A six-month social-innovation programme for Indians aged 14-22 - ideas move through expert screening, training, video pitch, an IIT Delhi prototype bootcamp, and a two-day grand finale with major development grants.
Brabble editorial · Updated 15 Aug 2026 · Official page
Particulars
Organiser
Samsung India with FITT, IIT Delhi
Mode
Online selection plus residential bootcamp and Delhi-NCR finale
Prize / outcome
2026: ₹2 crore total winner grants plus staged prototype funding
Team size
Individual or up to 3
Application fee
Free
Rounds
4
What it is
Samsung Solve for Tomorrow is closer to a supported innovation accelerator than a weekend hackathon. Applicants may enter with an early concept under AI Living for India, Health and Education, Sport & Tech, or Environmental Sustainability. FITT-IIT Delhi and Samsung progressively train and shortlist teams, provide lab access and mentorship, and expect finalists to convert the idea into a tested prototype and impact plan. Because entrants can be as young as 14, clarity of problem evidence and safe execution matter more than an advanced technology stack.
Rounds
01. Application and idea screening
FITT-IIT Delhi experts evaluate social relevance, innovation, impact/feasibility, scalability, and execution capability, selecting up to 100 teams across four themes.
02. Top 100 training and video pitch
Selected teams attend mandatory online training and submit a pitch video; forty teams, ten per theme, progress.
03. Top 40 bootcamp and National Pitch
An intensive programme includes Samsung site visits, IIT Delhi design/prototyping training, lab access, and a jury pitch. Twenty teams progress.
04. Top 20 mentorship and grand finale
Finalists receive one-to-one guidance, refine prototypes and impact plans, meet investors, and pitch over two days in Delhi NCR; one winner per theme is selected.
How to prepare
Step 01
Prove the problem ethically
Social impact starts with people, not a solution searching for beneficiaries.
Interview or observe the affected community with consent; document current alternatives, frequency, severity, and who is excluded.
Do not collect sensitive health, child, identity, or location data without a justified safeguarding plan and adult/institutional support.
State what is outside your expertise and involve a domain mentor for health, education, accessibility, climate, or child-safety claims.
Step 02
Use design thinking as evidence
Show how research changed the design.
Create a problem statement, stakeholder map, user journey, ranked needs, multiple concepts, and decision criteria.
Prototype the riskiest interaction or technical assumption first; log user feedback and revisions instead of only polishing the final model.
Define impact, adoption, safety, affordability, maintenance, and scale metrics with a realistic pilot group.
Step 03
Plan for a six-month programme
Availability and team resilience matter through training, travel, labs, and repeated pitches.
Assign product/research, technical build, community validation, documentation, and speaking ownership while keeping shared understanding.
Keep an experiment log, budget, source register, consent records where relevant, IP notes, and a versioned demo.
Prepare for public disclosure of the problem and high-level idea; discuss protectable technical details with programme mentors before publication.
Representative practice - not leaked questions
Questions to practise
01
Design an assistive learning tool for low-connectivity classrooms and prove teachers would keep using it.
What to show: Co-design, offline operation, language/accessibility, teacher workload, child safety, learning evidence, and maintenance.
02
Use AI to improve public safety without creating mass surveillance.
What to show: Necessity, minimal data, consent, bias, false alarms, human authority, audit, deletion, and abuse prevention.
03
Turn a waste-management idea into a pilot for 100 households.
What to show: Behaviour/incentives, collection operations, contamination, unit economics, partner roles, and measurable diversion.
04
What happens to the solution after grant funding ends?
What to show: Ownership, operating cost, revenue or institutional support, training, repairs, governance, and impact monitoring.
Who can enter
Indian residents aged 14-22 on the edition's stated cutoff date
Individuals or teams of up to 3 with an original science/technology concept or new product producing social impact
One theme and one team per participant; minors require parent/guardian consent
The identical proposal must not already have received more than the stated prior-funding threshold (₹5 lakh for 2026)
Free to enter; students apply directly rather than through their school or college
What you actually get
For 2026, the top 40 receive ₹20,000 each for development and the top 20 receive ₹1 lakh each; four theme-winning teams share a total ₹2 crore grant and receive incubation support at FITT, IIT Delhi. Travel and accommodation for selected bootcamp teams are covered under programme rules. Grants fund solution development and should not be described as unrestricted personal prize money.
Frequently asked questions
Do I need a working prototype to apply?+−
No. Samsung explicitly accepts concepts and early-stage ideas. Shortlisted teams receive training and lab support, but the application still needs a credible problem, mechanism, team, and execution path.
Can school students participate?+−
Yes. The India programme is open to residents aged 14-22. Minors need parental consent, and Samsung covers a parent/guardian's eligible travel/accommodation for selected in-person stages under current rules.
Who owns the idea?+−
Samsung's current FAQ says participants remain the owners of their concept and IP; Samsung and FITT assist development. Review the full current terms before disclosing protectable technical detail.
How are ideas judged?+−
Official criteria cover innovation/creativity, impact and feasibility, scalability, and technical/execution capability, beginning with FITT-IIT Delhi expert screening and later Samsung/FITT juries.
Is the ₹2 crore a cash prize?+−
It is described as total grant funding across four winning teams, coupled with incubation to develop and scale the ideas. Treat it as project funding governed by programme terms, not unrestricted personal winnings.
Checked against Samsung India's official 2026 programme FAQ and terms, 15 Aug 2026. Timelines are explicitly tentative. Funding, shortlist counts, themes, travel, prior-funding limits, and age cutoffs are edition-specific and should be rechecked before submission.