The two-day long “National Hackathon on Frontier Technologies” has been started at Independent University Bangladesh (IUB) on Friday, 28th February 2020. The Hackathon, being participated by 51 teams consisting of approx. 150 innovators, will strive to come out with possible technological solutions to solve the most citizen-centric 10 challenges of Bangladesh.
Under the ICT Division, the “Innovation Design and Entrepreneurship Academy (iDEA) project” with its Startup Bangladesh banner in association with “High Commission of India in Bangladesh” and “Tech Mahindra Limited (TechM)” are organizing this Hackathon.
The hackathon was inaugurated by the Project Director (Additional Secretary) of iDEA project Syed Mojibul Huq. He welcomed everyone at the hackathon and gave thanks to “High Commission of India in Bangladesh” and “Tech Mahindra Limited (TechM)” for being a part of this initiative.
The Head of Global Innovation of TechM Mr. Nikhil Malhotra attended at the opening program. He expressed his gratitude for organizing such an event with the youth and thanked the Bangladesh Government for such a timely program for the development of the ICT sector of Bangladesh.
Akash Dolas, Customer Relationship Head- Makers; Umesh Kad, Head of Startnet & Campus Connect, Debashish Mitra, Country Manager (Bangladesh) on behalf of the team of Tech Mahindra Ltd. and Deputy Director of iDEA Project Kazi Hosna Ara was also there at the opening time. Officers from ICT division were also attended at the opening program of the hackathon.
From 349 shortlisted innovative solutions from all the applications across the country, the top 51 teams are participating in this hackathon. Forty mentors are here to guide all participants. Finally, the top 10 participants will be awarded as the winner at the closing ceremony to be held on Saturday, 29th February 2020. The winning teams will be provided mentoring and training with R&D support at “Makers Lab” of Tech Mahindra Limited (TechM), India. At the same time, the necessary investment will be made in maturing the innovative project. After the maturity of the projects, they will be supported to bring their project to the growth stage by promoting through the marketing channels of TechM in different countries of the world. Besides, certificates will be given at the hackathon to the winners and besides that, the necessary mentoring and grooming will also be ensured by the Startup Bangladesh-iDEA.