Bhubaneswar : Indian Institute of Technology (IIT) Bhubaneswar is all set to host the Grand Finale of Software Edition of Smart India Hackathon-2024 on 11^th and 12^th December 2024, as one of the nodal agencies among 51 other institutes. It may be mentioned that this is the 7^th Edition of the Smart India Hackathon, being organised by Ministry of Education, Govt. of India.

Twenty-six teams from across the country, with 5-6 members in each team, will participate in this mega event and showcase their prowess in coding and programming during the two days. These teams will compete in a high-stakes challenge to develop innovative solutions for five critical problem statements. The problem statements are : ‘Innovating for Sustainability: Driving Smart Resource Conservation (Energy & Water) in Home Appliances (Refrigerators, Air Conditioners, Washing Machines and Desert Air Coolers); Software solutions to identify users behind Telegram, WhatsApp and Instagram based drug trafficking; Software solution to identify the end receiver of a cryptocurrency transaction; Real-Time Disaster Information Aggregation Software; Prediction of Aluminium wire rod physical properties through AI, ML or any modern technique for better productivity and quality control’. They will be judged by Evaluators from NDRF, NCB, MoE-Innovation Cell, Godrej, NALCO.

Informing about the Hackathon, Prof. Shreepad Karmalkar, Director, IIT Bhubaneswar said: “IIT Bhubaneswar is excited to host the Smart India Hackathon 2024 as one of the 51 nodal centers in the country. I extend a warm welcome to the participating students, mentors and stakeholders. By hosting this event, IIT Bhubaneswar reaffirms its commitment to promote collaboration among academia, industry, and government, and inculcate the entrepreneurial mindset. For the latter, the institute has taken several major initiatives such as building a Rs. 130 cr Research and Entrepreneurship Park, and launching the 100-CUBE Start-ups initiative which envisages the development of at least 100 start-ups of minimum Rs. 100 crore worth each by 100^th year of Odisha, i.e. 2036. Further the institute has started a course titled ‘Introduction to Research and Entrepreneurship’ for all PhD and MS students, and a minor degree program on ‘Innovation & Product development” for B.Tech students.

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 86,000 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.

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.