This year's theme was "From Backup to Backbone - Driving the Energy Shift." The students were required to provide new and actionable suggestions that could help India make a shift towards cleaner and more reliable energy. The contest saw a massive participation of 6453 students, 2151 teams and 19 top business schools. Six teams advanced to the main finals which was hosted at the Cummins India Office Campus in Pune following a number of rounds.

The finale took place over two days and offered a mix of learning and exposure. Participants attended leadership talks, met industry experts and visited the Cummins Technical Centre India and the Kothrud Engine Plant. The event ended with a jury presentation round and live voting by Cummins employees. There was also a fun social media challenge where finalists posted short introduction videos on LinkedIn. Team Crow from IIM Ranchi won this contest as well getting the highest engagement.

Anupama Kaul who is the Human Resources Leader at Cummins India praised the students saying that REDEFINE is all about encouraging young minds to think differently. She appreciated the creativity and practical thinking shown by the participants and said it was inspiring to see how they approached real energy issues with strong purpose and innovation.

Subramanian Chidambaran Chief Strategy Officer at Cummins India added that the competition gives the company a close look at how the next generation connects classroom learning with real-world challenges. He said this year’s ideas were strong, thoughtful and future-ready.

A senior team from Cummins India evaluated the final presentations which included

• Srinivasa Raghavan Executive Director – Engineering and Chief Technical Officer

• Jameson Mendonca Power Generation Business Leader

• Sachin Simant Director – Strategy, Product Planning and Digital, Power Systems Business Unit

Before the finale, Cummins India also organised leadership talks and quizzes to help participants understand the company’s goals and the changing energy sector.

Teams in the Finals

The six teams who participated in the grand finale were

• GASx3 – Indian Institute of Foreign Trade Delhi

• Dynamic Dreamers – IIM Shillong

• Crow – IIM Ranchi

• Visioners – Indian School of Business Mohali

• Team 7 – IIM Tiruchirappalli

• Ninja Turtles – IIM Lucknow