Accenture Launches Fourth Annual ‘Innovation Jockeys’ Contest, Powered by Yahoo India

Accenture, in partnership with Yahoo India, has launched the fourth season of #Innovation Jockeys: The Hunt for India’s most Innovative Minds. Undergraduate, graduate and post graduate students across India are welcome to submit innovative ideas for using technology to transform India. This year’s contest, which will focus on disruptive technology innovations related to the themes ‘Cognitive Computing and Internet of Things’ and ‘Digital Application Marketplace’, aims to discover bright, young, home-grown innovators.

“We’re looking for India’s next generation of innovators – young people with drive, passion and creativity who will make a difference in the way businesses and society function,” said Raghavan Iyer, Managing Director, Technology Delivery and Innovation Council lead for Accenture in India. “In the previous three seasons, the program drew over 7,180 idea submissions from over 900 campuses and more than 125,300 newsletter sign-ups from students at more than 1,000 colleges across India. We have seen an encouraging response each year and are expecting more students to participate and showcase their solutions.”

This year’s contest winners will be selected by a renowned jury, consisting of Ravi Gururaj, Chair - Product Council & Member - Executive Council, NASSCOM; Kalyan Veeramachaneni, Research Scientist, Computer Science and Artificial Intelligence Laboratory, Massachusetts Institute of Technology; Unni Aravindakshan, Vice President - Production Engineering and Head, Yahoo Software Development India; Raj Dam, Founder, QuizWorks; Vinay Gupta, CEO, Via.com; Nandini Vaidyanathan, CMD, CARMa Venture Services and Alok Goyal, Partner at Helion Advisors.

“Over the last three years, Innovation Jockeys has surfaced ideas that solve real-world problems and make a difference in our daily lives. We are happy to be part of the process that fosters this innovation. We are looking forward to how India’s bright young minds will innovate and push the envelope this year, as they take on new challenges,” said Unni Aravindakshan, Vice President - Production Engineering and Head, Yahoo Software Development India Pvt. Ltd.

Each member of the winning team will receive a trip to Accenture Technology Labs, San Francisco, a Lenovo tablet and an Apple iPhone 6. Winning entries for each category will also receive an Apple  iPad and a Pebble Smart Watch. The five most popular ideas will win an Amazon Kindle.

To find out more and participate in Innovation Jockeys: The Hunt for India’s most Innovative Minds, log on to http://innovationjockeys.net/. The deadline for submitting entries is September 20, 2015. The winners will be announced at an awards ceremony on November 6, 2015 in Bangalore.

About Accenture:

Accenture is a global management consulting, technology services and outsourcing company, with more than 336,000 people serving clients in more than 120 countries. Combining unparalleled experience, comprehensive capabilities across all industries and business functions, and extensive research on the world’s most successful companies, Accenture collaborates with clients to help them become high-performance businesses and governments. The company generated net revenues of US$30.0 billion for the fiscal year ended Aug. 31, 2014.  Its home page is www.accenture.com.

About Yahoo:
Yahoo is focused on making the world’s daily habits inspiring and entertaining. By creating highly personalized experiences for our users, we keep people connected to what matters most to them, across devices and around the world. In turn, we create value for advertisers by connecting them with the audiences that build their businesses. Yahoo is headquartered in Sunnyvale, California, and has offices located throughout the Americas, Asia Pacific (APAC) and the Europe, Middle East and Africa (EMEA) regions. For more information, visit the pressroom (pressroom.yahoo.net) or the Company's blog (yahoo.tumblr.com).