Tag: Hackathon

7th Edition of Smart India Hackathon to begin on 11th December 2024

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The 7th edition of the Smart India Hackathon (SIH) will concurrently begin on 11th December, 2024 at 51 centres nationwide. Union Minister for Education, Shri Dharmendra Pradhan, will virtually inaugurate the event. SIH is a nationwide initiative to provide students with a platform to solve some of the pressing problems we face in our daily lives and thus inculcate a culture of product innovation and a problem-solving mind set. Like past editions, the student teams will work on either the problem statements given by the Ministries/Departments/Industries or submit their idea in the Student Innovation Category against any of the 17 themes.

For SIH 2024, more than 250 problem statements have been submitted by 54 Ministries, Departments, State Governments, PSUs, and Industries. This year, an impressive 240% increase has been recorded in internal hackathons at the institute level, growing from over 900 in SIH 2023 to over 2247 in SIH 2024, making this the largest edition so far. More than 86000 teams have participated in SIH 2024 at the institute level and around 49,000 student teams (each consisting of 6 students and 2 mentors) have been recommended by these institutes for the national level round. SIH grand finale also serves as a ground for open interaction between officials from different Ministries/government departments and students, teachers from educational institutes which is very unique and also very encouraging for the students and teachers.

The challenges identified and addressed cover 17 major areas/themes linked to sectors of national importance and national priorities. These are Healthcare, Supply chain & Logistics, Smart Technologies, Heritage & Culture, Sustainability, Education & Skill Development, Water, Agriculture & Food, Emerging Technologies, and Disaster Management.

SIH has profoundly influenced India’s innovation landscape, empowering students and professionals to address real-world challenges. A pivotal element ensuring this success is the SIH Alumni Network, which, through its well-designed portal (https://alumni.mic.gov.in/), has seamlessly documented success stories, showcasing transformative outcomes. Till date, SIH Alumni have established over 100 Startups, many of which have strong social dimensions.

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From Trash to Treasure: A Hackathon on Innovative Solutions for Waste Utilization

 Driven by the message of Mission LiFE and circular economy goals, the Central Pollution Control Board is organizing an online ‘Waste to Wealth Ideation Hackathon’ for undergraduate and above students on 14th May, 2023 (Sunday) the registration for which are currently open on https://cpcb.nic.in/w2w-hackathon-cpcb/#

 It is a nationwide event to provide platform to college students across the country to solve real-world waste management challenges on (a) plastic waste (b) electronic waste (c) battery waste (d) crop residue. It will help them to build upon their understanding of waste management and present innovative solutions for Waste to Wealth conversion.

The Ideation Hackathon offers a one-of-a-kind opportunity to students to win cash prizes worth up to Rs. 3.6 Lakhs across all waste streams. On the day of Ideation Hackathon i.e. May 14, 2023 (Sunday), one problem Statement each for four waste categories will be posted on the CPCB website at 09:00 am and students will be required to email the original ideas pertaining to it on w2w.cpcb[at]gov[dot]in by 05:00 pm in a given template. The best original ideas under each waste category will be awarded cash prize of Rs. 50,000, Rs. 25,000 and Rs. 15,000. Along with this, chosen ideas will get incubation support, industry exposure, and mentoring from top scientists of CPCB. For further details regarding eligibility, process, important dates and problem scope, please visit https://cpcb.nic.in/w2w-hackathon-cpcb/.

The last date for registration is May 12, 2023 (Friday).

 

CONTACT

Central Pollution Control Board

Parivesh Bhawan, East Arjun Nagar, Delhi 110092, India

mscb.cpcb[at]gov[dot]in   

‘Hackathon’ for computational drug discovery

At a media briefing here today, Dr. Vinod Paul, Member NITI Aayog and Professor K. Vijay Raghavan, Principal Scientific Adviser to the Government of India, summarised activities on COVID-19 related to Science and Technology in the areas of vaccines, drug discovery, diagnostics and testing.

On vaccines, it was pointed out that the process is usually slow and fraught with uncertainties. But, in order to succeed against COVID-19 a large number of parallel efforts are needed. This is being done globally and nationally. Indian academia and start-ups are working on vaccine candidates in the very strong Indian vaccine industry. There are three kinds of attempts being made. The first are indigenous efforts. The second are globally collaborative efforts where Indian organisations are taking a lead role and the third is Indian participation in global efforts. With such a large portfolio, followed by efforts at risk- mitigation for manufacturing and stockpiling, success is better assured.

On drug discovery, our scientific efforts take three approaches. The first is the repurposing of extant drugs to see how effective they are against the virus and in mitigating the consequences of the disease. Second, Phyto-pharmaceuticals and extracts from medicinal plants are being tested. Finally, using a variety of approaches, new drug discovery including a ‘Hackathon’ for computational drug discovery is being undertaken.

A conglomeration of research efforts have resulted in new tests and testing kits. These include new tests for detection of the virus and also for antibody detection. The latter are being used for serological studies,

The speed of these developments is made possible by the collaborative efforts of our scientists, institutions and science agencies. The regulatory system has also been closely engaged, combining speed with quality.