High on innovation: Apeejay Stya University hosts Smart India Hackathon 2022 

Smart India Hackathon (SIH) is a nationwide initiative providing students with a platform to solve some of the pressing problems individuals face in their daily lives, and thus inculcate a culture of product innovation and a mindset of problem-solving. Encouraging an innovative spirit among the students, Apeejay Stya University recently organised a Smart India Hackathon 2022 at the campus. 

A total of eight teams —The Creative Gang, Friction, Dynamic Dudes, CelluTical, Life BelowThe Stairs, Team Torque and Dream Team from the School of Engineering and Technology (SoET) and School of Pharmaceutical Sciences — participated in this brainstorming session to find solutions for various existing problems. Teams just had one week for ideation and practice pitching them. In the process, they received guidance from faculty members. 

SoET student and Creative Gang Team Leader Karan Yadav said, “We had taken up the potholes crisis existing on Indian roads. Potholes are a perennial problem. They are dangerous to road users as well as cause damage to vehicles. Suppose we get a notification in advance about an existing pothole on the road that we are travelling on. We can decide which direction to take and avoid these hiccups on the road. So, we worked on the idea of creating a database and sharing notifications with uploading and updating the database of potholes on maps, thereby helping people drive their vehicle safely. It was a very good experience participating in the hackathon as we interacted with so many people around us and understood their concerns to find insights into our problem statement.”

Sujyoti Jha, another student from the team Friction, said, “Working on such projects provides us with a learning ground to nurture the right skills. We were exposed to real life problems for which we had to find solutions. This involved decision making, brainstorming, research, group discussion with the team members. We are awaiting the results.” 

Team Friction worked on a problem statement to create a mobile application for diet recall. With the onset of Covid-19 and subsequent lockdowns, there have been dietary changes among individuals that have had a big impact on weight gain or loss. Thus, the team worked on a software that can help individuals analyse their diet. 

The team Dynamic Dudes focused on creating an app for a virtual visit to places of pilgrimage in India. Team leader and student of SoET Vishal Rajput said, “The pandemic-induced restrictions prohibited many people from visiting Chardham. Hence, we worked to create an app using technologies like virtual reality and augmented reality that can provide a 360-degree virtual tour of the temples. We wanted to recreate the temples and provide an experience to users to attend Arti and worshipvirtually.”

The event was organised in hybrid mode so everyone gets the chance to share their ideas. The judges for the University-level Smart India Hackathon were Professor Moinuddin, Dean of School of Engineering and Technology, Dr Anupama Diwan, Dean, School of Pharmaceutical Sciences and Associate Professor Dr. Manpreet Singh Sehgal. The final results that will shortlist teams for next round of Smart India Hackathon 2022 to be held at the national level are awaited.