Mphasis F1 Foundation and Plaksha University Empower Young Innovators through ‘TrackShift Innovation Challenge’

India, November 17, 2025: Plaksha University, in collaboration with the Mphasis F1 Foundation, hosted the TrackShift Innovation Challenge on November 15–16 at the Plaksha University Campus. The two-day national-level innovation challenge brought together over 150 students from 50 teams across India to co-create open-source, industry-ready solutions inspired by motorsport’s precision, data-led problem solving, and engineering excellence.  

The initiative, inspired by Mphasis, official Digital Partner of the MoneyGram Haas F1 Team, was aimed at students from STEM backgrounds to apply emerging technologies such as artificial intelligence, data science, and simulation to solve real-world challenges across mobility, infrastructure, and manufacturing. The resulting solutions will be made open source to foster collaboration between academia, research institutions, startups, and industry, ensuring that technology remains accessible and equitable. 

“This collaboration exemplifies our vision of applied, experiential education where students move beyond ideation to implementation. Through our partnership with Mphasis F1 Foundation, we are creating a living repository of applied innovation that is scalable and inclusive,” said Prof Rudra Pratap, Vice Chancellor of Plaksha University. 

“The TrackShift Innovation Challenge reflects Mphasis Foundation’s vision to advance technology education, nurture young innovators, and promote inclusive pathways in STEM. By nurturing problem-solving and innovation in students, we are building a future-ready, inclusive talent ecosystem that serves both community and industry needs. The initiative also strengthens collaboration between academia and industry and helps develop the next generation of engineers, data scientists, and AI talent for India’s growing technology ecosystem,” said Veda Iyer, Global Chief Marketing Officer, Head of Hyperscalers & Strategic Partnerships, and Head Sales – APAC, Mphasis.  

MoneyGram Haas F1 Team’s CIO, Gary Foote, who attended the Plaksha event and inspired the students across the two days with insights into technology innovation in motorsport, said, “It is inspiring to see Indian students create open tools for global industries, reflecting the true potential of collaborative innovation. The initiative reinforces how innovation can remain practical, accessible, and impactful. By adopting an open-source model, the challenge has ensured that solutions shaped through motorsport-grade rigour can be adapted and applied to real-world needs at scale”. 

The challenge received over 1,800 applications nationwide, from institutions including IITs, NITs, IIIT-Hyderabad, BITS Pilani, and several regional and tier-3 colleges. Fifty teams were shortlisted to compete in the final round at Plaksha University, working on three real-world problem statements: 

• Visual Difference Engine – Detects and interprets small changes in images taken over time. 
• Smart File Transfer System – Enable fast, secure file sharing even in low-connectivity environments. 
• Competitive Mobility Simulator – Create a real-time simulator for vehicle movement and racing scenarios. 

The top three winning teams received cash prizes of ₹1,00,000, ₹50,000, and ₹25,000, respectively, along with mentorship-based internships at Mphasis. 

The winning teams are: 

• First prize: LNM Institute of Information & Technology, Jaipur, for their work on the Competitive Mobility Systems Simulator. 
• Second prize: Sarhad College of Arts, Commerce & Science, Pune, for their work on the Smart File Transfer System. 
• Third prize: Sikkim Manipal Institute of Technology, Gangtok, for their work on the Visual Difference Engine. 

The selected participants will also undergo structured mentorship through Mphasis F1 Foundation’s CSR initiatives, gaining exposure to AI-focused projects, applied learning, and entrepreneurship development. Some participants will additionally receive a fully sponsored two-day experiential visit to the MoneyGram Haas F1 Team facility in the United Kingdom, designed to deepen their understanding of precision engineering and technology in motion. 

Beyond the competition, the TrackShift initiative is designed to create long-term impact—supporting prototype development, piloting opportunities, and student-led innovations that can evolve into social enterprises. The top innovations from the challenge will be openly accessible on its platform to foster collaboration, enhancement, and scale. This will build a growing repository of applied innovation that can be adapted and deployed across sectors, including agriculture, manufacturing, infrastructure, and logistics. 

