Frequently Asked Questions:

  1. What is the Wipro Sustainability award?
    The primary concept of the program is – Writing a paper, leading to an award. Participants will be expected to author high quality papers on any of the given nine themes of sustainability. The objective of the program is to encourage rigor and critical thinking, to develop an inter disciplinary view of the problem and adapt solution centric approach that is innovative and practical.
  2. Why is Wipro instituting the Sustainability awards?
    As an emerging economic power, India needs to be at the vanguard and to act as a role model to demonstrate how it is possible to achieve economic prosperity without compromising on ecological sustainability and social inclusiveness For this to happen, our future generations of policy makers, administrators, educationists and technocrats need to be adequately schooled in ecological issues and the sensibilities around these issues. It is with the above in mind that Wipro has created a program that is designed to act as a catalyst for fostering excellence in sustainability thinking and doing amongst our young -both, at the high school level and at the college / university level
  3. Who can participate in this competition?
    The awards are open to any educational Institution (school or college) registered in India.
  4. Are there any specific eligibility requirements for the institutions / students?
    Students of classes 9,10,11,12 of any recognized school in India and U.G. students and above of any recognized institution in India are eligible to participate.
  5. Can an institute send multiple entries?
    Each institution can send any number of entries. There is no restriction on the number of awards that you can apply for a theme.
  6. Can a student be part of many teams?
    Yes, one student can be part of multiple teams
  7. Is there any limit on team size?
    A team can consist of up to 8 students and 1 teacher or faculty member. However, they can also represent larger teams – like classes, standards, divisions or departments. This can be mentioned clearly in the submission.
  8. In what languages can we submit our entry?
    Entries are restricted to English language for the year 2011.
  9. What is the word limit for the paper?
    The total size of the write-up should be max of 5000 words.
  10. What is the limit for number of attachments in the entry?
    Only 1 attachment is allowed for each entry and the file size limit is 2 MB for each attachment.
  11. What is the mode for entry submission? Can I send my entry through courier?
    We encourage and prefer online submissions, as it saves paper and energy. In case of technical limitations, we will accept hardcopy submissions. Hardcopy submissions can be sent to “earthian - The program for schools and colleges, C/O Wipro Ltd, Doddakannelli, Sarjapur Road, Bangalore – 560035”
  12. Is use of images, diagrams or graphics allowed?
    Images and diagram can be embedded in the document as long as it is within the total size limit.
  13. In what format should I submit my entry?
    The format of the attachment can be in one of the following formats: .doc, .docx, .pdf.
  14. What is the benefit for the participating institutes? Why should my institute be a part of this program?
    A visible platform: The winning institutions get an opportunity to present their papers at a national forum hosted by us and to interact with sustainability experts –a great platform for further engagement. Connect to the ecosystem: As part of the continuous engagement, the institutions will get access to the larger sustainability ecosystem –research groups, other academic partners, funding groups etc. Continuous engagement: Continuous process of engagement with the winning institutions on multiple fronts of sustainability. Wipro will work with the institutes in setting up a sustainability lab which will act as an experimentation and innovation hub within the school / college for activities around sustainability.
  15. What does the final award constitute?
    For high schools there are five awards of Rs 2L each, a Trophy for institution and Certificates for winning members. Special certificates will also be awarded for the best entries in each of the nine themes. For colleges and above there are five awards of Rs 3L each, a Trophy for institution and Certificates for winning members. Special certificates will also be awarded for the best entries in each of the nine themes
  16. How many winners will be declared at the end of it?
    Five winners will be chosen for each of the two categories
  17. On what basis will be the entries evaluated and the winners selected?
    During the evaluation process the papers will be scored primarily on the following 4 aspects:
    • How wide ranging and deep will the impact of the proposed idea(s) be
    • The India context or how aligned is the articulation with Indian ground realities
    • Innovativeness and originality
    • The practical ease of implement-ability
  18. Who will decide the winners / who are the jury members?
    There will be a 2 stage assessment process. The stage 1 evaluation and shortlist will be done by an internal Wipro panel of experts. The Stage 2 assessment will be done by an external jury of sustainability and education experts. The entire assessment results will be audited by an independent auditor
  19. Who can we contact in case we need any further clarifications on the process?
    You can call the toll free number 1800 103 0353 for any further question during any stage of the competition or email earthian.contact@wipro.com
  20. Who are the program mentors?
    A special team of Wipro employees will act as mentors and can be approached for any support. The region wise details of these mentors will be published shortly on the website.
  21. What is the mentor’s role in the competition?
    The mentor can offer support in case the teams need to discuss ideas or get tips on how to present ideas effectively in their papers.
  22. Can the institution withdraw the entry once it has been submitted?
    In case of erroneous submission, you can go online and re-submit your paper. In case you would like to withdraw from the awards, this can be done by sending and email to earthian.contact@wipro.com
  23. In what forums will the selected entries be used?
    The entries will be the property of Wipro and will be used responsibly at our discretion. The likely forums are our corporate website, corporate collaterals etc.
  24. What is the process for submission of entries?
    Please visit our website http://www.wipro.org/earthian for details regarding online submissions.
  25. Can one participate in the contest individually even though the institute is not participating?
    The award is addressed at the institutional (school/college) level and not at the individual contribution level. This is to encourage the building of institutional capability in sustainability on a long term basis.
  26. What are the themes for the paper?
    A total of 9 themes have been identified for the award:
    • Climate Change
    • Cities and communities
    • Our Homes
    • Agriculture
    • Water
    • Production and Consumption
    • Bio diversity
    • Role of ICT
    • Policies and Education
    For more details, please visit the website www.wipro.org/earthian
  27. Can we choose any other theme over and above what has been provided?
    No. However, you could choose more than one theme for one paper with 1 primary theme and 1-2 secondary themes.
  28. Can you provide some references for researching the themes?
    Please visit the "Theme" section of our website for more details.
  29. When will you announce the winners of this award?
    The results will be announced by Dec 31st
  30. Where will the award ceremonies be held?
    The award ceremony will be held at Bangalore or any other location in India and all winners will be invited to the ceremony.