At Generation1.ca we also empower the next generation of leaders. Our recent Spring 2024 Career Fair and Pitch Competition embodied this vision, bringing together students, graduates, other job seekers across all levels of experience and diverse backgrounds, industry professionals, leaders and mentors for a day of inspiration, learning, and networking.
The show commenced with a warm welcome from Founder and CEO Arundati Dandapani, MLitt, CAIP, CIPP/C, and an insightful keynote panel adding their own perspectives on data literacy and futureproofing talent, bridging disciplines, fostering communities and new skills to the recently launched results of the Generation1.ca Global Industry Skills Study 2024. The discussions set the stage for the day’s activities. Led by our Founder, panelists included a variety of professionals across a range of data fields and specializations including Jessica Ojiaku, MHI, CIPP/C, CIPM, Data Privacy Office Specialist, Unity Health, Grace Fenix, Founder and CEO of Big Robin, Nancy Deng, MSc, Sr. Analytics and Insights Mgr. Proctor and Gamble, Niloufar Taheri, Algonquin College, MRA Graduate, Mahbub Mishu, AI and ML Instructor at NorQuest College.
Transitioning into the heart of the talent showcase, fall case competition announcements, sponsor mentions, and jury introductions, the Virtual Insights Pitch Competition provided a platform for participants to present their innovative problem scoping skills, data literacy, brand ideas and talents. Contestants were tested on their ability to communicate innovatively, ethically, authentically, all with emotional and intellectual maturity reflecting a range of problem identification and problem scoping skills including narratives on how they approached past challenges and hope to approach future disruptions.
This engaging segment was followed by a series of 1-1 interviews in Virtual Booths with employers facilitating direct connections and potential career opportunities for attendees. Throughout the day, the theme of “Future Proofing Data Talent: Bridging Disciplines and Fostering New Skills” permeated discussions, emphasizing the importance of adaptability and authenticity in today’s workforce, particularly within the realm of data talent.
Pitch Competition: Seven gritty contestants entered the contest for their creativity, passion, professional and entrepreneurial spirit. Each participant delivered a 5-minute elevator pitch on stage to signal their strengths, interests, problem-scoping abilities, challenges tackled and capabilities to employers.
Congratulations to the Winners of the Spring 2024 Virtual Insights Pitch Competition:
All contestants put on a great show. They were scored based on their clarity, innovation, problem-scoping abilities and how they approached challenges, responses to the judges’ questions and overall judges’ impressions. The jury chaired by Tamara Finlay, honoured the winners as follows with combined feedback from all the esteemed judges detailed below:
First Prize: “Rin Hrahsel from Humber College in Toronto, Canada, emerged as the top scoring winner of the Pitch Competition, captivating the audience with his vision and professional quest for leveraging data analytics to drive social impact. Rin gave us an engaging overview of his journey to North America, was articulate and obviously well-practised in what he presented to us. Very clear and strategic thinking.”
Second Prize: “Gyan Chowhan from University Canada West, in Vancouver, Canada, bagged the second prize. Gyan did a great job at summarising his extensive experience and robust background, and laid out several very practical examples of his impact on business success, teams and so on; and is clearly a very experienced presenter with a great sales pitch and presentation. Appreciated their follow-up response to judges in the chat as well.”
Third Prize: “Shruti Singhal from the University of Georgia’s Master of Marketing Research Program at Terry College of Business in Athens, Georgia took away the third prize. Shruti clearly articulated her story and vision. She also effectively responded to the judge’s question. Shruti did very well and taking us through her journey (back) to North America and research, and enumerated her experience very well. She was also very adept and clearly unfazed by the judges’ questions, and was very thoughtful and insightful in her answers.”
The winners all win certificates of excellence signed by Generation1.ca’s CEO, and based on their rank, receive a mix of gift cash prizes, Generation1.ca shirts, Virtual Academy Masterclasses from ESOMAR, Annual Memberships from the Royal Ontario Museum, and profile features.
Heartfelt gratitude as well to the jury led by Jury Chair Tamara Finlay, MBA, C. Dir., Vice President of Human Resources at Securian Canada, Nick Drew, the Founder and CEO of Fuse Insights, and Niloufar Taheri from Algonquin College School of Business MRA program, herself a past victor of Generation1.ca Fall 2023 case competition. We would like to celebrate all 7 contestants for their remarkable performances, insights and professional development efforts. As we celebrate the success and the achievements of all our winners and participants, we extend our sincerest thanks to everyone who attended the Spring 2024 Virtual Insights Career Fair and Pitch Competition. Your passion, enthusiasm, and commitment to shaping the future of talent and work inspire us every day.
Discussions and networking and hiring activities throughout the day revolved around the fair’s theme while emphasizing the importance of agility, adaptability, interdisciplinary approaches, critical thinking, empathy, and authenticity in today’s workforce and data talent.
See you again for the Fall Competition and Career Fair on Friday, September 27, 2024
As we eagerly anticipate the Fall 2024 edition, scheduled for September 27th, Friday between 10 am – 5 pm EST, we invite you all to mark your calendars and secure your spot to be part of yet another dynamic knowledge exchange, hiring and networking opportunity and case competition. Join us in exploring new horizons, forging meaningful connections, and empowering today and tomorrow’s leaders. Don’t miss out on the chance to be part of this enriching experience—secure your spot by signing up in any of the links below:
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