In a country generating over 62 million tonnes of waste every year, a trio of Class 12 students of B. C. M. Arya Model Sr. Sec. School Ludhiana is proving that technology and empathy can drive real change. Abhishek Dhanda, Prabhkirat Singh, and Rachita Chandok have developed ‘Prithvi Rakshak’ (Protector of the Earth) — a smart, modular vermicomposting system that automates organic waste management and turns garbage into growth.

The innovation has earned the trio a spot among the four national winners of Samsung Solve for Tomorrow 2025, under the theme Environmental Sustainability through Technology. The winning teams received ₹1 crore incubation support at IIT Delhi’s FITT to refine their prototypes and scale their impact.

“We wanted composting to be faster, smarter and scalable,” says Abhishek.

“Our biggest learning was that empathy can be a design tool,” adds Rachita.

Traditional vermicomposting takes up to 90 days and requires significant space and manual handling. Prithvi Rakshak cuts the composting cycle by nearly 50 percent, from 90 days to just 30 days by combining sensors, modular compartments, and intelligent controls — making eco-friendly waste processing viable even in cities.

The system Vermikendra outputs:

• Vermicompost – nutrient-rich soil enhancer
• Vermiwash – natural liquid fertilizer
• Vermisticks – compact compost sticks for terrace gardens

“Our goal is to pilot this with municipalities and Smart City Missions,” says Prabhkirat.

“Innovation is about impact — and turning waste into a resource.”

Supported through Samsung’s flagship CSR programme, Solve for Tomorrow, and mentorship from experts at IIT Delhi, the students are now preparing to take their solution to farms, homes and cities across India — helping build a cleaner, circular future.

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.

Initially launched in the U.S. as an essay competition in 2010, Solve for Tomorrow now operates in 68 countries — serving as a platform for youth around the world to collaborate on solutions for a better future.

Beginning in 2025, Solve for Tomorrow introduced global themes to the competition — starting with  Environmental Sustainability via Technology and Social Change Through Sports & Technology — further strengthening its role in addressing universal challenges through cross-border collaboration.

Samsung remains committed to increasing educational opportunities that build future-ready skills such as design thinking while addressing pressing community issues, including those related to the environment, sports and quality education. The company aims to expand support to turn students’ ideas into reality, empowering them to play an active role in shaping a brighter world.

Explore the 15-year journey of Samsung’s global CSR education program Solve for Tomorrow in the infographic below.

Samsung India has unveiled the “Solve for Tomorrow” documentary, which captures the inspiring journeys of the young innovators from across India in shaping ideas to solve some of the pressing problems of society.

The documentary highlights the creativity, ingenuity, and resilience of the winning teams – Eco Tech Innovator and METAL and their innovative yet distinct approaches to tackle one of the most pressing social issues of India – arsenic contamination of water. The documentary is now available on JioHotstar.

Samsung “Solve for Tomorrow” is a STEM (Science, Technology, Engineering and Math) based competition designed to create an innovation ecosystem in the country and foster problem solving skills of young minds. No matter where the participants come from, Samsung’s flagship CSR initiative has made it a mission to nurture their creativity and vision to resolve challenges that their communities face.

The third edition of this programme feature participants from remote regions of India, underlining the reach of this initiative. Sayed Safrahan Ullah Khabir of Team Eco-Tech belongs to Golaghat in Assam, while the three members of Team Metal originate from Bihar.

This 40-minute documentary vividly portrays the lives of the innovators and their challenges as they solve real-world problems that affect their communities. Samsung Solve for Tomorrow helped the participants with support, guidance, resources and funding to refine their innovations and take them to the next level.

Watch here:  https://hotstar.com/1971002864

(L-R) Yashasvi Parthavi, Aditi Taparia and Sonal Aggarwal

In a world powered by technology, the importance of gender diversity in the tech industry is crucial.  International Girls in ICT Day is dedicated to encouraging girls and young women to pursue careers in the field of Information and Communications Technology (ICT). The day also aims to address the gender gap in the tech industry and inspire girls to achieve their full potential in science, technology, engineering, and mathematics (STEM).

