Suryansh & Shubham from MDI Gurgaon on scaling the summit with RPG Blizzard 2019
Breaking the case with a unique strategy
Our strategy varied throughout the various phases of the competition, as the campus round was divided into three phases. The first was a quiz followed by a treasure hunt which really pushed us to think out of the box to get the right answers. The strategy for this round was to maintain an edge over the others by answering maximum questions. The top 250 students selected from these two rounds received three caselets and were required to submit a one-page solution for it. Our strategy consisted of providing a crisp, to the point solution that covered all the aspects, from the problem, key touchpoints to the solutions.
A total of 9 teams from 9 premier B-Schools of the country made it to the finale. Pointing one team, in particular, would be difficult as all of them performed well. All the teams gave their best, staying on toes throughout the grand finale.
The team: Luck by chance
Our team was a mix of both, first-year and second-year students. Both of us brought different sets of qualities to the talents-table. I, Suryansh, being good with General knowledge and topics like technology, geography, etc. helped in getting many answers right. On the other hand, Shubham was good with numbers and helped in charting out a strategy which came into play in times of taking a guess for questions.
The experience of working in a team was surprising and overwhelming at the same time. The whole campus round was to be done individually. But for the finale, all of us were paired up with a teammate selected by the Blizzard judges. So, the first time we interacted with each other was when we were travelling to Mumbai. This came with its own set of challenges as we had never before worked together and we had to work on our team dynamics. Luckily enough, we clicked well and thus, bagged the title of the First Runners Up of RPG Blizzard 2019.
The peculiar competition rounds
The grand finale was a completely different ball game. The format was like a quiz competition which was quite different from other corporate competitions. It comprised three semi-final rounds, consisting of three teams each. This was followed by a wild card entry round. A total of four teams then participated in the grand finale. This had its own set of challenges. We had to select the category of questions, calculate points in order to decide whether to take a chance or skip the question. The judgment quality was great as the quiz master ensured that there was no room for ambiguity during the event.
The learnings I’ve garnered throughout the competition are innumerable. Blizzard tested us on various parameters and at the same time, taught us a lot of things. Some of these included strategizing your game plan, thinking on your feet, thinking unconventionally, and of course teamwork.
I think the most awesome moment of our RPG Blizzard 2019 journey would be getting an opportunity to have a private lunch with the man himself, the Chairman of RPG Group, Mr. Harsh Goenka. As part of the top 3 teams of the competition, we were fortunate to have got this chance. It was an amazing experience, being in the same room with him. We learnt about his experiences and views on a wide range of topics. The learning we got from this one-hour interaction is invaluable.