Solve - a - Thon | National Hackathon

Overview: AI for Sustainable Development Goals (AI for SDGs): Solve-a-Thon 2026 is a National 24-Hour Hackathon organized by the Department of Computer Science and Engineering, School of Science & Technology (SST), Swami Rama Himalayan University (SRHU), Dehradun, Uttarakhand. Scheduled for 27–28 November 2026, Solve-a-Thon is designed to bring together student innovators, programmers, AI/ML enthusiasts, developers, researchers, and multidisciplinary problem-solvers from across India to develop innovative technology-driven solutions for real-world challenges aligned with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs). The hackathon focuses on the theme “AI for SDGs”, encouraging participants to explore the use of Artificial Intelligence, Machine Learning, Data Science, Software Development, and other relevant emerging technologies to address challenges in areas such as Healthcare, Education, Climate Action, Agriculture, Smart Cities, Governance, Clean Water, and Open Innovation. Solve-a-Thon is designed as more than a conventional coding competition. It provides participants with an opportunity to identify a meaningful problem, develop an innovative solution, build a functional prototype, receive technical guidance, and demonstrate their work before an expert evaluation panel. The Solve-a-Thon Challenge: The challenge is simple: Identify a real-world problem. Build an innovative technology-driven solution. Demonstrate how your solution can create meaningful impact. Participants will work in teams to transform their ideas into functional prototypes, applications, models, or demonstrable proofs of concept. The hackathon emphasizes not only coding and technical implementation but also innovation, problem relevance, feasibility, practical applicability, social/environmental impact, scalability, and the team's understanding of the proposed solution. Hackathon Themes: Participants can develop solutions under any of the following themes: AI for Healthcare: Develop innovative AI-powered solutions addressing healthcare challenges, patient support, health monitoring, diagnostics, preventive healthcare, accessibility, and related real-world healthcare needs. AI for Education: Build intelligent solutions that can improve teaching and learning, personalized education, assessment, educational accessibility, student engagement, and other challenges in the education ecosystem. AI for Climate Action: Use AI and emerging technologies to address climate-related challenges, environmental sustainability, monitoring, resource optimization, climate resilience, and awareness. AI for Agriculture: Develop technology-driven solutions for smart agriculture, crop monitoring, agricultural decision support, resource optimization, sustainable farming, food security, and other agriculture-related challenges. AI for Smart Cities: Create intelligent solutions for urban challenges including public services, mobility, infrastructure, resource management, citizen services, safety, sustainability, and other smart-city applications. AI for Governance: Explore innovative solutions that can improve public services, citizen engagement, administrative processes, accessibility, transparency, and data-driven decision-making. AI for Clean Water: Develop solutions addressing water quality, conservation, monitoring, contamination, distribution, sustainable water management, and other clean-water challenges. Open Theme: Have an innovative idea outside the listed themes? The Open Theme provides participants with the flexibility to identify a meaningful real-world problem and develop an innovative technology-based solution. Who Can Participate? The hackathon is open to eligible students participating through their institutions. Participants should have an interest or background in areas such as: Programming Artificial Intelligence Machine Learning Data Science Software Development Emerging Technologies Participants from multidisciplinary backgrounds are encouraged to form teams, bringing together different technical and domain perspectives to create stronger solutions. Team Size: Each team must consist of 3 to 5 members. Every team must nominate one Team Leader, who will be responsible for official communication and submission-related activities. Each team may also have one mentor to provide guidance and support during the hackathon. Mentor details are to be submitted to the Organizing Committee during registration. Hackathon Format: Solve-a-Thon will follow a two-stage process consisting of an initial online screening round followed by the main offline hackathon. Round 1 – Online Screening: Teams will first complete the prescribed registration process and undergo verification by the Organizing Committee. Registered teams will submit their problem statement in the prescribed HIMOVATION 2026 template within the announced deadline. The submitted problem statements will be evaluated by the designated evaluation panel, and eligible teams will be shortlisted for the next stage.  