Mumbai: Samsung India has announced the Top 10 teams of ‘Solve for Tomorrow’ 2024, its flagship CSR programme. The top 10 teams will now advance to the grand finale where they will present their unique ideas to a grand jury comprising Samsung leadership and other key industry leaders. The shortlisted teams come from some of the country's remotest regions, including Golaghat and Kamrup Rural in Assam, Jhalawar in Rajasthan, Udupi in Karnataka, and Bilaspur in Chhattisgarh, highlighting the programme’s deep regional penetration.

These finalists underwent a rigorous selection process involving multiple rounds of pitch presentations to Samsung jury members and mentoring sessions by experts from Samsung and Foundation for Innovation & Technology Transfer (FITT), IIT Delhi.  As a reward, each of these 20 teams received a grant of Rs 20,000 for prototype development. In addition to this, the shortlisted teams from the youth track received latest Samsung Galaxy laptops while the teams from the school track received Galaxy tabs.

In the 3rd edition of the programme, students submitted their ideas under two overarching themes: ‘Community and Inclusion’ and ‘Environment and Sustainability.’ Under these broad themes, most of the ideas focused on tackling key issues such as education and resource access for underprivileged communities, challenges in experiential learning, digital literacy, water conservation, and arsenic pollution.

The teams also participated in an ‘Innovation Walk’, designed to provide mentoring, expert sessions and exposure to the students. This was held at various Samsung offices including Samsung R&D Centres in Bengaluru, and Noida, as well as the regional headquarters in Gurugram. The students participated in sessions that were instrumental in providing insights to the product development process, which also helped them improve their ideas. This was followed by a National Pitch Event, where the final 10 teams were selected.

“We are thrilled to witness the journeys of these 10 shortlisted teams from across the nation, which are nothing short of remarkable. The ‘Solve for Tomorrow’ programme has been able to expand the boundaries of creativity and capability for all participants, ultimately preparing them not only for the finale but for their future endeavours as well. Through the programme, we aim to equip the participants with technical skills, instill them with confidence and help them in thinking innovatively. As we approach the grand pitch event, we are excited to see how these participants will bring their path-breaking ideas to life and create positive social change,” said Samsung Southwest Asia corporate VP SP Chun.

“The innovation and creativity displayed by these young minds are truly inspiring. Samsung’s ‘Solve for Tomorrow’ programme has been a substantial contributor in providing these students with the right mentorship and training needed to refine, elevate and nurture their ideas. FITT takes immense pride in being a part of this esteemed platform, where young innovators are empowered with the skills and confidence that will remain integral to their future journeys,” said IIT Delhi managing director, FITT, Nikhil Agarwal.

This edition of the 'Solve for Tomorrow' 2024 programme has seen participants from some of the country's most remote regions, including Imphal in Manipur, East Khasi Hills in Meghalaya, and Bilaspur in Chhattisgarh. All students were inspired to develop ideas aimed at addressing societal issues, fulfilling Samsung’s mission to leverage technological innovation to improve the lives of people, particularly those in underprivileged communities.

Here are the finalist 5 teams of the School Track and the problems they are solving

SkyGuard Wildfire Monitoring: Reduce the adverse impact of air pollution and wildlife risks on communities, especially those in peri-urban, rural, and forested areas by developing  solutions that focus on environmental monitoring and public health improvement by providing real-time data to mitigate the adverse effects.

Eco Tech Innovator: The team is developing a solution to reduce the ill effects of arsenic contamination in drinking water sources, leading to reduction of essential minerals.

Praetor VR: The team envisions developing affordable VR-based learning solutions for students who cannot afford the expensive ones.

You: Provide support to the LGBTQ community by offering legal, and educational initiatives to encourage acceptance and equality.

HamaraLabs: Developed an app that gives course information, breaking it down to make decision-making easy.

Here are the finalist 5 teams of the Youth Track and the problems they are solving

Metal: Finding a solution to the problem of arsenic contamination, particularly in groundwater.

Team Hemta: Developed solutions to reduce the burning of agricultural waste.

BioD: Offering solutions to help the overdependence of single-use plastics that contribute to carbon footprint as well as oceanic and landfill pollution.

Ramdhan Lodha: Addresses agricultural challenges by offering sustainable and farmer-friendly solutions.

EnvTech: Offering groundwater solutions to help reduce overdependence on borewells.