After Class

Presentation Whizkids

Maria Hossain

	Courtesy: DU

"Presentation is the means to influence by storytelling”, was the very distinct response by one of the finalists (ultimately the Champion) in the workshop of the Intra Faculty Competition in one of the two top leading business schools of the country, Faculty of Business Studies, University of Dhaka. Being a brilliant presenter himself on an international level and the leader of a team that is the global champion of a number of business competitions, M Saimum Hossain, President of Spartans' Communication Club, sensed the need of a competition that would focus on this very basic ability sought in the business students besides proving the knowledge of strategy development and promotion.

Founded and run by a few graduate and undergraduate enthusiasts of the Faculty of Business Studies (FBS), University of Dhaka; the Spartans' Communication Club (SCC) successfully launched “Presentation WhizKidz”, an Intra-FBS Slide Making and Presentation Competition in two rounds and one workshop. From the preliminary announcement of the competition through the registrations and then the slide submissions by the registered teams for the first round, every phase had been conducted and monitored online via emails and Facebook. After being qualified for the final round out of the 51 teams across the eight departments of FBS, they attended a three hour workshop where the top 10 teams were given one week to get themselves groomed and prepared for the final battle with feedback from viral marketing on Facebook and for presenting their ultimate strategy on 'BRANDING FBS'!

The grand finale set the battle among the 10 teams on Saturday, 28 July 2012 in front of the panel of judges. Intrigued by the stream of witty and striking ideas, the judges had a real tough time in deciding the winners. Finally, Team Messiah took the 2nd Runners Up crests, Team Baltic Tigers took the 1st Runners Up crest and Team RED received the Champions' trophy, all presented as a Token of Appreciation by Professor Jamal Uddin Ahmed, Dean, Faculty of Business Studies, University of Dhaka. The grand ceremony also showcased, in segments, the club's journey back from 2009 till date and recognised former Presidents of the club lauding their vision and contribution to the evolution of Spartans' Communication Club as the only active communication club in FBS. The Vice President of the club, Khaled Hasan Turjoy and the General Secretary, Hasanul Qader Mirza also shared few words in the inauguration of the event.

In the words of the Ex-President of the club, M Sajjad Hossain, “You guys look good, you guys did a great job and now you must carry it to its best.” The ruling President said, “With utmost respect to our ancestors who would certainly be in accord with me, I believe this has been the best organized event by SCC in its history; I felt no effort or burden on my part. I've the best team and I'm proud of it.” The roundabout of the senior and junior committee members marked the end of another triumph with exchange of constructive views, appreciation and their ultimate experience, clearly bucking up the younger members into having bigger plans for the club while enriching the sense of accomplishment of the elders and leaving some of their trails to be followed.

(The author is an MBA Candidate. She is also the Head of External Communications, the Spartans' Communication Club, FBS, University of Dhaka.)