Aptitude, case, finale, and a shot at the E.L.I.T.E. program.
Capgemini Reflexion is the consulting and technology giant's closed campus case competition for first year MBA students, and Season 9 is built around one clear promise. Every campus winner stands a chance at a pre-placement interview for Capgemini's E.L.I.T.E. Management Trainee Program, a twelve month journey designed to shape the next generation of business leaders. The contest is open only to first years at FMS Delhi, IIM Bangalore, IIM Calcutta, IIM Lucknow, IIM Kozhikode, IIM Indore, SPJIMR Mumbai and XLRI Jamshedpur or Delhi. If your campus is on that list, this is one of the most valuable hiring doors of the year.
Where the season stands
Registrations opened on 6 August 2026 and closed on 14 August 2026. The competition window runs until 15 September 2026. Round 1 is an aptitude assessment, Round 2 is a case submission with a three minute video, and Round 3 is the national finale. The official page has already drawn over 70,000 views and more than 3,000 registrations, so the shortlist is competitive. If you are already registered, focus on the Round 2 submission rules. If you missed the window, treat this as your Season 10 brief, because Capgemini has kept the structure consistent across editions.
What is actually on the table
The cash is meaningful, but the PPI is the real prize
National Winner
₹1,50,000
National Runner-up
₹75,000
Second Runner-up
₹40,000
The total cash purse is ₹2,65,000 across the national podium, which is attractive but not the headline. The headline is the pre-placement interview line. PPI opportunities for the E.L.I.T.E. Management Trainee Program are extended to the top three national teams and to campus winners, subject to the usual summer placement criteria being met.
That means the competition is effectively a hiring funnel. On each eligible campus, the winning team gets a shot at the interview, and the national podium gets the same. For a first year, a PPI with Capgemini is a serious outcome. It is a direct conversation for a twelve month management trainee track at a global consulting and technology leader, not a certificate or a LinkedIn badge.
👥
Team format
Exactly 3 members per team. No solo entries, no four person teams. One person cannot be part of more than one team.
🏫
Institute rule
All three members must be from the same institute. Cross-specialisation teams are allowed, but cross-college teams are not.
🎓
Who is eligible
First year students of the listed two year flagship MBA programmes. Part-time, distance learning, executive MBA and one year programmes are not eligible.
📊
Round 2 submission, Part A
3 to 5 slides excluding the cover slide. Cover slide must carry team details. Supporting Excel or details go into annexures. File must be under 5 MB and in .ppt, .pptx or .pdf format.
🎥
Round 2 submission, Part B
A video summary up to 3 minutes in MP4 format, under 50 MB. The video must show both the solution and the presenter, not just a voiceover.
🏷️
File naming convention
Leader's First Name_Team Name_Institute Name_PPT or _Video. Only the team leader can submit, and submissions can be changed before the deadline.
Where you can compete from
Eight campuses, and the shortlist is drawn campus by campus
This is a closed campus programme. Capgemini has named the eligible institutes explicitly, and your competition is the other first years sitting in your own classroom.
Because the shortlist is campus specific, the benchmark is not the national registration count. It is the quality of the strongest team from your own institute. That changes your strategy. You do not need to be the best case team in the country. You need to be the best case team in your batch, and then survive the national finale.
The three stages
Aptitude, case, then the national finale
1
Round 1 · Aptitude assessment
A timed test that filters who receives the case
Every registered participant sits an aptitude assessment. Clearing it is the gate to receiving the actual case study. The format is not published in detail, but past editions suggest a standard DI, LR and QA style paper under time pressure.
Do not treat this as a formality. It is the silent elimination round. Two weeks of timed sectional practice at fifteen to twenty minutes per section is a higher return on effort than another day of Capgemini research, because no deck brilliance rescues a failed Round 1.
2
Round 2 · Case + video submission
Three to five slides and a three minute video
Shortlisted teams receive a business problem and must submit a tight deck plus a presenter video. The case theme in previous editions has been heavily technology focused, which means the jury expects solutions grounded in digital, cloud, data or AI led transformation.
Build your team with at least one member who can speak technology fluently. The case is not asking for a generic strategy deck. It is asking how a global consulting and technology firm would solve a client problem, so your recommendation should reference real tech levers and implementation risks.
3
Round 3 · National finale
Present to Capgemini leadership
The top teams advance to a national finale where they present in person to Capgemini senior leaders. The national winner, runner-up and second runner-up take the cash prizes, and the podium plus campus winners earn the PPI opportunity.
Rehearse the Q and A, not the deck. The panel already has your slides. What they are testing is whether your solution survives a challenge from someone who has run similar projects for real clients. Know which assumption you would defend and which you would concede.
Three rules that cost people the round
Slide count, video presenter, and file naming
The deck is strictly 3 to 5 slides excluding the cover slide. The video must be under 3 minutes, in MP4 format, under 50 MB, and must show the presenter alongside the solution. The file name must follow Leader's First Name_Team Name_Institute Name_PPT or _Video exactly. These are non negotiable, and in a competition with over 3,000 registrations, compliance is itself a filter.
