HCL, a US $13.1 billion global conglomerate, today announced registrations for the fifth edition of HCL Jigsaw – India’s Biggest Problem-Solving Assessment Platform are now open. This Pan-India initiative aims to cultivate a community of India’s Top Young Problem Solvers by recognizing and rewarding their critical thinking abilities through a rigorous evaluation process. This year, HCL Jigsaw is inviting all school students from Grades 6 to 9 to participate in competition without any registration fees. Interested students and schools can secure their sport by registering at www.hcljigsaw.com before 31st July 2024. Total prize purse for the fifth edition is Rs 12 Lakh. In addition to this, schools with over 150 participants will be recognized as India’s Top Problem-Solving Schools.
Reflecting on the initiative, Rajat Chandolia, Associate Vice President and Head of Brand at HCL said, “At HCL, we aim to multiply potential of young minds with the right skills and knowledge to navigate in a rapidly evolving world. Through HCL Jigsaw, we're committed to providing a platform for evaluating and honing essential 21st-century skills such as critical thinking and problem-solving among school students. This year, we are pleased to offer complimentary registration, to break down barriers and foster inclusivity, encouraging more schools and students to participate in this transformative program.”
HCL Jigsaw assesses students on different parameters under three primary attributes that can be characterized as key components of the problem-solving process. These include: –
• Research Skills – this would assess students on how well they can define a problem, formulate an investigation/action plan, and collect and organize information.
• Thinking Critically – this attribute will allow us to assess the student’s ability to interpret the information accurately, synthesize information and draw conclusions, systems thinking, and problem solving and evaluate claims and justification.
• Communication Process – understand students’ ability to structure information coherently and their understanding of information context and purpose.
HCL Jigsaw is a virtual competition and will include three assessment stages/rounds:
● Round 1 (Qualifiers) – A MCQ based test (Pan-India) Olympiad will be carried out in two slots between 15th to 16th June 2024 and 2nd to 4th August 2024.
o This year, HCL has included pre-recorded video content and live sessions led by industry experts. Students can utilize these to hone their critical thinking and problem-solving skills.
o Following this round, all participating students will receive a comprehensive assessment report on August 11, 2024.
o The top 20 percentile students of each grade from this round will be selected for the semi-finals.
● Round 2 (Semi-finals) – Collaboration through Project-Based Learning) – A collaboration and project-based round would be held from 24th August 2024, till 25th August 2024
o Top 20% percentile students selected will be put in teams of three
o This round will also have real-world case-based problem that the team will work on
o Selected students will be split into teams of three and will compete in a project-based challenge revolving around an assigned theme.
o The top 5 teams per grade from this round will progress for the finale.
● Round 3 or Finale (Group Presentations) – A jury presentation round will be held on 7th September 2024 and 8th September 2024
o Selected 5 teams per grade (60 students overall) will be given a real-world case scenario based on different themes and they will present their solutions to a panel of esteemed jury.
o Jury will evaluate the solutions and select the top teams as the winners who will be declared as the “India’s Top Young Problem Solvers.”
o Top problem solvers/ winners will be announced on 9th September 2024
More than 60,000 students from 3000+ schools across all states and union territories participated across four editions of HCL Jigsaw. The winners got access to HCL’s Innovation Labs, where students immersed themselves into a spectrum of subjects, ranging from foundational design concepts to industrial design processes, while also delving into potential career pathways within the field. They engaged in interactive demonstrations and hands-on activities. They were exposed to cutting-edge technologies like Smart Helmet, augmented reality/virtual reality/extended reality (AR/VR/XR), real-time logistics tracking systems, and IoT applications in manufacturing. This initiative garnered appreciation from both students and their parents alike.