Inaugurating the Grand Finale of the 36-hour non-stop Software Product Development Competition, Smart India Hackathon-2023, an initiative of Ministry of Education, at Amity University , Noida, Dr. Navin Kumar Singh, Director General, National Critical Information, Infrastructure Protection Centre (NCIIPC), Govt. of India, Chief Guest on the occasion, complemented Amity University for providing the best of facilities and infrastructure to the participants of the Hackathon and advised participants to give their best, not to hesitate in asking doubts and find solutions to the challenges to the problems, which the country is facing in various sectors. Hackathons are a way to ensure that educational system of the Country are aligned to solving the actual pressing problems of the country as hackathons help to indulge the young minds and harness the energy of the Youth. He called upon students to help solve challenges of the Government. The concept of learning and paradigm of learning has changed, now with new technologies, , access to internet, access to education is provided to one and all. The aim of these Hackathons is to move towards Aatm Nirbhar Bharat , breaking barriers and adopt technologies of the future, in sync with the vision of Hon’ble Prime Minister of India. We need to have more IT product Companies rather than just be IT services provider and with the Start Up Indian campaigns , we will be able to achieve this goal as well , commented Dr Singh.
Guest of honour on the occasion, Dr Saibal K Pal, Scientist G, Director, Directorate of IT & Cyber Security & CISO at Defence Research & Development Organization (DRDO) said that responsibility of Cyber Security lies in the hands of coders and they need to protect not only the hardware but also software , hacking systems , applications, data breach, and above all, protecting the User as well., wherein new technologies and AI will paly a significant role. Quantum computing also plays a vital role and can change the algorithm of Cyber attack, remarked Dr Pal.
Addressing the gathering Mr Sajid Ali K Pathan, Nodal Center Head assigned by AICTE said, out of 44,000 ideas submitted as entries, 1500 have been shortlisted which makes it the best of 2% of India’s talent who are trying to find a real-time solution through their innovative mindset and that in itself is a huge success. Through these hackathons, various solutions have been adopted by Ministries in the past and several Start Ups have come up. We are hopeful that solutions developed by these coders with the help of big entrepreneurs will help the themes such as Smart Vehicle, Smart Education, Smart Agriculture, Smart Automation , Drone and Robotics and various social issues.
The Smart India Hackathon inaugurated at Amity University at 8 am sharp and merged with the Central Inauguration chaired by the AICTE Chairman. The Coding began at 9.30 am and will last till the evening of December 20, 2023 at Amity. Teams from VIT Andhra Pradesh , IIIT - Design and Manufacturing, Kanchipuram, Tamil Nadu, Bhilai Institute of Technology, Durg , IIIT Kalyani , Amrita School of Arts and Science, Kochi , IIT Chennai, Bharati Vidyapeeth College of Engineering, Delhi , Maharaja Surajmal Institute, Delhi, NIT Trichy are participating at Amity Campus amongst many others. The Hon’ble Prime Minister of India will also interact with teams across India virtually from 9.pm to 9.30 pm today.
Expressing extreme pleasure on hosting the Hackathon Dr. Balvinder Shukla, Vice Chancellor Amity University Uttar Pradesh, said “It is a great pride for Amity to be the Nodal Center for the prestigious Smart India Hackathon-2023 wherein top 2% talent of the country is competing in this prestigious event. Today, the journey of learning starts for participants, journey of building new networks and the most important becoming the part of the important critical problems at national level and finding a solution through coding the software.. Amity University will be providing its state-of-the -art infrastructure to the participants. Since this is a 36-hour long event, Amity will also hold a Yoga Session at 6 am tomorrow morning and Cultural Programme to destress the coders and provide them a comfortable stay and joyful experience.”