Strategy, Dedication, & Teamwork: Hero Campus Challenge S9 Winners Share Their Winning Tricks

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One of the most popular competitions for E-School and B-School students, the ninth edition of the Hero Campus Challenge (HCC) saw intense competition over three months. The popularity of HCC lies in its ability to provide participants with a chance to work on Hero's real business challenges.

The participants competed for cash prizes worth INR 6 lakh and PPO/PPI (Pre-placement Offer/Interview) opportunities. But ultimately, there can only be one winner!

The Season 9 winners were: 

• Winners of B-Track: Team Bajaj Royals from JBIMS, Mumbai 
• Winners of E-Track: Team Case Curious from NIT, Raipur 

The winners walked away with lessons that allowed them to marry practical learning with theoretical concepts, providing much-needed exposure. Read ahead to understand how the winners of HCC S9 B-Track and E-Track rode the wave to success. 

Competition Structure & Winner Details

The HCC S9 was designed to understand how the future of talent, i.e. students from India’s leading B-Schools and Engineering Colleges, look at the challenges of the corporate world. 

As students displayed their strategic and creative approach, organizers got a chance to evaluate, mentor and analyze innovative solutions to current-day challenges. 

This was only possible because of a well-developed competition structure that allowed the judges to holistically evaluate the participants while giving participants a chance to present their skills in a multi-faceted manner. Let’s see what the competition structure looked like: 

Competition Structure

The competition was open to students from Engineering Colleges and B-Schools in India:

• Engineering Colleges: B.Tech/B.E./M.E./M. Tech students of all years from all Engineering Colleges are eligible to participate.
• B-Schools: First and second-year students pursuing MBA/PGDM programs and 1-year management programs are eligible to apply.

Here’s a look at what each round entailed: 

Both the HCC tracks operated simultaneously over three months. Here are the details of the winning teams: 

From research to strategy sessions, the winning teams left no stone unturned in their quest for victory. Read ahead to understand the steps they took. 

The Winner Takes It All - But How?

The winners of both tracks talked about the value of research in coming up with a feasible solution. 

B-Track Winners: Team Bajaj Royals

Team Bajaj Royals adopted a step-wise approach to win the challenge: 

1. Thorough Case Analysis: Conducted a comprehensive analysis of the case to understand its intricacies. 
2. Division of Roles: Assigned specific roles to team members based on their expertise and interests. 
3. Research and Data Gathering: Used primary and secondary research methods, including field visits, interviews, and user feedback from EV bike consumers, to gather data.  
4. Innovative Solutions: Brainstormed and developed innovative ideas over a period of 1.5-2 months, leveraging insights from case studies and tailoring them to suit the EV industry. 
5. Calculations: Formulated pricing models and conducted calculations based on logical assumptions, ensuring each assumption was well-reasoned. 
6. Presentation Skills: Focused on enhancing presentation skills and effectively delivering content to judges and audiences. 
7. Mock Interviews and Feedback: Conducted mock interviews within the team and sought feedback from peers and mentors to refine the presentation. 
8. Performance Evaluation: Analysed team and individual performances, identifying strengths and areas for improvement. 

While preparing, they faced two major challenges:

• Time Management: Managing competing demands such as college schedules and academic assignments alongside case preparation. 
• Information Gathering: Faced the challenge of gathering extensive information on regulatory hurdles, infrastructure, consumer behaviour, financial aspects, scalability, public awareness, environmental impact, and competition, requiring significant time and research effort.

E-Track Winners: Team Case Curious

Team Case Curious described itself as a “trio with a drive to solve cases with innovative ideas”. This is how they came to a winning solution: 

“Our strategy was to come up with a feasible solution that takes into account the current technical scenario, for which we spent a lot of time researching and brainstorming different solutions. The whole journey was about three months long. The biggest challenge we faced was preparing the final presentation during our mid-semester examinations, which really tested our time management skills.”

A Teamwork Like A Well-Oiled Machine

As far as cliches go, “teamwork makes the dream work” still stands true - or so was the case for the winning teams. 

For winners of both tracks, a strong camaraderie was the secret sauce to success. 

Nikhilesh Agrawal of Team Case Curious echoed the sentiment. 

