Tata Steel-a-thon 2018 National Runners Up Sushmita Vazirani's Story

We were exhilarated when the results were announced and we got declared as the 2nd Runners Up of Tata Steel-a-thon 2018. It was a delightful feeling as all the hard work and sleepless nights finally paid off.

Tata Steel-a-thon provides a unique opportunity for students through its diverse and real-life challenges. We participated in this competition as it provided us a platform to showcase our skills, brainstorm aggressively and come up with a solution that could eventually be implemented. This competition was a great chance to be mentored by senior leaders from one of the best companies.

Preparation for Tata Steel-a-thon 2018

We researched about the problem by finding various competitions in the market. Also, we conducted some secondary research to get the customers’ perspectives. We needed to develop a market expansion strategy for Tata Steel's new housing solution. After research, we divided the work among ourselves to thoroughly analyze and present the solution.

For the initial part, it took around a week. Then, after talking to the mentor assigned to us, we further refined our presentation. As the product was different from the ones already present in the market in India, conducting market research was the most challenging part. We benchmarked similar products in other countries to come to the best solutions.

We believe it was the simplicity of our approach to the challenge that worked in our favor. Our solution was unique, yet implementable. We ensured that our proposal was cost-effective and could garner maximum sales for the organization. Each member of our team had amazing ideas to share, strengthening our case.

There were a total of 14 teams in the grand finale of Tata Steel-a-thon 2018 that took place in Kolkata. We wouldn't consider any one particular team to be our toughest competitor because all the teams had been selected as the best from their respective college and had something great to offer. Each team had great proposals for their challenges.

Through this competition, we discovered our capabilities. It allowed us to expand our horizons, move beyond the comfort zone and actually do more than what we thought was possible.