On Girls in ICT Day– marked annually on the fourth Thursday in April – the United Nations International Telecommunication Union (ITU) highlights the need to promote technology career opportunities for girls and women in one of world’s fastest growing sector.

Recognizing this, Samsung celebrates International Girls in ICT Day with a commitment to fostering the next generation of innovators through its Samsung Solve for Tomorrow program and Samsung Innovation Campus.

Here are some inspiring stories of young women in STEM who are being empowered at Samsung Solve for Tomorrow and Samsung Innovation Campus:

Aditi Taparia: Cleaning Beaches with a Robot

The Solve for Tomorrow team of Aditi Tapariya, Harshil Mistry and Vaibhav Gupta from Surat, Gujarat is out to address the accumulation of harmful waste on beaches and its impact on the environment and marine ecosystems. The team has developed an automated beach-cleaning robot called Sweep.

This programmable robot is equipped with optimum sensors that can detect, identify and segregate different kinds of waste materials based on their recyclability. The robot will be capable of traversing difficult terrains and autonomously navigate through a specified area at regular intervals.

“I could enhance our design in a customer-oriented manner or even work on a tech product like Sweep only because I studied STEM. Solve for Tomorrow helped us make the required changes in our mechanism and in the backend algorithms while making it more precise in its operations.  At Solve for Tomorrow, we worked on our solution and do ground-level testing and analyze results for Sweep. We will sweep all the garbage on the beaches to build a more beautiful world for the generations to come. Together for tomorrow, we will make it happen,” said Aditi.

Sonal Agarwal: Winning one battle at a time with STEM

Sonal hails from Bahal in Haryana. The only woman ever to learn STEM at school and college level in her family. Her dreams of innovation echoed so loud that her everyone who wanted her to study humanities took a step back and allowed her to take her own path.

Sonal’s journey began with spark fueled by relentless curiosity to unravel the mysteries of technology. Venturing into the realm of computer science, Sonal encountered obstacles in male dominated field but her unwavering belief in herself kept her going. From her college, she landed an opportunity at Samsung Innovation Campus where she studied a course in Artificial Intelligence.

“I always loved studying STEM but it was Samsung Innovation Campus that took my love for it to the next level. The challenges that campus programme threw at me on a regular basis helped me learn better about Artificial Intelligence,” said Sonal.

“Through the Samsung Innovation Campus, I got access to cutting-edge resources, mentorship programs, and hands-on learning experiences designed to equip girls with the skills and confidence needed to thrive in the tech industry. My dream of becoming an engineer looks easier to achieve now,” added Sonal.

Yashasvi Parthavi: Beyond the Possibilities of Artificial Intelligence

Moradabad in Uttar Pradesh is famous for its brass artwork, but Yashasvi Parthavi believes that someday it could also be famous for her innovations in Artificial Intelligence.

Yashasvi is a Samsung Innovation Campus student from Moradabad who gets thrilled the moment you ask her about AI and her career plans. Her journey with Artificial Intelligence began at Samsung Innovation Campus when she joined the course. “I love Mathematics and I didn’t know one day it would help me land me in a course that would transform my life,” said Yashasvi.

“I didn’t know the importance of STEM but all that I really enjoyed studying was Mathematics at school level. During my engineering, I explored the different branches of STEM and them came Samsung Innovation campus which made me believe that I could aim to become an AI scientist. Today I am able to look beyond the possibilities of Artificial Intelligence.

At Samsung, our CSR vision is ‘Together for Tomorrow! Enabling People’. We believe true progress happens only when everyone is empowered. In India, our Citizenship programs are inspired by our corporate vision of ‘Powering Digital India’. India is a vibrant and young country with soaring aspirations, and to give wings to every dream our CSR efforts are focused on two domains: Smart Education and Skilling Youth. All our CSR programs aim to provide people equal access to the knowledge, skills, and the resources required to shape a better future for the community.

