IIT Madras With Renault Nissan Organise National Hackathon On Road Safety

Indian Institute of Technology Madras (IIT Madras) partnered with Renault Nissan Technology and Business Centre India (RNTBCI) to host a National Hackathon called ‘Hack-Cidents’ recently to address road safety, a critical issue in India. It was a great opportunity for students from various colleges to make a real difference in people's lives and help save lives on Indian roads. 

The objective was to reduce the number of fatalities caused by road accidents in the country. The Hackathon invited teams of college students and young professionals with different skill sets to participate and contribute to the cause.  

The Transportation Engineering Division in the Department of Civil Engineering, IIT Madras, and the Centre for Innovation (CFI), IIT Madras, worked with RNTBCI on this CSR Initiative. 

Speaking on the occasion, Gaurav Gupta, Director, Road Safety, Ministry of Road Transport and Highways (MoRTH), Government of India, emphasised the importance of road safety, as road crashes are one of the leading causes of deaths, disabilities, and hospitalisation in India, with over 1.5 lakh fatalities and over four lakh people injured on Indian roads every year.  

The Ministry was seeking to partner with and support start-ups working in the field of road safety as start-ups can quickly develop and deploy new technologies, and are more agile and creative when it comes to finding new solutions for existing road safety problems, Gupta added.  

The final round was conducted at IIT Madras on 22nd April 2023, where the top eight shortlisted teams presented their prototypes to the panel of esteemed judges and winners of the ‘HACK-CIDENTS’ were declared.