“Our team's forte was our camaraderie. We made sure to include each one's opinion and had divisions of sectors of the solution; we made sure each reviewed one another's work and gave suggestions for improvement.”

Know the Teams

Team Bajaj Royals comprised a mix of engineering and business graduates, all pursuing their Masters in Business Administration (MBA) from JBIMS (Jamnalal Bajaj Institute of Management Studies), Mumbai. 

This was the first time the three came together for a competition, and it was a worthwhile experience. 

As Chinmay Chikhalkar put it, “The three of us share a strong bond when it comes to working on projects collaboratively. Our participation in a national competition marked our first endeavor as a team. We began by carefully examining the problem statement and then assigned research topics according to each member's interests and strengths. We prioritized inclusive decision-making, valuing input from every member before reaching a consensus. In cases where opinions diverged, we deferred to the majority. Additionally, when faced with uncertainty, we turned to our seniors and mentors for guidance.

Team Case Curious was made up of final-year engineering students from NIT (National Institute of Technology), Raipur, pursuing their degrees in the following specializations: 

• Nikhilesh Agrawal: Electronics and Communication Engineering
• Rajasi Pandey: Electronics and Communication Engineering
• Hridyansh Jain: Chemical Engineering

In Agrawal’s words, “working as a team was incredible because of the bond we shared between us and the enthusiasm we shared about solving a problem. Whenever a conflict arose, we made sure each reviewed the problem and gave suggestions for improvement, after which we analysed and went with the best approach possible.”

A Well-Designed Challenge

Both teams doled out praises for the level of competition and the overall organization, which translated to noteworthy learning moments. 

Team Bajaj Royals admitted that “each team provided valuable insights through their presentations, contributing to the fair and enriching competition.”

Rohit Thange shared that “Each panellist was well versed in his/her field and came with huge experience and knowledge. The questions they asked were precise and added great value to the discussion. So overall, the judgment quality was 'Discerning'. All this shows the seriousness for the competition, professionalism, sincerity, genuine respect for the talent, and passion for their profession. To summarise, every aspect of the competition was undoubtedly the best.”

He listed the four “best parts” of the competition: 

1. Everything proceeded punctually without any delays
2. ⁠The allotted mentor guided the team with useful insights and feedback 
3. Extra care was taken to arrange our logistics and stay as finals took place in Delhi 
4. ⁠Many senior leaders, including the CEO, attended the finals and gave us insights about the industry as well as lessons learned throughout their lives. 

For E-Track winners, too, the level of judgement elevated the overall experience: 

“The jury panel consisted of several members from Hero's own team working on the same problem, as well as external members pioneering in various domains. This gave a holistic judgement on the technical as well as business aspects of the solution. The organization of the event was top-notch. It was very well organized and conducted very smoothly. It was a fabulous experience and motivated us to perform our best.”

The Winning Moment

Few things come close to the joy of the winning moment. Such was the case with HCC S9 winners, too. 

Team Bajaj Royals shared that the announcement of winners was marked by an “overwhelming sense of contentment”. 

“In that instant, all the hard work we did, the late nights working on the case, sleeping for 2-3 hours, attending the lectures, and pushing through the hurdles to reach the finals—felt completely worthwhile. Experiencing pride in our achievement and knowing that we elevated the reputation of our institute is indescribable.” - Rohit Thange, JBIMS, Mumbai. 

Team Case Curious also recounted feeling a “wave of euphoria” washing over them when they were announced as the winner of the E-Track. 

“The countless hours of hard work, dedication, and teamwork had paid off. As the applause filled the room, we couldn't help but feel an overwhelming sense of pride and accomplishment.”

The Learning

Winning is the final destination. Learning is what happens during the journey. For Team Bajaj Royals, the challenge led to 4 key learnings: 

1. Effective Strategy Development and Structured Approach 
2. Importance of Time Management 
3. Refinement through Feedback 
4. Continuous Improvement

On the other hand, for Team Case Curious, the biggest learning was getting a chance to pick the brains of Hero’s senior management.  

Both teams may have taken different routes to success, but what was common was their dedication and willingness to put in the hard work. Ultimately, that’s what every victory comes down to - who is willing to take that one extra step for success? 

To being #unstoppable in your quest for success. 

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