Inspiring to Ideate
For the external world, we host a contest, ‘Idea Factory’, for budding engineers currently studying in different universities. Inspiring engineering students to reimagine the way the world would work in decades to come is our overarching objective on Idea Factory. Initiated in 2015, it is a platform that seeks to identify young talent through conducting PAN India technical contests in the field of engineering. A great deal of satisfaction lies in witnessing growth in young talent amidst an environment that is becoming increasingly challenging, especially owing to the unprecedented change in the way we function—exclusively through virtual systems.
Unleashing the potential of young minds through informal education is a part of enabling them to think independently from an innovative perspective rather than confining them within the boundaries of rigidities in terms of specific learning modules. At NEI, we have experienced immense pride and satisfaction to see how a large number of young people feel encouraged to use our platform of conceptualizing ideas and fostering productive ways of putting them to use in the form of applied solutions.
Categorizing Talent
To encourage young talent without channeling them in the right direction would not have a meaningful impact. Therefore, Idea Factory aims at giving challenging situations to teams for them to suggest solutions as a group. These teams have specific NEI mentors assigned to them to encourage individual team members to showcase their talent to the best of their abilities. Through a number of elimination rounds in the finals this year, 8 teams presented their ideas, for which we awarded cash prizes worth INR 1.5 lac for securing the first position, INR 1 lac for the second position, and INR 50K for the third position.
In addition, we often absorb some students into the system and work with them by assigning paid projects, and also offer full-time employment opportunities to a selected few.
Winning Spirit
In an era of cut-throat competition, the young generation is wired with a winning spirit by default. Presenting their talent on platforms that give them visibility and recognition would most definitely ensure success at both micro and macro levels. We at NEI move ahead with a vision to leverage the best of young talent as we continue driving this inspiration forward.