What Capgemini is really scoring
Reflexion is positioned as a test of strategic thinking, innovation and problem-solving. Those three words are the evaluation rubric in plain sight. The jury wants to see whether you can frame a complex business problem, propose a solution that is technologically feasible, and explain it in a way a client leadership team could act on.
Notice the emphasis on technology. Previous editions have been heavily technology focused, which means a beautiful marketing plan without a tech backbone will lose to a simpler plan that names the platform, the data source, the integration risk and the implementation timeline.
Understanding the company you are pitching to
Capgemini is a technology and consulting firm first
Capgemini is a global leader in consulting, digital transformation, technology and engineering services. It operates in over 50 countries and its brand promise is "Get the future you want." That matters because the cases you will see are not generic strategy puzzles. They are likely built around how a large enterprise adapts to cloud, digital platforms, data and artificial intelligence.
The E.L.I.T.E. Management Trainee Program is a twelve month journey designed to shape the next generation of business leaders. It is selective, intensive and meant to produce consultants and leaders who can operate across functions and geographies. When the jury evaluates your submission, they are asking a version of the same question they ask in their own client rooms: can this person solve a real problem with technology and communicate the answer clearly?
Your case should therefore speak the language of digital transformation. Cloud migration, data platforms, AI led automation, customer experience redesign, cybersecurity, sustainability tech and operational resilience are all plausible themes. The winning submission will not just recommend a direction. It will name the technology, the vendor or platform ecosystem, the data required, the change management needed and the risks of getting it wrong.
Six moves that separate finalists
How to build a Reflexion submission that feels like a Capgemini deck
1
Staff the team for technology depth
Cases in previous editions have been heavily technology focused. You need at least one member who can talk about cloud, data architecture, AI applications or enterprise platforms without resorting to buzzwords. If all three of you are marketing or finance specialists, you are structurally weak for this contest.
2
Prepare Round 1 like a placement test
The aptitude gate is where most campaigns end before they begin. Timed practice across DI, LR and QA for two weeks will outperform another round of company research. You cannot submit a case if you do not clear Round 1.
3
Keep the deck at three to five slides and move proof to annexures
The main slides should carry analysis and deliverables. Supporting Excel, assumptions and references belong in annexures, which do not count against the slide limit. Use the five slides for the story, not the spreadsheets.
4
Make the video a conversation, not a narration
The three minute video must include the presenter and the solution. Record it as if you are presenting to the client. Make eye contact, show the slide you are referencing, and end with the one thing you want the jury to remember. A polished voiceover with no face loses points.
5
Name the technology, the data and the risk
A winning Capgemini answer identifies the platform or tech lever, the data that makes it work, the integration challenge and the biggest implementation risk. If your recommendation could apply to any company, it is too generic. If it could only work at Capgemini's client, you are on the right track.
6
Rehearse the Q and A before you submit
Write down the five hardest questions your assumptions invite. Answer each in under a minute out loud. Know which number you would defend and which you would revise. The finale is a dialogue, and the team that handles pressure gracefully usually wins.
Resources worth an evening of your time
Official links and where Season 10 will show up
These are the sources worth your time. Click each link to open it in a new tab.
The complete round structure, eligibility list, submission guidelines, rewards, terms and the registration form. This is the authoritative source and where Season 10 will be posted.
Read the latest annual report, service lines and thought leadership on cloud, AI and digital transformation. Cite real Capgemini frameworks or capabilities in your case where relevant.
Useful for the national finale, where you present in person to Capgemini leaders and the Q and A carries as much weight as the deck.
Click on each link above to read the official guidelines before you plan your entry.
📱
AceMBA Community
Download the AceMBA app and join the community on Nas.io
Get early alerts for closed campus drives like Capgemini Reflexion, breakdowns of shortlisted submissions, and peer discussions inside the AceMBA community.
Build a case answer a Capgemini client team could run
AceCase Pro and Super100 train first year MBA students on technology led case structuring, digital transformation frameworks and defending numbers in front of a panel, which is exactly what Reflexion asks for.
✓ Mentor review of your three to five slide deck and video before you submit
✓ Technology case drills built around consulting and digital transformation problems
All details in this article are based on the official Capgemini Reflexion 9.0 listing on Grad Partners and publicly available information as of the publication date. Registrations opened on 6 August 2026 and closed on 14 August 2026, with the overall competition window ending on 15 September 2026. Eligibility, eligible institutes, dates, rewards, round structures, prize pool and pre-placement interview opportunities may change at the discretion of Capgemini or the event organizers. Please verify all information on the official listing before applying to any future edition. AceMBA is not affiliated with, endorsed by, or officially connected to Capgemini or Grad Partners. This guide is for informational and preparatory purposes only.
Discussion
Share your thoughts, case or interview experiences, or strategy insights.
Comments are read by Mentors and all other students. Be respectful, on-topic, and constructive.
