On September 19, a heartwarming wave of joy swept through over 100 government schools across Karnataka as 92 volunteers from Samsung R&D Institute, Bengaluru (SRI-B) distributed new notebooks to 8,650 students.

Walking into classrooms filled with laughter and excitement, the volunteers were met with eager faces and bright smiles. Each notebook symbolized more than paper — it carried hope, encouragement, and the promise of a brighter future.

“In each notebook, write down your dream. Work towards it each day as you see it and very soon you would realise, you’re only getting closer to your dream,” said Mohan Rao Goli, Managing Director and Corporate Vice President, SRI-B, as he inspired students to believe in their aspirations.

The initiative stemmed from a needs-assessment survey conducted across 530 schools in districts such as Bagalkot, Bengaluru, Chikkaballapur, Chitradurga, Dharwad, Kalaburagi, Kolar, Koppal, Mysuru, and Tumakuru — where 489 schools expressed a pressing need for notebooks.

Teachers and principals expressed heartfelt gratitude for the initiative. Uma S.K., Principal of GMHPS, BEML Nagar, said, “SRI-B’s Notebook Donation Initiative has ensured our students have the right tools to pursue their learning needs.”

This was the third edition of SRI-B’s Notebook Donation Drive, which previously supported schools in 2018 and 2019. Over the years, SRI-B has also contributed through initiatives such as providing student desks, flipboards, RO filters, and even rebuilding schools — all aimed at nurturing inclusive and inspiring learning environments.

The notebook drive is part of SRI-B’s broader CSR outreach efforts, including programs like Samsung Innovation Campus (SIC), reinforcing Samsung’s commitment to empowering young minds through education and community development.

Imagine a future where every teacher in India feels empowered, inspired, and equipped with the right tech tools and knowhow to create the classrooms of tomorrow.

That’s exactly what Samsung India is doing with Galaxy Empowered—a first-of-its-kind upskilling initiative designed to elevate teaching across the country. This fully-sponsored initiative isn’t just a workshop or a crash course. It’s a revolution for educators, syncing perfectly with India’s National Education Policy (NEP).

Galaxy Empowered is designed to provide educators with the resources and support they need to create engaging and effective learning experiences for their students. Teachers can enroll in the programme, gaining a chance to learn, connect, and grow alongside industry experts and fellow educators. The programme also aligns with Samsung’s commitment to advancing education under its larger vision of “Together for Tomorrow!”

“Galaxy empowered reflects Samsung India’s vision of empowering educators with the resources and skills they need to thrive. By aligning with NEP guidelines and addressing the evolving challenges in classrooms, this programme marks a vital step in fostering innovation and shaping the future of education,” Raju Pullan, Senior Vice President, MX Business, Samsung India.

What’s in it for Teachers?

Masterclasses by Experts: Learn from the best minds in education and tech.

Hands-on Workshops: Real tools, real solutions, real transformation.

Online Flexibility: Attend anywhere, anytime—perfect for a busy teacher’s schedule.

Tailored Resources: From technology hacks to creative teaching strategies, it’s all here.

The best part? It’s a programme designed to give a serious boost to education in India, and it will have a positive impact on millions of students, reshaping how learning takes place in classrooms and outside.

“As educators, we constantly strive to create meaningful learning experiences that ignite curiosity and inspire young minds. Galaxy empowered is a game-changing initiative by Samsung that equips teachers with the skills, tools, and confidence to embrace innovation in their classrooms. I am honored to contribute to a programme that puts teachers at the forefront of transforming education,” said Shalini Nambiar, Director Principal, Seth Anandram Jaipuria School, Vasundhara.

Why it’s Different

Unlike cookie-cutter programmes, Galaxy Empowered focuses on what teachers really need. It blends tech with real-world teaching strategies, making classrooms more fun, engaging, and impactful. By encouraging collaboration and innovation, it will set the stage for a future-ready education system.

“Active and collaborative learning is the cornerstone of 21st-century education. Samsung Galaxy Empowered not only provides a platform for professional growth but also fosters a sense of community among educators. It’s exciting to see how this initiative bridges technology and real-world challenges, empowering teachers to shape the future of education,” said Sarita Mathur, Education Consultant and Former Principal, The Shri Ram School, Gurgaon.

