SPJIMR-Mumbai Crowned National Champion at ET Citi Grandmasters B-school Challenge

SPJIMR-Mumbai Crowned National Champion at ET Citi Grandmasters B-school Challenge

On a glorious evening, on one of the grandest stages of them all, SPJIMR-Mumbai participants emerged victorious in India's premier B-school Challenge - 'ET Citi Grandmasters' - conducted jointly by The Economic Times and Citibank, two of the biggest names in business world. The final was held at the Hotel Grand Hyatt Regency in Mumbai.

The team from SPJIMR, comprising of Aditya Gupta and Harish Sridharan (first year students of the PGDM Course) overcame stiff competition to triumph in the competition. SPJIMR, who were the representatives of Mumbai Zone, took on the other zone winners, IIM Ahmedabad (Ahmedabad Zone), IIM Bangalore (Bangalore Zone), IIT Delhi (Delhi Zone) and IISWB (Kolkata Zone).

SPJIMR Students, Aditya Gupta & Harish Sridharan, with Winner's Trophy

The competition consisted of 6 rounds, of which 4 were normal Management Quiz rounds, and there were 2 rounds which tested the participant's Presentation Skills. The first one involved one of the team members speaking for 2 minutes on both sides of a given topic. For the next round, the other team member played the role of Quizmaster for one question. SPJIMR completely outshone its opponents in these two rounds. And by the time these two rounds were over, SPJIMR had virtually secured its victory in the competition.

In the words of the competition's renowned host, Derek O' Brien, "It is not often that a competition is over half way into the event, and although it might not provide for a nail-biting event, it does provide a clear-cut winner who was head and shoulders above the rest." The team from IIT Delhi were the Runners-up, ahead of the team from IIM Bangalore who finished 3rd.

This victory was in sharp contrast to the Mumbai Zone Finals, where SPJIMR pulled of a stunning come-back to win in the final round. But the National Final had plenty of excitement otherwise, in large part due to the boisterous crowd, which consisted of a large contingent from SPJIMR and the entertaining manner in which it was conducted by Derek O' Brien.

In addition to the right to call themselves the National Champions, Aditya and Harish won themselves a trip to Egypt and a Pre-Placement Interview from Citibank, along with other goodies.

Concluded.

Contributed by -
Sripradish Kapikad,
PGDM, Batch of 2008-10,
S. P. Jain Institute of Management & Research (SPJIMR), Mumbai.

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