INSPIRE TECHATHON – A Social Innovation Challenge (India)

The INSPIRE TECHATHON 2023 is designed to not only help solve problems and also it is a typically a time-bound competitive event where participants collaborate in teams to build proofs of concept or minimum viable products for a specific pre-defined problem. It is a time bound event in which teams made up of both technical and business knowledge get together to collaborate intensively on projects. The aim is to design, build and present a most innovative solution to a problem, and then pitch a final concept, prototype or presentation to the jury. Over a period of 48 hours, Individual Innovators or Startups, a team of maximum 4 members are asked to HACK probable solutions to a series of given social challenges. As a result, it enables a connection and conversation between the rural and urban communities that accelerates innovations, brings solutions for business problems, remedies for social causes and build potential startups.

Objectives

• To provide a platform for Students/Researchers/Innovators to come up with innovative solutions for key challenges and creating start-ups.
  • To identify and nurture the social innovations.
  • To highlight funding opportunities for scale up.
  • To organize competition events for students/youths on viable solutions to the societal problems predominantly Agriculture, tourism, and physical well-being.
  • To identify innovations having applications in the rural sector which can provide value proposition addressing the key challenges.

Themes

• Fashion
• Agriculture
• Tourism
• Sports and Fitness

What will you get?

• Incubation & Mentoring at IIMBG INSPIRE
• Access to Funding support
• Opportunity to Pitch

Problem Statement

• Soil, Disease & Pest and Water Management
  • Managing & Monitoring the soil fertility, rate of water, crop growth, pest & diseases, macro & micro-nutrients etc. using IoT, AI & ML and applications of sensors.
  • Solution: Development of indigenous systems to track the water, soil fertility, crop growth etc.
• E- Market for FPOs
  • Designing a E-Market through a digital platform for empowering the FPOs Produces.
  • Solution: Digital/AI based Agri-technology solutions have to be innovated to strengthen FPOs, and help to resolve diverse challenges in relation to market linkages, access to financial services, internal management of members, and achieve higher farm productivity.
• WoW Approach for Agri Waste through Value Addition
  • Value added products from Agri waste through waste to wealth Approach
  • Solution
    • Product through agri waste and Mobile application through proper collection and recycling.
      • Efficient and environmentally friendly products through agricultural waste through proper collection and recycling.
      • Efficient, low cost mechanisms to clear the crop residue and collect it from the farms, that are remunerative to the smallholder farmers.
      • Innovative and affordable technologies for best use of crop residues as an income source.
      • Energy efficient models of using crop residue for enhancing soil health or generating energy for productive use.
• Tourism
  • How can technology be used to benefit the local businesses for sustainable practices and encourage tourists to access those tourist places of India?
  • Solution: Digital/AI based technology solutions have to be innovated to strengthen tourism in India by means of connecting the transport, hospitality and promoting regional products.
• Sustainable Fashion
  • Sustainable fashion is a fashion method that prioritizes the environment, social responsibility, and economic sustainability across a garment’s entire lifespan. Sustainable fashion strives to leverage new technologies and techniques to decrease waste, save resources, and enhance working conditions in the fashion business.
  • Solution: To derive the process and product prototyping of sustainable fashion which uses the technology in an efficient way.
• Fitness & Sports
  • Technology-driven fitness as gameplay.
  • Solution: Digital developed platform for physical wellbeing by ease of access.
• Blockchain Technology in Agriculture
  • Blockchain technology for the traceability of agri-produce from Farm to Fork.
  • Solution: The Software/Digitally enabled technology that traces the produce product from farm to consumer.

Who can apply?

• Individual Innovators or Startups, a team of maximum 4 members with knowledge, skills or an interest in: hardware & software engineering, computer science, agriculture, horticulture or tourism.
• Solo founders/individuals can apply for INSPIRE TECHATHON’23.

For more information, visit IIMBG INSPIRE.