They are not finished products yet, neither their prototypes nor their journeys. As part of Samsung Solve for Tomorrow, challenges have not ceased for the Top 40 innovators. These young changemakers are still building, modifying, expanding, testing, and sometimes discarding ideas altogether. What they are discovering, however, may be as relevant and important as the innovations themselves: that design thinking is not just a toolkit but a mindset that demands empathy, patience, and an openness to failure.

Over the past week, participants were on a frenetic pursuit for perfection in ideas guided by mentors, workshops, and their first exposure to the FITT labs.

In an AI-driven world where speed and automation dominate the public discourse, these students are being reminded that the true test of technology is whether it can connect to the human heart and the human behaviour.

Sitting With the Problem

In this context, it will be pertinent to speak about the story of the Pink Brigadiers. A team comprising of Vivek Sawant from Maharashtra and Shriya Aditya Dalai from Odisha, both NIT Rourkela engineering students. What are they doing this year? They are working on what they call Bharat’s first AI-driven breast care app. At first glance, it’s a technical marvel: convolutional neural networks with edge deployment that can detect anomalies and connect women with doctors. But the breakthrough, they admit, has not been in the code.

“Our product requires immense sensitivity. The design thinking training encouraged us to sit with the problem longer, understand users more deeply, and keep adapting to their needs. UX/UI and trust are as important as the AI itself,” they explain.

For them, design thinking is a reminder that how an app makes someone feel may be as critical as what it does. Building technology for a deeply private health concern means that tone, colour palettes, language, and interface all become questions of empathy. This insight resonates with recent Stanford research showing that building fair and trustworthy AI systems requires attention not only to algorithms but also to transparency, edge-case behaviour, and user comfort.

Humanising AI

Elsewhere, inside the FITT lab there is a duo trying to grasp the lesson on AI from their product – How can AI provide intelligence, and how can design thinking make it intelligible.

Take Mindsnap, a personalised education platform created by Devayanee Gupta and Sayan Adhikary from Kolkata, both engineering students. Powered by large language models (LLMs), the platform adapts to neurodiverse learners, whether they are dyslexic, on the spectrum, or simply learn better through games.

“We realised no algorithm works if the interface doesn’t speak to the learner,” they explain. “Design thinking made us focus on UX/UI, accessibility, and the lived experience of students.”

Aditya Verma from Chennai is making a similar discovery with Mama Saheli AI, a holistic pregnancy app inspired by his mother’s experience in remote areas where medical access was limited.

“My app had to feel like a friend, not just a tool. Design thinking pushed me to see it through the user’s emotions, behaviour, and even cultural context. That’s what makes it scalable and trustworthy,” he says.

His app synthesises information, filters out misinformation, and integrates with wearables to provide hyperpersonalized insights, but its soul lies in the idea of companionship. His approach aligns with the PADTHAI-MM framework, which shows that transparent, human-centred design, combining explainability with user context, produces far more trust than opaque “black box” AI.

Design as a Strategy for Scale

The Prithvirakshak team from Ludhiana: 12th graders Abhishek Dhanda, Prabhkirat Singh, and Rachita Chandok are fighting India’s colossal waste management problem with what they call the nation’s first modular automated vermicomposting centre.

The idea began as a classroom experiment, it has now become a three-year journey of prototyping, testing, and learning how to collapse a 90-day composting process into just 30 days.

“Traditionally, vermicomposting has been labour-intensive and hard to scale,” they explain. “Design thinking helped us imagine modular models that can work in a garden, a housing society, or even at city level.”

For them, scalability is not about size but about adaptability, the ability to shape the same core idea to serve farmers, urban families, or municipalities.

The Journey, Not the Destination

None of these teams know if they will eventually win the Solve for Tomorrow challenge. Their prototypes remain imperfect; their pitch decks are still being rewritten. Yet what binds them together is a recognition that design thinking has already amended their approach.

While global conversations around AI often spiral into questions of ethics, bias, and speed, these young problem-solvers are grounding their innovations in something older and steadier: human-centred design.

AI, they are discovering, may be the brain. But design thinking, in all its humility and discipline, is the heart. And as these students continue to fight for their place in the Top 20, that may turn out to be the most important lesson of all.

Samsung India has announced the winning teams, Eco Tech Innovator and METAL for the 3rd edition of ‘Solve for Tomorrow 2024’, the company’s flagship national education and innovation competition. While Eco Tech Innovator from Golaghat, Assam was declared the Community Champion in the School Track, METAL from Udupi, Karnataka was announced as the Environment Champion in the Youth Track, demonstrating the reach of the programme outside major Indian cities.

Eco Tech Innovator, which developed an idea around equitable access to non-contaminated potable drinking water, received a seed grant of INR 25 lakh for prototype advancement. METAL, which developed technology for arsenic removal from ground water, received a grant of INR 50 lakh for incubation at IIT-Delhi. JB Park, President and CEO, Samsung Southwest Asia and Shombi Sharp, United Nations Resident Coordinator in India awarded certificates and trophies to these teams.

