Here are the top 3 winners for RiseUp 2025. All participating colleges will be offered an internship opportunity:

Winning Team: School of COmmunications & REputation (SCoRe) aka Team PRism. The winning team comprises Grace Dsilva, Shaili Lodariya and Srija Dey

The First Runners Up - IIMC Delhi aka Team PRismatics. The team included Mukul Singh Morawat, Manvi Singh and Alina Khan.

Second Runners-Up: MICA, Ahmedabad, aka Team Red Wine. This team included Janani Suri, Rahul Thakur and Suryansha Rawat.

Vineet Handa, founder and CEO, Kaizzen, points out, "The most valuable aspect of the whole program is that students are allowed to take up a case study that allows them to explore the challenges of arriving at a workable strategy for a client. RiseUp was able to harness PR Industry veterans as mentors to shape the thinking and guide the students on the finer nuances of approaching a campaign. This has helped seed the thought of approaching a mandate in a practical manner to the students, which is going to be impactful for the whole of the communication industry in more ways than one."

Handa adds, "One significant step for RiseUp could be to work more closely with academic institutions to co-create the curricula and syllabi that align with real-world industry needs. If we are permitted and welcomed by these institutions to intervene, it will be a one of its kind, mutually beneficial step for both the students as well as the industry. Actively creating educational content will ensure that the students are gaining real-world and relevant skills, both to them and to future employers."

"The dynamic landscape of the communications industry demands fearless, innovative and entrepreneurial thinkers," said Abhishek Gulyani, managing director of Zeno India and head of corporate affairs, Asia Pacific.

"RiseUp PR offered a unique opportunity for young talent in India to rise to the challenge and showcase their ability to navigate the complex and constantly evolving scenarios that brands and organizations face today. By participating in this competition, students will have the chance to work with industry mentors from both India and international markets, gaining invaluable experience and positioning themselves for success in the communications industry", Gulyani added.

Aman Dhall, founder of CommsCredible, stated, " RiseUp is a refreshing initiative that spotlights emerging talent and encourages real-world learning. To me, it feels like the Bournvita Quiz Show of this generation—except instead of testing memory, it's testing creative mindset and factual problem solving.

What I find most impactful is its focus on contextual learning and exposure. Young professionals aren’t just participating in a platform—they’re building clarity, confidence, and community."

Ashwani Singla, founding managing partner, Astrum, said, "I think the case study pedagogy approach with mentors guiding the students to solve the problem was to me the most valuable part of the #RiseUp25 as it combined the rigour of academic learning, exuberance of the youth with the expertise of seasoned practitioners. The results were visible in the high median grades awarded by the jury and the marginal scoring differentials between the participating teams. 

I am confident #RiseUp26 could see double the number of campuses participate, and this platform could set the foundation for a stronger engagement between participating campuses and partners of the RiseUp programme."

Riseup PR+ 2022 programme director, Moushumi Dutt, said, "In my opinion, the overwhelming support from the Academia and the industry-wide support from the larger PR and comms industry are two of the most outstanding outcomes for a program like RiseUp.

It has been gratifying to see the requests we have received from very many experienced and highly recognized PR and comms professionals,who have expressed their interest and willingness to come on board as mentors for the participants of RiseUP.

In the 3rd edition of RiseUP, we were equally impressed to see the rise in the number of institutions who agreed to come on board, that gives us the confidence that this program has tremendous scope and promise, to raise the profile of PR and comms and give the youngsters a chance to apply their creative communication skills and imagination.

We have observed that while all the presentations are of very high quality, perhaps a short session on presentation skills will be of use."