Samsung was on the lookout for ambitious 16-22 year olds who could solve global issues with game-changing tech solutions. Solve for Tomorrow 2022 winners came from the big cities in India with the most innovative solutions to their problems. In the second year, the competition got overwhelming submissions from youth across cities, towns and villages, symbolic of the innovation and entrepreneurial spirit of Bharat.

Here is a glimpse of the journey from season 2:

Teaser for Solve for Tomorrow Season 2 goes out to invite applications.

Students of Jammu & Kashmir attend the Solve for Tomorrow roadshow at IIT Jammu

Hundreds of students gather at Samsung Opera House in Bengaluru to apply for season 2 of the competition.

Top 30 teams get selected from all over the country

Introducing the Solve for Tomorrow jury for 2023

Top 30 teams attend the bootcamp at IIT Delhi

Top 10 teams got a chance to visit Samsung facilities across the country

Winning teams of Solve for Tomorrow 2023 receive their awards from JB Park, MD & CEO, Samsung SWA

Samsung India has announced it has partnered with Ministry of Electronics & Information Technology’s (MeitY’s) Startup Hub and Foundation for Innovation & Technology Transfer (FITT), IIT Delhi for the second season of its national education and innovation competition Samsung Solve for Tomorrow that was launched today. With Solve for Tomorrow, Samsung aims to usher in a culture of innovative thinking and problem-solving amongst the country’s youth.

The second season of Samsung Solve for Tomorrow was inaugurated by Mr Alkesh Kumar Sharma, Secretary, Ministry of Electronics & Information Technology (MeitY) and Mr. JongBum Park, President & CEO, Samsung Southwest Asia in the presence of other dignitaries.

The flagship CSR program of India’s largest electronics brand recognizes the power of innovative solutions and their ability to transform lives, making a strong social impact, and strengthens Samsung’s vision of #PoweringDigitalIndia.

The first season of Samsung Solve for Tomorrow in 2022 received over 18,000 registrations from youth across the country. Two of the top three winning teams of season one have incorporated their companies while one is currently in the process of doing it.

This year, anyone in India aged 16-22 years can participate in the program by sending their innovative tech-enabled ideas that will transform the lives of people. The ideas should be under the themes – Education & Learning, Environment & Sustainability, Health & Wellness and Diversity & Inclusion. Participants can apply for Samsung Solve for Tomorrow on www.samsung.com/in/solvefortomorrow starting April 04, 2023 till 5 pm on May 31, 2023.

The top three teams will win INR 1.5 crore to turn their ideas into action while others participants who reach top 30 and top 10 will be rewarded at various stages of the program.

The top 30 teams (individuals or teams of up to 3 members) will be trained and mentored by Samsung’s partners – Foundation for Innovation and Technology Transfer (FITT) at the Indian Institute of Technology, Delhi (IIT Delhi) and MeitY Startup Hub at a residential bootcamp at IIT Delhi, helping participants enhance their ideas. They will also get INR 20,000 each to create initial prototypes and then pitch their ideas to a jury of young Samsung employees and experts from FITT, IIT Delhi and MeitY Startup Hub. This jury will select the top 10 teams for the finale.

These teams will also get the opportunity to visit Samsung India offices, its R&D centres, design centre, 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 win INR 1.5 crore in prize money and exciting Samsung products.

Mr. Alkesh Kumar Sharma, Secretary, MeitY, said, “The vision of the Government of India is to promote a vibrant ecosystem of innovation and entrepreneurship in the country, and youth are at the centre of this. They need all the support and mentoring that can help them turn their ideas into reality, creating a strong social impact along the way. The coming together of Samsung, IIT Delhi and MeitY Startup Hub for the Solve for Tomorrow program is a very positive move that will work towards realizing our vision.”

Mr. JongBum Park, President & CEO, Samsung Southwest Asia, said, “At Samsung, we inspire the world and shape the future with transformative ideas and technologies. Our business is all about igniting the next generation of innovators and changemakers. The entries we got in the first season of Samsung Solve for Tomorrow provided us with a unique snapshot of the concerns and issues on the minds of India’s youth. They looked at issues ranging from waste management, electricity and water wastage, plastic waste, speech disorders as well as pandemic prediction and solutions that use new-age technologies such as robotics, artificial intelligence and augmented reality.”

