New Delhi, August 26 (Agency) Samsung India on Friday announced top 50 teams in its Gen-Z education and innovation competition ‘Solve for Tomorrow’. The youth competition, which is running for the first time in India, has seen teams from across the country respond and submit ideas to help tackle problems that India faces in the areas of education, environment, healthcare and agriculture, Samsung India said in a statement issued on Friday. In the end of the competition, three national winners stand a chance to get mega support of up to INR 1 crore and mentoring support for six months to take their ideas to the next level under the expert guidance of IIT Delhi, it added.
Among the top 50 teams, 62 per cent want to solve problems of healthcare, 22 per cent want to tackle challenges around environment, 10 per cent are focused on problems around agriculture while 6 per cent want to solve issues around education. Solve for Tomorrow got over 18,000 registrations from youth across cities, towns and villages who are eager to turn their ideas into action. Ideas have come in from across the country, including small towns, showcasing the innovation and entrepreneurial spirit of Bharat. The chosen 50 teams, with youth aged between 16-22, are now through to the next phase of ‘Solve for Tomorrow’, where they will be further developing their ideas. With the support and expertise of Samsung’s knowledge partner Foundation for Innovation and Technology Transfer (FITT) at IIT Delhi, the 50 teams will be mentored to help enhance their ideas. In this phase, they will get training on the design thinking concept through online courses as well as at a bootcamp at IIT Delhi. Each of the 50 teams will also be assigned a campus buddy from IIT Delhi during the three-day bootcamp. Over two days at IIT Delhi, seasoned experts will guide the teams on how to build their first prototype and effectively pitch their ideas in front of an expert Samsung jury on Day 3. The jury will select the top 10 teams for the final pitch event in November 2022. “At Samsung, we empower and support the next generation to achieve their full potential and pioneer positive social changes. The Solve for Tomorrow program supports the journey of future young innovators by offering them guidance, support and a vision for creating a better tomorrow. We are excited about the 18,000 plus registrations we have received. The top 50 teams we have selected will move to the next phase of the competition and we are keen to see how their ideas shape up going forward, contributing to Powering Digital India,” said Partha Ghosh, Vice President, Corporate Citizenship, Samsung India.
Along with the bootcamp, the top 50 teams will also be given a certificate of participation and vouchers worth INR 100,000 for online courses in design thinking, STEM, innovation, leadership, among others. “Samsung’s Solve for Tomorrow initiative will help strengthen the innovation ecosystem of India. Such platforms are important for creating innovators in the country. It is amazing to see young minds come up with ideas that solve the problems in different parts of the country. We are optimistic that Solve for Tomorrow will empower Indian youth to create a sustainable future,” said Prof. Rangan Banerjee, Director, IIT Delhi. Samsung India announced the launch of the inaugural edition of Solve for Tomorrow in June, aiming to provide a stage for India’s brightest young minds to come up with innovative ideas that can transform the lives of people and communities around them. The top 10 teams will get the opportunity to visit Samsung India offices and its R&D centers where they will interact with young Samsung employees and researchers. They will also experience the Samsung product ecosystem at the iconic Samsung Opera House in Bengaluru.