Team IGNITE 2022 poses as Upamanyu takes a selfie

Forty-two young graduates from India’s top B-schools have begun their summer internship with Samsung India at its corporate headquarters in Gurugram.

After two years of almost everything online, they had bright smiles on their faces when they walked into the office, glad that they will be able to experience their workspaces, bond with colleagues, and sit in for “meetings”.

The two-month-long summer internship program – Samsung IGNITE (Inspiring Growth & Nurturing Interns Towards Excellence) started with a fun-filled two-day induction which involved interacting with the senior leadership at Samsung India.

Leaders from across Samsung India will help these interns from IIM-Lucknow, IIM-Kozhikode, IIM-Bangalore, IIM-Ahmedabad, XLRI-Jamshedpur, MDI-Gurgaon and FMS-Delhi to work on real-time projects within various verticals of the company.

“IGNITE is all about generating that spark, awakening that eagerness and nurturing raw talent to produce magnificent results,” said Sameer Wadhawan, Head, Human Resources at Samsung India.

All smiles for Ankita Mohanty, Nikhil Mathew, Abhishek Kumbhalkar, Rishabh Kumar, Yutika Chandrashekhar Kulwe, Arwinderveer Singh, Ankita Mahesh Purkar, Avijit Mridha, Hem Singh Boro, Monisha Das, Tarun Kumar Meena, Vivek Oraon, Mudit Singh Banyal, Lucky Wamankar, Riya Dhan, Ekansh Agarwal, Mukeshwaran Madhu Kumari, Gaye Krishnanjali Ishika Rajaram Meena, Tangella Veera Venkata Surya Satish, Komal Keshav Meshram, Bagya Rekha Runkani Shaili Soni, Athul Murali L, Nikhil Singh Gangwar, Mihir Mahesh Tupe, Vankudothu Shravya, Tanvi Patodia Upamanyu Chatterjee, Thacker Maulik Kalpesh, Shwetal Rakesh Patel, Gopal Sethi, Jatin Goel, Nalin Nehra, Piya Dutta Chandan Gupta, Ankita Anand, Shivam Pandey, Sarthak Yadav, Abhinay Shrivastav and Ravi Kumar

“We are delighted to once again conduct this internship at our Samsung India headquarters in Gurugram, and these two months will give this very cool bunch an opportunity to contribute to some interesting business properties and hone their skills with some of the best in business,” he added.

One of the interns, Madhu Kumari, a student of IIM-Ahmedabad, who is from Varanasi, said she has always dreamt of an opportunity like this and is super excited about the internship.

“We have literally lived a virtual life these last two years. I am so glad I am getting to attend a physical office and it is going to be a lot of fun,” she said.

Team IGNITE 2022 right before they begin their journey as interns

During the induction, Madhu and the 41 other interns got a deep insight into Samsung and its journey from a Noodle exporter in 1938 to a technology giant today. They were excited to meet interns from last year and connect with Samsung leaders even as they explored growth opportunities for themselves in the company.

“I was a little nervous at first but right now this internship is turning out to be way more exciting than I expected. It’s amazing how 42 of us have been made to interact with each other,” said Piya Dutta, who hails from Delhi and studies at XLRI, Jamshedpur.

“This is so inspiring and fun. I also suddenly feel so responsible,” she said.

The interns are looking forward to an exciting and fruitful two months at Samsung.

At Samsung, ‘people’ is one of our core values. We believe a company is its people and we are dedicated to giving our people a wealth of opportunities to reach their full potential.

Raghav Talwar, Abhinav Nahata and Kush Ganatra of Team AKR Menders from IIT Madras took home the first prize at the sixth edition Samsung E.D.G.E, with over 5,000 students from 20 top institutions participating in the pan-India campus program.

Their innovative solution to optimize each step of the user journey in the context of a Direct to Consumer (D2C) business using AI recommendation, AR/VR, IoT & QR Code integration impressed the jury the most and won them a cash prize of INR 400,000 and Samsung’s flagship smartphones.

Team Purple of ISB Hyderabad, with their solution for D2C business that integrated a customer’s journey in an offline store with online, stood second. They won a cash prize of INR 200,000 and pre-placement interviews with Samsung.

Team Trifecta of FMS Delhi came third for presenting a solution to smoothen the journey of a consumer and provide an end-to-end experience. The team was awarded a cash prize of INR 100,000.

This year too, to ensure the safety of all participants, the Samsung E.D.G.E. campus program was conducted virtually. The virtual finale was attended by Mr. Ken Kang, President & CEO, Samsung SWA and other senior leaders of Samsung India.

“At Samsung, we have always believed in the power of innovation to change the world for the better and are proud to conclude another successful year of our campus program Samsung E.D.G.E. As a platform, Samsung E.D.G.E. endeavours to discover and nurture the leaders of tomorrow and we are extremely delighted with the massive increase in participation rate year on year and the impressive innovative solutions presented this season,” said Sameer Wadhawan, Head, Human Resources, Samsung India.

