Feature

Citi Financial Quiz Competition
Business schools battle it out for US$3000 grand prize

BANGLADESH's time under the sun has arrived. With Bangladeshi remittance securing record growth, and a robust service and manufacturing sector diversifying in as many avenues as imaginable, we are poised to leap into a whole new league. Leading us into new opportunities are the business pioneers and entrepreneurial mavericks that Bangladesh is producing.

Star Campus has yet once again discovered these finance and business wunderkinds, at home, in the unique set up of the Citi Financial Quiz Competition. As a quiz competition organized by one of the most prominent financial service companies - Citigroup Inc.- this first-of-its-kind competition naturally brought together the best minds in finance, management, commerce, and virtuosos from other subjects under one roof. The Grand Finale of the Competition which was aired by the media partner Channel-I was held at the Pan Pacific Sonargaon with the Honourable Minister, Ministry of Finance, Government of Peoples' Republic of Bangladesh, Mr. Abul Maal Abdul Muhith attending as Chief Guest and giving away the grand prizes.

In 2008, the leading global financial services company Citi had announced that for the second time in Bangladesh its philanthropic arm Citi Foundation in association with North South University, would organize a Citi Financial Quiz Competition garnered to the rising business school students at undergraduate level. Organized by Citi's banking arm, Citibank, N.A. Bangladesh, the Quiz Competition was decided to have a grand prize of US$3000 and a Runner Up prize of US$1500. As Partners in Progress from the media, Channel i also joined hands.

As they say, the rest was history. With distinguished Advisory Council comprised of the nation's most famous names in the field of academia, business, commerce and finance, the Citi Financial Quiz Competition generated tremendous response from the leading public and private universities in the country. Breaking the record from the competition in 2007 with participation by invitation format for the first year by two new entries, 14 public and private universities eventually took part in the mother of all battles for business school students. The participating universities were: (arranged in alphabetical order) Jahangirnagar University, Khulna University, Chittagong University, University of Development Alternatives, Daffodil International University, American International University Bangladesh, Independent University Bangladesh, BRAC University, East West University, University of Dhaka (Finance Department), Institute of Business Administration, University of Dhaka, Eastern University, University of Liberal Arts Bangladesh and North South University.

Like its predecessor, each quiz in the Citi Financial Quiz Competition was divided into three rounds; each Quiz had multiple-choice, open-ended and visual questions. The questions ranged between finance, commerce, banking, trade, capital market and all fortes in the diverse world of business. With the preliminary rounds kicking off with 2 universities in each group, four quarter-finalist teams soon came out from stiff competition.

Following this, the knockout rounds began. Eight teams outwitted and out-prompted the other and it came down to the final four.

Channel i telecasted all the Quizzes every week to create a buzz. All in all, by the time the Semi Finals were about to start the Citi Financial Quiz Competition had become the buzz among the best minds in the Business School fraternity.

The Grand Finale brought about an intense and nerve racking competition between Chittagong University and The Institute of Business Administration, University of Dhaka. Members of both the teams displayed immense enthusiasm and eagerness throughout the contest. IBA defeated the Chittagong University by a considerable margin. But the prestige of being crowned the best minds to come out of our Business Schools surely will throttle these students to higher pursuits.

Finance Minister Abul Maal Abdul Muhith congratulated both the winning teams for reaching the final round by competing with some of the best business schools in the country. “This kind of competition will widen the horizon of knowledge and also choices for competitors and the people.” Said Muhith.