Undergraduate team from PES University, Bangalore emerges as Country Champions in 3M Inspire Challenge 2022
Bengaluru : After an exciting round of pitching and much deliberation between the judges, winners for the 3M Inspire Challenge 2022 Country-Level Semi-Finals in India were selected today.
The 3M Inspire Challenge 2022 is a regional undergraduate case competition organized by global science company 3M. Previously held across Southeast Asian countries, this year, the case competition expanded to include ten countries across Asia-Pacific and was launched in India for the first time.
Students from PES University, Bangalore secured the title of “Country Champions.” Beating two other shortlisted local teams, the winning team, named BUMBLR clinched USD$2,000 and an internship at the 3M Innovation Centre in Bengaluru.
Country Champion team member, Dhruva Guruprasad explained how they came up with winning solution by addressing the theme of Sustainable Material. They reimagined the Post-it®, one of 3M’s most iconic products. Bumblr seeks to source beeswax and use it to synthesize adhesives. They also plan to utilize recycled paper to minimize deforestation. In the final round of the challenge, they will be going up against the top teams from countries across Asia-Pacific.
Bumblr will advance to the next and final stage of the challenge – the Regional-Level Finals, where they will vie for the title of “Regional Champions” and a USD$5,000 cash prize in front of a live judging panel.
During this stage, the team will continue to enjoy access to 3M mentors who will help them sharpen their ideas. In November, the Country Champions from each country will proceed to the Regional-Level Finals and will go up against eight other teams from Australia and New Zealand, Korea, Indonesia, Malaysia, the Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, and Vietnam. There, one team will be crowned the “Regional Champions” and receive a USD$5,000 cash prize.
The challenge was simple – to enhance 3M’s business and improve lives across three themes: (1) Sustainable Materials, (2) The New Paradigm (A Pandemic Aware World), and (3) Equity (Through Science and Technology). These themes are aligned to three of the five key trends showcased in the 3M Futures platform, which identifies trends, insights, and perspectives on the most exciting science of today – and the “futures” of tomorrow.
Congratulating the India Country Champions of 3M Inspire Challenge 2022, Mr. Ramesh Ramadurai, Managing Director, 3M India said, “The world is facing tougher problems every day, but the ingenious ideas presented today gives us hope. With the aim of unlocking the power of people, ideas, and science, we were quite excited to bring this case competition to India with its active science and innovation eco-system. After months of efforts to identify and nurture young innovative talents, it is our immense pleasure to see our young undergraduate students devoting themselves in technologically creative ideas. Together, we can reimagine what’s possible and create a more positive world for tomorrow.”
Nine teams to face-off in Regional-Level Finals
The 3M Inspire Challenge 2022 will culminate in an intense final round of live pitching on November 15. Nine teams will present their refined ideas in hopes of winning over an impressive panel of leading subject matter experts.
The judges include:
- Jim Falteisek, Senior Vice President of Asia Corporate Affairs and Managing Director, 3M Korea
- Balbir Blassey, Corporate R&D Operations Director, 3M Asia
- Stella Huang, HR Operations Director, Human Resources, 3M Asia & Greater China Area
- Mabel Low, Director, TEBG Area Marketing Center, Asia
- Jalaja Menon, TCOE Operations Leader, 3M India