The 2-month program is conducted over three rounds of rigorous evaluation. This year, over 1,700 teams from 20 colleges participated. The first round requires each participating team to present an executive summary after thorough research and ideation. Post evaluation, one team is selected from each campus. They work on a case study, submit and present their detailed solutions in the regional round. This year, nine teams were shortlisted and mentored by Samsung’s leaders to battle it out for the top 3 spots in the national round.

Samsung E.D.G.E. is a nationwide campus platform that provides thousands of brilliant minds the opportunity to showcase their business acumen, strategic thinking and leadership skills each year.

Mr. Ken Kang, President & CEO, Samsung SWA

Samsung, India’s largest and most trusted consumer electronics brand, concluded the fifth edition of its pan-India campus program Samsung E.D.G.E., with over 5,200 of the brightest students from 20 top institutions across India participating.

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 program were conducted virtually to ensure the safety of students and all Samsung employees. The competition, spread over three months, invited participation of students from diverse domains such as B. Tech, Masters of Business Administration and Masters of Design.

The virtual event was attended by Mr. Ken Kang, President & CEO, Samsung SWA and other senior leaders of Samsung India. Mr. 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.

Samsung E.D.G.E. is a campus recruitment and engagement initiative by Samsung India that was initiated in 2016 to provide opportunities to young talent from top B-Schools, Engineering & Design Institutes.

Every year the brightest minds come together from top institutes of India to provide distinctive solutions to real-time challenges.

“At Samsung, we believe that only meaningful innovations enable change. Through the Samsung E.D.G.E. 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 potential to transform our society,” said Sameer Wadhawan, Head, Human Resources, Samsung India.

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 with 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 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.

Samsung E.D.G.E. is a first-of-its-kind campus program that provides an opportunity to the country’s brightest students to exhibit their talents, exchange meaningful insights and get a head-start in their careers.

The program consists of three rounds. The first round is the campus round in which the teams are required to research, brainstorm, and formulate the most innovative approach. The campus round is followed by the regional round where the shortlisted teams present their plans to Samsung business leaders. At the end of the regional round, top 8 teams are selected and mentored by Samsung leaders on their respective solutions. The finale 8 teams battle it out in the National Round to announce the three winning teams.

Mr. HC Hong, President and CEO of Samsung Southwest Asia, gave away the first prize to the winning team from IIT Madras

‘Monimakers’, the team comprising second-year students from Indian Institute of Technology (IIT), Madras, overwhelmed their much-fancied counterparts from top business schools, to walk away with the first prize at the inaugural Samsung E.D.G.E campus program.

The winning team from IIT Madras presented a solution on leadership strategy in digital payments, using a disruptive technology backbone built around Samsung’s mobile payment service – Samsung Pay – that has been launched globally.

The team from IIT Madras presented a solution on leadership strategy in digital payments

The team from IIT Madras received a thunderous applause from an audience of around 100 people, comprising the top brass of Samsung South West Asia.

Members of the winning team said they had finalized their presentation just a day ago and had not expected to win the coveted competition.

“We knew we were up against some very good teams,” the IIT Madras team said.

The winning team members received a prize of INR 3 lakh and a Gear S3 smartwatch each from Mr. HC Hong, President & CEO, Samsung SWA.

“The talk from the CEO was amazing and it said a lot about the culture of the company,” said a member of the winning team.

XLRI Jamshedpur won the second prize

The second and third prizes were won by the teams from XLRI Jamshedpur and Faculty of Management Studies, Delhi. The team from XLRI Jamshedpur got a cash prize of INR 1.5 lakh, whole the team from FMS received a prize of INR 75,000.

The team from FMS, Delhi came second runner-up

Students from the top two teams were also designated Samsung Campus Ambassadors and second year MBA students received a pre-placement interview from Samsung.

“The experience was great and much better than a few of the other national competitions that have happened. The stay was pleasant and the arrangements made were top class,” said a participant.

Students engrossed in discussion, mid-way through their presentation

All 12 teams that reached the grand finale of the first season Samsung’s campus program – Samsung E.D.G.E. – also received vouchers worth INR 10,000.

“The response from students has been overwhelming and we are extremely happy with the success of the first season of the Samsung E.D.G.E. program. At Samsung, we always strive to encourage young minds and nurture the spirit of innovation among them,” said Mr. Udaiy Khanna, Vice President – Human Resources, Samsung India.

Samsung E.D.G.E. program has been designed to engage with leading B-school and engineering talent across India, with students getting an opportunity to interact with the leadership team at Samsung, work on real-world business problems and come up with their unique solutions.

Launched in December 2016, Samsung E.D.G.E. is a first-of-its-kind campus program, to provide a platform that gives the country’s brightest students at leading B-schools and engineering colleges an opportunity to get a head-start in their careers.

Samsung E.D.G.E. comprised of three rounds. Three teams per campus were shortlisted for the Zonal Round in which all the teams closely worked on a case study and presented their unique solutions. A total of 45 teams from across 15 campuses were shortlisted for the Zonal Round in which the participants worked on different case studies and presented their unique solutions.

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