Accenture announced the winners of its Accenture Innovation Challenge 2021, a national-level competition aimed at inspiring students in India to apply their technology skills and creativity to develop innovative solutions which create value for society and businesses. The grand prize was awarded to the team from Velammal Engineering College, Chennai, for their solution Agrivery bags, which works as an alternative to plastic bags and helps prevent damage to food grains from rodents and pests.
This year’s challenge saw a record number of submissions yielding more than 2,800 innovative ideas from over 10,000 students, of which 40 percent were women. The winners were identified based on their knowledge of new technologies and creative thinking abilities following a competitive evaluation process. Other winners in the competition included teams from National Institute of Technology (NIT), Durgapur, Narsee Monjee Institute of Management Studies (NMIMS), Mumbai, Mukesh Patel School of Technology Management & Engineering, Mumbai and Vellore Institute of Technology (VIT), Chennai.
“It was inspiring to see this year’s participants apply unique and out-of-the-box thinking to the problem statements in a way that brings together the best of human creativity and technology, and we heartily congratulate all the winners and participants for displaying such creative talent,” said Mahesh Zurale, senior managing director and lead of Accenture’s Advanced Technology Centers in India. “It is also promising to see strong participation from women in this year’s challenge as we believe that diversity of perspectives drives innovation. We hope to encourage more women to build fulfilling careers in STEM through initiatives such as the Accenture Innovation Challenge.”
The Accenture Innovation Challenge 2021 was open to students from various academic backgrounds, including non-IT disciplines. In alignment with the theme, ‘Combining Technology with Human Ingenuity for a Better World,’ the students created novel technology-based solutions by leveraging advanced technologies such as artificial intelligence, machine learning, analytics, automation and big data, among others.