This program aligns with the Foundation’s ongoing work at Plaksha University, which includes support for inclusive infrastructure, research facilities, and scholarships for students from diverse socio-economic backgrounds, including persons with disabilities. It also complements Mphasis Foundation’s flagship Girls and Women in STEM (GWiST) initiative, which aims to engage over 1,500 women in STEM education and entrepreneurship over the next four years. 

Earlier this year, the DS Brar Center for Girls and Women in STEM was launched at Plaksha University with support from Mphasis F1 Foundation — an important milestone in building a gender-inclusive innovation ecosystem in India. 

About Plaksha University: 

Founded by a global community of more than 100 technology and business leaders, Plaksha envisions reimagining technology education and research for India and the world. With strong partnerships with UC Berkeley, Purdue, UC San Diego, Cornell University, Penn Engineering, IIT Kanpur and IISc Bengaluru, Plaksha aims to nurture and empower a generation of catalytic leaders and create an ecosystem of research and innovation. The university collapses the traditional boundaries of engineering and promotes interdisciplinary learning by combining technology, design and entrepreneurship. 

Plaksha is guided by an eminent academic board including Vijay Kumar, Nemirovsky Family Dean of Penn Engineering, University of Pennsylvania; Prof. S Shankar Sastry, Thomas Siebel Distinguished Professor of Computer Science, Venkatesh Narayanamurthi, former Dean of the Harvard School of Engineering and Applied Sciences; Sriram Rajamani, Corporate Vice President, Microsoft Research India; Julia Ross, Dean of Engineering, Virginia Tech; Krishna Palepu, Ross Graham Walker Professor of Business Administration, Harvard Business School; Sanjay Sarma, Fred Fort Flowers and Daniel Fort Flowers Professor of Mechanical Engineering, MIT; and business leaders such as Neeraj Aggarwal, Chair – Asia Pacific, BCG; Rakesh Bharti Mittal, Vice Chairman, Bharti Enterprises; Hitesh Oberoi, Co-promoter &; CEO, Info Edge (Naukri.com); Srikanth Velamakanni, Co-founder, Fractal Analytics; Manas Human, Co- Founder, Nagarro; Navin Chaddha, Managing Director, Mayfield Fund; Sujeet Kumar, Co-founder, Udaan.com; Dalip Pathak, Special Limited Partner, Warburg Pincus LLC; CP Gurnani, former MD & CEO, Tech Mahindra; Pramod Bhasin, Chairman, Clix Capital among others. Corporate donors include companies like Bharti Airtel Foundation, Axis Bank, Indorama Ventures, Havells, Harish and Bina Shah Foundation, HT Parekh Foundation, Mphasis, Info Edge and Motilal Oswal. The global community of business leaders who founded Plaksha can be seen here. 

About Mphasis: 

At Mphasis, engineering has been in our DNA since inception. 

Mphasis is an AI-led, platform-driven company with human-in-the-loop intelligence, helping global enterprises modernize, infuse AI, and scale with agility. The Mphasis.ai unit and Mphasis AI-powered ‘Tribes’ are focused on client outcomes and embed artificial intelligence and autonomy into every layer of the enterprise technology and process stack. 

Mphasis built NeoIP™, a breakthrough AI platform which orchestrates a powerful pack of AI platforms and solutions to deliver impactful outcomes across the entire enterprise IT value chain, because we believe ‘AI Without Intelligence Is Artificial.TM’ Mphasis NeoIP™ is powered by the Ontosphere, a dynamic and ever-evolving knowledge base, delivering continuous and constant innovation through perpetual intelligent engineering - driving end-to-end enterprise transformation. 

At the heart of our approach is customer-centricity—reflected in our proprietary Front2Back™ transformation framework, which uses the exponential power of cloud and cognitive to deliver hyper-personalized digital experiences (C=X2C2™ = 1) and build strong relationships with marquee clients. Our Service Transformation solutions enable enterprises to pivot from legacy systems and operations to secure, adaptive, cloud-first operating models with minimal disruption. Continuous investments in platforms, such as the Neo series, enable enterprises to stay efficient, relevant, and ahead in a dynamic AI-first world. Mphasis is a Hi-Tech, Hi-Touch, Hi-Trust company, rooted in a learning and growth culture.  Click here to know more.