Fun Time

BRAC energises 'Battle of Minds'

Quazi Zulquarnain Islam

After the mind-boggling opening event at North South University, Battle of Minds moved to BRAC University, more specifically, its Aarong House auditorium on October 28.

BRAC made sure Battle of Minds remembered them for all the right reasons. For starters, there was a buzz about the event for almost a week before it even kicked off at NSU. Add to that, the really giant poster adorned on one side of Aarong House made sure that whoever walked within the realms of BRAC, knew that Battle of Minds was on.

It was a bright Sunday afternoon and the entire hall was filled with students, faculty members, British American Tobacco Bangladesh (BAT) officials and yes, the participants.

Once the audience settled in, the BATB people, Shahed Zubair, regulatory Affairs Manager, Sanzid Alvi Ahmed, HR Manager-Talent & Resourcing and Jahid Shafique, Management Trainee showcased their life at the company as well as the company's social work.

As the music reverberated, some of the participants looked firmly into a future that they are going to be part of. It was quite amazing to see the manner in which these students prepared themselves for the competition. One of them said, “This could change my life. I really worked hard to make sure that I don't slip up and I am pretty certain that, if all goes right, I will win with my team.”

But he wasn't the only confident participant. “Since my team qualified, I have only had this competition in my mind. I have a mid (exam) coming up tomorrow but until I win this, I won't be able to concentrate on other things,” said a senior student who is all set to step into the real world.

So it all began with the three teams fighting it out. The students were given the case to solve, a subtle wave of tension set in, amongst the audience. Some of them dispersed to the cafeteria next door but all they could talk about was the competition.

After the hour of preparation was over, the waiting audience saw the participants come out to do their presentations.

While all three teams had nervousness on their faces, most managed to distinguish themselves by their thorough research, well articulated slides and sound presentation skills.

The judges, BRAC faculty members, were grilling the students appropriately. They asked inquisitive questions, made sure every corner of the presentation was covered and in the end, made sure that none of the statements went unnoticed.

One of the judges said that the Battle of Minds would provide a base for these students, a sort of a launching pad of their careers. The contestants said their goodbyes to their friends in the crowd as they were taken away for an online mathematical & verbal reasoning test.

BRAC set itself apart as an enthusiastic and quite knowledgeable base for career-building.