SUBHASH MISHRA
Dhanbad, April 5: Over 125 teams from the country’s premier technical institutes have embarked on a 36-hour marathon of innovation at the IIT ISM Dhanbad HackFest 2025, which kicked off on Friday evening.
The event, held at the Penman Auditorium, is being organized by the Innovation, Incubation and Entrepreneurship (IIE) cell of IIT (ISM). More than 650 tech enthusiasts are participating, all focused on creating cutting-edge innovations.
Prof. Sukumar Mishra, Director of IIT (ISM), served as the chief guest at the inaugural ceremony. In his address, he emphasized that winning or losing is secondary, while participation and the development of quality products are of primary importance.
Deputy Director Prof. Dheeraj Kumar urged participants to focus on creating innovations that align with the United Nations Sustainable Development Goals (SDGs).
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Challenging Problems for Young Innovators
Prof. Alok Das, Dean of IIE, shared insights into the range of challenges presented at HackFest. Tasks include building an AI-powered autonomous border surveillance system and developing a mobile application for ticket sales tracking and event analytics. These problems are designed to push participants to think creatively and practically.
Prof. Saurabh Srivastava, faculty coordinator, highlighted that HackFest 2025 offers young minds a unique opportunity to showcase their talents to top companies. Several firms are also offering internships to participants who deliver outstanding projects.
Fostering a Culture of Real-World Problem Solving
Ramesh Prasad, Technical Officer at the Naresh Vashisht Centre for Technology and Innovation, emphasized that HackFest aims to foster a culture of entrepreneurship and real-world problem-solving.
“This event is about pushing technological boundaries and creating solutions that have real, tangible impact,” he said.
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The inaugural ceremony was also attended by Prof. M.K. Singh, Dean (Academic); Prof. S.K. Gupta, Dean (Students Welfare); and Prabodh Pandey, Registrar, IIT (ISM).
Student coordinators Shreyansh Sandilya, Rukhsar, Aishwarya Saini, and Sumit Gupta are leading the logistical and organizational efforts.
