KIET Group of institutions, successfully organized the Hackathon Phase 2 of IEEE Sustainable Solutions for Humanity 2024 on 21^st & 22^nd October 2024. This 24-hour hackathon was a collaborative initiative by IEEE Region 10 and IEEE India Council to provide a prestigious platform for tech-savvy students across the sections of Asia and the Pacific. Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) is the largest technical professional organization in the world that is dedicated to advancing technology for the benefit of humanity.

A total of 210 teams participated in the first Phase (held online), of which, 51 teams (149 students – 87 boys & 62 girl students) from 10 states/sections of IEEE and 32 institutes of the country attended the second Phase of this hackathon. This event gave an opportunity to the tech enthusiasts to form inter-college teams, with one female member in each of them. Sponsored by TBI-KIET and IEEE Region 10, this event encouraged the participants to find innovative solutions to the real-world problem statements on 8 tracks pertaining to Education, AR/VR, Environment, Generative AI, Green Energy, Healthcare, Open Innovation, and Blockchain.

The inaugural of the Phase 2 began with the welcome of the guests and lamp lighting ceremony, in the presence of the Guest of Honor, Dr. Prerna Gaur (IEEE India Council Chair Elect & Director NSUT), Mr. Deepak Mathur (IEEE MGA Vice President), Dr. Debabrata Das (IEEE India Council Chair & Director, IIIT Bangalore), Shri Sarish Agarwal, Chairman-KIET, Dr. Preeti Bajaj, Director General-KIET, Dr. Manoj Goel, Joint Director-KIET.

The Chief Guest of the inaugural ceremony, Dr. Anil Sahasrabudhe (Chairman of National Educational Technology Forum (NETF), EC National Assessment and Accreditation Council (NAAC) and NBA), who was present at the event online, appreciated and quoted that AICTE & KIET are working on same values. He shared, “AICTE started a series of hackathon and have conducted 9 hackathons so far with participation of lakhs of students. This IEEE SSH is very interesting as one hand, it works on finding sustainable solutions and on the other hand, it talks about humanity.”

The Director General, KIET, Dr. Preeti Bajaj, who was the Convener of the Hackathon and Chair Adhoc on Outreach and Retention Committee, IEEE Region 10 Asia Pacific, shared that IEEE is conducting such an event for the very first time, wherein it has empowered students to create sustainable solutions to realistic industry-related problems for the cause of humanity. She further said, “Students need platforms and engagement and through IEEE, we can give immense opportunities to them”.

The hackathon concluded with the valedictory ceremony on 22^nd October, wherein Mr. Praveen Roy, (Head TTI/ Scientist ‘G’, Department of Science and Technology (DST), Government of India) was invited as the Chief Guest. He shared, “DST has been supporting startups and innovators since more than 2 decades now. In this era, government and institutes numerous opportunities for funding and startups, therefore, this is the right time to be an entrepreneur. The learning gained through this hackathon will help in your capacity building in the near future. During this hackathon, you might have learned about team building, problem solving and a targeted approach. Therefore, from now on, your approach must be finding innovative solutions to whatever you come across.”

Throughout the hackathon, the participants were mentored by faculty coordinators, providing invaluable guidance and industry insights. They worked for 24 hours on respective problem statements and showcased their prototype/solution before distinguished jury panel.

There were 5 different categories, viz. Best Solution, Best Coding, Best Design, Best Innovation and Overall Winner, under which, the winners were announced. Team MirazeX from Trident Academy of Technology, Odisha bagged award under Overall Winning, Best Coding, and Best Solution categories for Green Energy track/problem statement. Team Zen from INDIAN INSTITUTE OF SCIENCE (IISC), Bangalore Karnataka bagged award under Best Innovation and Best Coding categories for AR/VR track/problem statement. Team Suryamukhi from KIET Group of Institutions, Uttar Pradesh bagged award under Best Design category for Green Energy track/problem statement.

The event was well managed and organized by Dr. Vineet Sharma, Dean CSE, Dr. Adesh Pandey, Dean IT, and Mr. Saurav Kumar, General Manager, TBI-KIET and the students of Team ERP, Creative Cell, and Google Developer Group of KIET. IEEE SSH 2024 has empowered the young minds to generate opportunities for employment, which is a great initiative and shall contribute in the areas of innovation and technical excellence.