Sunday, 05 April, 2015

The University of Wollongong in Dubai’s Amra Notun Bangladesh Expat Student Association marked the 45th Independence Day of Bangladesh with a public speaking competition, the fourth in the association’s history.Over the course of the competition, named “The Student Convention”, five universities battled it out for the top-spot. It was an extremely competitive event, with 18 finalists presenting their thoughts on the question ‘Is Internet English debasing the language?’. The universities included UOWD, Middlesex University, Murdoch University, Manipal University and BITS Pilani.“This year, the competition level was very high, the universities definitely up-ed their standards,” said Dr Zeenath Khan, founding chairperson of the club and lecturer at UOWD.The judges included Mr Sandeep Adnani, Sales and Business Development Manager at IVK Manuport Logistics and the Vice President of Education of the Toastmasters Club Dubai Chapter, Mr Hassan al Natour, precision coach, researcher and CEO of Soles Research, and Mr Arjun Aiyer, trainer, coach and director of StepUP Middle East.“The competitors presented their speeches on the theme in five minutes with charisma and flair,” said Salma Rakhman, president of the club. “We were impressed by their talent and caliber this year.”Varsha Venkatesh from BITS Pilani secured the third place while Mihika Arun from Middlesex University took the second place and Manipal University participant Joanna Justin grabbed the first place – marking a second year of success for the University.“I am really happy to have been able to participate in this year’s competition,” said Joanna Justin. “It was a well-organized event and the topic was very relevant and important to today’s students.”“The Student Convention was conceived to give students a platform to express themselves and put forward their viewpoints,” said Pooja Danda, Events Coordinator of the club. “We believe it has been successfully providing just such a platform for all students aged 16 – 22 from across the UAE.”