Independent University, Bangladesh (IUB) promotes clubs and club activities among its students. The Independent Economic Society (IES) is one such club, which focuses on developing the understanding of economics not only within the members of the club but also students from other departments and clubs. Throughout the years, IES has organised quite a few events, such as Brain Teaser, Creative Vlog and Mind Scribble with 'Econ Braniac' being the club's most recent ones.
The competition
'Econ Braniac' was the first inter-department event among the departments of the School of Business to be held in IUB. The first round and the final one were held on October 29 and November 01 respectively in the multi-purpose hall of IUB. The event was organised using a theme of the medieval era, where each department was given a medieval civilisation to represent. Two teams containing three members who are best students from eight departments were sent out to the battlefields. The first round tested the analytical abilities of each of the teams through a quiz, containing a combination of mathematical and critical thinking questions adopted from GMAT and GRE examinations. From the first round, only four teams, Accounting Team-2, Marketing Team-2, Management Team-1 and Finance Team-1, were able to advance to the final round.
The grand finale
The final round was all about the four teams solving the case of drug addiction and social media addiction in Bangladesh. They had to present their solutions to a panel of judges consisting of some of the most respected faculty members of the school of business, and only one team could become the champion. As the final round ended, all the solutions that the teams came up with were exceptional, making it quite difficult for the judges to select the winner. After an intense discussion among the judges, they finally concluded. The champion of the first 'Econ Braniac' was Team Finance followed by the first runner-up, Team Marketing and second runner-up, Team Accounting. Along with money, the top three teams were also awarded crests and certificates.
Talking with the champions
"We truly felt honoured and were proud to represent the department of finance in this competition." said members of Team Finance, the champions of 'Econ Braniac'. "When we were announced as winners, both the moment and feeling were overwhelming. The spotlight was on us and time froze, which seemed like the longest two minutes ever. At this point, we realised that all our sacrifices and contributions were truly worth every second of the contest and we reigned supreme amongst the others," the team said. Team Finance like all the other teams expect more inter-department events like 'Econ Braniac' in the future, as they believe that events like this bring out the full potential of the participants.
Words from the organisers
The acting president of IES said, "The competition was the loop that would allow us to reach a completely different spectrum of club activities within IUB. Eight departments sent their best two teams who would fight it out among themselves in fierce competition to be crowned the best department. Overall the team effort has been amazing, and the volunteers have done an amazing work of coordination and communication."
The writer is currently studying at Independent University, Bangladesh.
He can be reached at [email protected]
