This weekend, 4th March 2017, the 8th Annual Hult Prize Regional Finals in Shanghai hosted 160+ competitors from more than 75 different countries, mentored by over thirty talented individuals and evaluated by a panel of 15 judges.
The event day consisted of two rounds – a morning and afternoon round, where all 48 university teams had to present their ideas to a judging team of four and a student panel; and an evening round, where only the top six teams were called to present in front of all the judges and other participants. This was the second consecutive year when BRAC University was called to present in the evening round as a part of the top six.
The team representing BRAC University, Resurgence, consists of four diverse and multitalented individuals, namely Mashiyat Rahman, Ivana Asfara, Rafayet Khan, and Naziba Naila Wafa mentored by BBS Faculty Ms. Mahreen Mamoon. The team coiled day and night for several months in order to present their idea which aimed to reawaken the human potentials of 11.9 million refugees by 2021. Despite their team having come second by a small margin in the Shanghai Regional Finals of the Hult Prize 2017, the presentation given by the students of BRAC University amazed the entire audience to the point where they were being cheered for by a large crowd during the declaration of the results. The judges, too, admitted that it was an extremely tough call for them to decide between Resurgence from BRAC University and Team Empower from York University, who eventually went on to become the winners of the Shanghai Regional. After much encouragement and deliberation from the judges and the other participants, Resurgence from BRAC University will now go on to compete in the Online Wild Card Round of Hult Prize 2017 to secure the sixth and final spot in the Hult Prize 2017 Global Finals in New York.