Team Trojan Horse 2.0’s road to winning the Jury’s Choice Award at Reliance TUP 6.0 -By Pradeep R from IIM Raipur

At the beginning of the pandemic, when one of our teammates faced issues related to healthcare services in the covid times, Reliance TUP 6.0 on D2C, knocked as an opportunity. The theme of the competition aligned with ideas brewing inside our heads. Not only innovation, but a chance to earn the mentorship of leaders from Reliance itself motivated us to go forward. The journey to becoming thrilled and excited upon being announced as the Jury’s Choice from when we started with the idea is a big achievement for each one of us. This is proof that sleepless nights for hard work and persistence can do wonders and give fruitful results.

Facing the challenges head-on

The path to victory wasn’t easy. Reliance TUP 6.0 saw participation from over 3000 teams, competing to find their spot among the winners. The competition involved identifying the extent of the problem given. We began by doing our primary research by contacting patients and doctors around. The pandemic presented hurdles in the way. With restrictions on movement, it was difficult to approach them. But we nevertheless succeeded with persistent efforts. We then formed solutions. The solutions had to be practical and feasible, and thus, we sat for hours brainstorming on the tiniest of details.

Not being on the campus with the other teammates presented another hurdle. Each one of us had a different schedule and time frame. We had to ensure that all three of us were on the same page and did not miss out on any discussion. So we held our brainstorming sessions at night and adjusted some meetings during the day.

Teamwork is the key

One of the key factors that helped us become the Jury’s Choice at Reliance TUP 6.0 was our teamwork. It was not effortless, conflicts were a commonality. As we progressed from our idea generation phase, even when our views did not match, we ensured that the team stayed together. We tried to respect and inculcate all ideas that came up. I can admit that keeping pride aside, and accepting others’ views is something that I learnt from my teammates. We did not just limit ourselves to the insights of the team, we maintained close contacts with the seniors as well as the faculty members. We even contacted our old friends to gain insights and eliminate any probable pitfalls in our current idea.

A platform for innovation

Reliance TUP 6.0 is famous for all the right reasons. Participating in the competition helped us realize it to the full extent. The competition went online this year, but the Reliance TUP team left no stones unturned to make it as exciting and active as before. Judges with years of experience in analyzing and evaluating ideas were invited as the jury. The process was full of ups and downs, but we ultimately reached the finals along with 10 other teams. Each of them had a unique idea, impactful enough to make a difference in society. The comments and questions in the form of feedback refined our thinking processes towards making our ideas more feasible.

Reliance TUP 6.0 thus presented us with an important lesson. We used to think that the availability of the solution is the only criteria for solving a problem. But we realized in the competition, that in reality, there are numerous difficulties that stand in the way of the implementation of these solutions. We learn how to tackle these problems and predict them when thinking of solutions.

The competition will always hold a special place for the excitement and learning opportunities it provided us with. The encouragement received by the jury was a boon from the Reliance TUP team, and never in our lives, can we forget the moment when our team became the receivers of the Jury’s Choice Award in Reliance TUP 6.0. The competition will always be remembered by us as an enriching experience, worth all the hype.

Team Trojan Horse 2.0 - IIM Raipur

2020-2022

The team consisted of Pradeep R, an ex-software engineer from Accenture, Shreenidhi who did her M.Tech in Nanotechnology, and Venkatesan D, an ex-Infoscion. They worked together like a well-oiled machine and won the hearts of the jury.