“Giving youth a voice in real-life issues affecting communities around them allows them to see firsthand the change they can create in the world. With Samsung Solve for Tomorrow, we want to give youth that opportunity and also play our part in strengthening the innovation ecosystem in the country, taking forward the vision of the Government and our own vision of Powering Digital India,” he said.

The first season of Samsung Solve for Tomorrow got over 18,000 registrations from youth across the country. Among the winners, Sputnik Brain’s Shankar Srinivasan, a 22-year-old from Bengaluru, presented a wearable device that helps reduce stress using safe brain modulation while the all-girl trio of Prisha Dubey, Anupriya Nayak and Vanalika Konwar of Udaan, 16-year-olds from Port Blair and Delhi, developed eco-friendly, affordable and washable sanitary pads using shredded sugarcane bagasse. 16-year-old Hemesh Chadalavada of Alpha Monitor from Hyderabad developed a smart wristband to monitor Alzheimer’s patients and alert their caregivers about changes in their behaviour.

“We are happy to partner with Samsung to enable young innovators to convert their ideas into solutions for real world problems through the ‘Solve for Tomorrow’ competition,” said Prof. Rangan Banerjee, Director, IIT Delhi.

“There is great potential among youth across India, especially those in the smaller towns and villages. They have the ability to find unique solutions to the complex problems that we face today. We look forward to working with Samsung on the Solve for Tomorrow program to train young people and help them scale new heights,” said Mr. Jeet Vijay, CEO, MeitY Startup Hub.

Samsung Solve for Tomorrow at a Glance

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

Application themes: Education & Learning, Environment & Sustainability, Health & Wellness and Diversity & Inclusion

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

What do winners get: Total of INR 1.5 crore to 3 winning teams and exciting Samsung products that will boost their productivity

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

From when: Starting April 04, 2023

Till when: Till 5 pm on May 31, 2023

Program Details

Application Window – Round One

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

A jury comprising subject matter experts from FITT, IIT Delhi will shortlist the top 30 teams from among all the applications received. This will be based on 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 30 shortlisted teams will attend a five-day bootcamp at the IIT Delhi campus where they will receive training on Design Thinking by FITT, IIT Delhi and on innovation & IPR, patents from MeitY Startup Hub.

Each team will get INR 20,000 to create initial prototypes and then pitch their ideas to a jury comprising of young Samsung employees and experts from FITT, IIT Delhi, MeitY Startup Hub and Atal Innovation Mission at the bootcamp who will select the top 10 teams.

These 30 teams will also visit Samsung India offices, its R&D centres, design centre, and Samsung Opera House in Bengaluru where they will interact with young Samsung employees and researchers.

Each member of the top 30 teams will get a certificate for attending the bootcamp, a Samsung Galaxy Book laptop and Galaxy Buds.

Final Prototype Building – Round Three

In this round, the top 10 teams will get INR 100,000 each to enhance their prototypes based on the feedback from jury members as well as mentors. They will also be mentored by Samsung employees from various domains as well as domain experts from IIT Delhi.

At the end of this round, the teams will submit their final prototypes and prepare for a live presentation where they will pitch their ideas at the Finale Event before an eminent jury.

Each member of the top 10 teams will get a certificate and a Samsung Galaxy Z Flip smartphone.

The top three winning teams of Samsung Solve for Tomorrow season two will win a total prize money of INR 1.5 crore, getting them one step closer to turn their ideas into action, helping address India’s key concerns in the theme areas of Education & Learning, Environment & Sustainability, Health & Wellness and Diversity & Inclusion.

To find out more and register for the competition in India, visit www.samsung.com/in/solvefortomorrow. Application entry closes at 5 pm on May 31, 2023.

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.

Samsung Electronics’ global CSR vision of ‘Together for Tomorrow! Enabling People’ is committed to providing 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.

With them, we are building the future today.

Stay tuned.

