Singapore Management University team crowned the champions at the 5th edition of Tata Crucible Campus Quiz, Singapore 2011

Singapore, October 25, 2011– Displaying brilliant quizzing, high crucible quotient and sharp presence of mind, the team of Poon Jia Wen and Aaron Wang from Singapore Management University emerged as winners at the fifth edition of Tata Crucible Campus quiz held in Singapore, pulling ahead of other teams in a high tension 3-way tie breaker. The winners walked away with a cash prize of S$7,000 and other goodies. The first runners-up were also from Singapore Management University- Chang Weilong Ivan and Abbas Ali Mohamed Irshad who took away a cash prize of S$3,000, while the second runners-up were from Nanyang Technological University-Sudipto Shome and Milind Ganjoo who won a cash prize of S$2,000.

“The Crucible was exciting and intellectually stimulating. Winning the quiz was a bonus but even if we didn’t, I would not have regretted joining at all, said Poon Jia Wen. “It was humbling to be up on that stage competing against some of the brightest minds in Singapore, and fantastic coming off that stage with the trophy. Can’t wait to do it again at the World Finals,” added Aaron Wang.

The top two teams from Singapore will be invited to compete against the top two teams from India and the UK in the international finals, to be held in early April 2012. The event was graced by the Guest of Honor, Mr. Piyush Gupta, Chief Executive Officer, DBS Group Holdings and DBS Bank, Singapore who gave away prizes to the winning teams.

On the occasion, Mr. Piyush Gupta, Chief Executive Officer, DBS Group Holdings and DBS Bank, Singapore said, “I am very happy to be here. It is truly delightful and encouraging to see the positive response from the Singapore Universities to the Tata Crucible quiz. The exposure, the creativity and length and breadth of the quiz is a good forum to open the minds of the students.”

The Tata Crucible Campus Quiz was anchored by quizmaster Giri Balasubramaniam, aka ‘Pickbrain. This year 141 teams (of 2 teams each) from higher education institutions in Singapore took part in the intense battle of wits, where they were tested on business subjects ranging from business and history, to people and products. The acumen of these teams were assessed in various rounds as that needed them to be quick, agile, think laterally and to be razor sharp on the buzzer.

The preliminary round saw 26 questions from A to Z, followed by a wild card round amongst team nos of 7-14 to select 2 teams who joined the top 6 scoring teams to make it a 8 team Final. The Final teams on stage included 3 teams from SMU, 4 from NUS and 1 from NTU, who were tested with five rounds of live quizzing- Global Knowledge, Knowledge Snapshots, Singapore Special, Lateral Thinking and Depth of Knowledge. For the first time, the electrifying and exhilarating last round saw a tie-breaker between two SMU teams and an NTU team for the coveted crown.

Brought into Singapore in 2007, the Tata Crucible Campus Quiz has once again proven to be popular with the students of tertiary institutions including NTU, NUS, SMU, SP Jain among others. The first business quiz of its kind here, the quiz is a knowledge initiative of the Tata group, a global business enterprise with more than 90 operating companies across seven business sectors under its wing.

Channel NewsAsiais the Official Broadcast Partner for the Quiz and will be telecasting the quiz in two edited capsules starting on 9th and 16th November 2011, currently scheduled below:

Episode 1
Wednesday, Nov 9, 2011: 9:30pm (original) Thursday, Nov 10, 2011: 10:30am Friday, Nov 11, 2011: 3:30pm Saturday Nov 12, 2011: 5:30pm

Episode 2
Wednesday, Nov 16, 2011: 9:30pm (original)
Thursday, Nov 17, 2011: 10:30am
Friday, Nov 18, 2011: 3:30pm
Saturday Nov 19, 2011: 5:30pm
For more details about the quiz, log on to www.tatacrucible.com/sg

About the Tata group
The Tata group comprises over 90 operating companies in seven business sectors: communications and information technology, engineering, materials, services, energy, consumer products and chemicals. The group has operations in more than 80 countries across six continents, and its companies export products and services to 85 countries. The total revenue of Tata companies, taken together, was US $83.5 billion (around Rs380, 663 crore) in 2010-11, with 57.8 per cent of this coming from business outside India. Tata companies employ over 400,000 people worldwide. The Tata name has been respected in India for 140 years for its adherence to strong values and business ethics. Every Tata company or enterprise operates independently. Each of these companies has its own board of directors and shareholders, to whom it is answerable. There are 28 publicly listed Tata enterprises and they have a combined market capitalization of about $81.29 billion (as on October 13, 2011) and a shareholder base of 3.5 million. The major Tata companies are Tata Steel, Tata Motors, Tata Consultancy Services (TCS), Tata Power, Tata Chemicals, Tata Global Beverages, Indian Hotels and Tata Communications.

Tata presence in Singapore
Singapore is an important market and hub for Tata companies. The APAC headquarters of Tata Consultancy Services, and offices of Tata Communications, NatSteel Holdings, Tata Technologies, Voltas, Tata Chemicals, Tata Power, Tata NYK Shipping, Kalzip Asia (a division of Tata Steel Europe),Tata Capital and York Transport Equipment (Asia) ,among others, are located in the island state. The Tata group has an employee base of over 2000 people in Singapore. The Tata group has an International Internship Program with a number of universities being SMU, NUS and NTU.

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Tata Sons Limited
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