Second Runner-Up

When I joined this hackathon, my team and I had a collective experience of zero. We basically went in only knowing that we had to build something, pitch it, and try to win.

Fortunately, the hackathon was highly open-ended, and we could do anything as long as it relates to the Sustainable Development Goals (SDG). After some major brainstorming, we decided to focus on SDG 4, Quality Education.

We proposed that sustainability should be cultivated from a young age, and that children should have an ecosystem to learn about sustainability through fun activities. Our tagline was born: "Solving the issue - from the seeds".

Our final product was an app to connect parents, teachers, and NGOs. We rationalized that these three entities should work together to bring up a new generation of sustainability-aware minds. We proposed a system where children complete activities through the app as a syllabus, NGOs collaborate on certain activities and rewards, while parents monitor their progress and help them with their tasks.

For me, the final pitch was crazily nerve-racking considering it was my first. Anyhow, achieving 3rd place really meant a lot since it was the first stone that eventually paved my way to many more future competitions.