Grand finale of Smart India Hackathon-2022 inaugurated at Chandigarh University Gharuan

PTI, Aug 26, 2022, 11:02 AM IST

The grand finale of Smart India Hackathon 2022, one of the world’s biggest open innovation model aimed at inculcating the culture of product innovation and problem-solving among students, started off at Chandigarh University Gharuan on Thursday morning, where in 139 participants from 24 teams from different parts of the country will compete for the glory over the next two days.

Dr K P Isaac, Director General XIME, and former member secretary AICTE, and former Vice Chancellor Abdul Kalam Kerala Technological University was the chief guest on the occasion and inaugurated the Hackathon in the presence of Chandigarh University Pro-Chancellor Dr R S Bawa, Vice Chancellor Prof Anand Agrawal, Dean Academic Affairs and Nodal Center Incharge Dr B Priestly Shan, and Shri Nitin Bhide, AICTE Representative & Nodal Center Head, whereas the program was centrally inaugurated by the Ministry of Education from New Delhi.

Speaking on the occasion, Dr K P Isaac exhorted the students to focus on the various aspects of a successful professional life. ”Curiosity is the catalyst for opportunities. Moving ahead, one must be curious, as well as use the information and wisdom of others to make the best of the opportunity they get. The students must remember that success is always a resultant of teamwork,” he said.

Shri Nitin Bhide, AICTE Representative, said that India and its students are so full of talent and this is the reason that the government has organized this hackathon at 75 different locations across the country.

”There are 24 teams from different states and Union Territories present at Chandigarh University center. This is your chance not only to represent your state, but also an opportunity to express yourself. Interact with each other, learn from each other and have fun over the next two days,” he said.

Organised by the Union Ministry of Education, the SIH-2022 will also witness Prime Minister Narendra Modi, address the participants at the Grand Finale on August 25 at 8 PM via video conferencing.

Chandigarh University Pro-Chancellor Dr R S Bawa informed that in this year’s edition, the SIH has offered 476 problem statements received from 62 organizations. More than 15000 students from 2033 winner teams of campus level hackathons organized under SIH-2022, are participating in this year’s SIH grand finale at national level, at various assigned nodal centers.

”As a part of Azadi ka Amrit Mahotsav celebrations, Chandigarh University is one of the 75 higher educational institutes and incubators identified by the Ministry of Education’s Innovation Cell and All India Council for Technical Education as Smart India Hackathon nodal centers to host the participants of SIH and facilitate an environment to conduct the Smart India hackathon in its well defined and established format,” he said.

”At Chandigarh University, a total of 24 teams from different parts of the country having 139 participants and 19 mentors are competing against 6 problem statements from AICTE, including: To develop in integrated and robust online platform for the researchers providing the information and relevant details about national/international research grants; Integrated annual academic calendar for all the Indian universities; AICTE Event/Activity management system; Prediction of Admission & Jobs in Engineering & Technology with respect to demographic locations; Online integrated platform for projects taken up by the students of various universities/colleges; Attractiveness and User Friendliness of AICTE Website, during the grand finale of SIH 2022.

”Each Problem statement has a winning amount of Rs 1 lakh. Under the student innovation category three prizes of Rs. 1 lakh, Rs. 75000, and Rs. 50000 will be provided to the winning teams,” Dr Bawa said.

Conducted since 2017, the SIH is a nationwide initiative to provide students a platform to solve the pressing problems of society, organizations, and government. It aims to inculcate the culture of product innovation, problem-solving and out-of-the-box thinking among students. The scope of the Smart India hackathon has been widening with every passing since its launch in 2017.

The increased enthusiasm among participating students and problem statement provider organizations could be seen in their growing participation over the years. Every year SIH is impacting lakhs of students and provides them a national platform to test their educational learnings in real-world problem-solving. It also aligns their interest toward Innovation and entrepreneurship.