Nagpur: In the rapidly evolving landscape of business and innovation, Gen Zs are emerging as torchbearers with entrepreneurial aspirations and skills that are inspirational for others to follow in their footsteps. Their inherent familiarity with digital tools and platforms is fanning entrepreneurial aspirations, eventually leading to setting up their startup. So, from e-commerce startups to social media marketing agencies, aspirational entrepreneurs are leveraging digital skills to disrupt traditional industries and create innovative solutions to modern problems.
Today, various innovation competition programs bring the brightest minds on one platform and provide young minds the opportunities to demonstrate their inventions. When asked Team STEMLY, and they will agree that national education and innovation competition programs inspire and empower the next generation of entrepreneurs in India. Team STEMLY participated in Samsung’s Solve for Tomorrow competition in 2023 and was announced as one of the 3 winners for developing a conversational AI tool to help women choose STEM courses.
Ideated by Yash Yadav, hailing from Nagpur, Team STEMLY’s core strength lies in increasing women’s participation in STEM courses. Still in his teens, Yadav noticed fewer women enrolling in STEM courses. “When I was in class 11th, I saw only seven women enrol in the Science stream. I realised this space is unexplored, and women have immense potential to lead the way. This gave birth to the idea STEMLY, ” he said.
“The STEMLY AI utilises natural language processing and a variety of artificial intelligence techniques integrated with positive reinforcement by sharing the experiences of leading women in STEM. It also provides updates on recent advancements in STEM and offers mentorship and learning opportunities by connecting the users with STEM specialists,” he added.
Yash wanted to scale up his idea through a bigger platform. That’s when he decided to participate in the competition. The participation helped him in not only showcasing his innovation but also get a chance to interact with other contestants and gain invaluable insights about their design. “My journey during the entire leg of the competition was enriching. It taught me so much about building an innovative product and showed how we can scale it further,” he said.
Reminiscing about his experience, Yash said during the course of the competition, he got a chance to test his product on a small group of girls, and the collective feedback was promising. “I tried the AI based solution to capture inputs from the girls from my school and a few from the neighbouring region, and the feedback was quite motivating. Many said that after using STEMLY, their outlook towards the courses has improved, and they are more open to pursuing STEM courses. For this, I would like to thank Sabayachi Taladas and Vismita Chauhan for the mentorship, which has helped me refine my concept,” he said.
Yash now aims to launch a startup around the same idea, expand its scope beyond India and reduce the gender gap in the STEM industry through it. “Although I haven’t set any timeline per se, I intend to launch the startup by this year so that I can scale up in the future,” Yash
As India continues to embrace innovation and entrepreneurship, such competitions exemplify the company’s commitment to leveraging technology for positive social change and empowering the next generation of leaders and innovators. By nurturing creativity, fostering collaboration, and inspiring students to make a difference, it is not just changing lives but shaping the future.
