IIT Roorkee hosts the Grand Finale of Smart India Hackathon 2022- Hardware Edition

Roorkee :The Mega Grand Finale of Smart India Hackathon 2022- Hardware Edition, one of the world’s biggest open innovation models aimed at inculcating the culture of product innovation and problem-solving among students, started off at the Indian Institute of Technology Roorkee (IIT Roorkee) on August 25, 2022 morning. Prime Minister Narendra Modi Ji also interacted with the students’ participants of the Smart India Hackathon via video conferencing on the evening of August 25, 2022.The Tinkering Lab of IIT Roorkee is the only Nodal Center in Uttarakhand hosting this Mega Grand Finale of the Smart India Hardware Hackathon (SIHH) 2022.

This 5th edition of Smart India Hackathon 2022 is organized by the MHRD innovation cell from August 25 to August 29, 2022. Around 19 teams and 150 participants from different parts of the country competed for the glory. The participants were working on the five domain problems like Smart Automation, Blockchain and Cybersecurity, Disaster Management, Smart Education, and Miscellaneous. Besides such innovative competitions, the event also showcased cultural programs throughout. Certificate and Mementoes distribution to all team members, mentors, experts, and the organizing team took place on the fifth day after the Valedictory Ceremony was conducted at APJ Abdul Kalam Block L2, in the institute to congratulate all the participants. Among the winners included Team Water Guardians, Zero spillage milking can for dairy farms, KiFolks, Vrsec Innovators in the domains of Smart Automation, Miscellaneous, Disaster Management, and Smart Education, respectively.

Smart India Hackathon 2022 is being organized in a total of 75 nodal centers all over the country as India is celebrating Azadi ka Amrut Mahotsav, and more than 15000 students are participated in this event. The student team works round the clock under the guidance of mentors and industry /Ministry representatives to produce the working solution for the selected problem statements.

On the 3rd day, Prof Ajit Kumar Chaturvedi, Director of IIT Roorkee, and Deputy Director Prof M Parida visited the Tinkering Lab and interacted with all the young innovators. They spent more than an hour with all the innovators and their mentors, appreciating their project ideas and efforts, giving them valuable feedback, and boosting their morale.

Smart India Hackathon (SIH) is a nationwide initiative by the Ministry of Education’s Innovation Cell to provide students a platform to solve the pressing problems of the government, ministries, departments, industries, and other organizations. SIH has been acclaimed as the world’s biggest open innovation model and it inculcates the culture of product innovation and problem-solving among students. SIH is conducted every year since 2017 in two formats i.e. SIH Software and SIH Hardware Editions for higher education students. This year Smart India Hackathon-Junior has also been introduced for school students to build a culture of Innovation and problem-solving attitude at the school level.

All India Council for Technical Education, Persistent Systems, and i4c. Doordarshan and All India Radio are the media partners of the Smart India Hackathon 2022. Shell, and AWS are the sponsoring partners of the Smart India Hackathon 2022.The SIHH 2022 was graced by the presence of Hon’ble Education Minister, Shri. Dharmendra Pradhan at IIT Roorkee. Among other dignitaries, were Dr. Anand Deshpande; Founder and Chairman, Persistent Systems; Prof. Anil D. Sahasrabudhe, Chairman, AICTE; Prof. MP Poonia, Vice Chairman, AICTE. Additionally, Mr. Vinay Shankar Pandey (I.A.S), District Magistrate Haridwar was the Chief Guest at the closing ceremony of the Mega Grand Finale of SIHH 2022. Prof. Ajit Kumar Chaturvedi, Director, IIT Roorkee; Prof. S H Upadhyay, Nodal Centre Incharge and SPOC; Dean of Resources and Alumni Affairs, Prof. Rajat Agarwal; Mr. Abhishek Ranjan Kumar, Innovation officer, MIC, Govt. of India, among others were also present.

In an exclusive address, ShriNarendra Modi Ji, Hon’ble Prime Minister, India, especially urged parents, teachers, and children to join the program. He said,”Smart India Hackathon 2022 is special due to various reasons. The participation is extensive, be it in terms of age or geography, and so are the issues covered in the Hackathon. It offers a glimpse of India’s talented youngsters and showcases their remarkable problem-solving abilities.”

Talking about the young innovators, Prof. Ajit K Chaturvedi, Director, IIT Roorkee, said, “It was heartening to see the candidates explaining their goals and working out solutions. Watching their zeal for addressing the identified problem statement was a pleasure.”

While talking about his journey as a student to becoming a civil servant, Mr. Vinay Shankar Pandey (I.A.S), District Magistrate Haridwar, said, “I would like to bring to notice about the challenges Haridwar faces or any hilly terrain, that can be addressed by Disaster management techniques, is also being taken upon here and thus it is something we should focus on. Harnessing such creative thinking will enhance opportunities to deliver innovative solutions to any daunting challenge in life. And Smart India Hackathon provides students with this opportunity to take part in innovation and excel.”