On 18th September 2024, Techno Main Salt Lake, in collaboration with Geekonix, the official science and technology club, hosted its largest Internal Hackathon to date. This event served as a preliminary round to select teams for the prestigious Smart India Hackathon (SIH) — a national-level innovation competition organized by the Ministry of Education’s Innovation Cell (MIC) in partnership with AICTE. The SIH empowers students to tackle real-world problems through technology, offering an opportunity to develop innovative solutions for industries, NGOs, and government bodies across sectors like healthcare, agriculture, and smart cities.
The Internal Hackathon at Techno Main Salt Lake attracted 850+ participants across 148 diverse teams. Out of these, 8 teams presented solutions to two challenging problem statements. The event witnessed immense enthusiasm as students worked to develop cutting-edge ideas and prototypes.
A distinguished panel of judges, comprised of industry experts and esteemed faculty members from various institutes, evaluated the innovative solutions presented during the Internal Hackathon 2024 at Techno Main Salt Lake. The panel featured Prof. (Dr.) Hrishikesh Bhaumik, a professor at RCCIIT, and Dwaipayan Ghosh, an assistant professor at Kalyani Government Engineering College. They were joined by Soumyadip Sen, an SDE from Hyland, and Auvik Dey, an IAM Specialist from IAMCONCEPTS Security Solutions. The academic expertise continued with Dr. Shibaprasad Sen, an associate professor from MCKV Institute of Technology, and Dr. Arpan Deyasi, also an associate professor from RCCIIT.
The industry professionals on the panel included Nilesh Kumar, a senior software engineer from Cognizant, and Shayantani Kar, a developer from Thoughtworks. Akash Dey, an SME from TCS, and Aritra Banerjee, a Scientist ‘D’ at SAMEER, MeitY, GOI, added further technological insight. Subhajit Sinha, deputy manager at DSALLP, and Amartya Mohan Tagore, co-founder and CEO of Meta Security Technologies LLP, brought entrepreneurial perspectives.
Additional judges included Arghya Chatterjee, founder of MOZ Web Development, and Diptajit Chaurangi, a consultant at Deloitte USI. Rounding out the panel were Dr. Soumen Mukherjee, an associate professor at RCCIIT; Prof. Debashis De, a professor of CSE at Maulana Abul Kalam Azad University of Technology; Arghya Bandyopadhyay, a software developer at West Bengal Thoughtworks; and Md. Ramiz Mollah, a senior associate at PWC. Together, this esteemed group ensured that the participants’ efforts were meticulously evaluated, selecting the best teams for the national competition.
From a pool of innovative projects, 45 teams were shortlisted for the subsequent rounds, with 5 teams waitlisted. Participants tackled a wide range of topics, including AI-driven resource management, mental health counseling, and blockchain-based certificate validation systems. Clean technology projects focused on reducing carbon footprints and optimizing renewable energy use, while robotics solutions like GPS-enabled surveillance bots and Smart Glass Cleaning Robots stood out.
The hackathon provided students with a unique opportunity to apply academic knowledge to real-world challenges, fostering creativity and collaboration. Through this high-pressure, hands-on experience, participants not only advanced their technical skills but also explored new technologies, laying the foundation for future success in the national competition. Techno Main Salt Lake continues to nurture a culture of innovation, proving that internal hackathons are vital for developing practical solutions that address pressing global issues.