SLT-MOBITEL powered Hack:AI 2021 successfully concludes with winners showcasing innovative solutions for sustainable living

The Hack:AI 2021 Hackathon, powered by SLT-MOBITEL, the National ICT Solutions Provider, successfully concluded recently with the winners showcasing ground-breaking innovative solutions for sustainable living.

In the Schools category, Team ‘Calori’ from Gateway College, Colombo emerged the winner, while Team ‘Prostasia’ representing the University of Colombo was adjudged the winner in the University category.

Prabhath Dahanayake, Chief Marketing Officer, SLT said, “The challenge of the Hack:AI 2021 Hackathon was to unveil sustainable solutions while addressing real-world problems. As the national ICT solutions provider, SLT-MOBITEL believes this competition has inspired solutions to improve people’s lives and promote a healthy planet. We are proud of all the participants and diverse teams who have sparked new ideas through machine learning and artificial intelligence. All the teams deserve special recognition and our sincere thanks for their hard work and contribution.”

Prabhath Mannapperuma, Director, STEMUP Educational Foundation added, “Through the Hack:AI competition we sought to inspire both university and school students to use technologies such as AI and Machine Learning to solve real world problems. The competition will also enable future generations to gain an understanding on the importance in driving sustainability and building start-ups and technology innovations around it.”

Hack:AI 2021, provided participating youth, a platform to design ground-breaking innovative solutions to solve real world problems using technologies such as Artificial Intelligence (AI) and Machine Learning.

The participating categories – Schools and University, were provided similar problem statements under Sustainable Development Goals (SGDs) goals such as Good Health and well-being, Quality Education, Sustainable Cities and Communities, Industry, Innovation and Infrastructure and Responsible Consumption and Production. The competition offered a forum for the young innovators to build solutions using data science and machine learning technologies, tackling some of the challenges related to the selected SGDs, solving related issues and driving social impact.

The Hack:AI 2021 Hackathon was organised by STEMUP Educational Foundation, a not-for-profit association driven to engage students in STEM careers and skills, together with the Sri Lanka Association for Software and Services Companies (SLASSCOM) and the United Nations Development Programme (UNDP) in Sri Lanka.

SLT-MOBITEL as the platinum sponsor of the competition is proud of its role to harness talent, while supporting innovation and advancement of ICT in the country.