Odisha has received overwhelming response to its first-ever hackathon to be organised during the forthcoming Make in Odisha Conclave in November here.

The Smart Odisha Hackathon, registrations for which started on September 13, has received over 4,000 registrations from students across the country.

The idea submission phase is over and participation is closed. It was heartening to note that close to 40 per cent of the registrations and ideas were received from students across Odisha.

Minister, Planning and Convergence, Skill Development and Technical Education Usha Devi said, “We are happy to see the phenomenal response to the hackathon from students across the country. We encourage budding entrepreneurs and students to come up with innovative solutions to resolve the pressing challenges of public service delivery as well as those that concern the industry and consumers.”

She added, “It is encouraging to note that over 25 per cent of the registered students are women which shows rising availability of technically qualified female talent in the State. The shortlisted ideas will be implemented as pilot projects and winners will be awarded attractive prizes.”

The hackathon aims to encourage undergraduate and postgraduate students to identify innovative and disruptive IT solutions for public service delivery and governance. Identified solutions will cover areas of skill development and employment, disaster management, healthcare, startups and entrepreneurship, public distribution system, urban problems, environment and climate change.  The most popular themes under which students have registered to develop software solutions are healthcare, education, ecology and environment, apart from innovative projects in other sectors.

Chief Minister Naveen Patnaik had launched the 36-hour Smart Odisha Hackathon in the run up to the Make in Odisha Conclave 2018 during the Investors’ Meet conducted in Chennai last month.

Most of the registrations were received from students who would graduate in 2020 indicating great interest among third year engineering students.  The hackathon will be conducted on November 13 and 14 in Bhubaneswar during the Make in Odisha.