Chennai : Henkel India Ltd. today announced the HenkelInnovation Challenge 2010 for creative minds with a keen business sense and a passion for innovation. The Henkel Innovation Challenge (HIC) is an international business game which centers on innovation, creativity, and business know-how. The game is targeted at students in B-schools from 14 countries across Europe and for the first time has been opened to the business graduates from the Asia Pacific region. The challenge is to develop a concept for a product from the Henkel brand portfolio which will meet the needs of the people in the year 2050. The most innovative and viable idea would stand a chance to win a ticket around the world plus € 1,000 in travel vouchers. The top 3 teams from the international final will be invited to experience an exciting day at Henkel’s headquarters in Düsseldorf, Germany & meet Mr. Kasper Rorsted, CEO, Henkel.

The competition has been divided into 4 levels for the Asia- Pacific entrants.

Level-1 (Deadline: December 13th 2010)

The competition begins with the submission phase, where students in teams of either 2 or 3 members should submit their project at the Henkel Innovation Challenge website.

Level -2 (National finals February 2011)

Selected finalist would have a mentor from Henkel management. The mentor will help these teams to prepare a 10-minute presentation for the finals. They would then have to present their presentations to a jury of top-level Henkel management. The jury chooses one team in each country to compete in the regional final in Shanghai

Level-3 Regional final – March 2011 in Shanghai

The four winner teams from China, Australia, India and Malaysia will come together in Shanghai to convince a regional jury with their ideas in order to be invited to Berlin – the last step on their way to become the champion of the Henkel Innovation Challenge.

Level-4 International final – April 2011 in Berlin

The final round sees the regional teams and the winners from 14 European countries present their final presentations to the jury in Berlin for a three day final. Teams will be evaluated on analytical, communication, business and presentation criteria.

“We are extremely delighted to bring to India the Henkel Innovation Challenge 2010. This is the first time an event of this magnitude has been brought to India providing students a platform at a global level to compete & learn from each other. Mentoring, feedback and support are provided to selected teams by Henkel management. This will also help the students to get an insight into the functioning of a global organization.“ said Mr. Jayant Singh, Managing Director Henkel India

For further information relating to the competition, please visit www.henkelchallenge.com.