IIT Madras Pravartak organises hackathon on Emerging Technologies

CHENNAI : IIT Madras Pravartak Technologies Foundation organized a hackathon on emerging technologies on Sunday and Monday (13th and 14th August 2023) for students.

The ‘IITM Pravartak Datathon 2023 Grand Challenge’ involved IIT Madras students competing with their peers on developing cutting-edge solutions to real-world problems. The event was held in Hybrid Mode. The top five teams were given prize money with certificates for all participants.

Several IIT Madras pre-final year students undertook an optional virtual internship program on emerging technologies such as Artificial Intelligence / Machine Language, Data Science, Cybersecurity and Product Management, among other fields, between May and July 2023. The training sessions were conducted by IIT Madras Pravartak Technologies Foundation & their skilling partners in relevant technologies, followed by an industry expert mentored project.

As part of this internship program, this hackathon on emerging technologies (Datathon) was conducted by GUVI, an IIT Madras-incubated start-up. The Datathon involved long hours of collaboration, creativity, and coding with IIT Madras from diverse Engineering branches coming together to address real-world challenges.

Addressing the prize distribution held at the campus on Monday (14th August 2023), Prof. V. Kamakoti, Director, IIT Madras, said, “One of the important things that a non-core trainee helps the core is that today, every core subject has sufficient data that is being collected and requires visualization. This can be a very good augmentation to your core discipline. Today, there is a lot of necessity for this kind of augmentation in the core sector. We see it every day when we meet the industry representatives.”

Prof. V. Kamakoti added, “There is a broad need for a digital twin or digital representation through which they can talk to clients and do some analysis. This Datathon will have led you (students) to take a physical system and give a data model for it. Down the line, we would like to have such types of competition as part of students’ internship where we train students for two months and conclude it with such types of competition. This will essentially enable students to get very good placements It can also help students in their research and we must do this on a yearly basis.”

The IITM Pravartak Technologies is a Section 8 Company housing the Technology Innovation Hub on Sensors, Networking, Actuators and Control Systems. It is funded by Department of Science and Technology, Government of India, under its National Mission on Interdisciplinary Cyber-Physical Systems and hosted by IIT Madras.

Speaking on the occasion, Prof. Devendra Jalihal, Project Director, IIT Madras Pravartak Technologies Foundation, said, “IITM Pravartak was envisioned to bring out the entrepreneurial and professional aptitude of our students to aid in the Development of the nation. This IITM Pravartak Datathon – A Grand Challenge is a focussed effort for the IITM students to acquire skills to solve real-life problems using AI and ML tools. IITM Pravartak unleashes creativity in young minds.”

Further, Dr. M.J. Shankar Raman, Chief Executive Officer, IIT Madras Pravartak Technologies Foundation, said, “Datathon is a great way to conclude internship program organized by IITM Pravartak. IIT Madras students demonstrated their creativity through innovative methods in this Hackathon. We would like to thank our partner GUVI for facilitating this great event.”

The Event highlights include:

Ø Innovative Solutions: IIT Madras students, comprising creative minds and tech enthusiasts, showcased their talent by presenting ingenious solutions to a range of challenges. The breadth of ideas and the quality of solutions presented were a testament to the dedication and skills of the participants.

Ø Expert Mentorship: Renowned experts from the industry lent their knowledge and guidance, enriching the hackathon experience for all participants. Through workshops, mentoring sessions, and insightful discussions, attendees exhibited their skills.

Ø Collaborative Environment: The hackathon venue buzzed with energy as participants worked tirelessly around the clock to develop their solutions. The spirit of teamwork and shared passion for technology was palpable throughout the event.

Speaking on the occasion, Prof. Sathyan Subbiah, Advisor (Placements and Internships), IIT Madras, said, “Let this year mark the beginning of a strong partnership between Pravartak and IITM that continues to upskill the students in the latest technologies. In the coming years this training may help our students.”

Prof. P. Murugavel, Co-Advisor (Placements and Internships), IIT Madras, said, “This year our students who were awaiting placements got training through IITM Pravartak to hone their skills in Cybersecurity, Data Science, Python, equipping at student level and facing the job market which will be more efficient. This IITM Pravartak Datathon is the culmination of this training.”

Further, Prof. Mangala Sunder, Emeritus Professor, Department of Chemistry, IIT Madras, and Founder-Coordinator, Digital Skills Academy-IIT Madras, gave a briefing about the various initiatives of Digital Skills Academy and how the students can benefit.

Mr. Mevit Mathew, Student Secretary (Academic Affairs), IIT Madras, said, “IITM Pravartak presents a unique opportunity for our students to bridge the gap between academics and the capabilities required to excel in a professional setting.”