The Communication Award recognizes the most impactful and successful integrated communications campaign promoting the team’s work ahead of the competition. The winning team is judged on the quality and creativity of the content, the volume of activity as well as the impact of the campaign.

‘Project Mirai’ was a key part of their communications campaign. ‘Mirai’ meaning ‘future’ in Japanese, was aptly named for the team’s seminars aimed at young students in cities across India. Approximately nine-hundred students saw the seminars, with the aim of efficiency, lead by Team Eco Titans across four cities. This activity not only communicated their ambitions for Shell Eco-marathon, it aimed to inspire young people into realizing the potential of STEM subjects.

The team made good use of their university’s campus community radio where they were interviewed. This recorded episode was subsequently published on Spotify and Google Podcasts, allowing the team to increase the potential reach of the interview. Eco Titans then went on national radio with Magic FM giving them instant access to a large audience, which they promoted further on their social channels.

One thrilling part of their campaign was attending Gravitas and Riviera, the university’s technical and cultural festivals that not only allowed them to build excitement for their project but served as a recruitment driver for future years of Shell Eco-marathon. Their university also hosted E-fest 2019, one of the largest engineering festivals in the region, attended by people from all over the Asia-Pacific region. The festivals created a platform to show off and demonstrate their vehicle in a live environment, which provided different opportunities compared with traditional media like press or radio.

Outside of their public appearances, the students leveraged Facebook and Instagram as platforms to share their experience in the competition and amplify other communications and achievements.

For a student team, keeping on top of the finances for the project, as well as their studies can be challenging so had to find ways to cut costs and raise the money needed to compete.

Availability of materials needed for their build in the small town of Vellore was also a challenge. They had to travel to the nearest city to source what was needed, or custom make components themselves.

Finally, the cancellation of the track events spurred the team on to channel their energies into their Off-Track Awards entry, and this win stood out as an achievement they will always cherish.