PMI South Asia organized a first-of-its-kind project management contest that was open to college and university students from across India. It received a huge response, with over 4,400 registrations. More than 1,700 participants cleared the qualifying round of multiple choice questions. Ninety participants from 32 teams were shortlisted as finalists, out of which 20 teams shared their ideas or prototype for the final round. At the grand finale, eight teams presented their creations. Four teams were chosen as winners.

The challenge for the contestants was to design a project management-themed digital game on a topic or scenario of their choice. It provided students a great hands-on learning experience on the fundamentals of project management in a fun and interactive way.

Dr. Srini Srinivasan, regional managing director, PMI South Asia, said, “We are thrilled to see the budding talent across colleges and universities, and the future-readiness of Indian students. We believe that project management is a life skill and individuals of all ages can benefit from strengthening their project management skills, regardless of the profession they choose. I can’t wait to see the innovation these young change-makers will present to the world.’’

Team Pragathi from the Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Madras, won the contest. They bagged a cash prize of Rs. 150,000. The team designed Endurance, a multiplayer game based on farming. It features a closed system of mutual dependency, emphasizing the necessity for communication and coordination among the players for their survival, and reliance on observation and analysis to optimize the game outcomes.

The first runner-up prize also went to a team from IIT Madras, Team Proxima. They walked away with a cash prize of Rs. 100,000. Team Demeter from CMR Institute of Technology, Bengaluru, won the second runner-up position and a cash prize of Rs. 50,000. Team KVL from Loyola-ICAM College of Engineering and Technology won the judge’s choice award for their concept and presentation.

The winners were announced by K. N. Satyanarayana, director, IIT Tirupati, who is the chair of the PMI Academic Advisory Group. The other finalist teams shortlisted for the presentation round were from SRM University; National Institute of Technology Durgapur; KIET Group of Institutions, Ghaziabad; Arya College of Engineering & IT; and Ajay Kumar Garg Engineering College, Ghaziabad.

The contest took place over two months and included 200 teams from diverse disciplines in undergraduate, postgraduate and Ph.D. programs. The participants were provided access to PMI’s Kickoff, a free, 45-minute learning tool that guides learners through the basics of project management and developer tools from GitHub. Additionally, students who qualified for the second round of the contest are eligible for a discounted Certified Associate in Project Management (CAPM)® certification, PMI’s introductory professional certification in project management.

The game-a-thon was organized in association with TechGig, a professional networking service, the GitHub collaborative website, and Tata Consultancy Services as a knowledge partner.