‘Hackathon’ in Guwahati next week; Royal Global University to host

Guwahati: The Smart India Hackathon is going to be organized by Royal Global University in Guwahati from December 19 to December 20 in conjunction with the Ministry of Education’s Innovation Cell, AICTE, and G20 Bharat India. Notably, the RGU is the only center in the northeast to host this event.

“The event aims to create a competitive mindset among students, make them ready for bigger challenges in their technical careers, and promote entrepreneurship," an RGU spokesperson said. Engineering students from first year to final year can take part in the event, Business North East has learned.

The Hackathon will be a 36-hour innovation marathon from December 19 and December 20, and as many as 47 centers from across the country will take part in the hackathon.

Addressing the media, RGU Vice Chancellor S. P. Singh said that the area of innovation will be linked to the power sector and “software-based.” “It will try to address challenges linked to the power sector like the power sector, conservation, power theft, etc.," he added. The Prime Minister of India, Narendra Modi, is expected to talk to the participants on the event days.

“Students from institutes from various places like Tamil Nadu, Chandigarh, West Bengal, and Odisha will be reaching the university on the 18th, and the programme will commence on the 19th," RGU dean of academics and coordinator Ankur Ganguly said. The inauguration by the PM will be live from 9 am to 9:45 a.m., following which participants will address problem statements from the Ministry of Power.

“Subcategories will include designing a cyber-security-enabled smart controller for grid-connected microgold (SIHI302), creating a language translator tool for English to Hindi on government websites (SIHI301), an AI-based drone application (SIHI297), an AI-based generative design of hydropower plants (SIHI296), and a real-time monitoring dashboard for construction projects (SIHI295)," a spokesperson added.

Ganguly added that three dignitaries from the Ministry of Education will be evaluating the students. All events will be broadcast live from the offices of the PMO and the Ministry of Education.