December, 2020
Volume V, Issue II
Fall XX
BRACU team reaches Battle of minds semifinal Imrul Chowdhury Journalist Battle of Minds is one of the most prestigious business competitions that takes place annually. Ever since its establishment in 2004, it has now spread across over 100 Universities with more than 30000 applicants yearly. This year, the competition had a brand new look, as it had to take place virtually. This was also the year when three Brac University students - Sajid Bin Hasnat ( Junior, ESS), Jidni Mayukh Shachsa (Senior, CSE), and Tasmin Islam Esha (Senior, BBS) – made it all the way to the semifinals. For the first round of Battle of Minds 2020, the participants had to submit a 2-minute video and play the Pymetrics online games. Those that qualified here moved on to the Bootcamp round, where participants had to play a game in the first part, following which, they were divided into groups consisting of participants from different Universities and made to solve a business case and come up with ideas. Only thirty students were then picked from the three hundred that remained to move on to the semifinals of the competition. Among those selected were the three BracU students.
BRACU team reaches Battle of minds semifinal
Team Sonic makes bizMaestros 2020 Finale Halima Hasin Journalist Team ‘Sonic’, comprised of Kazi Humaira Ferdosi (Senior, BBS), Anik Dibya Islam (Senior, MNS) and Syeda Saima Sajida (Senior, MNS), concluded their splendid run at the Unilever bizMaestros 2020 by making it all the way to the final round. This year, the first round of bizMaestros focused on the health and wellbeing of the people and asked the participating teams to use their ideas to bring about improvement in this sector with the aid of Unilever’s products. Subsequently, the second round shifted attention towards the access of online shopping. In this round, teams had to come up with effective campaigning ideas that would encourage people to shift towards online shopping. They also had to think of ways to make this mode of purchasing easier. After providing solutions to the challenges given in the first two rounds, participants advanced to the third round, which was centered on the issue of children and women of the country being malnourished. Those that qualified through here, made it to the final round. The final round required the teams to spread the reach of Horlicks and raise nutritional awareness throughout rural areas. Kazi Humaira recounted her experience fondly, as team Sonic went to different schools and stores in the rural area, conversed with women of different groups, and researched the nutritional benefits of Horlicks. They also had to conduct research on how other countries were spreading the reach of this product in their localities. When asked about how she felt regarding the competition, she stated that “It has been a journey full of thrill and challenge and we tried our best to craft the perfect solution.”
“I have been actively involved in extracurricular activities throughout my University life, so the assessment phase of BOM was second nature to me,” spoke Jidni when asked about his experience, “while I did not face any difficulties, I felt challenged and enjoyed each and every step of the journey.” Sajid Bin Hasnat, another member of the BracU team, when asked to give advice, told future participants to “work on their speaking and leadership skills”. He also emphasised the need of staying active in the business circuit arena to hone their skills. This achievement by the BracU team will surely inspire the BracU business competition enthusiasts and propel them to even greater heights.