What it takes to bag the place of national finalists at TATA Steel-a-thon -By Team Planet Agriculture from IRMA

Our idea was like a child that we had nurtured for weeks and finally, we were getting the sweet fruit. The sheer amount of excitement and happiness in my voice when I called my teammates to tell them that we had become the National Finalists of TATA Steel-a-thon is unexplainable.

The extraordinary case study

The biggest incentive for us to participate in this competition was the case chosen by us. We had mutually decided to go with the HR case related to the Livelihood Invention for the contractual Labour of Mining areas. The reason to choose this particular case was the fact that it was highly related to the mission of our Institute and we got an opportunity to apply the classroom studies at the real field level. 

The problem required a lot of locational research in mining areas of Odisha and Jharkhand which was indeed the most difficult part. Thankfully, I had many friends and relatives who could give me ground-level insights into the problems people were facing. 

Our team also contacted officers from the Krishi Vigyan Kendra, Keonjhar to get deeper insights into the socio-economic conditions of the area. After that, we discussed a lot amongst ourselves and with subject experts from my institution - IRMA. Our idea got the direction when, Mr Siddhartha Shah Chief human Resource – Raw material at Tata Steel, guided us, where he sensitised our thoughts by explaining the ground reality. Finally, after 2 weeks of research and planning, we came upon our final idea.

Our team’s strengths and weaknesses

Discussing over Meet/Zoom and sharing your screen while making the presentation was the toughest part. So, after having a discussion for some hours, we would divide the work and update it over a shared doc. This made sure that each team member gets their own time to complete the task and other team members are able to see the progress too.  

One of my teammates always played the role of Devil's advocate which I feel is quite essential for arriving at the perfect idea. However, this sometimes led to heated debates and frustration among other members. We would always try to find a common ground after a healthy task conflict and maybe that's why we could make it to the grand finale as the Nationa Finalists of TATA Steel-a-thon. Task conflict always refines your idea and takes it to the next level.

Our team's forte was the educational background and our domicile states. Two of us were Agriculture graduates from Odisha and the other was a Dairy Technologist from Haryana. Since the problem was based in Odisha and we had suggested the intervention of a Mushroom Co-operative and fortunately, things worked in our favor. 

The national finalists

There were 10 teams in the finale and our toughest competitor was team Pro-Nerds who were eventually crowned as the winners. We were really awed by their presentation skills and the in-depth research they had conducted. Kudos to team Pro-Nerds for being the National Winners of TATA Steel-a-thon.

The experience of a lifetime

The competition was very fair as you would expect from TATA and even the entire layout that gives equal respect to different domains was commendable. This was by far the best ever competition I have experienced in my life. The feedback from judges after each presentation was something to ponder upon. TATA Steel and Team D2C had done a really great job in making it a star-event and they deserve all the credits for it. 

When we became the National Finalists of TATA Steel-a-thon, my friends at IRMA were happier than us. It was like they had won too. I remember one of my friends telling me that when we were presenting the case, he felt that as if he was presenting it too. Even he felt the heat of judges' Q&A and even he felt sad when we couldn't win the winning title. That belongingness, that emotion, that brotherhood, is something I will never forget in my life.

The learnings and takeaways

After facing a lot of rejections from such Corporate Competitions, I had decided to not spend my time in those anymore and focus on my studies. However, somehow my friend convinced me to take part in this one. Who would have known that we would go on to become the National Finalists and I would be writing this piece one day! 

Hence, I learned that the only thing under my control is the sheer amount of hard work that I do. Rest everything is external and uncontrolled. So my advice to future participants would be that whenever you get an opportunity, just get going and refuse to give up. Your hard work will reap fruits sooner or later. Not because this is something you need, but because this is something you deserve.