IIT, Kharagpur team wins Accenture Innovation Challenge

Team from the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Kharagpur, has bagged top honours at the Accenture Innovation Challenge last week for their solution to address sleep disorders.The ompetition is designed to inspire innovation among college students in India. 

Winners in other categories were students from Dronacharya Group of Institution, Noida; Indian Institute of Space Science and Technology, Thiruvananthapuram; IIT-Roorkee; Shri Vishnu Engineering College for Women, Bhimavaram; and IIT-Madras. “Over 13,000 students from over 900 colleges took part in this year’s Accenture Innovation Challenge and submitted over 7,000 innovative ideas,” said Mohan Sekhar, senior managing director, Accenture Technology Services.

The students — representing various disciplines, including engineering, design, commerce and business management — demonstrated innovative uses of technologies such as artificial intelligence, the internet of things, blockchain, cloud, mobility and analytics.

Winners were chosen from the 12 teams selected to participate in the Grand Finale round held in Bengaluru, based on the criteria of innovativeness, technical feasibility and impact. The 12 teams presented to a jury consisting of entrepreneurs, venture capitalists, academics and industry leaders. In addition to the grand prize, awards were also given in five other categories: ‘Disruptive Businesses’; ‘Tech for Good’; Jury’s Choice; Most Popular Team; and Employees’ Choice.

Each member of the Grand Prize team received prizes worth Rs 1,00,000, as well as an all-expense paid trip to ‘The Dock’, Accenture’s multidisciplinary research and incubation hub in Dublin, Ireland. Each member of the two teams selected as a category winner — for ‘Disruptive Businesses’ and ‘Tech for Good’ — received prizes worth Rs 50,000.

Caption: Grand Prize winners of the Accenture Innovation Challenge 2017:Team from IIT, Kharagpur with Accenture Technology Services leaders Mohan Sekhar and Raghavan Iyer (L – R).