Startup Incubation & Innovation Centre, the technology business incubator at IIT Kanpur, has announced the top three winners of the Hack & Reboot 2.0 Hackathon supported by the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology and MeitY Startup Hub. SIIC had organized a two-day final pitching round for the 13 shortlisted novel technology solutions, followed by a closing ceremony under the Hack & Reboot 2.0 Hackathon on 11th and 12th January 2023 at IIT Kanpur’s Outreach Centre in Noida. Based on the final pitching round, the winners have now been announced marking a successful conclusion to this year’s edition.
Akinchan Kushwaha was announced as the winner of Hack & Reboot 2.0 for his innovation ‘Vivafeet’, while Dr Abhinav Gupta was adjudged first runner-up for POCCET-Lab (Point-Of-Care Cartridge-based Emergency Testing Lab) and Priyaranjan Tiwari was adjudged second runner-up for NODex devices. The winners were decided following a thorough evaluation of their pitches based on the need for the solution, innovative components, the viability of the business model, and technical functionality. The awarded innovators/startups will get funding support under TIDE 2.0 program supported by MeitY. SIIC will lend technical support, customized hand-holding, access to industry experts, and mentorship support to the winners.
The final pitching round saw the 13 shortlisted novel technology solutions from the domain of HealthTech and CleanTech demonstrating their pitch to a distinguished panel comprising Dr. Sakhi John, Jamia Hamdard University, New Delhi; Mr. Vikas Goenka, Executive Director, BNI India; Mr. Somesh Kumar Bhagat, Mentor, SIIC; Ms. Anupma Singh, CEO & Co-Founder, Interview Cracker; Ms. Sonal Agarwal Bali, Deputy CFO, Intello Labs; Prof. S. C. Srivastava, Director, IIT Kanpur-La Trobe University Research Academy and Distinguished Visiting Professor, Department of Electrical Engineering, IIT Kanpur; and Prof. C. Amarnath, Professor, Department of Mechanical Engineering, IIT Bombay.
All the 13 participants/participating startups received certificates during the final pitching round. Prof. S. C. Srivastava, Prof. Ankush Sharma, Dr. Nalin Kumar Srivastava, Dr. Sakhi John, Ms. Sonal Agarwal Bali, Mr. Vikas Goenka, the program team, Mr. Imran Yusuf and Mr. Zaid Khan, delivered the closing addresses during the final pitching round, and encouraged the participants to apply for more such opportunities under the TIDE 2.0 Program via SIIC.
The winning innovations catered to diverse areas of research in Healthcare and Clean Energy domains:
- Winner Akinchan Kushwaha has developed ‘VivaFeet’, a smart healthcare assistant in the form of a wearable sock that is targeted toward foot-related complications. It provides real-time monitoring of temperature, pressure, and GAIT of the foot to help prevent podiatric ailments like foot ulceration, and varicose veins at an early stage. It can effectively reduce recovery time and reduce the pain experienced with the help of Electrical Muscle Stimulation of the affected region.
- First runner-up, Dr Abhinav Gupta is developing POCCET-Lab (Point-Of-Care Cartridge-based Emergency Testing Lab), which is a handheld blood analyzer that uses microfluidic-based cartridges for different tests required in emergency care. It consists of a handheld analyzer and test-specific microfluidic cartridges. Using a single handheld device and test-specific cartridges, multiple lab tests can be performed in any setting and at a minimal cost.
- Second runner-up, Priyaranjan Tiwari’s team has developed NODex devices, which is capable of taking a rapid test for asthma with a non-invasive method that is convenient for children and adults. The individual taking the test has to blow into a handheld device that will track the results. It is equipped to: i) identify the type of asthma ii) track the airway inflammation over time, and iii) indicate to the doctor if the individual has been taking the medicines correctly.
Prof. Ankush Sharma, Professor-in-charge, Innovation & Incubation, IIT Kanpur, congratulated the winners and said, “Health and Clean energy are two critical domains which require urgent technology interventions in India. The Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology’s initiative to support novel indigenous technology solutions in these spaces through Hackathon is a praiseworthy effort. I give my best wishes to the winners on innovating visionary technologies contributing to India’s self-sustainable status.”
Dr. Nikhil Agarwal, CEO, FIRST & AIIDE-CoE said, “India is a globally emerging space for technology-driven innovations. I am happy more Indians are taking up entrepreneurship as a career choice and contributing towards the rapid evolution of the national tech space. I congratulate all the presenters on getting shortlisted for the final pitch round under Hack & Reboot 2.0, which is supported by the Ministry of Electronics and Information Technology, and the respective winners.”
Dr. Nalin Kumar Srivastava, Scientist D, MietY, marked his presence during the final pitching round in Noida. He expressed his delight at the successful completion of Hack & Reboot 2.0 and thanked the SIIC team for executing it. This Hackathon was launched with the idea of supporting novel Indian tech solutions with promising influence. He also extended his best wishes to the innovators for participating in the Hackathon and making it a success.
Hack & Reboot 2.0 was launched on 11th November 2022 with an aim to create entrepreneurial opportunities for young engineering students, innovators, and startups to develop solutions in the Healthcare and Clean Energy domains. It received a total of 41 applications from college students, working professionals, researchers, and entrepreneurs across India. Two webinar-knowledge sessions were also organized during the application phase to enable a sound understanding of the benefits, developments, and opportunities in the Healthtech and Cleantech domains.
