NE SCIENCE & TECHNOLOGY BUREAU
NEW DELHI, NOV 29
Samsung India on Saturday announced that IIT Madras emerged winners and FMS Delhi came as runner-up in the fifth edition of its pan-India campus programme Samsung EDGE. Over 5,200 of the brightest students from 20 top institutions across India participated in the event.
“At Samsung, we believe that only meaningful innovations enable change. Through the Samsung EDGE campus program, we want to cultivate young minds and give them a platform to present creative solutions for real-life problems. This year the teams were tasked to innovate on new-age solutions for current challenges faced by everyone around the world. We are overjoyed to see the bright ideas that have the potential to transform our society,” said Sameer Wadhawan, Head, Human Resources, Samsung India.
Team The Secret Society from IIT Madras, comprising Guhan Narayanan, Mukund Khandelwal, and Rishbha Jain emerged winners in the finale for presenting a customer-centric, innovative solution to reach out to potential consumers in a contact-less way in the new normal. The team Pravega from FMS Delhi came second followed by team Mafia from XLRI Jamshedpur.
This year, all rounds in the two-month-long programme were conducted virtually to ensure the safety of students and all Samsung employees. The competition, spread over three months, invited the participation of students from diverse domains such as BTech, Masters of Business Administration, and Masters of Design.
It was attended by Ken Kang, President & CEO, Samsung SWA, and other senior leaders of Samsung India. Kang congratulated all the participants and said that 2020 will be remembered for innovative thinking in challenging times, a testimony to the unwavering human spirit. He asked the students to continue pursuing their ideas and dreams.
A total of 1,763 teams across India participated, of which 48 teams proceeded to the regional rounds, and finally 8 teams were selected for the finale. The winning team was awarded a pre-placement offer from Samsung and a flagship smartphone along with a cash prize of ₹400,000.
The first runner-up team from FMS Delhi presented a messaging app- based chat-bot experience for consumers and store on wheels solution based on the theme this year – ‘The Era of UNTACT – New Days, New Ways’ – under which the final eight teams had to suggest unique solutions to deliver a contact-less experience to consumers. The first runner-up bagged a pre-placement interview with Samsung and a cash prize of ₹200,000. The second runner-up position went to team Mafia from XLRI Jamshedpur for showcasing an innovative virtual store walk solution, and they were rewarded with a cash prize of ₹100,000.
