Heritage Institute of Technology, Kolkata, has added another feather to its cap as its student team, Team Waterloo, emerged as National Winners at the Smart India Hackathon (SIH) 2025 in the Software Edition. The team won for the NCIIPC India (a unit of NTRO) problem statement SIH25232, earning national recognition for developing a technologically advanced solution to detect and analyse illegal mining activities. The achievement was formally honoured at the national ceremony, where the team was felicitated on stage by AICTE Chairman Prof. T.G. Sitharam.
Team Waterloo’s award-winning platform stood out for its depth and real-world applicability. The solution integrates SAR-based deep learning detection, DEM-driven volumetric analysis, automated illegal mining assessment, and 2D and 3D geospatial visualisation, all within an offline-ready analytical environment. Designed to support actionable intelligence, the platform addresses a critical national challenge with precision, speed, and scalability.
A defining moment of the finale tested the team’s resilience and adaptability. Midway through the competition, officials from NTRO directed all finalists to shift from multispectral data to a purely SAR-based architecture. Rising to the challenge, the Heritage team re-engineered the entire system overnight, retraining a new SAR model, rebuilding backend pipelines, and enhancing the analytical interface using CesiumJS and Three.js. Their swift pivot and technical execution drew strong appreciation from the jury for accuracy and innovation under extreme time constraints.
Selected from 72,165 ideas and over 68,000 participating teams, and emerging victorious among 1,360 national finalists, the win places Heritage Institute of Technology among the top performers of SIH 2025, widely regarded as one of the most competitive editions of the hackathon.
The winning team comprised Ankit Kumar, Soumyadipta Dey (Lead), Jitaditya Ray, Samadrita Ghosal, Mayukh Sen, and Arnab Ghosh, mentored by Prof. Joydeb Hazra, SPOC, Smart India Hackathon, HITK, and Prof. Mousiki Kar of the institute.
Congratulating the students, Shri P.K. Agarwal, CEO, Heritage Group of Institutions, said the victory reflected the institute’s strong culture of innovation and national problem-solving. Prof. Basab Chaudhuri, Principal, Heritage Institute of Technology, added that the team’s performance showcased the strength of Heritage’s academic ecosystem and its focus on producing engineers capable of delivering impactful solutions under pressure.
The national triumph of Team Waterloo reinforces Heritage Institute of Technology’s commitment to nurturing future-ready innovators who can address complex real-world challenges with technology-driven solutions.