EY India launches Techathon 5.0: Students to compete in developing innovative Gen AI solutions

New Delhi: EY, the leading professional services organization, has launched the fifth edition of its flagship college campus challenge, Techathon 5.0, themed ‘Harnessing AI to Transform Bharat’. This competition invites students from across India to develop innovative solutions using Generative AI (Gen AI) to address real-world problems in industries such as education, healthcare, BPM/BPO, financial inclusion, and citizen services, thereby contributing to Bharat’s progress.

Over the past four editions, Techathon has become a key platform for nurturing talent and fostering tech-driven innovations. With Techathon 5.0, EY continues its commitment to developing future-ready professionals by enabling participants to design Gen AI-powered solutions for practical applications.

Mahesh Makhija, Technology Consulting Leader, EY India, said, “Techathon 5.0 reflects our commitment of fostering collaboration between industry and academia to nurture future technology leaders and create an innovation ecosystem with Gen AI. We believe that by harnessing the power of Gen AI, these bright young minds can create solutions that will have a lasting impact on millions of lives across Bharat.”

With Gen AI being a key focus area for developing new solutions for clients globally, EY is reinforcing its commitment to building a robust talent pipeline for the future. EY’s Technology Consulting talent has expanded significantly, growing almost 3x over the last five years to 14,500+ employees. In the past year alone, there has been a remarkable increase in campus graduate intake, demonstrating EY’s commitment to nurturing fresh talent across various business verticals.

This year’s Techathon is themed ‘Harnessing AI to Transform Bharat’, challenges participants to tackle community and business issues for the greater good. Aspiring participants are invited to register along with their team details and problem statement(s) they aim to solve.

Participants will receive mentorship from EY and industry leaders, gaining valuable insights and industry experience. Winners will receive cash prizes, mentorship from industry veterans and EY leaders, and the opportunity to intern with EY India.

Past years winners and runners-up have hailed from institutions like IIT Kharagpur, IIM Lucknow and RV College of Engineering, Bengaluru. Last year, a new category, ‘People’s Choice Award’, was introduced, which was clinched by a multi-college team from SRCC Delhi, IIT Kharagpur and JSSATE Noida.

Over the years, Techathon has seen an eminent jury comprising industry experts and technology enthusiasts, including Abhijit Khasnis, VP Technology, HealthifyMe, Nitin Mittal, President and Group CTO, Zee Entertainment, Sitaraman Shankar, CEO, The Printers Mysore Editor, Deccan Herald, Vidya Rao, CIO Genpact, Vipin Gupta, CTO, Starbucks, R Chandrasekhar, Former Telecom and IT Secretary, Government of India, and Former President of NASSCOM, Dr. Rohini Srivathsa, CTO and National Technology Officer, Microsoft, Dr. Krishna Ella, Chairman and Managing Director, Bharat Biotech, Dr. Harish Iyer, Head of Digital and Health Innovation, Bill and Melinda Gates Foundation, Dr. Manish Pant, Chief, Health and Development, United Nations Development Programme, Aashish Kshetry, Vice President, Information Technology, Asian Paints; Bhuwan Lodha, Senior Vice President, Head of Digital, Mahindra & Mahindra; Deepak Bhosale, General Manager – Information Technology, Asian Paints; Madhavi Isanaka, SVP, Chief Digital Officer, Adani Green Energy & Adani New Industries, and, Manish Grover, Executive Director – Strategic Information Systems, IOCL, Bose Varghese, Head Green Initiatives, Infosys, Binu Treesa, IT Sustainability Leader India, Decathlon and Meenakshi Burra, CDO and VP Technology, Analytics & Business Services (South Asia), Hindustan Unilever.

To know more about Techathon 5.0: visit: Techathon 5.0 | Harnessing AI to transform Bharat | EY – India