Corporate and Industry Relations (CIR) of Amrita Vishwa Vidyapeetham, hosted its tenth Amrita Annual Public Speaking Contest for third-year BTech students on March 29, 2018. Dr. Harini Jayaraman, Chairperson, Department of English, Amrita School of Engineering, Coimbatore campus, was the chief guest.
With the noble intention of reviving the art of public speaking and helping students cope with the increasing competition in the corporate world, Corporate and Industry Relations (CIR) of Amrita Vishwa Vidyapeetham, conducts the Amrita Annual Public Speaking Contest for third-year B.Tech. students every year. What began as a process of internal assessment for engineering students in the year 2009, gradually evolved into an exciting event with the encouragement of Professor C. Parameswaran, Director, CIR. In the nine years that have rolled by, the enthusiastic participation of the students has only increased and the spirit of the competition has been maintained by a team of Verbal and Communication Skills Trainers who constantly strive to keep this tradition alive.
Every third-year B.Tech. student in their sixth semester delivers a three-minute speech on any topic of choice, as part of the Life Skills Training conducted by CIR; where his own classmates form the audience. Around 1000 plus students from 17 different batches are given a platform to express their views on a variety of wide-ranging topics that they are passionate about. The participants are judged on the following criteria: body language, language, content, tone, style and impact on the audience. Approximately 10-12 students are shortlisted from each class and made to compete with each other in a semi-final round, which again happens in the respective classes. Based on their performance, the most confident speakers are chosen as the finalists of the Amrita Annual Public Speaking Contest.
At the Annual Public Speaking Contest 2018, the contestants displayed their oratorical skills by expressing strong views on a whole range of interesting topics: How Smartphones Affect our Productivity, The World- A Less Judgmental Place, Are We Really Free?, British Colonialism in India, A Legacy for the Future Generation, Greater the Difficulty… Sweeter the Victory, Little Things, Time, True Happiness, Importance of Failure, Never Give Up!, Success, Life Skills, My Queen, Perception of Gender, Being Body Positive, Superheroes and Everything is Fair in Love & War.
The 18 participants presented well and appreciation was expressed through certificates and books sponsored by CIR. Anand Kumar from the Department of Computer Science Engineering won the first prize, S. Smruthi from the Department of Electronics and Communication Engineering, emerged as the first runner-up and Meghna Nair from the Department of Mechanical Engineering was the second runner-up. Dr. Harini motivated the students with her inspiring address and rewarded the winners with gift coupons from amazon.in sponsored by Byju’s Learning App.
