Tata Steel’s QEERious, a case study competition, is a one-of-its kind competitionm which engages with LGBTQIA+ students in India.
QEERious is a platform for LGBTQIA+ students to showcase their talent and realise their potential to work in the corporate world. The platform not only allows the students to get professional experiences in an inclusive, diverse,and competitive setting but also gives them an opportunity to build a workplace that they would want to be a part of.
This is the first edition of QEERious, which was launched on 30 June and received 500 registrations. QEERious received registrations from 100 technology and business schools in India. About 55 per cent of the registrations came from students with an engineering background, 26 per cent from humanities background and 19 per cent from management students.
The competition was concluded on 30 August with three winners being announced.
The top three winners will receive a cash prize of Rs 50000, Rs 30000, and Rs 20,000, respectively. Moreover, all winners will get an opportunity to pursue a career at Tata Steel, starting with a paid internship.
QEERious was conducted in two rounds. In the first round, candidates were given case studies on mail to which they submitted a short presentation. Out of the 74 case study presentations received, 16 were selected for round two, where they gave a detailed presentation on the problem statement. Out of these, the top 10 got an opportunity to present their case studies in the grand finale, which took place on 30 August 2022.
“We have focussed on hiring employees from the LGBTQIA+ community and have a long way to go. We have implemented various pioneering policies to provide a comfortable and secure space to welcome employees from this community; however, we need to explore more opportunities in this area as a leading employer. We also have a huge responsibility to sensitise the stakeholders of different sections such as schools, colleges and communities on this subject and our endeavour continues to collaborate with them,” shares Atrayee Sanyal, VP-HR, Tata Steel.
The competition was open only to students of the LGBTQ+ community, from the pre-final year, final year, and the batch of 2021 and 2022. Interested candidates pursuing graduation and post-graduation of any stream were eligible to participate in the contest.
