HCL Jigsaw, India’s Biggest Problem-Solving Assessment Platform, begins registrations for 6th edition

HCL Group, a US $13.8 billion global conglomerate, announced the sixth edition of HCL Jigsaw, India’s biggest problem-solving assessment platform for school students. Designed to foster innovation and analytical skills, HCL Jigsaw continues to empower young minds to tackle real-world challenges through creative and logical thinking. This platform assesses school students in grades 6 to 9 on key 21st-century skills, including research, critical thinking, and communication, and helps them apply these to solve real-world challenges. Interested students or schools can register at www.hcljigsaw.com, by July 31st to participate in the competition.

The total prize purse of more than 12 Lakhs will be awarded to finalists including learning opportunities at HCL’s Innovation Labs. Additionally, HCL Jigsaw extends a free enrolment, inviting all school students to participate without any fees. In the sixth edition, the project-based challenge will have a mission to collab, create and conquer this year.

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 initiative aligns with India’s New Education Policy (NEP), fostering cognitive learning and future-ready skills.

Reflecting on the initiative, Rajat Chandolia, Associate Vice President and Head – Brand, HCL Group said, “At HCL, we aim to unleash the potential of young minds by equipping them with skills to thrive in a dynamic world. HCL Jigsaw is not a quiz, not an Olympiad, but a launchpad for young thinkers, collaborators, and creators. We’ve received overwhelming participation so far, and we’re thrilled for this edition to inspire even more schools to unlock their students’ potential, where classrooms meet the real world.”

HCL Jigsaw assesses students on significant parameters under three primary attributes that can be characterised 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 organise information.

• Thinking Critically – this attribute will allow to assess the student’s ability to interpret the information accurately, synthesise information and draw conclusions, systems thinking, and problem solving and evaluate claims and justification.

• Communication Process – understanding student’s ability to structure information coherently and their understanding of information context and purpose.

Competition Structure:

§ Round 1 – Intra-School RoundStudents appear for an online test (MCQ-based) that tests reasoning, problem-solving, and comprehension.

§ Round 2 – Inter-School RoundSelected students from Round 1 will represent their schools in an online Inter-School face-off. This round includes team-based challenges where collaboration and idea application are key. Teams of 3–4 students work together to solve real-world challenges. The top 20 teams then move to the pre-jury Round.

§ Pre-Jury (Internal Evaluation) Internal evaluation of the submission by the HCL Jigsaw sub-jury team. Evaluated on creativity, logical thinking, and collaboration the top 5 teams will move to the Grand Finale.

§ Round 3 – Grand FinaleTop teams per class are invited to participate in the grand finale, where they present their projects and solutions to expert judges from academia, government, and industry.

More than 2,00,000+ students from 6000+ schools across 28 states and 08 union territories registered in the first five editions of HCL Jigsaw. The winners will gain access to HCL’s Innovation Labs, where they will explore cutting-edge technologies and real-world challenges, empowering them to become future leaders in problem-solving.