The All India Council for Technical Education (AICTE) today said it would pitch for a smart hackathon for Bengal next year on the lines of the Smart India Hackathon 2017 to make the students of State universities and institutes think innovatively.

Director of SWAYAM (Study Webs of Active-Learning for Young Aspiring Minds) of AICTE, Manpreet Singh Manna, said there has already been successful Smart Hackathons in Andhra Pradesh and Rajasthan.

Wider target

Being a knowledge hub, Bengal should take the initiative of organising a Smart Hackathon to reach out to a greater number of students, he said.

“The AICTE is ready to collaborate and offer all assistance and support,” he told PTI on the sidelines of a programme at Bengal Chamber of Commerce and Industry.

In the Smart India Hackathon 2017, teams competed from 33 locations across the country to offer digital yet sustainable solutions to solve the challenges faced by the nation.

“Our future engineers know the problems and their solutions but they do not know how to implement,” Manna said, adding teachers have to be more proactive and evolve themselves.

In his address at the programme ‘Sustainable Energy Technology and Policies - A Transformational Journey’, Manna called for organising workshops, screening of films and involving both State universities and private institutes in a bigger way to build awareness about the need to shift from conventional to non-conventional energy use.

Tie-up with industry

Indian Institute of Engineering Science and Technolgy (IIEST) Director Ajoy Ray said there should be greater collaboration between industry and institutions.

“I think IIEST, Jadavpur University, Indian Statistical Institute and similar institutions of the state should join hands and collaborate to facilitate a robust industry-academic institutions interface. That will help West Bengal in the long run,” he said.

BCCI President Chandra Sekhar Ghosh said the Chambers has always offered a platform to discuss global energy situation.

Published on December 27, 2017