Anup Karath Nair, Department of Management, and Michael Doroszenko, Department of Electrical Engineering, have won the 4th edition of the Tata Crucible Business Quiz UK, the UK's largest business quiz.
This year's quiz was held in London on November 20, and Anup and Michael came first, defeating ESCP Europe from Paris and London Business School. They will represent the UK at the international finals scheduled for April next year.
This is the second year in a row that the duo has emerged as champions of the UK section of the quiz which is designed to encourage lateral thinking and test commercial awareness for the country's future business leaders. They will now travel to India for the international finals.
The 2011 UK Tata Crucible Campus quiz saw participation from over 20 top UK universities. Taking the challenge were over 150 students in teams of two, representing a wide range of universities across the UK, including London Business School, London School of Economics, Oxford, Warwick, Imperial College, University College London, Aston, Bath, Cambridge, Loughborough, Sheffield and many others.
Anup and Michael impressed the audience and Quiz Master 'Pickbrain' with a confident win, fighting off a spirited challenge from the second place team of ESCP Europe and third place team of London Business School (LBS), with the championship title being decided only on the last question of the evening.
Amongst this year's special guests were Dr Ralph Speth, CEO of Jaguar Land Rover, who was impressed with the power of the questions and the excitement of the evening, while emphasising the crucial role that young talent plays in the future success of companies.
This year's chief guest was Jo Johnson, MP for Orpington and former India Bureau Chief for the Financial Times. Awarding the winners with their prizes, Mr Johnson said, "It is a very inspiring evening. I am just awe-struck, by not just the knowledge, the factual knowledge that our contestants had, but the ingenuity and the creativity that they displayed in all of their answers". He urged the students to strive for excellence to achieve success and added, "Keep on displaying the sheer enthusiasm for the subject matter and the creativity and ingenuity I just referred to and the world will be yours."
Tata, one of the UK's largest industrial employers, hosts the quiz as part of its youth engagement programme in the UK.
Results:
1st place: Anup Karath Nair / Michael Doroszenko, University of Strathclyde, Glasgow
2nd place: Pietro Lo Casto / Aditya Sriram Sankaran, ESCP Europe
3rd place: Shane Clancy / Owen James, London Business School
The other 5 finalist teams on stage included 2 teams from London School of Economics, and one team each from Oxford, London Business School and Manchester.
The Tata Crucible Campus Quiz is already an established event in University calendars in India and Singapore, and is now in its fourth year in the UK. The top prize awarded was £4,000, with 2nd and 3rd place teams taking home £2,000 and £1,500 respectively, besides a host of other prizes for finalists and the audience. The top two teams from the UK edition will travel to India early next year for an international final with the top two teams each from Singapore and India editions of the Quiz.
Anwar Hasan, Head of Tata Ltd, UK said, "I congratulate the teams for putting up an impressive fight and we are delighted to crown the team from the University of Strathclyde as this year's winners yet again. I wish them and the first runner-up ESCP Europe the best of luck for the International Finals next year.
"In today's competitive business environment it is vital for students to take an active interest in the business world and their future career. The Tata Crucible offers a fun, interactive way for students to test their lateral thinking and business knowledge, whilst learning and connecting with one of the most diverse businesses in the world."