Samsung isn’t just helping the teachers with tools and knowledge—it’s building a community of changemakers, empowering them to challenge norms, embrace tech, and inspire their students to dream big.

A Legacy in Education

With decades of tech expertise and a proven track record in innovation, Samsung is uniquely positioned to lead this change. Galaxy Empowered is another milestone in the company’s global commitment to using technology for good, driving progress in education while staying grounded in the realities of Indian classrooms.

The Road Ahead

Samsung will track success through teacher feedback, real-life classroom stories, and how much these changes are embraced in schools. This isn’t just a programme—it’s a movement to transform education, one teacher at a time.

Here’s everything you need to know about Solve for Tomorrow’s innovation themes –

Education: Enabling education for a sustainable tomorrow remains pivotal to India’s economic growth. With Samsung India, the pillar represents a window of opportunity for participants to contribute to self-reliance and support a better livelihood for thousands of people across the country. By 2030, India aims to eliminate gender disparity, upskill the number of youth and adults, and ensure that all learners acquire the knowledge and skills needed to promote sustainable development.

Environment: Climate change is disrupting national economies with massive carbon footprint and ever-rising temperatures posing a serious concern. Under its Solve for Tomorrow program, Samsung India aims to empower participants to combat the disproportionate impacts of this global phenomenon. The pillar seeks to strengthen adaptive capacity to climate-related calamities and find solutions to save our planet for future generations.

Healthcare: Poor health is a major contributor to mental illness and deprivation amongst individuals. With Solve for Tomorrow program, advents including the eradication of diseases, addressing new challenges like COVID-19, global access to medicine and vaccines, and current and new health emergencies, are some of the key areas that need innovation.

Agriculture: India’s key livelihood agriculture, shares a major chunk of the overall GDP. The sector, however, is still dawned with challenges like deteriorating natural resources and climate change. With this program, the prospect to overcome hurdles extends to thinking wisely about enhanced hybrid varieties and implementing improved management practices, which conserve soil and water resources apart from other solutions.

Samsung believes in using innovation to positively transform communities and create a better life for people. This transformation will be led by the youth and empowering them through education and technological innovations is one of the best ways we can prepare our youth to boldly face the world of the future.

Samsung’s latest education and innovation competition Solve for Tomorrow is teaming up with India’s youth power to bring in the transformations that India needs today, strengthening our vision of Powering Digital India.

Solve for Tomorrow, a Samsung citizenship initiative, is inviting India’s brightest young minds to come up with innovative ideas that can transform the lives of people and communities around them.

The inaugural edition of Solve for Tomorrow aims to provide support to youth in India aged 16-22 years from across cities, towns and villages to turn their ideas into action. The competition is inviting ideas in the areas of Education, Environment, Healthcare and Agriculture, the priority UN Sustainable Development Goals for India.

Support will include mentoring of the top 50 teams (individuals or teams of up to 3 members) by industry experts and Foundation for Innovation and Technology Transfer (FITT) at Indian Institute of Technology, Delhi (IIT Delhi) to help enhance their ideas, along with a boot-camp at IIT Delhi, a certificate of participation, and vouchers worth INR 100,000 for online courses in design thinking, STEM, innovation, leadership, among others. The top 10 teams will get the opportunity to visit Samsung India offices, its R&D centres and Samsung Opera House in Bengaluru where they will interact with young Samsung employees and researchers.

The annual program will end with the grand announcement of three national winners, who 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.

Participants can apply for Solve for Tomorrow, get detailed information on the program and terms and conditions at www.samsung.com/in/solvefortomorrow, starting June 09, 2022 till 5 pm, July 31, 2022.

Mr. Ken Kang, President and CEO, Samsung Southwest Asia, said, “At Samsung, harnessing the power of youth is priority. This is what drives us and our global CSR vision of ‘Together for Tomorrow! Enabling People,’ which seeks to empower the next generation to achieve their full potential and pioneer positive social changes. Solve for Tomorrow also takes us a step ahead in our vision of ‘Powering Digital India’ as the country’s strongest partner.”

“With Solve for Tomorrow, we aim to motivate and nurture creative thinking and problem-solving among the youth and encourage them to find innovative technology solutions with a social impact. We want to play our part in strengthening the innovation ecosystem in the country, taking forward the vision of the Government and the people of this country,” he said.

