“SMART GUJARAT HACKATHON”

6TH EDITION
Organized by
Gujarat Knowledge Society Under Student Start-up and Innovation Policy (SSIP 2.0),
Education Department Gujarat

Background

The Education Department, Gujarat has been making persistent efforts to institutionalize the
Innovation & Startup Ecosystem in the State through policy, platform, and processes. To augment
the support system for nurturing student Start-ups in the State, second edition of Student Start-up
and Innovation Policy (SSIP 2.0) was launched on January 05, 2022, which will extend INR 500
Cr support to student innovators and Start-ups.

Under the Policy, various flagship initiatives have been envisaged through which youth can get
adequate opportunities to harness their creative potential. We have pioneered various Open
Innovation Programmes like hackathons and executed them at a large-scale.

Over the last 7 years, under the Student Start-up and Innovation Policy, the Education Department
organized 5 hackathons in which 11,567 student teams, consisting of 57,659 students, registered
for 1,676 problem statements shared by 612 departments of the Government of Gujarat,
Municipals corporations, government offices, and industries. A total of 4,746 teams participated
in the regional rounds, and 1,202 teams advanced to the grand finale of the hackathons. In the
end, 174 teams were declared winners, and a total prize money of ₹89 lakh was distributed.

Gujarat Knowledge Society, Education Department is planning to organize 6th Edition “Smart
Gujarat Hackathon” under SSIP 2.0. Though primarily the program will be designed and
executed for finding solutions for various challenges of the State Government department,
PSU, Municipal Corporations, DDO/Collectorate Offices and various Industries
Associations further attempts will be made to develop the mechanism and process to innovate
hardware/software solutions and innovation pertaining to different challenges.

6th Edition “Smart Gujarat Hackathon” will be a step forward towards the previous hackathon
editions where more than 15,000 students are expected to participate and work on problem
statements.

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 6th Edition “Smart Gujarat Hackathon”

Vision:
The Hackathon on Emerging Technologies aims to empower students and innovators to
develop groundbreaking solutions leveraging advanced technologies such as AI/ML,
Robotics, Big Data Analytics, Cloud Computing, Blockchain, and Cybersecurity. By
adopting a collaborative ecosystem, this hackathon envisions driving technological
innovation and building a skilled workforce to address future challenges in the digital
economy.

Objectives:

• Encourage innovation in emerging technologies to solve real-world challenges

across industries.
• Provide a platform for students to collaborate and experiment with advanced
tools like AI/ML, Big Data, and Blockchain.
• Promote awareness of the latest advancements in Robotics, Automation, and
Cloud Computing within the academic community.
• Facilitate mentorship and support from industry experts to guide students in
developing market-ready solutions.
• Bridge the gap between academic knowledge and industry requirements in cutting-
edge technology domains.
• Foster creativity, problem-solving, and entrepreneurship in technology-driven
fields.

Expected Outcomes:

• Solutions that address specific challenges faced by government departments and

industries, providing practical insights into technological integration.
• Development of innovative prototypes and solutions using emerging
technologies that can be scaled for real-world applications.
• Enhanced student engagement with advanced technologies, fostering a deeper
understanding and skill development in areas like AI, Big Data, Cybersecurity etc.
• Creation of a pipeline for future startups and job creators in high-tech fields.

Stakeholders:

• School Students (Class 9 to 12)

• University and Institute Students

• Academicians and Industry experts

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• State Government Departments

• Industries (MSME and Large through Industries Associations)

• PSUs (Bureau of Public Enterprise-GoG)

• Municipal Corporations

• DDO/Collectorate offices

Sectors for Problem Statements:

• Clean & Green Technology • Industry 4.0

• Logistics & Infrastructure • Cyber Security & Data Privacy

• Healthtech • Social Impact

• Edutech • Smart Cities & Urban Governance

• Fintech • IT / ITeS

• Agritech • Sports

Benefits of Participation:

Government Departments / PSU / MSMEs:

• Government departments and PSUs can obtain working prototypes of platforms or

products at a fraction of the usual cost, as the development is driven by motivated
participants, often without the need for high-level investment initially.
• Hackathons provide an opportunity to identify and recruit top talent skilled in
emerging technologies like AI, Blockchain, and Cybersecurity. It also serves as a
platform for skill development, allowing participants to work on relevant, real-
world challenges.
• Government departments, PSUs, and MSMEs can leverage cutting-edge
technologies such as AI, Machine Learning, Blockchain, and Robotics to improve
processes, enhance decision-making, and increase efficiency, staying ahead in a
rapidly changing digital landscape.

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Benefits and Rewards to Students:

• Exposure to real world challenges and opportunities to work on them.

• Opportunity to win awards and prizes.
• SSIP 2.0 grant for PoC/Prototype /Innovation and IP support for all the Top
Team in Each Problem Statements in each sector.
• The winning team/project will get mentorship support, networking, and funding
opportunity from Gujarat Startup and Innovation Hub (i-Hub) and SSIP
Grantee Institutes/Universities.

Strategy for Implementation:

The Section includes the strategies for effective implementation of the Hackathon event.
The strategy mainly focuses on the 3 core parts of the event which are as follows:

1. Receiving Quality Problem Statement that can be converted into product/platform.

2. Receiving Quality, Sustainable and Actionable Solutions

3. Ensuring proposed solutions by hackathon winners materialize into scalable

products / platforms for government departments or MSMEs.

