Name of the Competition – VIA Knowledge Quest 2017
Organized by – Vidarbha Industries Association
Position Secured – Winner
Project/PPT Topic – Renewable Energy Team
Name Team Name– The Planeteers
Team Members – Prasanna Dharkar, Sameer Bhajni, Sourabh Patil
Team Planeteers, from IIM-N, presented the Scope for Renewable Energy in the Vidarbha region focusing largely on Solar Energy. Despite the high cost of solar panels the team opined that industries will save significant revenue on electricity costs. As far as the domestic users are concerned, they suggested creating awareness among the public which will address the lack of trust in the technology. Team members did a thorough analysis of the renewable energy sector and despite the limited time given, they conducted a survey to support their findings.
Position Secured – First Runner up
Project/PPT Topic – Logistics Hub and Warehousing
Team Name – Team CrestCatchers
Team Members – Dhruv Suchak, Akshat Sharma, Pratik Agarwala
Team CrestCatchers (Logistics Hub and Warehousing) comprising of Akshat Sharma, Dhruv Suchak and Pratik Agarwala were adjudged the first runner up. Team CrestCatchers was mentored by Mr. Hitesh Parikh having and industry experience of 25 years.
Position Secured – Second Runner up
Project/PPT Topic – Skill Gaps and Development
Team Name Team Name– Team Concept
Team Members – Swati Jindal, Dhruv Sonagra, Subhajit Roy
Team Concept from IIM Nagpur gave a presentation on skill gap in Vidarbha and how this gap can be reduced. The team accorded that there is a demand and supply gap in skilled labour and cited lack of soft skills as the primary reason behind it. This is due to a mismatch between the curriculum taught in colleges and industry requirements. The students highlighted that opportunities in the banking, finance services and insurance (BFSI) sector, IT, health care and logistics can be tapped with focused skill training in institutions.