Bhubaneswar: Innovation and teamwork came to the forefront at Siksha ‘O’ Anusandhan (Deemed to be University), Bhubaneswar, as the university hosted the grand finale of SOA Ideathon 2025 on September 20.
Designed as an internal offline hackathon, the event served as a launchpad for aspiring student innovators to showcase their problem-solving skills while gearing up for national-level competitions like the Smart India Hackathon (SIH).
The journey to the finale began with a highly-competitive online round held on September 12–13. An impressive 306 teams from across various disciplines registered for the challenge, taking on 85 real-world problem statements (out of 135 problem statements) from the SIH portal. This initial round witnessed the participation of 1,836 students — including 634 female and 1,202 male participants — highlighting the university’s culture of inclusive and widespread engagement in innovation-driven activities.
From these 306 teams, judges shortlisted 50 teams based on their online submissions to represent SOA at the national stage. The offline finale on September 20 saw these teams present their solutions before a distinguished panel of industry experts. The top 10 teams were selected for their outstanding presentations, domain expertise, and alignment with SIH challenges.
Later that day, the top three teams were awarded cash prizes of Rs.30,000, Rs 20,000, and Rs 10,000, respectively, along with certificates. The remaining seven finalists received Rs 5,000 each and certificates of appreciation.
The event concluded with a valedictory session attended by senior academic leaders and industry dignitaries. Prof Manoranjan Parhi, Organizing Chair of SOA Ideathon 2025 and SOA’s Single Point of Contact (SPOC) for SIH 2025, led the proceedings.
The session was graced by Prof Pradipta Kumar Nanda, Vice Chancellor of SOA Deemed University; Managovinda Mahendrachandra Mishra, Managing Director of Nemhans Solutions Pvt Ltd as Chief Guest along with Prof P K Sahoo, Dean ITER, Prof Manas Kumar Mallick, Director, Prof D N Thatoi, Additional Dean (Academics), Prof Renu Sharma, Additional Dean (Student Affairs), ITER, Prof Debahuti Mishra, Prof Ajit Kumar Nayak, and Dr Ashis Kumar Pati.
Siksha ‘O’ Anusandhan expressed its heartfelt gratitude to the Ministry of Education for initiatives like the Smart India Hackathon that continue to inspire student innovation nationwide.
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