The 7th Young India Challenge (YIC) was organized on 22nd – 23rd October 2016 at Rajiv Gandhi Institute of Technology, Mumbai for the top 10% of the innovative young minds in India. It was the first edition in Mumbai after the first 6 in Delhi. 150 delegates were selected from more than 10 cities to participate in the experiential events, which comprised of personal growth workshops like ‘Hack Your Brain’ and inspiring sessions like ‘#DoWhatYouLove Stories’ and ‘You are the Story’.
At the end of day 1, delegates were divided in teams of 8-10 people and were given a challenge to find solutions for the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals around issues like clean energy, education, smart cities, health and well-being etc. The delegates were mostly under-grad, post-grad and recent grad students from diverse universities in India. One of the most talked about challenges at this YIC was mental health for young people.
Eventually two winning teams were announced. Each winning team member was given some exciting rewards and opportunities, worth Rs 35,000 by our partners – Talerang and AIESEC in Mumbai. Besides this, all YIC delegates were given a scholarship worth Rs 2 lacs for MISB Bocconi’s ‘Post Graduate Program in Business’ and many other opportunities to with Human Circle’s partners.
All the delegates and teams experienced several mentorship sessions with 15-20 mentors from across different parts of the society. Some working with startups, some running their own, some working as branding, marketing, finance and research professionals from MNCs and some from the media, acting, creative, artistic and education space.
Speakers and Mentors participated from organizations like Hindustan Unilever, NDTV, MISB Bocconi, Ecomytra, DesignThinkers, Avendus Capital, Talerang, Handtribe, Indian Institute of Digital Education, LeapForWord, Hay Group Korn Ferry, Housing.com, Chtrbox, AIESEC and several others.
YIC offers its delegates many opportunities to find mentors, work opportunities and recommendations to pursue higher education in some of the finest centers of learning. Given the limitations of the Indian education system, in terms of its lack of practical and experiential nature, we feel there is a strong need to introduce young people to new ways of gaining knowledge beyond their graduation or MBA degree.
YIC is a creation of Human Circle – a movement to inspire, enable and empower people to follow their passion and reach their goals. The movement is driven by students, artists, freelancers, entrepreneurs, young professionals, authors, speakers, trainers, coaches, mentors and everybody else who believes that the only way to be truly successful, rich and happy in life is by doing what we love. This simple wisdom is translated by our ‘happiness team’ into experiential physical/virtual platforms and programs like hangouts, seminars, workshops, conferences, retreats, masterminds and festivals.
“As per the ‘Nationality Employability Report’, 50% of the graduates in India are unemployable in the knowledge sector of the economy. This ratio is worse for people who obtain an engineering or MBA degrees. Students must explore their passion and pursue their higher education only in the area of their interest” – Kamal Seth, Founder & Chief Happiness Officer, Human Circle.
By extending YIC to Mumbai, Human Circle demonstrated its commitment towards providing more students in India, with new ways to learn, explore, experience and become outstanding change makers. The YIC team thanks them for their encouraging support and empowering us to increase the scale of the #DoWhatYouLove movement.
