Kolkata | September 2026: Techno India University (TIU) hosted DevX 2.0, a four-day technology and innovation-driven event that brought together students, developers, coders, gamers and technology enthusiasts through a diverse lineup of competitive challenges, a 24-hour hackathon, esports, cultural performances and an industry-focused summit. Designed to provide students with a platform to apply their technical knowledge beyond the classroom, the event combined problem-solving, creativity, teamwork and real-world technological thinking in an immersive competitive environment.
The scale of participation reflected the growing enthusiasm around technology-driven challenges. Domain Wars recorded more than 400 registrations, while Hackrit, the flagship 24-hour offline hackathon, attracted an impressive 1,500+ registrations from across the student community. From solving algorithmic challenges to building functional prototypes overnight, DevX 2.0 brought together different facets of the technology ecosystem under one platform.
An important part of the experience was the guidance provided by mentors, who supported participants as they navigated technical challenges, refined their ideas and worked towards developing practical solutions. Aritra Bose, Mentor, was part of this journey, contributing to the learning and problem-solving environment throughout the event.
Over four days, the event moved seamlessly between technical challenges, an overnight hackathon, esports, cultural performances and an industry-focused summit, giving participants an experience that extended well beyond competition.
Day 1: Domain Wars Put Technical Skills to the Test
DevX 2.0 opened with Domain Wars, a series of specialised competitions designed to challenge participants across five contemporary technology domains. With more than 400 registrations, the opening day witnessed participants competing against the clock while applying their knowledge to practical and problem-based challenges.
Under AIML – ML Algorush, participants worked with model architectures, datasets and performance metrics, attempting to develop effective solutions to predictive challenges within strict time constraints.
The Cybersecurity – Capture The Flag (CTF) competition took participants into the world of ethical hacking, where they navigated web vulnerabilities, binary exploitation and cryptographic puzzles in a race to capture the required flags.
Bringing together hardware and software, IoT & Robotics – Mechverse challenged participants to develop working systems involving embedded technologies, sensors, automation and robotics to address real-world problems.
For competitive programmers, DSA – Zeal of Code became a test of logic, optimisation and speed, as participants worked through challenging problem statements while keeping algorithmic efficiency in focus.
Meanwhile, Web Development – Client Chaos simulated the fast-changing environment of development sprints. Participants had to respond to shifting requirements, design changes and UI/UX challenges while building functional web applications within limited time.
By the end of the first day, the competitions had established the technical intensity that would define the days ahead.
Day 2: Hackrit Begins the 24-Hour Challenge
The second day shifted the focus from individual technical challenges to collaborative problem-solving as Hackrit, the flagship 24-hour offline hackathon, officially began.
With 1,500+ registrations, the hackathon emerged as one of the major highlights of DevX 2.0. Once the clock started, participating teams moved into rapid development mode, working on their problem statements, planning product architectures and turning ideas into prototypes.
The hours that followed tested more than technical ability. Teams spent the night brainstorming, coding, debugging and repeatedly refining their ideas. Labs became working spaces where repositories were created, features were tested and hardware iterations took shape.
Mentorship and checkpoints added another layer to the challenge. Teams interacted with mentors during the hackathon, receiving feedback on their ideas and refining their Minimum Viable Products (MVPs) to meet the evaluation requirements.
As the night progressed into morning, the focus remained firmly on one objective—turning an idea into a functional solution before the 24-hour deadline.
Day 3: From Hackathon Finale to Gaming and Celebration
After an intense overnight sprint, Hackrit reached its conclusion on Day 3, with teams presenting the solutions they had developed during the 24-hour challenge. The culmination of the hackathon marked the beginning of a more celebratory side of DevX 2.0, as the campus shifted from debugging and development to gaming, music and performances.
The BGMI tournament, partnered with Monster Energy, brought an esports dimension to the event. Players battled it out in the virtual arena, while the audience followed every clutch moment and final-circle encounter. Monster Energy cans were distributed to players and spectators, adding to the charged atmosphere throughout the tournament.
The technical intensity of the event was also balanced by a cultural showcase in collaboration with Sanskaran, the official cultural team of Techno India University. Music and dance performances brought a lively energy to the campus, giving participants a chance to unwind and celebrate after hours of competition and overnight work.
The day concluded with the grand prize distribution ceremony, where the winners of Hackrit, the champions across the five Domain Wars categories and the leading BGMI teams were felicitated for their performances. The winners were honoured by Prof. Dr. Sujoy Biswas, Registrar and Director & CEO, Techno India Group; Dr. Rina Paladhi, Director, Techno India University; and Prof. Ishaan Ghosh, Associate Dean of Student Affairs. Their presence added significance to the ceremony as the students were recognised for their technical skills, teamwork, creativity and competitive spirit.
Day 4: DevX Summit Connects Students with Industry Leaders
The fourth and final day brought DevX 2.0 to a close with the DevX Summit, hosted at the Phase III Seminar Hall. The summit shifted the conversation from competitions and prototypes to the larger technology ecosystem, bringing students face-to-face with professionals working across entrepreneurship, cloud computing, cybersecurity, robotics, artificial intelligence and systems architecture.
The summit featured six industry leaders, each bringing a distinct perspective from their respective fields.
Avelo Roy, Managing Director and Startup Mentor at Kolkata Ventures and a four-time TEDx speaker, spoke about venture building and the realities of early-stage entrepreneurship, offering insights into what it takes to turn ideas into viable ventures.
Srinjoy Sen, AIMA YLC Kolkata Chair and Founder & Director of 3S Travel Network Pvt Ltd, shared perspectives on business leadership, entrepreneurship and scaling enterprises.
The rapidly evolving field of cloud technology and cybersecurity was represented by Imran Roshan, Google Developer Expert (GDE) in Google Cloud and a Cybersecurity Expert, who discussed areas including cloud resilience, threat mitigation and infrastructure security.
Md Nasirul Haque, IT Analyst at Tata Consultancy Services, Roboticist and GDG Cloud Kolkata Co-Organizer, brought his experience in robotics, automation and developer communities to the discussion, highlighting the intersection of technology and collaborative innovation.
Artificial intelligence and machine learning took centre stage through Nitin Tiwari, Google Developer Expert (GDE) in Machine Learning and Lead Data Scientist at Zelar. His session explored applied AI/ML architectures and enterprise-level data science workflows.
The final speaker, Kazi Haque, Founder of Kernepy.com, Consultant and GDG Cloud Kolkata Organizer, shared insights into scalable systems architecture and the evolving developer ecosystem.
A special mention goes to Ankush Paul, whose photographs beautifully captured the energy, excitement and memorable moments of DevX 2.0 across its four-day journey.
With that, DevX 2.0 concluded its four-day journey—leaving behind more than just winning projects, trophies and competition results. For the students who participated, the event offered an opportunity to experience the pressure of real-time problem-solving, the discipline of building under deadlines, the value of mentorship and the possibilities that emerge when technology meets creativity.
From the first coding challenge of Domain Wars to the final conversations at the DevX Summit, DevX 2.0 brought together the many sides of a technology-driven student community—builders, problem-solvers, competitors, creators and future innovators.