NEW DELHI : Nanyang Technological University, Singapore (NTU Singapore), together with the Indian Ministry of Education’s All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE) launched the third edition of the Singapore-India Hackathon (SI Hackathon) 2023 today, marking its return since the COVID-19 pandemic.
The first SI Hackathon was initiated in 2018 by the Prime Minister of India, Shri Narendra Modi, on an official visit to Singapore to harness and showcase the inventiveness of Indian and Singaporean students.
Guests of Honour Shri Dharmendra Pradhan, India’s Minister of Education, Skill Development and Entrepreneurship, and Mr Gan Kim Yong, Singapore’s Minister for Trade and Industry, launched this year’s hackathon competition at The Imperial hotel in New Delhi today.
The finals of the hackathon competition will be held in Gandhinagar, Gujarat on the side-lines of the G20 Finance Minister’s meeting from 3-4 August 2023, in partnership with the High Commission of the Republic of Singapore in New Delhi, Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS), Confederation of Indian Industry (CII), Enterprise Singapore, SGInnovate and NTUitive.
Shri Dharmendra Pradhan, India’s Minister of Education, Skill Development and Entrepreneurship said: “Education is one of the priority areas of the G20. Initiatives like the SI Hackathon would bring out the innovation and entrepreneurship of our students in front of the world. India and Singapore working together further will create unprecedented opportunities for our students, enhance employability and help create next-gen entrepreneurs. AICTE and NTU Singapore will handhold the substantive outcomes of SI Hackathon 2023 and help in monetising out-of-the-box innovations converting them into start-ups creating value and jobs for society.”
At today’s launch, Singapore’s Minister for Trade and Industry Mr Gan Kim Yong said: “I am especially glad that each group in the Singapore-India Hackathon will be formed from three students from India and three from Singapore. Do seize this opportunity to learn from one another new ways of seeing and doing that stem from our diverse cultures, traditions and social experiences.”
Professor Lam Khin Yong, NTU Vice President (Industry) and Co-Chair for SI Hackathon 2023, said: “The SI Hackathon 2023 will enable students and start-ups to develop cross-country bonds, learn from each other’s strengths, and develop more innovative solutions for global challenges collectively. This prestigious and exciting event offers a unique opportunity for both nations to further deepen their strong bilateral partnership in education, innovation, entrepreneurship, science & technology.”
Dr Abhay Jere, AICTE Vice Chairman, said: “All the credit goes to Prime Minister Modi for aggressively promoting the culture of hackathons in India. In the last five to six years, hackathons have become one of the biggest platforms for solving the problems of the country. The Indian Ministry of Education and AICTE now runs the Smart India Hackathon, which is the world’s biggest open platform for the innovators or entrepreneurs.”
Today, more than 150 leaders in corporations, start-ups, investors, policymakers, academics and students attended the launch event of SI Hackathon 2023 and participated in thought leadership discussions on solutions around global fintech innovations, environmental, social and governance (ESG), and sustainability.
Besides the two ministers from India and Singapore, the event was also attended by senior officials from the private and public sectors, including Vijay Shekhar Sharma, Founder of PayTM; Professor Ajay Sood, Principal Scientific Advisor to the Government of India; Sopnendu Mohanty, Chief Fintech Officer of the Monetary Authority of Singapore (MAS); Dr Abhay Jere, Vice Chairman of the All India Council of Technical Education and Chief Innovation Officer of India’s Ministry of Education; Neil Parekh, Chairman of the Singapore Indian Chamber of Commerce and Industry (SICCI); and Amita Chaudhury, Group Head of Sustainability at AIA.
The first SI Hackathon in 2018 had a total of 120 students who participated. Following its positive reception, another SI Hackathon was organised at the Indian Institute of Technology Madras in 2019. Both events were attended by Indian Prime Minister Narendra Modi and senior Singapore ministers.
Fostering collaboration in fintech, sustainability and governance
SI Hackathon 2023 aims to foster collaboration between students and start-ups from both countries in the areas of fintech, sustainability and ESG. More than 200 participants from both nations will collaborate and work together in teams to develop impactful solutions for addressing climate change, financial connectivity and inclusion.
Twenty-four start-ups and 12 student teams from both countries – comprising university and college students and selected through a rigorous screening process – will compete in the final event where prizes will be awarded to the top four winners in each category.
The winning teams will demonstrate their solutions to select global dignitaries in the grand finale of the hackathon in Gandhinagar. The winner of the start-up category will also gain an automatic entry into the Singapore Fintech Festival, one of the largest of its kind in the world with awards totalling S$1.5 million.
“The SI Hackathon 2023 will deploy the NTU Singapore triple helix model of bringing together universities, public agencies and industry partners for mentoring students and start-ups to ensure their success,” said Prof Lam. “As one of the world’s top 20 global universities, NTU has a long tradition of fostering innovation and entrepreneurship. We are proud to support this hackathon as it aligns with our mission to create global solutions through cutting-edge research and education.”
Professor Louis Phee, NTU Vice President (Innovation & Entrepreneurship) and Dean, College of Engineering, and Co-Chair for SI Hackathon 2023, said: “I believe that the SI Hackathon 2023 will be an excellent opportunity for our students and start-ups to learn from each other and test how ideas are scaled up to have a wider impact and be adapted to different contexts and cultures to solve global challenges.”
Hackathon participants will have access to cutting-edge technology and resources, including cloud computing platforms, data analytics tools and artificial intelligence frameworks. Mentors and experts who are highly regarded leaders in their fields from both Singapore and India will provide guidance and support throughout to students and start-ups of SI Hackathon 2023.
Mr Sopnendu Mohanty, Chief Fintech Officer, MAS said: “Fintech and ESG are co-embedding to define the future of finance; I am glad these are the challenge focus at the SI Hackathon 2023. Singapore’s vibrant financial centre and India’s advanced market ecosystem provide an exciting opportunity for top talents from Singapore and India to develop creative solutions which are commercially deployable. Moreover, addressing substantial unmet social needs and reversing the climate crisis are the twin global challenges that need urgent attention from bright talents. We hope we discover them in this hackathon.”
Registration for SI Hackathon 2023 is now open and interested individuals and teams can sign at https://singaporeindiahackathon.com/. The hackathon is open to university students and students from all backgrounds in India and Singapore. No prior coding experience is required.
