The National Institute of Technology-Calicut ( NIT-C) will host the grand finale of Smart India Hackathon (SIH) 2019, claimed to be the world’s biggest software hackathon, on March 2 and 3.
A software hackathon — the word comes from hack and marathon — is an event in which a large number of software professionals meet to engage in collaborative computer programming.
During the event, Prime Minister Narendra Modi will interact with the participants through videoconferencing, N. Saleena, Programme Coordinator and Head of the Department of Computer Science and Engineering, NIT-C, said.
NIT-C is one of the 48 nodal centres hosting the event. Twenty nine teams (8 members each in a team) from different parts of the country will compete in the 36-hour non-stop coding competition. Human Resource Development Minister Prakash Javadekar will announce the start of the hackathon through a video speech at 7.40 a.m. on March 2.
SIH 2019 is being organised by the HRD Ministry Innovation Cell, AICTE, Persistent Systems, i4c and Rambhau Mhalgi Prabodhini, and involve over one lakh technical students from over 3,000 institutions, and 200 organisations from across India. “It is the world’s biggest software hackathon where students across India compete to creatively solve problems and offer technical solutions,” she said. The aim is to harness expertise of students from IISc, IITs, NITs and AICTE and UGC approved institutions. The last edition of the hackathon saw over 5 million students from various engineering colleges compete for the top prize at 35 locations.
In SIH 2019, students would also have the opportunity to work on challenges faced within private sector organisations and create world-class solutions for some of the top MNCs in the world.