One day Innovating for SDG Acceleration 2030

The Internal Hackathon 2025 aims to inspire students to develop innovative, scalable solutions that accelerate progress towards the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). Leveraging recent technology trends, including AI and machine learning, IoT-based smart systems, blockchain for transparency, renewable energy innovations, geospatial monitoring, and biotechnology, participants will work in cross-department teams to address urgent global challenges. This event promotes hands-on problem-solving, interdisciplinary collaboration, and the application of cutting-edge tools to deliver impactful, real-world outcomes.

Objectives:

• Foster interdisciplinary teamwork to address complex SDG challenges.
• Encourage innovative engineering and technological solutions with real world impact.
• Raise awareness of critical SDG gaps highlighted in the 2024 UN report.
• Provide a platform for rapid prototyping and practical problem solving.
• Recognize and reward impactful ideas that can be scaled for societal benefit.

Team Formation:

• Participants can register individually or in teams of 2–4 members.
• Cross-institutional teams are allowed.
• One member must be designated as the Team Leader.

Eligibility:

• Open to undergraduate and postgraduate students.
• Only E.G.S. Pillay Engineering College (Autonomous), Nagapattinam is allowed to participate.
• No restriction on branch/discipline, but solutions must align with SDG themes.

Idea Submission:

• Submissions must be the original work of the team.
• Plagiarism or previously submitted projects will lead to disqualification.
• Each team can submit only one idea.

Format:

• Round 1: Abstract/Idea Submission (max 500 words or PPT).
• Round 2: Shortlisted teams present their idea in 5–7 min to the jury.
• Round 3 (Final): Jury Q&A + Evaluation.

Evaluation Criteria:

• Innovation & Creativity – 30%
• Feasibility & Implementation – 30%
• Alignment with SDGs – 20%
• Impact & Scalability – 20%

Conduct:

• All decisions by the jury/organizers will be final and binding.
• Participants must maintain professional decorum throughout.
• Use of AI tools is allowed, but originality and clarity of thought will be judged.

Prizes:

• Certificates will be awarded to all participants.
• Cash prizes/goodies for top winners (details in Prize Section).

Round 1 – Idea Submission:

• Teams/individuals submit an abstract or concept note (max 500 words or 5-slide PPT).
• Submission must clearly state the problem addressed, SDG linkage, proposed solution, and expected impact.
• Deadline: [insert date].

Round 2 – Shortlisting:

• Submissions are reviewed by the jury panel.
• Evaluation is based on innovation, feasibility, impact, and alignment with SDGs.
• Selected teams will be invited to the presentation round.

Round 3 – Final Presentation:

• Each shortlisted team gets 5–7 minutes to present their idea (PPT/demo).
• Followed by 3–5 minutes Q&A from the jury.
• Top teams will be declared winners.

Format Summary:

• Mode: Offline
• Duration: One-day event.
• Team Size: 1–4 members.
• Deliverables: Abstract → PPT/Demo → Final Pitch.
• Evaluation: Based on predefined criteria (innovation, feasibility, scalability, SDG alignment).

Timeline: (start/end dates for each round)

Competition Timeline:

• Registrations Open: 02.09.2025
• Registrations Close / Abstract Submission Deadline: 13.09.2025
• Shortlisting Announcement (Round 1 Results): 14.09.2025
• Final Presentation / Pitch Day: I month duration
• Winners Announcement & Prize Distribution: Mid-october 

Prizes & Rewards (cash, certificates, internships, goodies):

• Winner (1st Place): ₹1,000 + Certificate of Excellence
• Runner-Up (2nd Place): ₹500 + Certificate of Merit
• Best SDG Impact Award (special category): ₹300 + Certificate
• Certificates of Participation: Awarded to all registered participants
• Networking & Mentorship Opportunity: Selected teams may be connected with industry experts/SDG mentors for further idea development

Evaluation Criteria (innovation, feasibility, impact, etc.):

Submissions and presentations will be judged on the following parameters:

• Innovation & Creativity – 30%
  • Novelty of the idea and uniqueness of the approach.
• Feasibility & Implementation – 30%
  • Practicality, technical soundness, and ease of execution.
• Impact & Scalability – 20%
  • Potential to create measurable impact on society and ability to scale.
• Alignment with SDGs – 20%
  • Clear connection with one or more Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).

Final decisions by the jury will be binding.