Watch the teaser here:

We are building the future today.

Stay tuned. #SolveforTomorrow #Samsung pic.twitter.com/lHHnnlKvy5

— SamsungNewsroomIN (@SamsungNewsIN) March 30, 2023

Take a glimpse at their Solve for Tomorrow journeys here:

Team Alpha Monitor – Hemesh Chadalavada has developed a smart wristband to monitor Alzheimer’s patients and alert their caregivers about changes in their behaviour. The device monitors the patient’s health parameters such as pulse and blood pressure and the caregiver and doctor are automatically alerted if the patient gets out of bed and starts wandering. Hemesh’s grandmother is also an Alzheimer’s patient and would wander at abnormal times, without the caregivers knowing. She needs to be taken the doctor every week for her reports.

Team Udaan – The all-girls team of Prisha Dubey, Anupriya Nayak and Vanalika Konwar are trying to solve a big challenge in menstrual health. They are developing eco-friendly, affordable and washable sanitary pads using shredded sugarcane bagasse produced in sugar factories that will be extremely affordable compared to current offerings in the market. The trio wants to solve the social stigma around menstruation and reach out to underprivileged and rural women with their product.

Samsung has announced the Top Three Winners of the inaugural edition of Solve for Tomorrow in India, its national education and innovation competition that aims to support youth from around the country wanting to solve real life issues and transform people’s lives with their innovative ideas.

Solve for Tomorrow is a CSR initiative by Samsung.

The top three winning teams – Sputnik Brain, Udaan, and Alpha Monitor – get a total grant of INR 1 crore and a 6-month incubation by the Foundation for Innovation & Technology Transfer (FITT), IIT Delhi, to strengthen their prototypes, and seek real-world consumer validation for their products and services.

Each of the winning teams received a certificate and a beautiful Solve for Tomorrow trophy that is inspired by the program logo and expresses boldness and aspiration. Each team member also received exciting Samsung products – a Samsung Galaxy Book2 Pro 360 laptop and Samsung Galaxy Buds2. The winning teams also got an 85-inch Samsung Flip interactive digital board each for their respective school or college.

Sputnik Brain’s Shankar Srinivasan, a 22-year-old from Bengaluru, presented a wearable device that helps reduce stress using safe brain modulation while the all-girl trio of Prisha Dubey, Anupriya Nayak and Vanalika Konwar of Udaan, 16-year-olds from Port Blair and Delhi, have developed eco-friendly, affordable and washable sanitary pads using shredded sugarcane bagasse. 16-year-old Hemesh Chadalavada of Alpha Monitor from Hyderabad, has developed a smart wristband to monitor Alzheimer’s patients and alert their caregivers about changes in their behaviour.

The top three winning teams were selected at the Solve for Tomorrow Grand Finale event in New Delhi, where the Top Ten teams made their final pitches and showcased their prototypes to an esteemed Grand Jury. The jury comprised of entrepreneur and mentor Ankur Warikoo, Dr. Anil Wali, Managing Director of FITT, IIT Delhi,
Dr. Archana Chugh, Professor at IIT Delhi and Dipesh Shah, Managing Director of Samsung R&D Institute – Bangalore.

At the gala evening – felicitation and awards ceremony – attended by top executives and employees of Samsung, the Grand Jury, representatives from FIIT & IIT Delhi, mentors and families of the team members, each member of the top 10 teams were presented a certificate from Samsung and IIT Delhi and a hamper comprising Samsung Galaxy Book2 Pro 360 laptop and Samsung Galaxy Buds2.

In June this year, as part of its Solve for Tomorrow program, Samsung invited 16-22 year-olds in India to come up with innovative ideas in the areas of Education, Environment, Healthcare and Agriculture, the priority UN Sustainable Development Goals for India, with the aim of transforming the lives of people around them. The program offered to provide support to youth to turn their ideas into action. A record 18,000 plus registrations were received in the inaugural edition.

