Kannur students win online hackathon to handle Covid crisis

Abhinand C and Shilpa Rajeev, students from the Government College of Engineering in Kannur, have bagged the first prize of $10,000 at the CODE19 online hackathon.

Their winning entry, called iClassroom, involves a modern virtual classroom that connects students with teachers through a social media-type interface for uninterrupted learning amid a pandemic.

The 72-hour online hackathon was hosted by US-based Motwani Jadeja Family Foundation. It saw thousands of innovators and developers from India and abroad compete, from home, to create open-source solutions to handle Covid-19.

“We were overwhelmed by the high quality of entries received and the deep enthusiasm shown by all the participants. A community of hackers and mentors, especially young students from all parts of the country, came together to enable India’s fight against the coronavirus,” said Asha Jadeja Motwani, founder of the Motwani Jadeja Family Foundation.