From September 10th to November 9th, 2018, 350 students from all across India worked to design solutions to combat malnutrition among expectant mothers and children under five years of age living in India. In this sixty (60) day innovation challenge, participants ages 13-18 who reside in India had the opportunity to form virtual teams and work with experts from the Infosys Science Foundation and the New York Academy of Sciences. These students developed and presented ideas that utilize STEM to combat malnutrition among expectant mothers and children under five years of age.

Stand out ideas included designing a nutrient rich pod that replaces 50 mid-day meals and creating an app that gathers health data and gives food coupons to those in need. The solutions were then judged by nutritionists, researchers, and scientists for a chance to win up to RS 5,00,000 in prize money, a trip to the Infosys Prize ceremony, and to become a Junior Academy member. Learn more about the winning solutions here.





The Challenge

The Infosys Science Foundation and The New York Academy of Sciences invited students ages 13-18 from around the world to participate in an open innovation challenge focused on combatting malutrition. Read the full challenge statement including the question and background here.

How It Works

After signing up to participate, students self-selected into teams and worked together on Launchpad, a virtual interactive platform which safely facilitates global collaboration and problem solving. Using Launchpad, students from around the world participated, in teams or individually, to design a malnutrition solution by answering the question proposed.

Key Dates

Challenge Began: September 10, 2018

Solutions Due: November 9, 2018

Winners Announced: January 2019

Requirements

To participate in the challenge, students were required to meet the following eligibility requirements:

All individuals must be between the ages of 13-18 as of the date of registration in order to participate.

All participants must sign up on Launchpad and agree to the Terms of Service. Those under the age of majority must submit a parent/guardian consent form before the challenge begins.

Challenge materials and solutions must be submitted in English in order to be considered. Participants can work in teams or individually. Teams can be as large as 6.

Prizes

Winners and runners up were awarded entry into the elite Junior Academy community.

1 st prize team

prize team RS 5,000,000



Invited to travel to Bangalore to attend the Infosys Prize ceremony on January 5, 2019



A visit to the the Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) at Sriharikota to witness the launch of a rocket

Runner up

Invited to travel to Bangalore to attend the Infosys Prize ceremony on January 5, 2019



A visit to the the Indian Space Research Organization (ISRO) at Sriharikota to witness the launch of a rocket

Learn more about our winners and finalists here.