One of India’s significant consumer electronics brands, Samsung has launched the third season of its flagship Corporate Social Responsibility (CSR) initiative – ‘Solve for Tomorrow’.
This 2024 edition of the programme is aimed to foster innovative thinking and problem-solving culture among the country’s youth. The event is a collaborative effort of the Foundation for Innovation & Technology Transfer (FITT), Ministry of Electronics & Information Technology (MeitY), the United Nations in India and IIT Delhi.
The inauguration of ‘Solve for Tomorrow 2024’ witnessed esteemed figures such as JB Park, President & CEO of Samsung Southwest Asia, Dr. Sandip Chatterjee from MeitY, and Shombi Sharp, United Nations Resident Coordinator in India, among other dignitaries.
The New Tracks: Community & Innovation, Environment & Sustainability
This year, the programme introduces two distinct tracks including School Track and Youth Track, each with a unique focus on specific themes and targeted age groups where the participants of both tracks could pitch individually or in teams of up to 5 members.
The School Track is aimed at students aged 14 -17, emphasising the theme of “Community & Inclusion”. It encourages uplifting underprivileged groups, improving accessibility to health, and promoting social inclusion through innovative solutions.
The Youth Track, on the other hand, is tailored for individuals aged 18-22, with a focus on “Environment & Sustainability”. Participants are encouraged to develop ideas for reducing carbon footprints, protecting the environment, and promoting sustainable practices.
Grants and Support
The participants will receive support in the form of training from various industry experts including Samsung, MeitY, IIT-Delhi, and technical support from the United Nations in India.
Adding to that, they will also get exclusive mentoring and coaching to build their ideas into prototypes. The opportunity will extend to the 10 semi-finalists teams by giving them a chance to attend a curated innovation walk focussed at interactions with Samsung leaders.
They will also attend workshops at Samsung’s Research & Development centres regional headquarters, followed by a National Pitch Event, where these 10 semi-finalists will pitch their ideas to a jury at IIT Delhi. and then finally will receive milestone-based grants for prototype development and enhancement.
As part of the programme, the winning team of the Youth Track, or “Environment Champion”, will receive a substantial grant of INR 50 Lakh for incubation at IIT Delhi. Additionally, the winning team of the School Track, will be awarded a seed grant of INR 25 Lakh for prototype advancement.
The top ten semi-finalists in the school track will each get an INR 20,000 award and Samsung Galaxy tablets for prototype development. Finalists 5 teams will each receive an INR 1 lakh grant for prototype enhancement and Samsung Galaxy watches.
Semi-finalists Ten teams will get INR 20,000 grants for prototype development and Samsung Galaxy laptops. Finalists in 5 teams will receive an INR 1 lakh award each for prototype enhancement and Samsung Z Flip smartphones.
More Information:
Its applications have been open from April 9 and will close on May 31 at 5 PM IST, the programme will progress through four stages: application window, regional rounds, innovation walk, and grand finale.
The digital certificates of acknowledgment will be given to the participating teams during the application window. The first shortlist will comprise of regional shortlists where 50 teams will be selected, these 50 teams will pitch their ideas to a Jury.
The two tracks of the competition do not compete against each other and offer separate training, mentoring, and immersive learning opportunities as per the themes and age groups.
In addition to the main competition, participants can compete for prestigious accolades such as the ‘Social Media Champion Award’ and the ‘Goodwill Award’, offering additional recognition and rewards for outstanding contributions.
The prize money of INR 50,000 is set for social media champions in each track, which will be announced at the innovation walk. While the Goodwill Award of INR 1 Lakh will be given for the audience choice idea in each track, and be announced at the Grand Finale.
‘Solve for Tomorrow’ was initially launched in the US in 2010 and is now operational in 63 countries globally, engaging over 2.3 million young people.
Samsung’s global CSR vision, ‘Together for Tomorrow! Enabling People’, aims to provide education to young people worldwide to empower the leaders of tomorrow.