The giant in the electronics industry has shortlisted 100 teams for the next phase of India’s innovation challenge, opening the door for young innovators to refine tech-driven solutions that address real-world challenges.
Samsung, according to recent reports, has selected 100 teams in India to enter the mentorship stage of its innovative programme. The top four teams will receive incubation grants totaling ₹2 crores, the report suggested. Here, young innovators will have the opportunity to refine tech-driven solutions that address real-world challenges. The selected participants emerged after months of outreach through design thinking workshops conducted across schools, colleges, and universities worldwide.
The initiative is all about encouraging students and young innovators to identify community challenges and develop practical, technology-based solutions. The shortlisted teams will receive expert guidance to strengthen their ideas before progressing to subsequent rounds of the competition.
All over India outreach focuses on grassroots innovation.
This year’s programme reached students in 135 cities, covering regions from Jammu and Kashmir to Tamil Nadu and Gujarat to Tripura. Samsung organised 184 Design Thinking Workshops, which introduced participants to structured problem-solving methods and helped them convert local challenges into innovation opportunities.
The workshops encouraged students to examine issues affecting their communities, ranging from healthcare and education to environmental sustainability and accessibility. Participants were also guided through idea development, research and solution design before submitting their proposals for evaluation.
Mentorship from industry experts for shaping promising ideas.
With the workshop phase complete, the selected 100 teams will receive mentorship from industry experts and innovation professionals. The programme has been designed to help participants refine their concepts, validate their solutions and improve their presentation skills before the final evaluation rounds.
The competition will ultimately narrow the field to four winning teams. These finalists will receive incubation grants worth ₹2 crore, along with mentorship and prototype development support in collaboration with the Foundation for Innovation and Technology Transfer (FITT) at IIT Delhi. The objective is to help promising ideas evolve into practical, scalable solutions with real-world applications.
Programmes such as Solve for Tomorrow reflect a growing emphasis on experiential learning and innovation within India’s education ecosystem. Rather than focusing solely on academic achievement, such initiatives encourage students to apply science, technology, engineering and mathematics (STEM) concepts to solve everyday problems.
Industry-led innovation challenges have increasingly become platforms for young people to collaborate with mentors, gain exposure to product development and understand the practical aspects of entrepreneurship. By combining design thinking with emerging technologies, these programmes aim to equip students with skills that extend beyond conventional classroom learning.
The latest shortlist highlights the increasing participation of young innovators from diverse regions and educational backgrounds. With the competition now moving into its next phase, the focus shifts from idea generation to execution, as shortlisted teams work towards developing technology-driven solutions capable of addressing real-world challenges while contributing to the country’s broader innovation landscape.
