Students urged to leverage technology to improve quality of life

Students should acquire technical knowledge, engage in research and work towards improving quality of life by leveraging technology, said associate professor, Vignan Foundation, B. Jyothsna Devi.

She was speaking at the inaugural session of a ‘24-hour Hackathon’, organised by the Department of Data Science and Artificial Intelligence, P.B. Siddhartha Arts and Science College, Vijayawada, at college webinar hall.

Noted robotic research engineer and CEO of HackBots S.R.K. Mahan said students who continuously enhance their skills would have a bright future. Mr. Mohan also inaugurated a Robotics and Artificial Intelligence Lab, established under the Centre of Excellence at the college.

The department of data science entered into a memorandum of understanding (MoU) with HackBots, under which the organisation will provide training in robotics and AI to students over the next three years and extend support for startup incubation and innovation.

As many as 200 engineering and university students from Visakhapatnam and Chennai are participating in the hackathon. Of them, 20 teams are competing in the AI and machine learning hackathon, 15 teams in app development, and 40 teams in open innovation category. Cash prizes worth ₹60,000 would be awarded to teams that successfully complete the assigned tasks.

College convener and Siddhartha Academy joint secretary N. Lalita Prasad, director Vemuri Baburao, principal Meka Ramesh, head of the department of data science K. Udayasree and others were present.