Noida International University (NIU) organised an internal hackathon for the Smart India Hackathon (SIH) 2026, with more than 400 students participating in the development of technology-based solutions to real-world challenges.
The event was held under NIU’s NIU Student Startup and Innovation Program (NSSIP) and was structured to simulate the SIH 2026 National Finale. A pre-event workshop was conducted on September 8 to prepare students for the problem-solving activities.
Participating teams worked on 50 problem statements across 17 themes, covering five national thrust areas: MedTech, Disaster Management, Blockchain & Cyber Security, Agriculture and Smart Automation. The areas were aligned with NIU’s 10 Research Thrust Areas, 37 Research Clusters and the vision of Viksit Bharat @2047.
The inaugural ceremony was attended by Chancellor Prof. (Dr.) Vikram Singh, Vice-Chancellor Prof. (Dr.) Uma Bhardwaj and Registrar Prof. (Dr.) Mukesh Parashar. The university’s Deans also addressed the participating students.
Prof. (Dr.) B Rajanarayan Prusty, Dean – Research & Innovation and Convener of the hackathon, said the event was structured as a simulation of the national finale. The six-hour programme included three hours of mentoring and three hours of evaluation.
Three jury panels—two for Software and one for Hardware—assessed the teams on technical viability, innovation potential and alignment with the problem statements.
Four teams, comprising two Hardware and two Software teams, received the highest average scores and were declared winners during the valedictory ceremony. Their solutions covered MedTech/BioTech/HealthTech, Agriculture, FoodTech & Rural Development, and Transportation & Logistics.
All participants received certificates. Based on jury recommendations, selected teams will be nominated for the SIH 2026 Grand Finale. The vote of thanks was delivered by event SPOC Dr Veerendra Yadav.