Team Technetium from India wins Capgemini’s Innovators Race

Student double act from Bangalore beats off stiff global competition to scoop first prize

Mumbai, 18 April 2016 – Capgemini, one of the world’s foremost providers of consulting, technology and outsourcing services, today announced the winner of its global Innovators Race competition. Two Computer Science and Engineering students from Bangalore, Ankit Agarwal (22) and Chirantan Mahipal (20) known as team ‘Technetium’, took first prize for their comprehensive e-learning platform designed to bring education to all in India. From today viewers can see the series finale episode, atwww.innovatorsrace.com, where the two finalist teams (Technetium from India and Natura Ready from Brazil) go head to head for the ultimate prize of bringing their creative solution to life along with $25,000 USD in cash.

Innovators Race participants had to design solutions to real life business challenges set by global brands. ‘Technetium’ was asked by Reliance Jio, the Indian telecom and digital operator, to create an innovative learning platform where teachers and students can connect without cultural or lingual barriers. ‘Natura Ready’ was asked by the Brazilian cosmetics brand, Natura, to suggest a digital mobile solution that brings Natura’s business development consultants closer to consumers.

The top two teams, voted into the final by the public, showcased their creations to a panel of industry gurus comprising Lanny Cohen, Capgemini’s Global Chief Technology Officer, Mark Thompson International Editor CNNMoney, and Dan Bieler Principal Analyst at Forrester. The judges scored the students’ proposals on technology and innovation, feasibility, creativity and originality, and sustainability. After their initial pitch each team then took part in a Q&A.

“Choosing a winner was not an easy decision, the quality of the final proposals was exceptional,” comments Lanny Cohen, Global Chief Technology Officer, Capgemini. “We have witnessed such a growth journey from where both teams began. I am now really looking forward to hosting team Technetium at our San Francisco Applied Innovation Exchange, where they will be able to immerse themselves in developing their e-learning platform with support and guidance from our innovation experts and partners.”

“The winning feeling is amazing. We are on cloud nine!” said Ankit Agarwal of Team Technetium. “We based our e-learning platform on own experiences and the challenges that we faced during our education. We also wanted to overcome the country’s issues of multiple languages and minimal connectivity. We are now totally focused on making our solution live and an educated India a reality.”

Both winners, Ankit and Chirantan, are third year Computer Science and Engineering students at BMS College of Engineering in Bangalore. They will travel to Capgemini’s San Francisco Exchange[1], in June where they will work with Capgemini’s experts to bring their solution to life. Their innovation journey will be filmed right through to its fruition and will be available to view online later in 2016.

After competing in heats at a local level, Technetium then took part in Capgemini’s international Innovators Race web series, broadcast during February and March 2016, where the winning teams from the UK, Netherlands, France, Brazil, India and North America each showcased their creative solutions to real business challenges set by six major brands: Barclays (for the UK), AccorHotels (for France), Natura (for Brazil), Reliance Jio (for India), Openbaar Ministerie – the Netherlands’ public prosecution service (for the Netherlands) and the Boys & Girls Clubs of America (for North America). An online public vote then followed to determine the two finalist teams.

The “Innovators Race” finale, as well as episodes from the whole series, can be viewed at www.innovatorsrace.com. It was also featured on CNNMoney’s “2020 Visionaries”[2] Hub at http://money.cnn.com/technology/2020-visionaries/, where the technology visionaries featured in this CNN production were seen interacting with some of the most inspiring students from Innovators Race.