welcomed the gathering and narrated the journey of KLS IMER. Prof.ShreekantNaik, proposed the vote of thanks. The Event was coordinated by Prof. S. G. Chiniwar, Prof.ShreekantNaik and Prof. Sanjay Deshpande.

The function, though a flagship event of the Institute, was celebrated on a very low key in view of the prevailing Covid situation. Around 40 guests and staff of the Institute were present on the occasion. All Covid norms as specified by the Government were adhered to during the function.


Foundation Day 2019
Entrepreneur Profile of Mr. Keith Machado, Joint Managing Director, Orione Hydraulics Pvt. Ltd., Belagavi.

The Foundation day of KLS IMER was celebrated on 16th Sept. 2019. At the outset Dr. Atul R. Deshpande, Director, KLS IMER delivered the welcome address followed by prestigious Gogte Lecture Series Talk by Mr. Niket Karajagi, Founder Director of Atyaasaa Consulting Private Limited, Pune on "Disruptions and Downturns: Meeting Twin challenges for SMEs and MSMEs" at KLS IMER Auditorium. Mr. Niket Karajagi spoke on the continuously changing scenarios in technology and business by emphasizing on importance of living in a VUCA (Volatile, Uncertainty, Complex and Ambiguous) world. He spoke on the critical success factors to face VUCA World. The critical success factors are Knowledge is Power, Cash is King, Authenticity of Businesses, Technology is scalability, Design Thinking and Neo classical model. He suggested SMEs and MSMEs to look into the changing needs of the customer and market as an opportunity. The session was followed by a Q & A session. The Gogte Lecture Series of Talks was instituted by late Shri. Raosaheb B.M. Gogte, industrialist, philanthropist and KLS patron in 1977, on the occasion of his 61st birthday.

Industrialist Mr. Keith Machado, Joint Managing Director, Orione Hydraulics Pvt. Ltd., a successful entrepreneur from Belagavi, was felicitated with the Entrepreneur of the Year Award for 2019 on the occasion by Chief guest Mr. Niket Karajagi and President of the function Mr. Rajendra Belgaumkar, KLS IMER GC Chairman. A video profile showing the journey of Orione Hydraulics Pvt. Ltd. was presented and Mr. Keith Machado addressed his acceptance remarks. Mr. Rajendra Belgaumkar in his presidential remarks urged the management students to imbibe life lessons from successful entrepreneurs like Mr. Keith Machado. The felicitation was witnessed by eminent personalities, business leaders, entrepreneurs, industrialists, TiE Hubli members, rotarians and academicians. Dr. S. G. Chiniwar gave the vote of thanks to conclude the event.

Industrialist Mr. Keith Machado, Joint Managing Director, Orione Hydraulics Pvt. Ltd. being felicitated with the Entrepreneur of the Year Award.


Foundation Day 2018
Entrepreneur Profile of Shri. Sachin Sabnis, MD, Belgaum Ferro cast (India) Pvt. Ltd.

Industrialist Shri. Sachin Sabnis, MD, Belgaum Ferro cast (India) Pvt. Ltd., a successful entrepreneur from Belagavi, was felicitated with the Entrepreneur of the Year Award by Chief Guest, Prof. G. Raghuram, Director, IIM, Bangalore and KLS President, Shri. Anant Mandgi, on the occasion of the 28th Foundation Day of KLS IMER on 16th Sept 2018. This day coincides with the date of birth of KLS Patron and Industrialist, Late Shri. Raosaheb B. M. Gogte.

The felicitation was witnessed by eminent personalities, business leaders, entrepreneurs, industrialists, TiE members, Rotarians and academicians. Prof Raghuram . spoke about the importance of logistics to tier 2 cities like Belagavi and how it could transform them in future. Shri. Anant Mandgi in his presidential remarks spoke about KLS’ Platinum jubilee celebration in Belagavi and its role in building brand Belagavi.

The Foundation Day event was preceded by the Gogte Lecture Series Talk delivered by Prof. G. Raghuram, and followed by SWAR SAMWAD - Flavors of Classical Music by Mr. Pranav Kulkarni & Mrs. Aparna Kulkarni of Pune.


Foundation Day 2017
Entrepreneur Profile of Shri. Mahesh Bhirangi, MD & CEO, Pragati Engineering Belgaum Pvt. Ltd.

The 27th Foundation Day Ceremony of the Institute was celebrated on Saturday the 16th Sept. 2017 at 4.00 pm at KLS IMER. This event is one of the flagship event of our Institute, which is witnessed by eminent personalities across the industry, academia and students during which we identify a successful local entrepreneur and felicitate him/her in order to foster entrepreneurship in the region. The foundation day is celebrated on the birth anniversary of late Shri. Raosaheb B.M. Gogte, Patron of Karnatak Law Society commemorating his contributions to education sector in general and Karnatak Law Society in particular.

Shri. M.R.Kulkarni, Chairman, Karnatak Law Society, was the president of the function. Shri. Suhas Gopinath, Founder CEO, Globals Inc., Bangalore and awardee of Incredible Europe (Austria) and Karnataka State's Rajyotsava Award was the Chief Guest. Shri Suhas Gopinath was recognized as the world's youngest CEO by various media such as BBC, Limca books of records and Times of India. Shri. Rajendra Belgaumkar, Chairman, Governing Council, KLS IMER was the Guest of Honor. Dr. S.G. Chiniwar, Director, KLS IMER welcomed the Guests.

Shri. Mahesh Bhirangi, MD & CEO, Pragati Engineering Belgaum Pvt. Ltd., a successful local entrepreneur was felicitated on this special occasion. The video and print profile of Shri. Mahesh Bhirangi was prepared, and screened by our faculty.

Chief Guest Shri Suhas Gopinath shared his entrepreneurial journey. He started at an early age of 14, managed a cyber cafe and built websites for U.S. companies. He gave tips to management students of KLS IMER and urged them to Innovate, build ecosystem of entrepreneurs and create employment.

Responding to the felicitation Shri. Mahesh Bhirangi, MD & CEO, Pragati Engineering Belagavi, Pvt. Ltd. emphasized on value systems being the strongest foundation of any organization and urged the students to have right skill sets and inculcate ethical behavior.

Shri M.R.Kulkarni, Chairman Board of Management, Karnatak Law Society gave the presidential remarks. He acknowledged the speakers determination towards their businesses. The key to success of every business lies in determination, dedication and hard work.

Business leaders, entrepreneurs, industrialists, TiE members, Rotarians and academicians attended this flagship event aimed at "promoting and fostering Entrepreneurship through building required eco system and converting Belagavi into an entrepreneurial hub". Dr. Purushottam Bung, Professor, KLS IMER proposed vote of thanks.

Sound & Light show on 'From Venugram to Smart City' - The story of Belagavi was conducted immediately after the function.