Presenting the trophy and the Grant cheque to the winners, Mr. Ken Kang, President & CEO, Samsung Southwest Asia, said, “Youth has the power to innovate and solve the biggest challenges of the world. All the young Solvers are the future of India. They have the potential to change India and the world. We are proud of them and will work with them to turn their ideas into action and transform the lives of people.”

“In its very first year, Samsung Solve for Tomorrow has managed to emerge as a strong enabler for the Indian innovation ecosystem, creating an exciting community of young innovators. FITT and IIT Delhi are looking forward to incubating and mentoring the top three winners and help them take their ideas to the next level,” said Prof. Rangan Banerjee, Director, IIT Delhi.

“We are overwhelmed by the response to the inaugural edition of Solve for Tomorrow. The Jury found it extremely tough to choose the Top Three Winners as all the participants had brilliant ideas. We congratulate all the three winners and are delighted to support them in their future journey to unlock their full potential and strengthen our vision of Powering Digital India,” said Mr. Partha Ghosh, Head, Corporate Social Responsibility & Communications, Samsung Southwest Asia.

Know the three winners of Samsung Solve for Tomorrow 2022:

Sputnik Brain – Shankar Srinivasan is working on a wearable device that will help reduce stress by productizing pleasure through safe brain modulation. He wants to tackle the global issue of fatal stress and fulfilling the unmet need for a chemical & adverse-effect free tech. His safe brain modulation wearable device for mental health transmits waves within the FDA’s limit of frequency, intensity, and Pulse Repetition Period to mood centers in the brain. Considering stress causes high blood pressure, hypertension and a host of other issues, Shankar decided to work on an innovation to reduce stress. For his innovation, he has been constantly cross checking and validating his idea with reputed doctors, biomedical engineers, neuroscientists and expert clinicians.

Know more: Solve for Tomorrow: Team Sputnik Brain Can’t Wait to Get us all Stress-Free

Udaan – The all-girls team of Prisha Dubey, Anupriya Nayak and Vanalika Konwar are trying to solve a big challenge in menstrual health. They are developing eco-friendly, affordable and washable sanitary pads using shredded sugarcane bagasse produced in sugar factories that will be extremely affordable compared to current offerings in the market. The trio wants to solve the social stigma around menstruation and reach out to underprivileged and rural women with their product.

Know more: Team Udaan: Cracking Through the Taboo around Menstruation Health in India with Solve for Tomorrow

Alpha Monitor – Hemesh Chadalavada has developed a smart wristband to monitor Alzheimer’s patients and alert their caregivers about changes in their behaviour. The device monitors the patient’s health parameters such as pulse and blood pressure and the caregiver and doctor are automatically alerted if the patient gets out of bed and starts wandering. Hemesh’s grandmother is also an Alzheimer’s patient and would wander at abnormal times, without the caregivers knowing. She needs to be taken the doctor every week for her reports.

Know more:  Team Alpha Monitor: All Set to Tackle the Various Issues that Come with Alzheimer’s

The top 10 teams in the competition, with ideas around environmental conservation, making healthcare more accessible, menstrual hygiene for rural women and stress management, were mentored by experts from Samsung and its knowledge partner FITT, IIT Delhi over a six-week period. They helped fine-tune their ideas and build a prototype that the teams showcased at the finale pitch event.

The teams also visited Samsung India’s headquarters in Gurugram and its R&D and Design centers in Bengaluru and Noida, where they interacted with young Samsung employees and researchers. They also experienced the Samsung product ecosystem and innovations at the iconic Samsung Opera House in Bengaluru.

The Top 50 teams selected by FITT, IIT Delhi and experts at Samsung, received training on design thinking at a three-day Bootcamp at IIT Delhi. Here they pitched to a Samsung jury to get selected amongst the Top 10 teams. At the end of the Bootcamp, each of the Top 50 team members was awarded a certificate of participation and vouchers worth INR 1 lakh for online courses in design thinking, STEM, innovation, and leadership, among others.

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.

Globally, Samsung Electronics runs Samsung Innovation Campus and Solve for Tomorrow initiatives through which it is empowering the leaders of tomorrow and equipping them with the tools they will need to realize meaningful change.