Feature

Seven Days to the Finale - BOM
Semifinal Awes the Audience

Star Campus Desk

ALMOST having reached the pinnacle the Battle of Minds Semi-finals built the stage for the finale. This year's semi-final was grandly held at Hotel Lakeshore with 6 teams participating, BRAC University, East West University, Dhaka University Management Department, Dhaka University Marketing Department, Khulna University, American International University Bangladesh, SUST, Dhaka University Finance, North South University and BUET.

The topics for each team were set respectively they ranged
from, a tea company, canned hilsha, terracotta archeology, fashion and fabrics, beaches, call centers (which is very topical in today's market), fruits and even the export of flowers. The team unlike through the rest of the completion where they received very their topics on the day were prepared. They had all received their topics on Sunday Oct 19, 2008. However no amount of preparation is enough for a limited fifteen-minute presentation time and five-minute question and answer session. Primary submission of the teams presentation was on Wednesday 22, 2008 and the on the day of the semi-finals with a charged atmosphere a lottery decided in what order the teams would present.

In the panel of judges were Mr. Raihan Rahman, National Sales Manager, BATB, Mr. Sajjad Rahim Chowdhury, Finance Controller, BATB and Mr. Pradeep Suga Thadasa, DGM, Paxar.

Coming out victorious from the day were BRAC University, East West University, Dhaka University Management Department, Dhaka University Marketing Department, Khulna University and AIUB. Both AIUB and Khulna University tied for the same number of points.

When asked if BOM has been able to achieve its goals, Mr. Syed Imtiaz Faruque, Head of Human Resources, British American Tobacco replied that back in 2004, when Battle Of Minds started, it was the only competition of its kind. Through its recruitment process, BATB realized that the graduates had more potential than they expressed. Therefore, it was quintessential to develop a competition that grooms the graduates, and nurtures the talent within. That is how BOM came into being.

With respect to that, it can be said that BOM has achieved its goals. These days there is a lot of enthusiasm among the contestants, and most of the ex-participants of BOM are doing great in terms of their profession.

When asked about the quality of the participants, Mr. Syed Imtiaz Faruque replied that over the years the contestants have become more matured in terms of their presentation skill. There is a lot more drive among the contestants, and that is always a positive feedback. BOM aspires to give the contestants a flavor of the corporate world, and its good to see that the contestants are getting more professional with time.

Mr. Pradeep J. Sugthadasa, who is the Director/General Manager of Paxar Bangladesh Ltd, was presiding over the occasion as one of the honorable judges. When asked about his reaction at the end of the contest, Mr. Pradeep replied that given the time constraint he is extremely impressed with the quality of the performance. The contestants did a brilliant job with the presentations, and handled the Question and Answer sessions really well. Mr. Pradeep believes that irrespective of the result all the contestants should congratulate themselves on doing a great job.

Professor Mehdi Hasan, Associate Professor, BBA, Khulna University was very pleased that his university team had managed to do so well. He said that most of the participants from his university weren't equipped with knowledge of the corporate world and they represented ordinary students of all walks of life. However considering their lack of exposure they certainly rose to the occasion and the university tries very hard to prepare them for the corporate world as well as any other student. All in all, the semi final of the Battle of Minds was a blast. The contestants awed the audience with their presentations, and set up the tone for the much awaited finale.