From Bhopal to Azim Premji University Bangalore: How We Made History at Economi-Con 2026

From 19–23 February 2026, we as a team travelled from Bhopal to Bangalore to participate in Economi-Con 2026 at Azim Premji University — and we returned not just with prizes, but with perspective, confidence, and history.

This journey was truly a transformative experience. It was not only about competition, but about exposure — interacting with people from different regions, competing with diverse and talented teams, and understanding how wide and dynamic the academic space really is. Representing our Bhopal campus on such a platform gave us a sense of responsibility and pride.

I participated in two major events: Fish Box (a Shark Tank–style competition) and the Data Hackathon — and both challenged us in completely different ways.

In Fish Box, our first prompt was “Pinterest as a Career Counselling Platform.” The biggest challenge? We received the competition material just four days before the fest — while we were travelling by train. Proper preparation was almost impossible. Most of our planning happened after reaching the campus. There was confusion, pressure, and limited time — but there was also determination. We decided to create a short video presentation structured as a flowing story, making it clear, engaging, and innovative. Despite the difficulties, we cleared Round 1.

In Round 2, the prompt was "Blinkit as a Daycare Service.” We had only 15 minutes to prepare. Instead of overthinking, we quickly conceptualised and performed a short dramatic act. We focused on impact, clarity, and persuasion — presenting the idea in an attractive and confident way before the judges. The result: 3rd Rank 🥉.

Presenting my thoughts

What did we learn?

How to think creatively under extreme time pressure.

How to present ideas effectively within constraints.

And most importantly, how teamwork becomes your strongest asset in high-stress situations.

The second event, the Data Hackathon, tested analytical depth. I used the Socio-Economic and Caste Census (2011) dataset to examine the rural employment crisis in India. Through state-wise analysis, we explored the relationship between income and education and identified how inequality within rural India is significantly influenced by asset holdings, private property ownership, and structural disparities. The findings showed that even within rural regions, the internal gap is deep and multidimensional. We presented our analysis using R Quarto, ensuring clarity and structured evidence-based explanation. We secured 2nd Rank 🥈.

What made this even more special was that we competed against students from higher academic levels. This fest gave us an opportunity to evaluate ourselves — to ask: Where do we stand? What is our level? In today’s competitive and capitalist economy, especially as economics students, that self-evaluation is invaluable.

Me with Amandeep presenting our findings

And then came the most unforgettable moment — we won the All Round Excellence Trophy 🏆.

This is the first-ever trophy won by any academic club of our university. Before this, no academic club had brought such recognition. This victory is not just ours; it is a historic milestone for our campus.

The experience at Azim Premji University was equally commendable. The organising team managed everything seamlessly — both front-end and back-end coordination were excellent. One particularly inspiring aspect was the strong female participation in the organising team, which stood out and reflected progressive and inclusive leadership. Their efforts ensured that we not only competed but truly experienced the spirit of the fest.

Economi-Con 2026 gave us more than ranks and trophies.

It gave us exposure.

It gave us confidence.

It gave us self-awareness.

And most importantly, it reminded us that with teamwork, belief, and courage — we are capable of standing tall on any national platform.

Team