How to win Infosys Ingenious 2019 -By Team Kathors in the North from IIM Rohtak
Embrace hard work!
During the course of Infosys Ingenious 2019, we were subsequently required to solve 2 cases that were completely unrelated. Our 1st case needed an analytical approach, thus we began with collecting as much data as we could and then started working on it. At first, we were pretty clueless as to how we would proceed with the problem but after trying various methods and spending a lot of time on it, we came up with not only 1 but 3 different approaches to solve the problem.
The problem statement for our final round was very much a real-life scenario. We tried to come up with some practical approaches which could be implemented immediately. We had a time frame of 9 days to make our submission and as it was a completely new problem, we spent many sleepless nights working on it. We read everything related to the topic that we could lay our hands-on.
Supportive judges and mentors
There were 5 teams that made it to the finale of Infosys Ingenious 2019. As all the teams had different problem statements, it would be difficult to select any one or two as a tough competitor. The judges for the competition had come from varied backgrounds and were highly knowledgeable. Due to this, we faced quite a few challenging questions and were able to get views from various perspectives. Overall, the competition was very well organized. We were given support at every stage of the competition, and there was flawless communication at all times.
Our mentor, Mr. Sunil Rajanala also guided us really well and gave us many useful insights, which helped us in our solution. We came up with a comprehensive plan for various target segments and also included some financial statements to support our solution. We also discussed what questions could come up, and prepared answers for the same. I think the thing that the judges liked most about our presentation was the practicality and comprehensiveness of our solution. The way we calmly handled the questions, was also highly appreciated.
The major takeaway
The whole journey of 3 months for this competition was full of learning and new experiences. We got a chance to stretch our limits and think outside the box. Though there were moments when we had no idea what to do, we never gave up. We kept trying, taking guidance from teachers, friends, and peers and were always able to come up with a solution. One of the biggest learnings we got was that it is not necessary for a solution to be very complex, instead, it is more important for it to be practical.
Kathors in the North
It was a great experience to work with people from different backgrounds, which helped us garner and look at the problem from different perspectives. In case of conflicts we took views and suggestions from a friend or peer outside the team, which helped us resolve the conflict. Our mentor also helped us a great deal.
Our team used to sit and brainstorm to come up with the solution and approach that we would proceed with. Our teammate Sanjay was good at finance, so he handled most of the financials that were required while Neha and Kriti worked on the other aspects of the presentation. We made sure that we not only made a great ppt but also delivered an impactful presentation. We rehearsed quite a few times before the final event and were able to present our solution really well!