Guwahati, Sept 13, 2020: A seven-member youth team led by an Indian has bagged the first prize in an international 48 hours virtual Hackathon.

The team, ‘Mind and Health Innovations (MAHI),’ led by Deep Jyoti Gurung from Assam, won the ‘MIT Covid-19 challenge: India turning the tide,’ organized by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), USA, during August 28-30.

The team, comprising six Indian and an American bagged a cash prize of US$500 and assistance from MIT for developing their innovative plan to address the mental health issues in the rural areas of India during and post the Covid-19 pandemic.

The program was organized to find solutions of Covid-related problems especially in the context of India. The event was supported by the ‘Atal Innovation Mission’ under the Indian government’s Niti Aayog.

Gurung from Sonaipam village in Sonitpur district is currently pursuing his doctorate from the Department of Business Administration, Tezpur University, Assam. He also serves as an Assistant Professor in Christ University (Deemed) of Bengaluru.

He led the team to victory in track H: Providing Mental Health Support Resources during the hackathon. Previously, he was also a member of the winning team ‘UNIFY’ of track C: ‘Growing up and Educating in the New Normal’ during ‘MIT COVID-19 challenge: Beat the pandemic-II’ event held May 29-31.

Except one person from the USA, the others members of the team hail from different parts of India.

The MIT has been organizing a series of international virtual hackathons, also known as ‘MIT COVID-19 challenges’ where people are encouraged to participate and find solutions for various problems related to the Covid-19 pandemic.

These pandemic-related problems are listed as tracks such as health, education, economy etc. People can apply for any track of their interest, but the final selection of track for each participant is done by the organizers of MIT Covid-19 hackathon. After being selected as a participant under a track, they need to form teams based on their interest. Participants are from all across the globe and ranges in their expertise and profession, a press release said.

Source: sentinelassam.com