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Thammasat University: The winner of TUBC 2007
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By Phornthep(Puneet) Thakral, BBA#14
Of all the times we have presented in various competitions abroad the pressure to do well has been enormous; but believe me when I tell you that it is one thing when you are presenting abroad and another when you present at home. To be presenting in front of a crowd which consist of virtually everyone you know (family, friends, colleagues and professors) takes the pressure to a whole new level and to come out and to have the confidence and belief to present it is nothing less than marvelous. To go a step further and come out on top will surely go down as one of the most memorable and fantastic achievements in one’s lifetime.
This was indeed an eventful year, as Thammasat University had reached a milestone of completing a decade of organizing the TUBC. This year the TUBC had 16 top business universities from 7 countries all around the world. After grueling rounds of try outs, Thammasat University sent four representatives to take part in TUBC 2007. Our team comprised of three seniors: Miss. Sirunya (gift) Buntornvorapun, Miss. Poomnuree (Benz) Supachanya, Mr. Akepisith (Dutch) Suttikulpanich and one junior: Mr. Phornthep (Puneet) Thakral.
The TUBC began on Wednesday night with all the teams being invited for dinner onboard the Chaophraya Princess which sailed along the river Chaophraya passing beautiful sights such a Wat Arun, Thammasat University and various 5 star hotels. This was a great opportunity to get to know the other teams. The sumptuous dinner was followed by singing and dancing. One particular participant even showed us some of his deadly break dancing moves (we honestly thought someone might get hurt) which lit up the whole dance floor. Each University also had to pick a team name, which does not reflect the name of their university. It took us almost all evening to come up with a team name, finally settling for NIRVANA CONSULTING GROUP. Day 2 began early morning at 7:30am with a trip to Rose Garden. This trip was organized so that the teams were able to learn more about the Thai culture and also make new friends. All the participants were divided in a number of teams and had to go to various stations all over the place which included the pottery, sword, painting, herbal, bamboo dancing stations to name only a few. There was a herd of Elephants and almost everyone took a ride on them. Each team was also given a set of questions to answer and to add a competitive streak to this; the winning team would be given a voucher to the Thai Herbal Massage Center, which was won by the FARANG (guava) team. After lunch we set off for Bangkok to our hotel, The Dusit Thani. Our advisor Ajarn James met us at the hotel before the opening ceremony to give us a few words of inspiration and motivating us to do our best, which set our spirits on fire. The opening ceremony, which was held that evening, had all the ladies looking gorgeous and the men looking handsome. The drawing of lots as to which team would be in which group and what time they had to present also took place. Thammasat were pooled in an all Asian group comprising of Chula University, Mahidol University International College and Hong Kong University of Science and Technology. Later that night, many teams took off to Khaosarn Road to party while others chose to rest for the days coming ahead. We decided to hang out in the comfort of our rooms with the exception of Benz who enjoyed a few rounds of cards with other participants mainly our neighboring room, the very energetic University of Ottawa, Canada.
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Day 3 began at 1:00pm with the teams being given the cases and disappearing for 40 hours to analyze and prepare for the presentation. As soon as we received our case we began shifting furniture from one room to another (much to the annoyance of the hotel staff) in order to have sufficient working place for everyone. Hats off too N’O+ (we call her “O plus” with love), our buddy, who really took care of us by getting us lots of food, drinks and snacks to fill our stomachs. We gained a lot of weight in these 40 hours with Gift’s waist increasing by 1 whole inch!!! Finally the big day arrived; our 1st round presentation was scheduled at 10:00am. We presented with confidence and handled the Q&A session brilliantly (a special mention of the only finance major Dutch who very professionally answered all the Questions targeted towards the financial section of the presentation). With belief that we had done our best, we left for lunch satisfied with our performance and keeping our fingers crossed that the judges would be satisfied too. After lunch we proceeded to the Ballroom which was to host the Finals. It seemed like forever for the announcement of the finalist, which only created more nervousness. The announcement finally came and yes, The NIRVANA CONSULTING GROUP was in the finals. Puneet’s heartbeat was pounding with excitement and again it could be felt by the other team member (who got a bit scared he might have a heart attack) while we could also feel Benz pulses on her neck which seemed like it was about to burst. Excited as well as a bit relieved we headed back to our rooms as we were to be presenting at 5:00pm. Having slept for only 6 hours in 2 days, we took a quick nap to refresh ourselves and began preparing ourselves again. It was now 5:00pm, we walked up to the stage and gave the presentation of our lives (at the end of Puneet’s closing speech, the crowd gave a loud “Oooooh” and the applause reached the roof). After speaking to a few friends and colleagues, we realized we had a good shot at winning as everyone predicted our main rivals would be SMU. This time our anxiousness had reached its zenith. As the announcement followed, the predictions came true and it came down to the trophy being taken by Thammasat University or Singapore Management University. And the 1st runner-up is “Cognitaie (SMU)”. In a split second we realized we had won and we jumped with joy out of our chairs with excitement. Then came the moment to hear the words we had been waiting for, the winner of this year Thammasat University Business Challenge 2007 is, “NIRVANA CONSULTING GROUP”. As we made our way to the stage we were given a loud applause and as we collected our trophy we were surrounded by a sea of photographers whose clicks and flashes made us feel like celebrities for those very few moments. As we made our way back, a crowd of people (family, friends, colleagues, professors and well wishers) offering their heart felt congratulations engulfed us. As we shook hands with many, we came across a certain someone whose face was beaming with pride; the person was none other than our very own Ajarn James Paul Fitzpatrick, whose hard work finally paid-off.
As we basked in the glory of our success, we realized that this victory was not just our victory; it was a victory of a team, which includes a lot more than just we were four students. We are merely the final visual piece of a huge jigsaw and therefore I would like to take this opportunity to thank a few people. To begin with let me 1st thank Assoc. Prof. Dr. Kulpatra Sirodom for always supporting and encouraging us in everyway; Dr. Edward Rubesch and Ajarn Worapong Janyangyuen for their marketing and financial expertise respectively; the TUBC organization committee who organized this event near perfection and made our stay a very comfortable one. Well Done!!!; N’O plus for looking after us so well during the competition; Our Families, Friends and colleagues for always believing in us; The Run P’s for taking us under their wings and guiding us; And lastly but definitely not the least our very own Ajarn James Paul Fitzpatrick for putting in a vast amount of your time in training and analyzing our strengths and weaknesses. Motivating and inspiring us, instilling in us the confidence and belief that we can achieve and aspire anything and everything we want with practice and hard work. We thank you, we thank all of you. Like I said earlier, this is not just the victory of us four students but it is yours, mine and our victory. It is the Victory of BBA; it is the victory of Thammasat University. |
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