ASEAN-India hackathon held to facilitate young minds

The All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE) implemented this important initiative with the support of nodal agencies from all ten ASEAN countries, which included their Education Ministries and prominent universities. The Hackathon emanates from Prime Ministers' announcement at the 16th ASEAN-India Summit in Bangkok in November 2019.

New Delhi: The ASEAN-India Hackathon was organised by the Ministry of Education in collaboration with the Ministry of External Affairs from 1-4 February.

The All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE) implemented this important initiative with the support of nodal agencies from all ten ASEAN countries, which included their Education Ministries and prominent universities. The Hackathon emanates from Prime Ministers' announcement at the 16th ASEAN-India Summit in Bangkok in November 2019.

The hackathon was inaugurated by Minister of Education Dr Ramesh Pokhriyal 'Nishank' along with other dignitaries from ASEAN and India on 1st February.

330 students and 110 mentors from the 10 ASEAN countries and India worked together online and competed as 55 teams to come up with innovative solutions to 11 problem statements. The Problem Statements covered two major themes – Blue Economy and Education.

The multinational character of each team was meant to forge a collaborative spirit, exposing the participants to get acquainted with diverse cultures, values and work ethics.

External Affairs Minister Dr S. Jaishankar and Minister of Education Dr Ramesh Pokhriyal 'Nishank' attended the Prize Distribution Ceremony on Thursday and commended the hard work, team spirit, and creativity of the participants.

Speaking at the Ceremony, External Affairs Minister stated that ASEAN-India Youth Cooperation is a key component of ASEAN-India Strategic Partnership and the Hackathon complements India's other youth-centric initiatives for ASEAN.

He further underlined the importance of 'Blue Economy' and 'Education' in ASEAN-India engagement and commended their inclusion as the two themes of the Hackathon.

Reflecting the shared desire to promote ASEAN-India youth cooperation, the Prize Distribution Ceremony from ASEAN side was attended by Senior Ministers from Brunei, Malaysia, Philippines, Singapore, Thailand, Cambodia, Lao PDR and Vietnam. Winners in all 11 problem statements were announced on the occasion.