Schneider Electric attracts ideas on Energy Efficiency in Innovation Challenge 2007

MIT, Manipal won the 1st prize of Rs. 50,000/-
IIT, Guwahati won the 2nd prize of Rs. 30,000/-
IIT, Kanpur won the 3rd prize of Rs. 20,000/-

Schneider Electric India Pvt. Ltd (SEI), a 100% subsidiary of Schneider Electric Industries, hosted the 3rd edition of Innovation Challenge on 17th December 2007. The theme for this year is ‘Energy Efficiency’. The idea behind this contest is to make students think ‘out of the box’ and come up with innovative solutions towards the different issues related to Energy & Automation sector and hence develop the budding engineering talent across the country. The foundation of this contest was laid in October 2005.

47 engineering colleges, pan India, participated in this contest this year and 12 teams with 4 members each qualified to the finals. This year’s finalists are RVCE Bangalore, IIT Kharagpur, IIT Guwahati, IIT Kanpur, VJTI Mumbai, MIT Manipal, SJCE Mysore, NITK Surathkal, NIT Rourkela and MIT Anna University.

MIT, Manipal, represented by Akhouri Piyush Raj, Saurabh Vats, Shekhar Kumar & Ankur Kumar Agarwal, who presented “Renewable energy based fish processing plant” won the 1st prize of Rs. 50,000/-. IIT, Guwahati, represented by Saurabh Garg, Kiran Prakash & C. Karthik, who presented “Rumble strip dynamometer” won the 2nd prize of Rs. 30,000/-. IIT, Kanpur, represented by Abhiraj Singh Bhal, Varun Jain & Varun Khaitan, who presented “Motion detection equipped street lighting” won the 3rd prize of Rs. 20,000/-.
All participants received certificates of participation and will also stand a fair chance of a job opportunity with Schneider Electric in the future.

“We are very happy to have received such an enthusiastic and overwhelming response from the colleges for the past three years in a row. This year’s theme of energy efficiency is driven by two factors, one, we want the youth to ponder over this issue and understand its importance and two, by providing this platform, we want to encourage the budding engineers to think beyond academics, about real life problems and probe solutions. The teams have displayed remarkable ingenuity and originality in the different solutions presented towards efficient utilization of Energy.” said Mr. Alain Comparet, CEO, GTCI, Schneider Electric India Pvt. Ltd.

The contest was open for under-graduates of all engineering streams. Each team could propose one innovative idea. The short listed teams were invited to present their ideas/solutions at the Schneider R&D facility in Bangalore. An elite panel of professors from premier engineering colleges namely NIT Trichy & NIT Durgapur along with distinguished experts from sales and marketing, R&D and the manufacturing plant, from within the company, were present to assess the presentations. Each team was allotted 20 minutes to present and another 5 minutes for Q&A. The ideas were judged on counts of innovation, practical application of the solution, backing the solution with facts, attention to details while presenting and team work.

Media Relations
Rashika Jindal
Pragma Communication
+91 9900 128128 / +91 (80) 2572 5741/3341
rashika@pragmacommunication.com

About Schneider Electric
Schneider Electric India Pvt. Ltd (SEI) in India is a 100% subsidiary of Schneider Electric Industries SAS, a global leader in the field of Electrical Distribution, Industrial Control & Automation. With sales more than Euros 13.7 billion and a strong force of 1,12,000 employees and market supremacy in over 190 countries worldwide, the company is well known for its unique vision, progressive management and above all for its exemplary Quality that redefines excellence. Schneider Electric entered India in 1963 through a first joint venture with Tata group. In the year 2000 Schneider Electric further consolidated its position in the Indian market by acquiring Crompton Greaves LV division and S&S Switchgear. In the year 2004, India witnessed Schneider Electric opening its first Global Technology Centre in Bangalore, India. With 480 employees working on product development, GTCI’s gamut of activities, include research in the fields of electro mechanical design and software development. The innovative products and technologies prepared at the centre are available in all markets across the globe. Tasks at the Bangalore Centre are accomplished in synchronization with Schneider Electric’s major Design & Development Centre in the field of Power Protection and Control, Industrial Automation and Installation Systems and Control.

This release was published on openPR.