Gurugram, December, 2024.

Samsung, India’s largest consumer electronics brand, has announced the winners of the ninth edition of Samsung E.D.G.E. (Empowering Dreams Gaining Excellence), its annual flagship campus programme that offers thousands of brilliant young minds opportunities to showcase their business acumen, strategic thinking, and leadership skills.

This year, over 15,000 students from 40 premier campuses, including top-tier B-schools, engineering colleges, and design schools participated. Some of the country's brightest students displayed their skills and engaged in insightful exchanges, embodying the spirit of innovation and collaboration. The finale event held in Gurugram, was attended by JB Park, President and CEO, Samsung Southwest Asia and other senior leaders of Samsung India.

“At Samsung, innovation is the cornerstone of everything we do. Through the years, Samsung E.D.G.E. has continually empowered students, offering a platform to showcase their creative solutions for enhanced consumer experience. This year, we were thrilled by the overwhelming response and participation from even more students and campuses, which has been truly inspiring. It was exciting to witness the spirit of innovation and problem-solving thriving in these young minds,” said JB Park, President and CEO, Samsung Southwest Asia.

Team RSP from XLRI Jamshedpur emerged as the national winner. Its innovative strategy to boost consumer engagement impressed the jury. RSP’s idea included the use of brand mascots, geo-targeting, Gen MZ hotspot tagging, and mall activations — all tailored to build deeper consumer connections and drive engagement through innovative, localized, and personalized experiences. The team -- Pranjali Bhatia, Siddhartha Dwivedi, Rohan Bhardwaj secured a cash prize of INR 450,000, Samsung’s flagship smartphones and pre-placement offers from Samsung.

Team Chevy67 from XLRI, Jamshedpur claimed the first runners-up position with a strategy for the smart home market. The proposed idea focused on driving adoption and creating an interconnected, future-ready ecosystem that streamlines the user experience globally by guiding them in their purchase journey. The team -- Apurvaa Mittal, Chayan Banerjee, Shubham Tripathy were awarded a cash prize of INR 300,000.

Team Pheonix from the Indian Institute of Foreign Trade, Calcutta finished as the second runner-up.  Their forward-thinking ideas involving ‘Spin to Win’ Smart QR Codes, Infinite Experiences with Sustainable Design, aimed to elevate the brand engagement through experiential retail and sustainability. The core idea was about leveraging innovative marketing and product strategies to create deeper connections with consumers, while ensuring a future-ready experience for a global audience.  The team—Varun Goyal, Umang Jain, and Saksham Jain—was awarded INR 150,000.

This year, while 5713 teams registered for Samsung E.D.G.E., 1432 were selected for the Campus Round, where they constructed executive case summaries through research and ideation. Subsequently, 59 teams advanced to the regional round, submitting, and presenting detailed solutions. Only the top 8 teams from this group progressed to the National round, receiving one-on-one mentorship from Samsung leaders before presenting their final ideas.

Since its inception in 2016, Samsung E.D.G.E. has grown into a first-of-its-kind campus programme in India that allows the country’s finest talent to come forward and exchange meaningful insights to get a head-start in their careers.