In addition, the school of the ‘Community Champion’ will receive Samsung products, including a Smart Display Flip 75”, Freestyle Projector and 10 Galaxy Tab S10+ to help with education and encourage a problem-solving mindset. Similarly, the college of the ‘Environment Champion’ will receive a Smart Display Flip 75”, Freestyle Projector and 10 Galaxy Book 4 Pro laptops to promote social entrepreneurship.

While each of the 10 teams received INR 1 lakh, all members received certificates. In addition, School Track participants received a Galaxy Watch Ultra, while Youth Track participants received Galaxy Z Flip6. The flagship CSR programme, Samsung Solve for Tomorrow, aims to empower the youth of the country to solve real life issues and transform the lives of people with their innovative ideas.

“At Samsung, we are incredibly proud of the innovation and creativity showcased by all the participants of this year’s edition of ‘Solve for Tomorrow. Through our flagship CSR initiative, we aim to empower young minds by providing them with the tools, mentorship and opportunities they need to address some of the most pressing challenges in their communities and the environment. Eco Tech Innovator and METAL’s achievements reflect the potential of the next generation to create meaningful impact through technology and innovation. We look forward to seeing the ideas of these young innovators come to life and make a lasting difference,” said JB Park, President and CEO, Samsung Southwest Asia.

“It has been a great honour to collaborate with Samsung in nurturing these young innovators at a critical stage of their development. Through our partnership, we have provided mentorship, training and access to cutting-edge resources that have instilled confidence and empowered the participants to bring their ideas to fruition. We are proud to see the incredible progress made by team Eco Tech Innovator and METAL and we are confident that their solutions will contribute meaningfully to society and the environment,” said Dr. Nikhil Agarwal, Managing Director, FITT, IIT Delhi.

“World leaders just came together at the UN Summit of the Future in New York to agree on urgent steps to rescue the SDGs and our only planet. The Solve for Tomorrow programme exemplifies just the kind of youth engagement they called for to unlock the solution-oriented innovation and creative thinking we need. The achievements of Team Eco Tech Innovator and METAL show what can be accomplished when young minds are equipped with the right skills, resources, and platforms to innovate. We thank Samsung for fostering this culture of innovation and we congratulate the winners on their remarkable success.” said Shombi Sharp, United Nations Resident Coordinator in India.

The top 10 teams, represented by 22 students, were selected for the Grand Finale to pitch ideas and showcase prototypes to the Grand Jury comprising Mohan Rao Goli, Chief Technology Officer, Samsung R&D Institute, Bangalore, Dr. Srinivasan Venkataraman, Assistant Professor, Department of Design at IIT- Delhi, Dr. Sapna Poti, Director, Strategic Alliances at the office of Principal Scientific Advisor to the Government of India and Sunita Verma, Scientist ‘G’ and Group Coordinator, R&D at Ministry of Electronics & IT (MeitY).

The Grand Finale began with the pitch event, which was followed by an awards ceremony. Top executives and employees from Samsung attended the event, along with winners from earlier editions of Solve for Tomorrow, the Grand Jury members and mentors of the 10 teams as well as representatives from FITT, IIT Delhi, MeitY and the United Nations in India.

Students submitted their ideas under two overarching themes: ‘Community and Inclusion’ and ‘Environment and Sustainability’. The Youth Track submitted ideas under these broad themes, however, most of the ideas focused on tackling key issues such as education and resource access for less privileged communities, challenges in experiential learning, digital literacy, water conservation and arsenic pollution.

Apart from the main prizes at the event, two special awards were also presented during the ceremony, the ‘Social Media Champion Award’ and the ‘Goodwill Award’. Preator VR from School Track and BioD from Youth Track were awarded the Goodwill Awards that honoured audience choice winners. Both teams received INR 1 lakh as cash reward. In addition, You from School Track and EnvTech from Youth Track won the ‘Social Media Champion Award’ that granted INR 50,000 each, in recognition of the teams’ social media contribution.

This year, Shankar Srinivas, the 2022 ‘Solve for Tomorrow’ winner recognized for his innovative ‘Sputnik Brain’ and recently appointed as a ‘Together for Tomorrow’ Ambassador, shared his inspiring journey and experience during the award ceremony. His story demonstrates the power of innovation and passion, encouraging young minds to tackle real-world problems with creativity and determination.

Samsung remains committed to nurturing young innovators, equipping them with the tools and resources to transform their visions into reality. Over the past few weeks, experts from Samsung, FITT and IIT-Delhi worked closely with the top 10 teams, mentoring them as they developed innovative and groundbreaking solutions for real-world challenges. This mentorship helped the teams refine their ideas and guided them through developing functional prototypes. These prototypes were then presented to the jury during the Grand Finale.

