IIT Delhi and IIM Ahmedabad win top spots in Accenture Innovation Challenge

Students from Indian Institute of Technology, Delhi (IIT Delhi) and Indian Institute of Management, Ahmedabad (IIM-A) won the top spots at the 2023 edition of the Accenture Innovation Challenge in the engineering and the business schools’ category, respectively. 

The competition was aimed at developing innovative technology-led solutions for real world problems. The 3.5 month-long competition saw participation from over 182,000 students from 6600+ colleges, of which 37 per cent were women.

Raghavan Iyer, senior managing director and Innovation lead, Advanced Technology Centers at Accenture said, “Advanced technologies have the potential to not just solve business challenges but also address critical challenges facing society such as climate change, clean energy, and responsible consumption.”

“They can play a vital role in enabling equitable access to education, skilling, healthcare, and accelerate advances in agriculture, financial inclusion, and governance. Through the annual Accenture Innovation Challenge, our aim is to inspire technology-led creative thinking among young minds to address real world problems with affordable and scalable solutions,” Iyer added.

Accenture said in a press release that the theme of the challenge was ‘Reinvent businesses and accelerate change with the power of technology’. Participants were asked to leverage emerging technologies such as artificial intelligence, machine learning, automation, the cloud, blockchain, the internet of things and digital twins to develop and present novel solutions.

The delegation from IIT Delhi that won the competition in the technology category,  Team Svar, developed an AI and machine learning-based mobile app that automates and personalizes speech therapy for children with speech impairments. Currently available in English and Hindi, the app plans to add more regional languages, and offers a 24×7 virtual speech therapist. It rewards children who pronounce words correctly, thereby motivating them to continue their therapy. 

In the business school track, the all-women TARS team from the Indian Institute of Management (IIM) Ahmedabad put together a virtual stylist app that can curate fresh new looks and outfits from people’s existing wardrobe, promoting thriftiness and responsible consumption. Based on AI, machine learning and digital twin technology, it  promotes a sustainable way of expanding one’s wardrobe through sharing.