Round 2 – Offline 24-Hour Hackathon: Shortlisted teams will be invited to Swami Rama Himalayan University (SRHU), Dehradun for the main hackathon. The offline stage will begin with an orientation covering the hackathon guidelines, rules, schedule, evaluation criteria, and other important information. Teams will then begin the development and coding phase and work continuously on their proposed solutions. The hackathon will include: Orientation Coding & Development Progress Review Overnight Development Final Submission Presentation & Demonstration Final Evaluation Teams will receive technical guidance and mentoring during the development phase. A progress evaluation will also be conducted during the hackathon to review the development status of participating teams. At the end of the 24-hour development period, teams will submit their completed projects in the prescribed format and present their final solutions before the evaluation panel. What Should You Build? Teams are expected to develop an original and innovative solution addressing a clearly identified problem. The final project may take the form of a: Functional prototype Application AI/ML model Software solution Demonstrable proof of concept Participants should clearly demonstrate: The problem being addressed The proposed solution How AI or relevant emerging technologies are being used Relevance to the selected SDG or real-world problem Technologies, tools, datasets, and frameworks used Working functionality or proof of concept Potential practical application and impact Teams must also ensure that their submitted work does not violate applicable intellectual property or copyright requirements. What Will the Jury Look For? Projects may be evaluated on the following parameters: Innovation & Originality: How innovative and original is the proposed solution? Problem/Theme Relevance: How effectively does the solution address the selected problem or theme? Technical Implementation: How well has the proposed solution been technically implemented? Use of AI/Emerging Technology: How effectively are AI or relevant emerging technologies utilized? Feasibility & Practical Applicability: Can the solution realistically be implemented and used? Social/Environmental Impact: What potential impact can the solution create? Scalability: Can the solution be expanded or adapted for larger-scale use? Prototype Quality: How functional, complete, and demonstrable is the prototype? Presentation & Demonstration: How clearly does the team communicate and demonstrate its solution? Teamwork & Understanding: Do team members demonstrate clear understanding of their solution and effective collaboration? 24-Hour Build Experience: Solve-a-Thon is a continuous 24-hour coding and development challenge. Teams will have to effectively manage their time between ideation, development, testing, debugging, documentation, and final presentation. Mandatory progress reviews will be conducted during the hackathon, and teams must remain prepared to demonstrate the progress and functionality of their solutions. The overnight development phase will provide teams with an opportunity to refine, test, and strengthen their prototypes before final submission. Food & Refreshments: During the hackathon, running tea and snacks during the daytime, along with dinner, will be provided to participants. Additional meals, refreshments, or personal food requirements will be the responsibility of participants. Food stalls will also be available at the venue on a paid basis. Rest Area & Hackathon Arena: Separate rest areas will be provided for male and female participants. Participants are required to follow the instructions of the Organizing Committee regarding the use of these facilities. For effective participation and monitoring, at least 50% of each team must remain present in the Hackathon Arena throughout the event. Rules & Responsible Participation: Participants are expected to maintain professional conduct throughout the hackathon. Solutions must be developed during the designated competition period, subject to the rules announced during orientation. Plagiarism and direct copying of another team's work are strictly prohibited. Teams may use publicly available libraries, frameworks, APIs, and datasets in accordance with their applicable licenses. Any external work, resource, dataset, or pre-existing component must be properly declared wherever required. Failure to submit the project within the prescribed deadline may result in disqualification. Teams must be prepared to demonstrate their working prototype before the jury. Prizes & Recognition: The total cash prize pool for Solve-a-Thon 2026 is ₹93,000. 1st Prize: ₹51,000 2nd Prize: ₹31,000 3rd Prize: ₹11,000 Winners will receive Certificates of Achievement along with the announced cash prizes. Registration: Registration Fee: ₹800 per team Teams must complete the registration process within the announced deadline. Registration details must include the names and institutional details of all team members. As per the hackathon guidelines, the initial online screening stage is conducted before the main offline stage. Teams participating only in Round 1 are not required to pay the registration fee at that stage. The applicable registration fee is required only for shortlisted teams proceeding to the subsequent stages, subject to the instructions and deadline communicated by the Organizing Committee. Registration will be confirmed only after successful payment and verification by the Organizing Committee. Event Details: Event: Solve-a-Thon 2026 – National 24-Hour Hackathon Theme: AI for Sustainable Development Goals (AI for SDGs) Date: 27–28 November 2026 Duration: 24 Hours Mode: Offline / On-Campus for shortlisted teams Venue: School of Science & Technology (SST), Swami Rama Himalayan University, Dehradun, Uttarakhand Team Size: 3–5 Members Registration Fee: ₹800 per shortlisted team Prize Pool: ₹93,000 Why Solve-a-Thon? Solve-a-Thon gives participants the opportunity to move beyond classroom exercises and work on problems that have real-world relevance. It is an opportunity to: Compete at a National-Level Hackathon Build an AI-powered solution for an SDG-linked challenge Work on a real-world problem within a 24-hour development environment Collaborate with a multidisciplinary team Receive technical guidance and mentoring Showcase a functional prototype before an expert jury Strengthen programming, AI, problem-solving, teamwork, and presentation skills Explore the practical application of emerging technologies Connect innovation with social and environmental impact Ready to Solve? You have 24 hours to turn an idea into a solution. Choose a problem that matters. Build something meaningful. Use technology intelligently. Demonstrate your impact. Think. Build. Solve. Impact.