Feature

Battle of the Minds
Cracking the Case

Quazi Zulquarnain Islam

In the parlance of the times, the term 'cracking a case' is usually associated with some uber-cool super agent a la James Bond or, for readers further adrift, the sterling brainwork of one Sherlock Holmes.

But put it into the world of business, and 'cracking a case' takes on a whole new meaning and perspective.

Which is why the 'Battle of the Minds' has gathered such keen following across the private university campuses in Dhaka.

In its fourth season, the planned overhaul of BAT's micro-level programming has gone off quite well and the format along with the program on the whole seems to have gained a lot of popularity with students and faculty alike.

“It is indeed a great exposure for our students to be participating in this competition,” agrees Nahid Hassan Khan, Deputy Director, Career Counseling of East West University (EWU).

“Not only does it give them an opportunity to showcase their talents on a nationwide scale, it also helps them build a platform on which to base the rest of their lives.”

Indeed it does help students build a platform, if not land a job altogether.

As Shahnaz Islam, Job Counselor, North South University (NSU) says, “BAT can screen applicants through this venture without having to go through longer admission procedures. It's a recruitment of sorts.

One of our students made it to BAT through this program last time and now holds a job as a Territory Officer (TO).”

S I Nusrat A Chaudhury Head, Career Counseling of EWU is also effusive in his praise for the project terming it a 'nice idea.'

“None of the other corporate houses had taken the initiative to nurture the talent that exists in the private universities. BAT is the first to do so,” he says.

“The students must grab onto this opportunity to showcase their potential under real-life, time constraint scenarios.

This program will surely unearth a few hidden gems,” continues Nusrat.

Nahid Hassan agrees and says that the real quality of the Battle of the Minds is the impact that it will have on the students.

“This will teach the students a number of qualities that they need to succeed in the corporate world, be it in BAT or anywhere else.

Primarily they learn how to rise to challenges, work under the real pressures of a corporate job, build relationships and improve their analytical and presentation skills,” all of which stand them in good stead come corporate calling.

Farzana Chowdhury, Assistant Director of Career Services offices at Brac University (BU) adds to this.

“Although the time scale of the program might mean that assessment is difficult, the biggest strength is the opportunity for networking.

The cream of the crop are bought together under one roof when the nationals of the Battle of the Minds come about and rather than letting our competitive streak descend into petty battles, the students should look at this as the perfect chance to improve their networking.

Not only amongst themselves as fellow students and competitors but also with the high-ups and big names in the corporate world who are readily available at that time.”

Another point on which all were unanimously agreed was that with Battle of the Minds, the gap between the corporate bigwigs and the fresh graduates goes down a few notches, allowing students a glimpse of what life in a big company is like a friendly work environment with a competitive streak to it. All said and done, this BAT venture has been met with a common sense of expectations and all faculties from different universities agree that at the end of the day, its now up to the students to show how good they really are. And looking over the past performances, although there have been some disappointments, success have been resounding…

Who says the next Bond or Holmes cant be a corporate man?