Prof. Rangan Banerjee, Director, IIT Delhi, said: “With Samsung’s Solve for Tomorrow initiative, we are looking at prospective innovations with impact potential to address the future challenges faced by society. This partnership will enable young change-makers to explore wider opportunities and provide a platform for activating and nurturing their ideas.”

Solve for Tomorrow at a Glance

Who can participate: 16-22 year-olds, individually or in teams of up to 3

Application themes: Education, Environment, Healthcare and Agriculture

What will they get: Online training, mentoring from Samsung & IIT Delhi, Bootcamp at IIT Delhi

What do winners get: Total of up to INR 1 crore to 3 winning teams, mentoring for 6 months

Where can they apply: www.samsung.com/in/solvefortomorrow

From when: Starting June 09, 2022

Till when: Till 5 pm, July 31, 2022

Application Window – Round One

Individuals or teams of up to three can submit their applications on www.samsung.com/in/solvefortomorrow, where they will elaborate on the problem they are solving, the proposed solution and its social impact.

A jury comprising of subject matter experts from FITT, IIT Delhi will shortlist top 50 teams from among all the applications received, based on a selection criteria that includes the best use of technology (app, product or service), creativity, originality of idea, feasibility of the solution with current technology, potential to positively impact society or the environment and the potential to reach its intended target audience.

Idea Development – Round Two

In this round, the top 50 teams will be provided online training on design thinking and will attend a boot camp at IIT Delhi on developing a proof of concept. The teams will also get support from professors and mentors at IIT Delhi to detail out their ideas and start working on their early prototypes.

Each participant from the 50 selected teams will get a certificate of participation and course vouchers of up to INR 100,000 that gets them access to any online course relevant to design thinking, STEM, innovation, entrepreneurship, business skills, management and leadership.

Once teams submit videos on their ideas and prototypes, a jury panel of experts from Samsung will select 10 teams that will move to Round Three. The selection criteria for this round will include development of the idea since original submission, demonstrable use of research and/or testing to understand needs of the target audience, demonstration of design thinking and quality of presentation.

Final Prototype Building – Round Three

Top 10 teams will be given next level of online training covering topics such as prototyping and designing for manufacturing, introduction to business communication, funding opportunities and certifications as well as mentoring from experts at Samsung and IIT Delhi to prepare their ideas for the finale.

Teams will also visit Samsung facilities including its India Headquarters in Gurugram, its R&D centres in Noida and Bengaluru and the world’s largest mobile experience centre at the iconic Opera House in Bengaluru where they will interact with young Samsung employees and researchers.

At the end of this round, the teams will submit their final prototypes and prepare for a live presentation at the Finale Event in front of an eminent jury.

Top 10 teams will be given Samsung hampers worth INR 100,000, which will include exciting Samsung products.

Samsung will offer a total of up to INR 1 crore in grants to three winning teams, getting them one step closer to turn their ideas into their dream startups that can help address India’s key concerns in the areas of Agriculture, Education, Environment and Healthcare.

In addition, winning teams will also get an 85-inch Samsung Flip interactive digital board for their respective schools and colleges.

With the grant, winners will get the opportunity to work with mentors from IIT Delhi for a period of 6 months and get access to an incubation centre at the IIT Delhi campus. During these 6 months, they will work on their ideas and take it to the stage where they can seek consumer validation for their prototypes.

First launched in the US in 2010, Solve for Tomorrow is currently operational in 33 countries globally, and has seen over 1.8 million young people participate worldwide.

Globally, participants in the competition have developed several innovative solutions, such as converting food waste into leather, a portable desalination device equipped with a solar panel to filter polluted water and using coffee grounds to as an alternative energy source to alleviate pollution, among many others.

To find out more and register for the competition in India, visit www.samsung.com/in/solvefortomorrow. Application entry closes at 5 pm on July 31, 2022.

Samsung believes in using innovation to positively transform communities and create a better life for people through its citizenship initiatives. Empowering youth through education is one of the best ways we can prepare our young people to boldly face the world of the future.

Samsung Electronics runs three citizenship programs globally – Samsung Smart School, Samsung Innovation Campus and Solve for Tomorrow – through which it is empowering the leaders of tomorrow and equipping them with the tools they will need to realize meaningful change.