What it was? →
Intel Corporation organized a contest, ‘Innovators of Tomorrow’, in May 2009. It was an open contest and they called for innovative ideas from all across the country that have the potential of making a powerful impact on the society at large and can improve the lifestyle of people in a positive manner, paving the way for a better tomorrow.
The Times of India (or TOI), country’s largest english daily and also the largest media house, was Intel’s media partner in this contest. The first two pages of TOI on 27th May 2009 marked the huge opening for this one of a kind country wide contest.
You can also check out the news paper in TOI archives.
What was my role……? →
One fine afternoon, I was gorging on my lunch when this really cool idea suddenly struck me. Smart Utensils. I spent the next few sleepless nights thinking over it, the technical stuff and the non-technical stuff. Once I got myself convinced, with fingers crossed, I submitted my entry. This was sometime in the first week of June.
For the first round, Intel were going to select the 10 most innovative ideas. The first round of the contest was 5 weeks long and every week they were selecting two best ideas. The two people being selected every week were going to get free laptops!
Surprise Surprise! →
In the next 15 days, a lot of things happened and this Intel thing was totally off my mind. On June 26th, 2009 I logged in to the competition website, just curious to know who are the lucky ones who have won so far.
My idea with my name was doing circles on the website.
Pleasantly surprised and a bit shocked, I was feeling way too happy but was completely unable to express myself. A free laptop from Intel was guaranteed now! This was not all…..a closer look at the competition rules revealed that TOI must have printed my idea and my name in the newspaper, countrywide.
The date turned out to be 24th June, and I claim to read news paper everyday……damn! How I missed my own name!!! ???
Here’ the Page 3 of 24th June 2009 TOI, Delhi Edition
The first time my idea got published. TOI, 24th June 2009.
Now What ? →
After Intel selected 10 most innovative ideas out of 20,000 from across the country in 5 weeks time, the second round of the contest begun. This was simple, they were going to decide the Grand Prize Winner based on public votes. Grand Prize? An Intel sponsored trip for two to Los Angeles and San Francisco, a visit to Hollywood and the Intel Headquarters in Silicon Valley California.
As soon as I started my campaign for the 2nd round, I thanked God that we are living in the age of social networking.
Kick starting the 2nd round of contest
The ‘Winners of Tomorrow’ Prize Ceremony →
Intel invited all the 10 finalists for a grand prize ceremony to The Taj Lands End Hotel in Mumbai. As the official invite proclaimed, this was going to be a high profile affair (indeed it was!). My Mom went with me to attend the ceremony. Proud Mother.
The biggest surprise so far was yet to come.
‘….and the Intel Innovator of Tomorrow 2009 Grand Prize winner is……….Pranjal Chaubey’, said the anchor. My heart was in my throat.
from left, Navin Shenoy (VP and GM, Asia Pacific, Intel Corp), Dr Bhaskar Das (Executive VP, The Times Group), Me, R Sivakumar (Managing Director Sales and Marketing Group, Intel South Asia), Captain Gopinath (Father of Budget Airlines in the country, founder of Deccan Airways), 1st and 2nd runner ups respectively, Sunil Narkar (alias Ajay Bhat), Prakash Bagri (Director of Marketing, South Asia, Intel)
...with Navin Shenoy (VP and GM, Asia Pacific, Intel Corp)
Look at them.....they look so cute!
....with Sunil Narkar aka the on-screen Ajay Bhat (co-developer of the USB)
My gorgeous Mom with on-screen Ajay Bhatt
The Result →
When you win a contest organized by the largest semiconductor manufacturer in the world in partnership with the most read english daily in the country, quite a few things happen to you. Seeing your face in the newspapers for example,
Congrats from Intel and TOI (3rd page, 3/09/2009)
A half page article in TOI on 6th September 2009
Article in Marathi (in Maharashtra Times, 8th September 2009)
Article in a Hindi Daily (Amar Ujala, 6th August 2009)
Article in a Hindi Daily after winning the competition
Bumping into your name in a newspaper website,and of course, people calling you from far away places, congratulating you and telling you how horrible you looked in that photograph of yours!
Bumping into your name in a newspaper website, watching yourself on the TV,
and of course, people calling you from far away places, congratulating you and telling you how horrible you looked in that photograph of yours!
The USA →
As promised, Intel invited me (and one more person of my choice) to the USA. As my Mom went to the prize ceremony (and she didn’t have a passport at that time), I took my Dad with me. Proud Father.
One unspoken prize that I got because of Intel was a decade long visa to USA, whose fee was also paid by them!
USA turned out be one helluva affair…..from staying in 5 star hotels to visiting the Hard Rock Cafe in Hollywood……..from visiting the University of California at LA and the Stanford University to the Fisherman’s Wharf in San Francisco (California’s 2nd largest tourist attraction)……from visiting the Intel Headquarters to meeting their Vice President and General Manager…….this trip was truly a memorable one.
The last of the freebies were yet to be given. A few weeks after returning from the USA, Intel gave me an (newly launched) i3 processor based Dell desktop with a few gaming accessories.
At the end of the day I would like to thank my family(Mom Dad Sister), relatives, friends, juniors, batch mates, seniors, my college administration and all those people whom I don’t even know, who thought that my idea was worth voting for. Thanks a lot!
Sorry for the weird arrangement of pics in this article. The WordPress is doing this on its own, it shows a totally different layout of pics in the editor. Not sure how to correct this.
Pranjal b.i.t.Wise 