How IIM Shillong Won ICICI Beat The Curve 2022 Runner-up Title?

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ICICI Beat The Curve 2022 is a platform that gives young talent the opportunity to impact multiple lives by solving problems facing the industry. With the seeds of the competition sown back in 2018, the fourth edition of the challenge was grander than ever before and received a great response with 5,622 registrations and 6,17,721 impressions. Top talent from different parts of the country participated in the competition to showcase their skills and have a shot at winning amazing cash prizes, along with PPI/ PPOs. The national runner-up title for the challenge went to the team from IIM Shillong. Read on to know more about the team and get insight into their journey. 

ICICI Bank’s Beat The Curve gives participants the chance to showcase their innovation and problem-solving skills in front of industry leaders by working on real-life business dilemmas. With three successful editions, the case study competition had become one of the most popular competitions in the country. With the announcement of ICIC Beat The Curve 2022, the four of us- Ojasvi Agrawal, Aditi Singh, Aditi Pathak, and Shivam Shah decided to give it a go and prove our mettle. We are all students from IIM Shillong who decided to call ourselves Team PASSed Out.

The central themes for the fourth season of the competition were analytics and environmental sustainability. We went all in for the journey and emerged as the national runner-up for this prestigious challenge. There are many things we learned from this competition and made memories that’ll forever remain etched in our minds and hearts. 

Competition Structure

The competition consisted of the following rounds:

• Campus Round
• National Round Submission
• National Round Presentation
• Mentorship Phase
• Grand Finale

Everything from planning, implementation, and management to the organization and judgment of the competition was top-notch. Top industry stalwarts and experts were given the responsibility to mentor the finalists and scan the submissions. We were particularly impressed with the quality of assessment and judgment, and think it was beyond commendable.

Our Strategy For Beat The Curve 2022

To begin with, our first challenge was to make the right choice of track. As we have mentioned before, this year, the challenge was focused on two themes. After a lot of contemplation and consideration, we decided to go with ESG.

• From there on, our strategy was to gain a deep understanding of the problem statement and to develop a multi-faceted approach. 
• This was imperative in order to dive deep into a subject like ESG, which is growing exponentially important in the corporate sector. 
• We made sure to do proper background research about every aspect of the problem and our solution, before making the final choice. 
• It was difficult to find dependable secondary research resources regarding ESG disclosures of the company as they do not publish their information easily. But we kept looking and in the end, found what we wanted.

Advice On Winning The Competition

It was thrilling, exciting, and fulfilling to be a part of such a grand competition where we got to interact with industry leaders. As fun, as it was, winning a spot in the top three of such case study challenges, isn’t an easy feat. Here are a few insights from our journey:

• One thing that we knew, which was reiterated during this competition was that it is extremely important to work as a team. All the members must bring diverse/ different expertise to the table because only then can each individual member bring about a change in the submission.
• Secondly, everyone must be invested in the case and the subject of the problem to find the perfect solution. 
• Both secondary and primary research are extremely important tools. Our team had a collective interest in research and knowing further about the scope of ESG. This worked in our favor and helped create a holistic solution in the end. 
• Take mentor input seriously! Because mentors are individuals with years of experience and expertise in the industry, and the insight they have is invaluable. It was awesome to see our mentor, who had guided us throughout the journey to be sharing the stage and witnessing the finale where we secured a winning spot because of his input and guidance.
• Lastly, the way to conflict resolution is to sit together and talk about any issues/hurdles that come in the course of the competition. It is important to give every concern and doubt, due importance before moving forward with the plan. 

Also read: Challenge Yourself With These B-school Competitions

Conclusion

The quality of the competition was great which was evident from the impressive teams that were a part of the challenge. Out of the 12 teams that made it to the finale, we found Team Phantom (IIM Nagpur) and Team Beatles (XIMB) to be tough competitors. Their in-depth analysis and creativity in presenting the solution was commendable. 

Team PASSed Out, interestingly came out as an acronym from the initials of the last names of all members. As a team, we are an enthusiastic bunch who believe in working hard and partying harder. We brought this spirit to the competition and lived every moment of it. It was an enriching journey, one that we will never forget.

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