The National Hackathon 2016, organized by the ICT Division of the Bangladesh Government, was a platform that pooled together game-changing ideas and technologies. The tournament featured problems revolving around the 10 Sustainable Development Goals [SDG], based on which the participants were to come up with innovates solutions. AIUB made its mark in the national tournament with 3 of its teams becoming the runners-up in 3 different categories. On the 18th of April 2016, all 3 teams were brought together to share their experience of participating in the National Hackathon 2016 with AIUB.
The first team on stage was “The Heisenbugs”, who were the 2nd Runners-Up in the ‘Sustainable Tourism’ category. The team consisted of 6 members, currently in their 2nd semester here at AIUB. The members Abrar Shariar, Siam Rafsunjani, and team leader, Sohan Chowdhury, discussed the culture of a hackathon, the application process, and the challenges of participating in it. The highlighted the versatility of the Google Design Sprint as a part of their project ‘Tourkit Bangladesh’, and then invited the other team members, Emrul Hasan, Zawad Habib Rahman, and Sadman Shakib, to join them in the QA session that followed.
The next team that was called on stage was “BSoD”, the 2nd Runners-Up in the ‘Newborns & Children’ category. Team leader, Abdullah Al Imran, Seemanta Ahmed Shubho, and Md. Waliul Hasnat, expressed their eagerness to work on an innovative solution to the current world problems with their project ‘NaaRi’, coming up with an app that helps new moms with several issues that they face on a daily basis while raising a child. They encouraged more and more fellow students to break out of their boundaries and get creative to compete and thrive in today’s global environment.
The final team on stage was “The Unexpectables”, the 2nd Runners-Up in the ‘Road Traffic Accidents’ category. The team members, Shubhobrata Roy, Sheikh Ahmed Baki Billah, Dipta Justin Gomes, and Md. Shahi Amran Hossain, explained their project, the ‘Anti-Accident System’. They went over how the app provides real0time road traffic information to help prevent road accidents and traffic issues, which also has an SOS option in case of emergencies to notify nearest hospitals, police stations, and relatives with a 5 KM radius. The team also explained the challenges they struggled with during the hackathon.
The program had a full-house attendance at the AIUB Auditorium, students and faculty members alike, along with the Dean of the Faculty of Science & Information Technology [FSIT], Prof. Dr. Tafazzal Hossain, and the Head of the Graduate Program at FSIT, Dr. Tabin Hasan, both of whom congratulated the teams and encouraged future participations in such interactive events that not only take AIUB further but also contribute in working together to solve major issues battled around the world today.
