The grand finale of the Ministry of Education's 7th Edition of the Smart India Hackathon (SIH) 2024 Software Edition concluded at Lovely Professional University (LPU). Over two days, 37 teams from across India compete at the LPU innovation center.
The competition was designed to address real-world challenges with technological solutions. At the LPU nodal center themes were smart automation and smart education. PM Narendra Modi commended the young innovators, noting, “The future of the world will be driven by innovation and knowledge, and India’s youth is finding solutions to the country’s challenges.”
The competition featured six problem statements from the Governments of Punjab and Rajasthan, focused on enhancing employability and bridging the skill gap. The goal was to equip individuals with the competencies needed for the job market through automated technological solutions and effective guidance.
For 36 hours, participants worked tirelessly to develop innovative software solutions. The event showcased extraordinary talent as teams tackled distinct problem statements, with winners declared for each.
In the Smart Competency Diagnostics and Candidate Profile Score Calculator challenge, the teams “Stellar Six” and “Access Denied” were crowned joint winners. In the Freelancing Platform category, “Nirvana Legions” and “Navkriti” emerged as joint winners, while “Zencoders 11” and “Connexeus” shared the top spot in the Mentor Connect category.
The team Arambh_99 won in the AI-powered Student Assistance Chatbot for the Department of Technical Education category, and PlaceX triumphed in the Interactive Job and Internship Platform for the Technical Education Department problem statement.
Meanwhile, Underscore was awarded first place in the Intelligent Platform to Interconnect Alumni and Students for the Technical Education Department category. The standout project by LPU's "Stellar Six" team includes CareerPlus, a smart automation app designed to guide youth in both rural and urban areas.
Featuring Penta-Scopic Skill Evaluation, Gap Analysis, and a career assistant powered by Kaushal AI, it offers personalized career guidance. Another remarkable project, "Shashwatam," addresses employment by enhancing the freelancing ecosystem, with multilingual support and an international payment gateway tailored to Indian needs.
During the closing ceremony of the grand event, Mr. Vishal Gautam, Director of Sun Malleable Private Limited, and Prof. Dr.Lovi Raj Gupta, Pro Vice Chancellor of LPU, awarded the winners with cash prizes of up to Rs 1 lakh, along with certificates.
The awards ceremony was also attended by Ms. SupriyaManglekar, Nodal Officer from the Ministry of Education, Government of India, who oversaw the proceedings. The Smart India Hackathon 2024 began with the launch of problem statements in August 2024.
After several stages, including internal hackathons and mentoring sessions, 1,342 teams were shortlisted for the finale from an initial pool of 88,221 teams. Among the finalists, seven teams from LPU stood out, with six representing the hardware edition at various nodal centers.