Feature

Battle of Minds - continues

THE third chapter of the Battle of Minds (BOM) took place at the East West University (EWU) with contestants of the institution fighting amongst themselves for a spot in the team that will make it to the nationals.

For those not familiar with the Battle of the Minds, the goal is to 'solve a case.' Stripped of business jargon it translates to running market analyses to a given case, a sort of unseen comprehension if you may. Teams consist usually of 3-4 members who are given an hour to crack the case and make a presentation infront of an expert panel of judges who then select the winner.

There was a lot of pre-hype surrounding the event, nurtured through the various posters and banners highlighting the event and evident by the high turnout, and ceaseless support from volunteers and clubs.

EWU hosted an eventful gathering, peppered with pep-talks from BATB (British American Tobacco) high-ups and teachers alike, the contestants proved to be quite adept at handling the unique 'Theme Park” case that was handed to them for this edition of the event.

The judges spared no quarter though, with no one taking anything lightly as they grilled their students about every possible sliver of information. EWU had the requisite three teams labelled alphabetically and amongst the nine contestants that turned up there were six business majors and three economics majors.

Tasmiah, Nuruddin and Dilruba made up Team A. Team B had Galib, Raisa and Tasmiah while Team C had Zahidul, Navin and Kamrul.

Most of the individuals were well-researched and with a settled gender ratio, EWU stands a good chance of sending in a competitive team into the nationals -- if their performances in their own backyard are any indicator.

And their teachers agree.

After hosting the first Battle of Minds event some five years ago where they finished runners-up, EWU have a tradition to uphold and Head of Career Counseling SI Nusrat A Chowdhury seemed confident that the current clutch of contestants would be able to live up to their predecessors.

“I thought that the presentations that took place where of a good standard and I am cautiously optimistic that the four contestants who make it through to the final round will uphold the stature of our institution.”

“Most of these students have trained under my direct supervision over the course of the past two or three weeks and I would also like to thank my colleagues who took time out to talk to the students and give them advice wherever necessary,” he said.

Nusrat also believed that an event like BOM provided the students with a stable platform to show their talents to the corporate world.

“This is a unique venture from BATB,” he said adding that he believed it could catapult some contestant to corporate success.