This year, participants from both schools and colleges participated from Tier 2 and 3 cities and remote regions across India, from Imphal in Manipur to East Khasi Hills in Meghalaya and Bilaspur in Chhattisgarh. With innovative ideas aimed at addressing local challenges, they sought to transform not only their communities but also contribute to solving broader national issues, driving positive change across the country using technology.

First launched in the US in 2010, the “Solve for Tomorrow” programme is now active in 63 countries across the world and has engaged over 2.3 million young innovators globally. Aligned with Samsung Electronics’ global CSR vision – “Together for Tomorrow! Enabling People” – the initiative is dedicated to equipping young people with the education and skills needed to become the leaders of the future. To learn more about Samsung Electronics’ CSR initiatives, visit our CSR webpage at http://csr.samsung.com

Samsung India today 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 INR 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 3^rd 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 SP Chun, Corporate Vice President, Samsung Southwest Asia.

“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 Dr. Nikhil Agarwal, Managing Director, FITT, IIT Delhi.

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.

Samsung India, for Solve for Tomorrow 2024, partnered and collaborated with the Foundation for Innovation and Technology Transfer (FITT), IIT Delhi; the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology (MEITY); Manthan, Office of Principal Scientific Advisor, Government of India and the United Nations in India for the 3^rd edition of the programme in India.

This year, the ‘Solve for Tomorrow’ programme introduces two distinct tracks – School Track and Youth Track, each dedicated to championing a specific theme and targeted towards different age groups. Both the tracks will run simultaneously, ensuring equal opportunity and a level playing field for all students. The programme also introduced a new learning module – design-thinking workshops in over 100 schools across India to train and mentor students in school track. These workshops aimed at nurturing their problem-solving mindsets by providing them situational challenges and inducing them to build solutions.

What do the winners get:

School Track: The Winning Team will be declared as the “Community Champion” of Solve for Tomorrow 2024 and will receive a seed grant of INR 25 Lakh for prototype advancement. The schools of the winning teams will also receive Samsung Products to boost educational offerings, encouraging a problem-solving mindset.

Youth Track: The Winning Team will be declared as the “Environment Champion” of Solve for Tomorrow 2024 and will receive a grant of INR 50 Lakh for incubation at IIT-Delhi. The colleges of the winning teams also receive Samsung products to boost their educational offerings, encouraging social entrepreneurship.

First launched in the US in 2010, Solve for Tomorrow is currently operational in 63 countries globally and has seen over 2.3 million young people participate worldwide.

With the global CSR vision of ‘Together for Tomorrow! Enabling People’, Samsung Electronics is committed to provide education to young people around the world to empower the leaders of tomorrow. Read more stories on Samsung Electronics’ CSR efforts on our CSR webpage http://csr.samsung.com

The existing methods of stress management often fell short, leaving many, including himself, in a continuous loop of anxiety and frustration. This realization pushed him to think outside the box, aiming to create something that could offer more than just a quick fix.

Pioneering mental well-being with Sputnik Brain

Driven by a vision to revolutionize stress management with STEM, Shankar entered Samsung Solve for Tomorrow in India. Through personalized mentoring sessions, he refined his approach and learned a step-by-step process to bring his idea to life, while also mastering the use of data-driven insights for effective problem-solving.

This newfound knowledge empowered him to conceptualize Sputnik Brain, a wearable device designed to reduce stress through brain modulation. Sputnik Brain aims to offer not just temporary relief but a long-term idea for improving overall well-being. This innovative idea promises to enhance mental wellness by providing a method for managing stress.

“Shankar’s journey is a testament to the remarkable transformational ideas emerging from our young participants. We are particularly heartened to see such innovative contributions coming from diverse backgrounds across every corner of India. This silent revolution, led by the Gen Z, is driving the growth of our innovation ecosystem. Through our flagship CSR program, Solve for Tomorrow, we are committed to mentoring and supporting young minds solvers like Shankar’s, who are dedicated to improving the lives of people around them,” said Mr. Shubham Mukherjee, Head of CSR, Samsung India.

Imagining a Stress-Free World

Shankar’s ultimate dream is to democratize access to stress reduction. He envisions a world where everyone can achieve mental well-being through advanced brain science. “Socioeconomic factors can create huge disparities in well-being. That’s why Sputnik Brain is on a mission to democratize access to stress reduction in the nearest future,” Shankar explained passionately.

Shankar’s journey is not just about personal achievement but about inspiring others. His story demonstrates the power of innovation and passion, encouraging young minds to tackle real-world problems with creativity and determination. Through his work, Shankar is not only shaping a stress-free world but also lighting the path for future generations of problem solvers. Please support Shankar’s vision to make mental well-being accessible and effective.