MIT Management School Invites Entries for Covid-19 Challenge Hackathon, 'India: Turning the Tide'

The Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT) will host the 'India: Turning the Tide' challenge, the seventh in a series of MIT-led hackathons designed to create solutions to address critical needs during the Covid-19 crisis.

The deadline for interest candidates to apply to participate ends at 9:30 am on Monday.

Teams from around the world including those from universities, private sector, government, and NGOs will collaborate and help create solutions to address the critical unmet needs that have emerged as a result of the Covid-19 outbreak across the country.

“India, with its population density and the scale of its informal sector is facing some unprecedented and unique challenges that call for extraordinary leadership from the community. Many of the strategies that have been adopted at a smaller scale or in the early stages of the pandemic become practically impossible to sustain long-term, without trade-offs,” said MIT alumni Rao V Mantri and Geethanjali Gopal, organizers of the hackathon.

This year's event comprises of four themes: promoting effective and practical solutions to support underserved populations, reviving the informal economy while mitigating the risks of the spread of the virus, strengthening healthcare systems for all while improving the lives of healthcare workers and curbing the spread of misinformation and fraud while expanding the dialogue to make critical information available on time.

“Participants do not need coding experience. We are looking for a diverse set of participants from various industries. The will to make a difference and a creative mindset is all you need,” said Mantri and Gopal.

Participants will form teams on Friday to hone in on the problem statements and generate solution pitches, followed by an opportunity to develop solutions, including proof of concepts, prototypes, and preliminary vision for execution.

On Sunday, August 30, teams will reconvene to present their work after refining their pitches with the help of mentors and the winners will be announced.