We live in a time of endless possibilities: if you want to learn a new language, there’s an app for that! If you want to learn a new skill, you’ll find multiple courses and experts willing to teach you! The same goes for business ideas, innovations, new gizmos, gadgets… if you’ve got an idea, you’ll find your team. But once you have a team, then what? Do you have the capital to invest in your own idea? Do you have the ability to pay yourself? Do you have a lab where you can build your new product or service with the best –in- class technology?
Of course, Samsung knows more than a thing or two about enabling innovation. For over a decade now, Samsung has invited young innovators to bring them their ideas, and Samsung provides the expertise, the mentoring, and eventually, the prize money to help them take the next logical step. This is done through the Samsung Solve for Tomorrow competition, which is now present in 63 countries and has seen participation from 2.3 million young innovators!
In India, the Solve for Tomorrow competition is only in its second year and this year, it saw participation from more than 6,000 teams. This year’s competition featured four core themes: Education and Learning, Environment and Sustainability, Health and Wellness, and Diversity and Inclusion.
In the six months since entries closed, these teams have been through several rounds of elimination, in addition to mentoring, training boot camps, and visits to Samsung’s R&D facilities. They’ve also engaged with their mentors from various teams at Samsung, and refined their ideas and prototypes multiple times.
The finale brought together the Top 10 teams for the final showdown – the selection of the Top 3 teams that would walk away with all the bragging rights, and total prize money of ₹1.5 crore, in addition to some great Samsung products.
The finale saw the teams pitching to a Grand Jury comprising of luminaries – Mr. Mohan Rao Goli, CTO of Samsung R&D Institute, Bangalore, Dr. Archana Chugh, a distinguished Professor at IIT Delhi, and Mr. Shombi Sharp, United Nations Resident Coordinator in India.. The competition was tough on the participants for sure, but the jury also had a tough time picking the Top 3.
Mr. Mohan Rao Goli, was delighted with the decidedly green bent to many of the solutions. “Solve for Tomorrow is a very good platform and competitive environment to showcase the innovations of young people, to demonstrate how these innovations can solve some of the sustainability-related problems and benefit the greater Indian society.” He found the participants incredibly knowledgeable, and enjoyed the presentations immensely.
Dr Archana Chugh, on the other hand was amazed at the quality of the ideas and prototypes. “They are working on real problems in society that need to be resolved. I’m very happy that they are concerned about it and are working on solutions. It’s very impressive, covering a wide range of issues, from agriculture to problems affecting children.” In her questions, she often focused on the more technical aspects of the solutions the participants presented.
The third jury member Mr Shombi Sharp greeted each team in their mother tongue and was eagle eyed about the entries, never missing an opportunity to ask incisive questions. For him, Solve for Tomorrow felt like a wonderful opportunity to build awareness, especially among young people, about the ability to change the world. “I feel optimistic in seeing the dynamism and intellect coming from India’s youth. India has the greatest youth generation in history, and we’re seeing this coming through very clearly.”
If you’ve missed the finale, now would be the right time to go back and watch it here. You can also keep an eye on the Solve for Tomorrow website for updates on the Top 3 teams as they continue to build their solutions.
This is a partnered post.