Annual Intra-departmental Debate Competition

The first Annual Intra-Departmental Debate Competition was conducted from 28th to 30th September, 2022 by  ARTIBUS- The MUNing, Debating & Quizzing Club in association with Christ University School of Business and Management Association (CUSBMA), a department-level student body that conducts fests for the BBA (Business Analytics) department. 

The Annual Intra-Departmental Debate Competition was a three day event that consisted of several rounds in the form of Argumentative Essays, Formal Sessions and Harvard Style of Debating on the theme of Eco-Sensitivity. This event was held with the main aim of helping students expand their existing knowledge and emphasize on factual information while inculcating research habit. The participants were given a brief description about the itinerary of the event on the day of the inauguration ceremony.

The inauguration ceremony was held on 28th September, 2022. The inauguration session started on a jovial note by engaging the audience with an interactive session followed by the welcome speech and a prayer song. Fr. Jossy P George, the Dean and Director then addressed the audience on the need for active participation and highlighted how BBA (Business Analytics) as a department is setting trends for all the other departments through such events and fests.  He also encouraged the students to take part in external events and form external networks. 

The first round tested the participants’ ability to convey their opinions and thoughts through the process of writing, while the second and third rounds challenged their thought processes and tested their communication skills via extempore to a panel of judges.The first round was held on 28th September, 2022. The round was an Argumentative Essay Writing, wherein the 132 participants were given three sheets of paper and the topics were circulated in the Central Block Auditorium. The judges for the round were Dr. Parmeswaran S, Ms. Monica Lawrence, Dr. Rohit Sharma, Dr. Nikhil Varghese, Dr. Abhijeet Thakur, Dr. Shubashree Acharya, Ms. Anna Anjaly Joy, and Dr. Punam Kumar Hinge. 

The participants were given 15 minutes to research and 30 minutes to write an essay of 1000 to 1500 words. The topics included current affairs like war, international monetary standardization, and civil, humanitarian and economic crisis. After a considerable amount of time, the participants were instructed to change their stance in the argumentative essay giving a twist to the first round. 

The second round of the debate was conducted on 29th September, 2022. The round was a panel discussion where 50 participants were divided into 5 groups consisting of 10 members each. Since it was their first debate event, the discussion started on a light note asking about the experiences and general feedback from the participants. The difficulties of a turncoat round were addressed such as, how difficult it was to write 1500 words with a twist presented on spot. 

The participants made short arguments about the allotted topic, after which a rebuttal session was held in order to come to a conclusion. Several concerns were brought up by the participants. The judges for this round included Mr. Akhil Kulkarni, Dr. Rohit Sharma and Mr. Aasheik Cheriyan.

The participants were given controversial topics like the right to express oneself through dress code in an organization, gender equality, the right to work from home, the necessity of an MBA degree and the importance of Corporate Social Responsibility. 

Annual Intra-departmental Debate CompetitionThe third round consisted of the Semi-Finals and the Grand finale conducted on 30th September, 2022.  There were 30 participants for this round who were placed in groups of 10 with 3 participants in each group. The second round had 4 groups with 3 participants each. Both the rounds were conducted in the form of a Harvard format, which carried an atmosphere of intense professionalism. Overall, this event was well executed as the main aim was to encourage the students to take a stand and give them the courage to speak out their opinion on sensitive topics, as it is one of the main criteria to have as a BBA (Business Analytics) student. The enthusiasm and zest displayed by the participants in the competition was an overwhelming experience for all those who were present during the event. This three-day fest not only brought out the best in the participants but also highlighted the existing potential in the students of CHRIST (Deemed to be University), Lavasa Campus.