September 26, 2019
The teams worked on innovative solutions for problem statements in three chosen areas - good health and wellbeing, quality education and sustainable energy
Teams that presented the most innovative solutions were awarded US$10,000, while the second and third prize-winners won US$6,000 and US$4,000 each
PM Modi had conceptualized the idea of a joint hackathon with the belief that solutions for India's problems will come from young minds who can think out-of-the-box
PM motivated the participants stating his vision that solutions found in today's hackathon can be startup ideas for tomorrow, driving the nation’s future growth
A two-day Singapore-India Hackathon 2019, aimed at developing creative and innovative solutions focussed on the theme “Smart Campus”, was held recently in IIT Madras over September 28 and 29. The hackathon was jointly organised by the Ministry of Human Resource Development (MHRD), MHRD’s Innovation Cell (MIC), All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE), along with Nanyang Technological University (NTU), Singapore and NTUitive Pte Ltd.
This 36-hour hackathon had 20 teams of three university students each from India and Singapore. The problem statements largely fell under 3 areas: good health and well-being for everyone, quality education and sustainable clean energy. Teams with the most innovative solutions were awarded US$10,000, while the second and third prize-winners won US$6,000 and US$4,000 each.
According to a statement by Anil Sahasrabuddhe, Chairman of the All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE), PM Modi had conceptualized the idea with the belief that solutions for India’s problems will come from young minds. The objective of this joint international hackathon is to encourage the student community in India to engage and collaborate with the rest of the world and to develop innovative, out-of-the-box and beneficial solutions for some of the daunting problems faced by our societies.
Prime Minister Shri Narendra Modi, who was in Chennai to address the 56th annual convocation of IIT Madras and participate in the prize distribution ceremony of Singapore-India Hackathon, in his address commended the risk-taking ability among students, committed to their efforts without worrying about results. He added that such hackathons are great for youngsters since participants get access to state-of-the-art-technology for the solution of global problems. The solutions found in today’s hackathon are the start-up ideas for tomorrow, he said.
Incidentally, India is ranked among the top three Startup-Friendly ecosystems in the world and the government has given great emphasis to innovation and incubation in the last five years. The PM also cited various programs implemented by the central government such as Atal Innovation Mission, PM Research Fellowships and Start-up India Abhiyan, which promotes entrepreneurship across the country.