1. Obtaining Quality Problem Statement that can be converted into

product/platform:

Capacity Building Workshops for Problem Identification: Organize capacity-

building workshops with government departments and PSUs to educate their
representatives on how to frame a proper problem statement. Focus on defining real-
world challenges that can be solved using technology and emphasize the importance
of actionable outcomes.

Create a Problem Statement Template: Develop a template that asks for clear
details such as the desired outcome, user group, technical constraints, and current
process inefficiencies. This can help standardize the quality of problem statements.
Include fields like:

- Current Situation: Explain the status quo.

- Desired Outcome: What’s the end goal or change needed?

- Resources/Technology: What resources and technologies can be

utilized?
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- Feasibility: Can a solution be implemented within a reasonable

timeframe?

- Impact: What is the expected impact of solving this problem?

Problem Statement Vetting Committee: Set up a vetting committee comprising

technologists, government liaisons, and innovation experts who can assess the
submitted problem statements. This committee can reject or send back for revisions
any statements that are too vague or unrealistic. The focus should be on identifying
problems that are solvable and lead to scalable platforms or products.

Additional Filters for Quality Actionable Problem Statements:

• Relevance to Emerging and New Technology: Ensure the problem can

leverage cutting-edge technology (AI, Big Data, Cloud, etc.) and has the
potential to be developed into a digital platform.

• Implementation Potential: The problem should lead to a solution that can be

scaled up and integrated into existing systems, improving public service
delivery or governance.

• Clarity of End-User and Impact: The problem must clearly define who the
end-users are and what the tangible impact will be once the solution is
implemented.

• Resource Availability: The problem should consider the availability of

necessary data, infrastructure, and budget to bring the solution to life.

• Legal and Regulatory Framework: Solutions should fit within existing

regulations or have a clear path to compliance if innovation leads to policy
changes.

2. Obtaining Quality, Sustainable and Actionable Solutions:

Robust Filtering and Evaluation Framework:
• Relevance and Impact: Evaluation of the problem statements based on their
relevance to the department's operational challenges and the potential
impact of solving the problem.
• Technical Feasibility: Ensure that the proposed solutions can be developed
using emerging and new technologies, within the hackathon timeframe.

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• Scalability: Prioritize problems that, if solved, can be scaled for broader

applications across departments or industries.

Engagement of Industry Experts for Solution Development:

• Involve industry experts and mentors who are familiar with emerging
technologies to provide guidance during the solution development phase.
This ensures that the solutions proposed are technically sound, realistic, and
sustainable in the long term. Experts can also assist in the fine-tuning of
solutions so that they can be implemented on a larger scale post-hackathon.
Post-Hackathon Incubation and Mentorship:
• To ensure solutions are sustainable and actionable beyond the hackathon,
incubation, funding, and mentorship support will be provided through i-Hub.
This phase is crucial for transforming hackathon prototypes into fully-
fledged platforms or products that can be integrated into existing systems.
• Access to Funding: Offer grants or seed funding under Student Startup and
Innovation Policy to the finalist to help them move from prototype to a
marketable or implementable solution.

3. Ensuring proposed solutions by hackathon winners materialize into scalable

products / platforms for government departments or MSME.

Collaboration with Departments/PSUs/MSMEs

• Implementation of pilot programs within the department or PSU to test the
solutions on a small scale. This ensures that the proposed solutions align
with the department's needs and provide real-world feedback for further
refinement.
• Assign a dedicated project team within the department to oversee the
integration of the solution. This team should consist of technical experts
from the government as well as members from the winning hackathon team
to ensure seamless collaboration.

Ongoing Mentorship and Support

• Continuous mentorship from industry experts who can guide the hackathon
teams in building a commercially viable product.

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• Offer legal and regulatory support to help hackathon finalists navigate

government procurement processes, intellectual property (IP) concerns, and
compliance with local laws. This is particularly important for government
adoption.
Integration with Existing Systems

• Ensure that the proposed solution is compatible with the current technology
stack used by the government or PSU. This reduces friction in adoption and
makes it easier for departments to integrate the solution.
• Encourage teams to develop solutions using APIs, making it easier for their
product to be integrated with other platforms or systems within the
government or MSME ecosystem.

Monitoring and Evaluation

• A robust monitoring framework and team from Gujarat Knowledge Society

to track the implementation of the solution with Government
Departments/PSU etc.
• Encourage departments and PSUs to provide regular feedback to the
hackathon teams. Based on this feedback, the solutions should undergo
iterative development to fix bugs, add new features, and improve
functionality.

Program Flow and Tentative Schedule:

Sr Process Timeline
1 Formation of Hackathon Core Committee and Nodal December 2024
Committee
2 Outreach to State Government Departments, PSU and 1st January 2025
Industries Association
3 Collection of Problem Statements January 2025
4 Screening of Problem/challenge definitions by the committee January 2025
5 Launching of Hackathon January 2025
6 Outreach to Educational Institutions of the State – Schools, January February 2025
Colleges, and Universities
7 Student Registration and Synopsis Submission February 2025
8 Evaluation and Shortlisting of teams for Hackathon by state- February 2025
level academic experts
9 Regional round of Hackathon Event March 2025
10 Shortlisting of teams for Grand Finale Hackathon 2024 April 2025
11 Grand finale round of Hackathon Event April 2025
12 Prize Distribution to winner’s teams. April 2025
13 Post - Hackathon Support April 2025 onwards

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