Debate, Quiz, Start-Ups: Kolkata Schools Impress at Shiv Nadar University’s Think Challenge

Kolkata’s brightest young minds turned Tollygunge Club into an arena of intellectual energy on November 12, as Shiv Nadar University, Delhi-NCR, hosted the grand finale of Think Challenge 2025 -a unique tri-discipline contest in start-ups, quizzing, and debating. The event also marked the launch of the university’s ambitious new BA (Research) in Interdisciplinary Humanities and Social Sciences (IHS) programme and brochure - designed to redefine liberal arts learning for the age of AI. The new IHS programme, a four-year curriculum that blends humanities, social sciences, technology, and experiential learning, upholds the University’s aim to move beyond traditional boundaries and learning.

The programme offers 10 full scholarships per batch, welcoming students from any academic stream. Introducing the course, Vasundhara Bhojvaid, Assistant Professor of Sociology, emphasised its immersive nature: "You won’t just hear about agriculture and urban planning in the classroom—I’ll take you to meet farmers and policy officials. No liberal arts programme in India gives you these options".

The curriculum begins with a common foundation in AI, ethics, management, and writing, later branching into specialisations including sustainability, archaeology, heritage and history, and society, culture and technology. The goal: to equip young learners with tools to understand global trends in geopolitics, climate change, economics, culture, and communication.

A Triathlon of the Mind: 48 Students from 13 Schools Compete

Amid the unveiling of the IHS programme, 48 students between classes IX and XII, from 13 Kolkata schools battled it out in the Think Challenge - a test of creativity, logic, persuasion, and critical thinking. Winners walked away with cash prizes, trophies, certificates, and an all-expenses-paid visit to the university’s Noida campus.

Start-Up Challenge: Green Ideas Take Center Stage

Teams pitched green, scalable business ideas with measurable environmental impact. St. Joan’s School clinched the top spot with FinX, a gamified finance simulator created by Shonanka Saha and Khushi Didwania. Their idea impressed judges Debanjan Chakrabarti (Director British Council, East and Northeast India), Chand T. Mazumdar (AI entrepreneur), and Siddharth Agarwal (Veditum India Foundation Founder).

“This event pushed us to think bigger and believe that finance and sustainability can work together,” said an elated Didwania.

The runners-up, Abhirup Sen and Rachiet Somani from St. Xavier’s Collegiate School, showcased Ecother, a sustainable alternative to leather created from recycled waste.

Quizzing Round: DPS Ruby Park Takes the Crown

In a high-energy round hosted by quizmaster Arijit Sen, participants tackled questions on science, current affairs, literature, and logic.

DPS Ruby Park’s team, Srideep Bhadra and Dripto De, clinched first place with a seamless performance.

“This is our seventh win together and the innovative questions made it more memorable,” Bhadra shared.

Mahadevi Birla World Academy secured the runners-up spot with Atmajyoti Basu and Deeptanshu Roychoudhury.

Debate Finals: Wrestling with Algorithms and Free Will

The final showdown, a modified Oxford-style debate, challenged students to argue for and against the motion: 'In the age of algorithms, free will is an illusion.'

With moderator Yashoroop Dey guiding the discourse, the debate featured sharp philosophical arguments and thoughtful rebuttals.

Birla High School Mukundapur’s duo Yugaditya Sharma and Atish Bardhan emerged champions, edging past St. Xavier’s by a single point. Sharma, who also won Best Speaker, delivered a compelling argument on the history of influence: “Earlier, our decisions were shaped by word-of-mouth. We were then manipulated by the media with printing presses. In 2025, algorithms shape our beliefs. The truth is, our decisions have never been made in vacuum, they have always been influenced”.

Applauding the participants, Rajeev Kumar Singh, founding faculty member at Shiv Nadar University, said: “Eastern India has always given top leaders, and the talent from here continues to be great—they just need the right opportunities to explore.”

With rigorous competition, inspiring ideas, and a visionary academic programme unveiled, the Think Challenge 2025 showcased Kolkata’s brightest young minds and the university’s commitment to nurturing the interdisciplinary leaders of tomorrow.