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On April 20, 2025, RUET IPE Club hosted the much-anticipated Grand Finale of Crackerjack 2.0, an inter-university engineering business case competition that brought together some of the brightest student minds in the country. Powered by SheSTEM, with ShareTrip as the Strategic Partner and LZ Group as the Award Partner, the event marked a powerful culmination of weeks of preparation, innovation, and spirited competition. With over 277 teams from across Bangladesh participating, the event was a remarkable platform for showcasing youth-led innovation in solving real-world business challenges through engineering solutions.
Crackerjack 2.0 was designed not merely as a competition but as a journey. Over two rigorous rounds, student teams navigated through complex problem-solving tasks that tested their analytical skills, creativity, and collaborative spirit. The final stage welcomed six outstanding teams—Team Jilapi, Team Roshmalai, Team Impala, Team BizManiacs, Team Centaurs, and Team Incognito—to present their final solutions live at RUET. These teams had already proven themselves among hundreds of contenders, and the Grand Finale was their ultimate opportunity to shine before an esteemed panel of judges and a hall filled with peers and faculty.
This year’s case challenge, provided by ShareTrip, centered on modernizing and automating their ticket cancellation, rescheduling, and reimbursement system. The teams were tasked with upgrading the company’s operations through cutting-edge AI integration while keeping the customer experience at the core. Their solutions were multi-layered and insightful, with proposals that included AI-integrated live chat systems, automated refund dashboards, predictive analytics for demand management, digital wallet solutions, and user-friendly interfaces tailored for expatriate workers and students, two of the company’s fastest-growing customer segments. Teams even explored the training of intelligent language models like ILAMA AI to enhance communication efficiency and reduce processing times.
The atmosphere at RUET was charged with energy and purpose. The day began with a heartfelt tribute to the martyrs of Palestine, reminding all attendees of the power of youth and solidarity in the face of global challenges. The warm welcome extended by the RUET IPE Club’s panel members set a collaborative and inclusive tone.
The panel of judges, comprising Siddharto Goshami, Head of Operations at iDEA, ICT Division; Md. Tousif Uddin, Deputy Manager of Marketing at ShareTrip; Dr. Md. Mosharraf Hossain, Head of the IPE Department at RUET; and Omar Farhan Khan, Senior Business Consultant and Project Manager at LightCastle Partners, offered valuable insights and constructive critiques throughout the event. Their presence, along with that of other esteemed faculty members and professionals, uplifted the competition and enriched the experience for all participants.
After a thrilling series of live presentations and intense Q&A sessions, the results were announced to roaring applause. Team BizManiacs was crowned the Champion of Crackerjack 2.0, praised for their innovative approach and clear articulation of a scalable solution. Team Roshmalai secured the position of 1st Runner-up, while Team Incognito took the honor of 2nd Runner-up with their highly analytical and user-centric proposal. Additionally, Team Centaurs won the Public Choice Award in the OVC Round for generating the highest engagement on their video, reflecting the power of storytelling and outreach in modern innovation.
Crackerjack 2.0 was more than just a competition—it was a vibrant demonstration of the talent, ambition, and collaborative spirit that SheSTEM champions. Supported by the Embassy of the Kingdom of the Netherlands and implemented by organizations like 10 Minute School, Aspire to Innovate (a2i), DevLearn, LightCastle Partners, and Policy Exchange, SheSTEM has continued to pave the way for inclusive excellence in STEM and business.
The event at RUET proved once again that when students are given real challenges and the right platform, they can lead transformative change, not just for industries but for society at large.
As the curtains closed on Crackerjack 2.0, what remained was an inspiring memory of youthful brilliance and a strong message: the future of innovation is already here, and it is being built by the hands of our students—eager, equipped, and empowered.
This content was originally published on SheSTEM
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