DLSU, UP students compete in Indra Future Minds competition

MANILA, Philippines - Students from De La Salle University (DLSU) and the University of Philippines-Diliman (UPD) are participating in the fourth edition of the international university competition, Indra Future Minds.

Hosted by Indra, one of the leading multinational consulting and technology firms in Europe and Latin America, the competition emphasizes multiculturalism and the use of new technologies in the modern working environment.

Present in the region since 1995, Indra in the Philippines is one of the leading IT solutions and services providers in the country and in Southeast Asia.

The company employs more than 900 highly trained professionals and operates in highly dynamic markets such as energy and telecommunications, utilities and industry, financial services, public administration and healthcare, transport and traffic, and security and defense.

Indra is one of the world’s largest consultancy and technology multinationals, a leader in Europe and Latin America and is expanding in other emerging economies.

Innovation is the cornerstone of its business, which is highly focused on the customer and on sustainability. The multinational is one of the leaders in its sector in Europe in terms of investment in R&D and innovation, having invested more than 550 million euros in the last three years. With sales approaching 3,000 million euros, it employs 42,000 professional and has customers in 128 countries.

Meanwhile, university students from the Philippines will both collaborate and compete with other students from nine other countries to earn a spot in the final phase of the competition in Mexico City.

Besides the Philippines, participating countries include Brazil, Colombia, Chile, Spain, Italy, Mexico, Panama, Peru and Portugal. The best performing team will be awarded an employment contract with Indra in any of the participating countries.

In the competition, the students will face the challenges of today’s business world. These will include working with collaborative tools in virtual environments, developing non-technical skills such as the capacity for teamwork, and doing all this within a multicultural setting.

There are a total of 16 teams, comprised of three students on their final year, selected on the strength of their academic records and skills. These teams will have to resolve several “enigmas” or challenges based on actual Indra projects that range from designing an educational solution in the cloud to testing an international integrated maritime border surveillance system.

A total of 120 students from 12 countries and 37 universities have competed in previous editions of the competition. The objective is to find bright, innovative people who are passionate about technology and new challenges and give them a platform where they can gain international experience and use it to build their global profile.

International collaboration in virtual phase

The first phase, or the “virtual phase,” of the competition started last Feb. 24, and will continue until March 23. Students from two different countries will form a single, international team in which they will have to collaborate in a virtual environment to resolve a particular “enigma” or challenge.

This will give the students an opportunity to experience new ways of interacting in the business world using state-of-the-art technology, communicating and working as a team, and sharing information in real time with people from different countries, just like today’s global companies.

The students will also interact virtually with Indra professionals who worked on the real-world projects from which each of the contest’s “enigmas” are based on.

All of the “enigmas” will have a corresponding virtual classroom and a digital meeting place in which Indra project managers will explain the project details and answer any questions that may arise as the students’ works are completed.

The students will eventually be asked to present a solution for their chosen “enigma,” along with any additional documentation they would like to include. They will first introduce their team, explain their chosen “enigma,” how their solution provides innovation and added value, and what makes their team and their idea special.

The criteria for assessing the proposals will be based on Indra’s corporate values: determination, rigor, awareness, and originality.

Trip to Mexico for final phase

Two of the multinational teams from the virtual phase will qualify for the final phase, which will take place on April 24-25 in Mexico City. There, they will compete in person and be divided into their original university teams. All the students of the four teams that have reached this phase will receive an electronic tablet as a gift.

In this fourth edition of Indra Future Minds Competition, the participating universities together with DLSU and UPD are Universidade de Sao Paulo and Universidade Federal de Bahía, Brazil; Universidad Tecnológica de Pereira and Universidad Nacional de Colombia, Colombia; Universidad Federico Santa María, Chile; Universidad de Alcalá de Henares and Universidad de Deusto, Spain; Politécnico di Bari, Italy; Escuela Superior de Cómputo del Instituto Politécnico Nacional of Mexico (with two teams); Universidad Tecnológica de Panama; Universidad Peruana de Ciencias and Universidad Católica del Peru; and the Faculdade de Engenharia da Universidade do Porto, Portugal.

Talent management at Indra

As a technological, innovative and global company, Indra aims to use this contest to give promising young students an international experience through virtual work tools. Multicultural experience, familiarity with different projects and global vision are precisely the aspects most appreciated by the students who participated in the previous editions.

Recruiting, developing and retaining talent is a fundamental area for Indra’s sustainability, making it a strategic priority. The Indra Future Minds Competition helps the company find the best talent and build closer relationships with universities throughout the world.

Indra currently works with more than 200 universities and research centers through chairmanships, agreements and R&D projects, allowing the company to access new technologies and recruit professionals.