Samsung Launches Solve For Tomorrow Season 3

Solve for Tomorrow 2024 was inaugurated by JB Park, President & CEO, Samsung Southwest Asia, Sandip Chatterjee, Sr. Director and Scientist ‘G’, Ministry of Electronics & IT and Shombi Sharp, United Nations Resident Coordinator in India, in the presence of other dignitaries.

The CSR programme recognises the power of innovative solutions and their ability to transform lives, make a strong social impact and strengthens Samsung’s vision of #TogetherforTomorrow #EnablingPeople.

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 School Track, is tailored for students aged 14-17, focusing on the theme “community and inclusion”. The track underscores the importance of uplifting underprivileged groups, improving accessibility to health & social inclusion for all through social innovations and hence 'Solving for India'. 

The Youth Track on the other hand, targets individuals aged 18-22, with a focus on the theme “environment and sustainability”. The track seeks innovative ideas for reducing carbon footprint, protecting the environment & promoting sustainability and hence 'Solving for the World'.

Samsung solve for tomorrow at a glance

Who can participate: 14-17 year-olds in School Track, individually or in teams of up to 5 members can submit their ideas in the “Community & Inclusion” theme and 18-22 year-olds in Youth Track, individually or in teams of up to 5 members can submit their ideas in the “Environment & Sustainability” theme

Application themes:

“Community & Inclusion”, under School Track, caters to empowering underprivileged groups by improving accessibility to health, improving learning methods and access to education and ensuring social inclusion for all 

“Environment & Sustainability”, under Youth Track, will focus on environment protection, reducing carbon footprints and promoting sustainability 

What will they get: Hands-on training from various industry experts including Samsung, MeitY, IIT-Delhi and technical support from United Nations in India. In addition, participants will get exclusive mentoring and coaching to build their ideas into prototype, an opportunity to attend a curated innovation walk with focussed interactions with Samsung leaders and milestone-based grants for prototype development and enhancement

School Track: Semi-finalists 10 teams will get Rs 20,000 grant for prototype development & Samsung Galaxy Tabs. Finalists 5 teams will get Rs 1,00,000 grant each for prototype enhancement & Samsung Galaxy Watches

Youth Track: Semi-finalists 10 teams will get Rs 20,000 grant for prototype development & Samsung Galaxy Laptops. Finalists 5 teams will get Rs 1,00,000 grant each for prototype enhancement & Samsung Z Flip Smartphones

What do 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 Rs 25,00,000 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 Rs 50,00,000 for incubation at IIT-Delhi. The colleges of the winning teams also receive Samsung products to boost their educational offerings, encouraging social entrepreneurship.

Candidates can submit their applications through the official website. The application window opens on April 9, 2024, and will remain active until 5 PM on May 31, 2024.

School Track: Solving for India

In the school track, the students are invited to form teams of up to five members and submit their innovative ideas under the 'Community & Innovation' theme. The programme will progress through four stages: application window, regional rounds, innovation walk and grand finale.

During the application window, participating teams will receive digital certificates of acknowledgment. The first shortlist will comprise of regional shortlists where 50 teams will be selected. In the subsequent regional rounds, these 50 teams will pitch their ideas to a Jury. From here, 10 semi-finalists teams will advance to the innovation walk, where they will attend workshops at Samsung's Research & Development centres and regional headquarters, followed by a National Pitch Event, where these 10 semi-finalists will pitch their ideas to a jury at IIT Delhi. As a reward, each team will receive a grant of Rs 20,000 for prototype development and the latest Samsung Galaxy Tablets. Selected from the National Pitch Event, 5 finalist teams will undergo one-on-one training and pitch their solutions to a grand jury, with each team receiving a grant of Rs 1,00,000 for prototype enhancement besides the latest Galaxy Watch for all participants. The winning team at the grand finale will be declared as the “Community Champion” of Solve for Tomorrow 2024 and will receive a seed grant of Rs 25,00,000 for prototype advancement and exciting Samsung Galaxy products for their school.

Youth Track: Solving for the World

In the Youth track, the aspirants will form teams of up to five members and submit their innovative ideas under the theme of "Environment & Sustainability”. The first shortlist will comprise of regional shortlists where 50 teams will be selected. In the subsequent regional rounds, these 50 teams will pitch their ideas to a Jury. From here, 10 semi-finalists teams will advance to the innovation walk, where they will attend workshops at Samsung's Research & Development centres and regional headquarters, followed by a National Pitch Event, where these 10 semi-finalists will pitch their ideas to a jury at IIT Delhi. As a reward, each team will receive a grant of Rs 20,000 for prototype development and the latest Samsung Galaxy Laptops. Selected from the National Pitch Event, 5 finalist teams will undergo one-on-one training and pitch their solutions to a grand jury, with each team receiving a grant of Rs 1,00,000 for prototype enhancement besides the latest Galaxy Z Flip smartphone for all participants. The winning team at the Grand Finale will be declared as the “Environment Champion” of Solve for Tomorrow 2024 and will receive a grant of Rs 50,00,000 for incubation and exciting Samsung Galaxy products for their college.

The two tracks do not compete against each other and each track will have separate curated training, mentoring and immersive learning opportunities as per the themes and the age groups.

In addition to the main competition, participants will have the opportunity to compete for prestigious accolades such as the 'Social Media Champion Award' and the 'Goodwill Award'. The 'Social Media Champion Award' includes a prize of Rs 50,000 for social media champions in each track which will be announced at the innovation walk. The 'Goodwill Award' will felicitate the title winner with a prize of Rs 1,00,000 for the audience choice idea in each track, which will be announced at the Grand Finale.

Application entry closes at 5 pm on May 31, 2024.

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.