Bengaluru hosted a pan-India college-student ideathon, the EcoInnovators Challenge, focused on creating sustainability related solutions leveraging emerging technologies such as AI, IoT, and other science-based innovations. The ideathon was a collaborative effort between Global Learning Council (hosted by the Villars Institute, Switzerland), in partnership with Axilor Ventures and Pratithi Investments. A similar ideathon, in partnership with School Net, was held last week in New Delhi for high school students.
GLC Ideathon event – Winners with key dignitaries
The initial phase of the GLC EcoInnovators Challenge was launched in October 2024, attracting over 2600 registrations and resulting in the submission of more than 250 ideas. From this initial pool, 13 teams were selected and invited to submit their solution demonstrations. Demonstrating strong inclusivity, this competition saw participation of top-tier colleges in India including the IITs, NITs, VIT, as well as colleges from non-metropolitan areas such as Dehradun (Uttarakhand), Raipur (Chhattisgarh), Sasaram (Bihar), and Tiruchengode (Tamil Nadu).
In the Ideathons second phase, a Demo Day was held yesterday at the Infosys Science Foundation, with around 100 additional students specially invited from selected colleges in Bengaluru. The finalists presented a variety of ideas and solutions related to areas such as biodiversity, water pollution, circular economy business model, air pollution, and energy management. A masterclass on “Towards Sustainable Development: Planetary Boundaries and the Potential of AI” was also conducted.
Team Navachar, Navya Tiwari and Navjivan Kumar Mehta from O.P. Jindal University (Raigarh, Chhattisgarh) secured the top prize. As a recognition of their achievement, the team members have received an invitation to attend the Global Learning Conference organized by GLC in Switzerland scheduled in June 2025.
Kris Gopalakrishnan, Co-founder of Infosys, Chairman of Axilor Ventures, and Advisory Board Member of GLC, said, “In its second edition, I am glad that the GLC ideathon has expanded in scope and reached more students across India. I am glad that the jury / evaluation process has learned from the first year and become more robust. I encourage students to use their own creativity and ideation rather than just rely on technologies such as generative AI.”
Subra Suresh, Founder and President of the Global Learning Council, added, “This Ideathon fulfils the key objectives of both GLC and Villars Institute – nurturing the creativity of young people in solving inter-generational challenges, improving the learning outcomes of students, and encouraging the use of science and technology to ensure our planet’s vibrant ecosystems. I am delighted that student teams chosen from the Bengaluru and New Delhi Ideathons will join us in Switzerland and interact with other students and global leaders.”
Other distinguished guests who attended the event include S.D. Shibulal, Co-founder Infosys, Anna Celner, a global business leader, Indumathi Nambi, Professor at the School of Sustainability, IIT Madras, and V. Ganapathy, Co-founder and CEO of Axilor Ventures.
