National Grand Finale of GD Pro Junior 2017 leaves students asking for more as they participate with great gusto and verve!

Manav Rachna Educational Institutions once again brought public speaking to the fore with the National Grand Finale of GD Pro Junior 2017, an event aimed at honing students’ skills in group discussions leaving both the participants and audiences greatly enthused!
At the Grand Finale DPS Nacharam, Hyderabad bagged the First prize followed by DPS Noida and Ryan International Noida winning the Second and Third positions respectively

Manav Rachna Educational Institutions (MREI) has always dedicated itself towards honing the skills of students in multifarious activities as part of its holistic mantra of education and philosophy. With GD Pro Junior 2017, the National Grand Finale of which was held at the campus here today, Group Discussions took on a whole new dimension. There was ample evidence of the competitive spirit as students of Standards 10, 11 and 12 from 16 schools in the Finals and earlier 37 schools in the Semifinals put on their thinking caps to debate and discuss over the myriad topics, giving adequate proof of their intellect and talent, bringing to light the fact that they were future-ready for the larger objective of the admission/hiring process. Overall, 10,000 students had participated in the event pan India.

GD Pro as an event was first conceptualized in 2013 with participants from various colleges and schools. As the brain child of Dr. Amit Bhalla, Vice President, MREI, the sole objective of GD Pro has been to empower its learners to demonstrate incomparable heights of confidence, creativity and above all the values of life. GD Pro Junior 2017, which followed on the heels of GD Pro Junior 2016 – an event that was a thumping success—was the latest in the series, adding another glorious chapter in the annals of GD pro’s history. Held between 16^th–21^st January, 2017, GD Pro 2017 finally drew to a vibrant close with DPS Nacharam, Hyderabad bagging the First prize, DPS Noida and Ryan International Noida winning the Second and Third positions respectively.

The preliminary rounds of the event began with successive workshops benefitting students across the territories of Delhi, Chandigarh, Hyderabad, Ludhiana, Faridabad, Noida and Gurgaon. Manav Rachna tapped top notch schools across the country in the qualifying rounds, most notably Obul Reddy and DPS Nacharam, Hyderabad; Hillwoods Academy Delhi, Sherwood Convent School Gurugram, Cambridge School Noida, DPS Noida, Kundan Vidya Mandir Ludhiana, Bal Bharti gangaram Marg, New Delhi; Doon Public School, Punchkula to name just a few. The qualifying students from the initial rounds moved on to the semi-finals and finally the Grand Finale was conducted on 21^st January, 2017.

Honoured Chief Guest Shri Rajiv Yadav, Secretary, Parliamentary Affairs, GOI, was deeply appreciative of the event and the exuberance with which students participated at GD Pro Junior 2017. He stated, “The participants’ knowledge and presence of mind was praise worthy as each of them rose to the challenge and spoke with great conviction and confidence. It is greatly heartening to note that Manav Rachna has organised an event of this scale and grandeur. The students in today’s fast changing world should develop the art of thinking to contribute meaningfully and emerge as winners in the process.”     

Speaking at the event, Dr N.C. Wadhwa, VC, MRIU, said, “GD Pro Junior has gone a long way in empowering the young learners with the requisite skills and knowledge so essential in today’s competition-driven world where it is not adequate to have just domain knowledge. The students while being assessed for their presence of mind, oratory and analytical skills also learnt a lot about teamwork, innovation, leadership qualities and most importantly applied communication skills. GD Pro while crossing all boundaries in its current version, has unearthed great talent among the youth and given them a one-of-a-kind platform to showcase their ideas and skills.”

Also present on the occasion were Dr Sanjay Srivastava, MD, MREI; His Excellency Dr Riaz, Syrian Ambassador to India; Ms Dhriti Malhotra, Principal, MRIS-46, Gurgaon among others. The eminent Judges at the Finale included Dr Mahima Bakshi, MR Alumni and Fashion Model and Miss Stunning 2008; Col. A.K. Rajpal, Prof.  Jaipuria Institute of Management and Mr Anil  Rathore, Group Head, India Bulls.

All the winners received trophies along with cash prizes and gift hampers. The participants were greatly elated, thankful to MREI for providing them with a platform that gave them what they described as the experience of a lifetime.