KIET Ghaziabad organised a 24-hour NASA Space Apps Challenge 2024

KIET Group of Institutions, in collaboration with NASA Space Apps organised the NASA Space Apps Challenge 2024 on October 5, 2024 (Saturday). The event marked the beginning of an exciting 24-hour hackathon where around 24 teams (approximately 100 students) from various renowned universities and institutes of Delhi-NCR participated to solve real-world space-related challenges using NASA's open data.

This was the first regional round of NASA Space Apps Challenge 2024, organised by the Kinesis Technical Society (KTS), Department of Computer Science, KIET, in collaboration of TBI-KIET that is a partner Incubator of IDEX DIO Ministry of defence, out of 27 partners in India like IISC, IIMs, IITs and NITs. This event aims to foster student innovation by solving real-world problems faced by NASA in space exploration and Earth science.

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The inaugural ceremony began with lamp lighting in the gracious presence of the Chief Guest, Shri Dayanand Sharma, programme Director of iDEX-DIO, Ministry of Defence, Government of India, Prof. (Dr.) Preeti Bajaj (Director General, KIET Group of Institutions), Dr. Manoj Goel (Joint Director), Dr. Ajay Kumar Shrivastava (Dean, Computer Science), and Mr. Saurav Kumar (General Manager, TBI KIET). The esteemed guests were welcomed by presenting Oxyplants as a symbol of a greener future, gratitude, and prosperity.

Distinguished judges for the hackathon, Mr. Ayon Roy (Executive Data Scientist, NielsenIQ), Mr. Raman Bhadauria (SDE 3, Oracle), and Mr. Ayush Kumar (Developer Relations Engineer, NodeShift) were also present during the ceremony. Their expertise and guidance were invaluable to the participants while working on innovative solutions during the hackathon.

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During her address, the Director General of the institute, Prof. (Dr) Preeti Bajaj emphasised on the importance of the hackathon that how team spirit and working together towards one problem can give us great solutions to big challenges. She stated, “The NASA Space Apps Challenge 2024 is set to be an extraordinary event, fostering collaboration, creativity, and problem-solving among young minds, with the potential to make significant contributions to the field of space science. The problems given today, and the solutions received tomorrow would be beneficial for our future generations as they might resolve critical problems”. She also added a note of appreciation for the organising team for meticulously handling the nitty-gritties of the event.

In his keynote address, the Chief Guest Shri Dayanand Sharma shared his vast experience as programme Director of iDEX-DIO, and inspired the participants by offering his valuable insights. He appreciated the student community of KIET saying that the development graph of KIET has increased over time and in the application challenge of the defence ministry, the total number of teams from KIET has increased in the past few years. He motivated the participants to work on the solution of the problems and contribute to a brighter future for both science and society. Lastly, he thanked the institute’s Director General, Joint Director, GM - TBI, and DEAN CS for supporting the students and also requested them to continue doing that in the future too.

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Following the formal welcome by the Local Lead of NASA Space Apps Challenge, participants were briefed on the structure and objectives of the hackathon. Dean-CS Dr Ajay Kumar Shrivastava welcomed all the participants and said that NASA's Space Apps Challenge is about more than winning; it's about learning and creating. It's a chance to explore new ideas, gain invaluable experience, and build projects that can impact global communities.

During the valedictory ceremony on 6 October 2024, Team KTS organised a live podcast session, featuring the esteemed judges of the hackathon. During the session, the participants had the opportunity to engage with the judges, gaining valuable insights into the tech industry and hearing their life experiences, which inspired both the participants and the audience.

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The winning teams, viz. winners (Code Crackers), first runner-up (Space Hackers), and second runner-up (Page not found) were felicitated with a cash prize and memento from the institute. These teams would now get a chance to exhibit their innovation & skills at the National level.

The ceremony served as a perfect conclusion to an event that fostered creativity, collaboration, and scientific curiosity. Ms. Shivani (Faculty Coordinator, Kinesis Technical Society), Dr. Raj Kumar, Additional Head of Computer Science and Dr. Harsh Khatter, Associate Professor, Dept of Computer Science contributed to the success of the event.