Winners of Microsoft-ByteXL led HackXcelerate 2024 at CBIT

Hyderabad: The two-day Microsoft-ByteXL led hackathon titled ‘HackXcelerate 2024’ closed today with the announcement of the winning teams. The first prize worth Rs. 1,50,000 was bagged by Team ‘Code Sarathi AI’ from Anurag University. Team ‘First Prize Winners’ from Chaitanya Bharati Institute of Technology walked away with the 2nd Prize worth Rs.75,000. Team Tech-AI from N K Orchid College of Engineering and Technology from Maharashtra won the 3rd prize worth Rs. 50,000. A special certificate was awarded to team 1o1 from CVR College of Engineering owing to their extraordinary performance.

Over 139 teams from across the country had registered for the event, but only 50 teams were shortlisted the hackathon challenge. The two-day hackathon that inaugurated on 26th April was aimed at igniting creativity and enhancing problem-solving skills through AI among students in a bid to make them industry ready. The event has been touted as revolutionizing engineering education and IT skilling by innovative thinking and bringing novel problem-solving to the table.

The event was graced by Guests of Honors Mr. Adithya Saladi – Software Consultant, Microsoft; Mr. Sricharan Tadepalli - CSO and Co-Founder, byteXL and Professor Dr. C V Narasimhulu – Principal, Chaitanya Bharati Institute of Technology (CBIT); Dr. NLN Reddy – Director, Career Development Council, Chaitanya Bharathi Institute of Technology.

More than 2,000 B.E and B.Tech. students from various engineering colleges and universities across India had come to crack Real-life problem-solving projects, benefit from the Key sessions, and gather industry inputs from the technology experts. They showcased their ingenuity and collaborated on innovative solutions to real-world challenges. Students exhibited holistic vision and intent to immerse themselves in a 24-hour marathon of coding, designing, and project building.

Some of the titles for the problem-solving projects are ‘AI-Driven Financial Fraud Detection System’, ‘Eco-Commerce Optimization Tool’, ‘AI-Enhanced Diagnostic and Treatment Planning System’, ‘Smart Lifestyle Companion’, ‘Sustainable Urban Planning AI Tool’, ‘AI-Powered Personalized Learning Assistant’, ‘Optimizing Data Highways – Automated Database Enhancements’ and ‘Visualizing the Game – Making Sports Inclusive and Engaging’.

This hackathon presented a unique opportunity for participants to push the boundaries of their skills and creativity while tackling pressing issues across various domains. With a focus on fostering innovation and nurturing talent, HackXcelerate 2024 aimed to empower the next generation of technologists to drive positive change in society.
ByteXL's CSO and Co-founder Sricharan Tadepalli spoke about the success of the hackathon, “There were impressive pitches, great ideas, which I hope the students build and figure out the right investor to take that end-to-end product. ByteXL will be of help in building a viable product. Mentoring 50 teams is not a simple task, but the dedicated mentors too showed their support throughout the hackathon. The aim was to build a project that the students can talk about during the interviews while applying at companies.”

Mr. Adithya Saladi - Software Consultant, Microsoft “It was very encouraging to see the level of enthusiasm the participants showed working through the hackathon day and night trying to crack the challenge to their best of abilities. Microsoft will take their step forward to support these students in building their product."
Announcing consolation prizes worth Rs. 10,000 on behalf of CBIT, Professor Dr. CV Narasimhulu – Principal, CBIT said, “Students were cheerful throughout and working their way through the hackathon challenge. It was heartening to see their enthusiasm. We are always there to encourage our students and support them through these programmes."

The grand award ceremony closed with felicitation of the Guests of Honour with shawl and memento.