Grand finale of Innovation marathon begins at IIT Tirupati

Tirupati : The two-day grand finale of the Smart India Hackathon 2024, a cornerstone event in India’s technological and educational calendar, has commenced with fervour at the prestigious IIT Tirupati.

The software edition of the hackathon commenced on Wednesday, and has drawn nationwide participation, with 21 exceptional teams converging to craft innovative solutions for challeng-es posed by the ministry of AYUSH.

Each team, consisting of six talented students and two mentors, is poised to showcase their coding prowess during the 36-hour marathon. The event opened with a welcome note from Director IIT Tirupati Prof K N Satyanarayana, who applauded the youthful ingenuity gathered in the esteemed institution’s halls. Dr Renu Dixit, principal of Sri Venkateswara Ayurvedic College, Tirupati, served as the chief guest, emphasising the event’s unique mission to harmonise traditional Ayurvedic knowledge with modern technological innovation.

Adding to the event’s prestige, Union education minister, Dharmendra Pradhan, delivered a virtual address during the central inauguration. IIT Tirupati is among 51 nodal centres selected by the ministry of education to host hackathon’s software edition, underscoring the institute’s growing prominence in fostering innovation and research. A highlight of the day was a special virtual address by Prime Minister Narendra Modi, who spoke to participants across all 51 centres. Encouraging the young minds, he emphasised the importance of innovation, creativity and technology in shaping India’s future. “Hackathons like this are the breeding grounds for ideas that will drive India’s progress,” he said.

The participants are not only competing for a substantial cash prize but also striving to develop solutions that can address significant societal and administrative challenges. The winners will be announced on December 12, marking the conclusion of this collaborative and creative effort.

Among the highlighted challenges are four problem statements focusing on enhancing the efficiency of AYUSH-related processes. Teams are working on developing a secure, user-friendly portal to streamline the registration process for AYUSH startups. The proposed portal aims to enhance transparency, efficiency and accessibility through features like secure au-thentication, simplified applications, real-time tracking, and document management.

Another challenge involves creating an interactive educational platform showcasing medici-nal plants used in AYUSH practices to make traditional herbal knowledge more accessible and engaging. Participants are also tasked with designing a portal to automate the preparation of annual reports for educational institutes thereby reducing manual efforts and improving effi-ciency. The fourth challenge focuses on a portal to track and visualise innovation within educational institutions. This system would aggregate data on research outputs, patents, and grants, providing analytical insights to foster a culture of innovation and support data-driven decision-making.

As anticipation builds for the announcement of winners, the Smart India Hackathon 2024 con-tinues to highlight the country’s commitment to nurturing technological talent and fostering a culture of innovation. The event promises to deliver breakthrough solutions that will not only benefit the AYUSH sector but also contribute to India’s overall progress in software develop-ment and beyond.