Dubai, March 18, 2009: Students from 11 UAE universities demonstrated strong oratory skills in the 4th Annual Wollongong Cup Public Speaking Competition organized by University of Wollongong in Dubai (UOWD) recently. American University of Sharjah (AUS) walked away with the coveted overall winner's trophy, with UOWD emerging as the first runner-up and BITS Pilani and MAHE Manipal tying for the third position.

Speaking at the award presentation, Dr. David Van Over, Dean of Faculty of Business and Management, UOWD, underlined the importance of public speaking in every walk of life, and said public skills could make the difference between success and failure. He said UOWD was honored to host the Wollongong Cup for the 4th year as part of its efforts to encourage students to hone their speaking skills.

The panel of judges, comprising individuals from different fields of specialization and nationalities, was unanimous in the opinion that the standard of speaking was high and the decision to choose a winner was tough.

The UOWD team won in five of the six categories. Farhina Fakhir bagged the top spot in Traditional Storytelling with the narrative of a vampire's visit to the dentist. Disha Mehta won the second prize in Radio Address with her creative advertisements and catchy jingles. Chryslyn Rodrigues got the third position in Original Storytelling. Insiya Lokhandwala won the third prize in Public Address for her speech on the financial crisis and Parvathi Radhakrishnan bagged the third place in the Impromptu category. The UOWD team was mentored by Dr. Swapna Koshy.

The 4th Annual Wollongong Cup Public Speaking Competition was organized by UOWD Public Speaking and Debate Club led by Maham Uzair and assisted by Emirhan Sanli, Rithika Verma and UOWD Student Services Department. The event was supported by Choithram, Blue Sea and Channel 4 FM.

The top three winners in each category received trophies and certificates of commendation. They also walked away with shopping vouchers from Choithram and Mall of the Emirates. The top winner in Radio Address won an internship from Channel 4 FM.

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About University of Wollongong in Dubai
Established in 1993, UOWD was the first Australian university in Dubai to be licensed by the UAE Ministry of Higher Education & Scientific Research. The university now has over 3,700 students at the Dubai Knowledge Village campus. It is part of one of Australia's best performing research institutions, University of Wollongong Australia (UOW) which is recognised as one of the top Australian universities for excellence in teaching performance.

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