Dare2Compete Awards 2021 shines a spotlight on the budding leaders and recruiters

The past year took everyone by surprise by its seismic changes. It is these changes that compelled corporate leaders, recruiters, colleges, and students to hit reset and power the road to success. Established as a landmark event, the Unstop (formerly Dare2Compete)Awards 2021 not only celebrated all its stakeholders who sailed past the ripples of 2020 with flying colors but also provided a platform for the recruiters and students to connect in real-time. 

Selling out year after year, Unstop (formerly Dare2Compete)Awards pulled together the best and brightest of talent, at a glittering digital ceremony in its fourth edition. Without a shadow of a doubt, it was an extravaganza to remember. But if you missed the big show, hang on, because we have something up our sleeve - a rundown of the Unstop (formerly Dare2Compete)Awards 2021!

Recognizing the talented and ambitious minds!

With an aim to tie all the stakeholders - Students, Companies and B-Schools in a seamless knot Unstop (formerly Dare2Compete)celebrates and recognizes the true spirit of competitiveness in a most authentic way. This year, Unstop (formerly Dare2Compete)Awards witnessed a soaring response with 24,000 student nominations (2x YoY) and 51,000+ votes (2.5x YoY). 

The Unstop (formerly Dare2Compete)Awards 2021 acknowledged exemplary work in 5 categories:

• D2C Competitive Leaders 2021
• D2C Top 10 College Champions 2021 
• D2C Prestigious Competitions 2021 
• D2C Popular College Festivals 2021 
• D2C Competitive B-Schools and E- Schools 2021

Not forgetting, the award of D2C Dream Companies to Work for 2021 as a part of the D2C Campus Employer Branding Report!

Standing tall as a pioneer in Employer Branding, Unstop (formerly Dare2Compete)bridges the gap between the student community and corporates. Keeping up with the trends, this year as well the second edition of the D2C Campus Employer Branding Report (D2C CEBR) proved to be a crowd-puller, compiled on the basis of exhaustive 7,200+ survey responses (2.5x YoY).

Who won what at Unstop (formerly Dare2Compete)Awards 2021?

Open to all B-School and E-School students across the country, Unstop (formerly Dare2Compete)Awards 2021 accepted nominations on its website where students could fill in the details of the competitions they have won or where they have outperformed others. 

To make the process authentic and robust organizers of the competitions were also reached out for their approvals. After carefully moderating all these nominations and approving them if found true, all the students were ranked basis the stars allocated for each approved nomination. These stars went onto contribute to the overall ranking of their respective B-School or E-School as well. While nominating themselves, each student was also asked to vote for D2C Prestigious Competitions 2021 and fill the D2C Campus Employer Branding Survey.

The epitome of campus engagements HUL L.I.M.E. once again won first place hands down in the category of D2C Prestigious B-School Competitions 2021, closely followed by Flipkart WiRED & Amazon Customer Excellence Challenge across B-Schools. In contrast, the students of Premier 10 B-Schools crowned Amazon Customer Excellence Challenge as the D2C most prestigious B-School competition 2021. The second and third spots were secured by HUL L.I.M.E & Asian Paints Canvas respectively.

The engineering students had their own flavor while voting for D2C Prestigious E-School Competitions 2021. Not to be taken by surprise, Code Jam won the winning title followed by Hash Code, both of which were from the house of Google. Microsoft Imagine Cup secured third place followed by Flipkart GRiD and IBM Hack Challenge. 

Talking of the D2C Prestigious B-Schools 2021, the top positions had a mix of non-IIMs, first-gen IIMs and second-gen IIMs. IIFT topped the tally followed by IIM Ahmedabad, IIM Bangalore, and IIM Kashipur in that order. Maintaining its winning streak, IIT Madras emerged victorious in the E-School category, taking home the tag of Unstop (formerly Dare2Compete)most Competitive E-School 2021. 

Rashmi from T. A. Pai Management Institute (TAPMI), Manipal outperformed everyone and earned the tag of D2C Competitive Leader 2021 (Category: B-School). Talking of the Engineering space, Guhan Narayanan from IIT Madras lifted the trophy of D2C Competitive Leader 2021 (Category: E-School)

D2C Campus Employer Branding: Relaying the voice of students!

D2C CEBR 2021 revealed student beliefs on various matters related to campus hiring. HUL won the hearts and minds of the students and remained the dream employer in the category of premier 10 B-Schools, leading it from the front with Amazon and McKinsey. While across all B-Schools, Google grabbed the tag of Dream Companies to work for 2021, followed by HUL and Amazon. In the Engineering space, Google attained first place and Microsoft took a close second with Amazon as third. Some of the major highlights of the winning titles are as follows:

• Among the FMCG/Beverage companies, HUL featured as the most desirable company followed by ITC Limited and Procter & Gamble, leading all other conglomerates.
• In the Banking & Finance space, Goldman Sachs and JPMorgan Chase & Co. carried off the top two positions respectively as the desirable companies across the segment for their seamless learning opportunities and work culture.
• The MBB trio McKinsey & Company, Boston Consulting Group, and Bain & Company became the top three scorers in the Consulting domain across premier 30 and premier 10 B-Schools, with a slight inter-change in the order.
• Tata Sons ruled the General Management profile in both categories (premier 10 and premier 30 B-Schools). Not far behind is Reliance Industries Limited (RIL), Aditya Birla Group, and Mahindra Group in the premier 30 B-Schools.
• Amazon played at the forefront of the tough competition followed by Flipkart and Google in the category of the most desirable Start-Ups/Online-Services/E-Commerce/Technology Companies to work for, in their respective order.

These insights reveal only the tip of the iceberg. To get a thorough understanding of this generation’s mindset, check out Forbes Marquee April 2021 issue. 

D2C Recruiter-2-Recruiter and D2C Recruiter-2-Student networking sessions

Followed by the awards distribution ceremony, the participants garnered actionable insights and glean fresh perspectives on industry trends from the best business minds at leading companies like Amazon, L'Oreal, ITC, Flipkart, Mckinsey, Reliance, Tata Sons, Aditya Birla Group, Morgan Stanley, Citibank, Titan, Texas Instruments, J&J, YES Bank, Uber, Cognizant, Xiaomi, TVS Credit, Reckitt, Godrej, PwC, Myntra, Accenture, HP, Asian Paints, Mastercard, Hindalco, PepsiCo, Schneider Electric, HCL, TCPL, and many more. Alongside, directors, deans, placement chairs, and other dignitaries of  IIMs, IITs, IIFT, SPJIMR, NMIMS, and SCMHRD among others also joined the session.

With companies pooling in large numbers every year to take the reign of recruitment in their hands and conceptualize interactive engagements, Unstop (formerly Dare2Compete)Awards offer all stakeholders an opportunity to set a benchmark for themselves in the industry. The overwhelming response received for Unstop (formerly Dare2Compete)Awards 2021 and the D2C Employer Branding Report 2021 are a testament to the fact that Unstop (formerly Dare2Compete)is on an upward curve, busy weaving a stronger network of B-Schools, Engineering, and other Graduate colleges.

The culmination of the biggest, grandest, and most authentic celebration of the year marked the beginning of a sensation that will continue to instill a spark within students in the years to come. Let us all record this celebration in history and come together to celebrate the true spirit of competitiveness!