Most student innovations begin with a solution. Few begin with a problem. Across engineering colleges, students often spend months building sophisticated prototypes only to discover that the problem they set out to solve either does not exist, affects very few people, or lacks real-world relevance. It is a gap that has quietly limited the potential of countless promising ideas. Samsung Solve for Tomorrow is attempting to change that.

As part of its flagship nationwide innovation programme, Samsung India, in collaboration with IIT Delhi, recently hosted a Design Thinking Workshop at the GNIOT Group of Institutions in Greater Noida, bringing together aspiring innovators from across Uttar Pradesh to learn one of entrepreneurship’s most critical lessons: understanding a problem comes before building a solution.

The workshop formed part of Samsung Solve for Tomorrow 2026, a national programme that encourages young Indians aged 14 to 22 to develop technology-led solutions addressing challenges in areas such as artificial intelligence, health and education, environmental sustainability, and sport and technology. Rather than focusing on coding, engineering or product development, the session challenged participants to question assumptions, engage with users, validate ideas and understand whether the problems they hoped to solve genuinely existed outside the classroom.

For many students, the experience represented a shift in perspective. “We often assume an idea is good simply because it sounds innovative,” said Kabir Singh, a third-year student at GNIOT. “The workshop helped us understand how implementation, feasibility and user needs are just as important as the idea itself.”

Ravi Kushwaha, a second-year student, described the workshop as an exercise in rethinking innovation from the ground up. “It helped me understand how to identify real-world challenges and validate whether a problem actually exists before attempting to solve it,” he said. The workshop reflects a broader shift underway within India’s innovation ecosystem. As the country seeks to build a pipeline of entrepreneurs and problem-solvers beyond traditional startup hubs, programmes are increasingly focusing on human-centred design, critical thinking and grassroots problem identification alongside technical skills.

Samsung Solve for Tomorrow has emerged as one such platform, helping young innovators move beyond concepts and develop solutions with measurable social impact. The 2026 edition marks the programme’s largest expansion to date, with Design Thinking Workshops being conducted across 100 cities nationwide. Participants receive access to training, mentorship, prototyping support and industry guidance designed to help transform early-stage ideas into viable innovations.

The programme will culminate with the top four winning teams receiving incubation grants worth INR 2 crore at IIT Delhi, enabling them to further develop and scale their solutions.

As India’s innovation ambitions continue to grow, initiatives such as Samsung Solve for Tomorrow are helping ensure that the next generation of innovators focuses not only on building technology, but on solving the problems that matter most.

Applications for Samsung Solve for Tomorrow 2026 remain open until July 3, 2026.