Ranchi: Birla Institute of Technology (BIT), Mesra, is calling out to all computer buffs to take part in the biggest-ever hackathon of eastern India in October.
The students' chapters of three international organisations - Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers, Institution of Engineering and Technology and Association of Computing Machinery - are organising Hack-A-BIT on the BIT campus from October 26 to 28.
Registration for the event and submission of ideas already started on August 15 and will continue till September 15. The entries will be scrutinised online before publishing a final list of participants teams by October 2.
"So far we have received over 150 registrations, most of which are from the IITs and NITs of eastern India. We expect more entries to drop in before the last date," said Anuj Sinha, a final-year computer science student of BIT.
When asked about the number of teams that will be selected, Anuj said, "All depends on the quality of ideas and the ability to execute them. But we are expecting around 50 teams, each comprising three to four members."
All participants will be provided free accommodation and their travel expenses will also be reimbursed.
The top three teams will win cash prizes of Rs 25,000, Rs 15,000 and Rs 10,000, respectively. Goodies worth Rs 50,000 will also be distributed among the participants for various skills. "Cash prizes worth Rs 15,000 will also be given for particular categories like all-girls' team and so on. Besides, winners will also get additional prizes from sponsors," said Anuj.
One of the main attractions of the event is the mascot named The Hyena Ada.
Explaining the meaning behind the unique name, Anuj said Ada stood for Augusta Ada King or the Countess of Lovelace, the daughter of famed poet Lord Byron, who was considered world's first computer programmer.
"We thought of adding Hyena to the name as few years back a group of hyenas had entered our campus and all of us were quite petrified by them. Just like the incident shook all of us we want this hackathon to be a memorable event," said Anuj's classmate Shushant Kumar Gupta.
