IIT Madras students win hackathon on eradicating tuberculosis stigma

Hackathon organised by Reach, Stop TB partnership and Centre for Technology and Policy (CTaP), IIT Madras

Three students from the Department Of Management Studies at the Indian Institute of Technology Madras won a hackathon on TB stigma held recently.  

The India Tuberculosis (TB) Stigma Hackathon 2024 was organised by REACH, in collaboration with the Centre for Technology and Policy (CTaP) at the Indian Institute of Technology Madras (IIT Madras). The hackathon was supported by StopTB Partnership. 

The hackathon was open to postgraduate students who could participate in groups of three and develop a creative and actionable solution to address TB-related stigma.  

Of the 35 registrations from 15 colleges and universities across 10 states and union territories whose participants included students from management, public health, engineering, business, law and social sciences 24 solutions were received. They included using nano influencers to raise awareness; AI-powered medication tracker with mood monitoring and gamified tasks; cloud kitchens managed by TB survivors providing tailored nutrition; and leveraging brand ambassadors to break stereotypes about TB.  

Twelve teams were shortlisted for presentation. The jury included former State chief secretary Girija Vaidyanathan; former senior advisor at Asian Development Bank Anuradha Rajivan; senior vice president at Infosys Bhaskar Kakuturu; founder and director of New Concept Information Systems Raghavan Srinivasan; and TB Champion Raazya Mumtaz.  

The evaluations focused on the participants’ understanding of TB stigma, originality of ideas, feasibility, and potential impact. 

“This Hackathon was an effort to bring together diverse, unconventional solutions to address a pressing public health challenge,” said REACH director Ramya Ananthakrishnan, adding:  “Our goal is to transform these ideas into pilot interventions.” 

The first prize went to L. Sai Tilak, K. Praneeth, and M. Ravi Kumar from the DoMS, IIT Madras.  

Riddhi Tushar Vyas, Nithya Shree M and Kasturee Hajra from the School of Public Health, SRM Institute of Science and Technology won the second place and Jeevanand Vellassery Sumesh, Melvin Abraham Mathew and Serena Josephine M from The Hindu received an award in the special category.  

REACH, or the Resource Group for Education and Advocacy for Community Health, is an India-based non-profit organisation in Chennai, working with the TB programme. 

The Centre for Technology and Policy (CTaP), IIT Madras, provides analyses and strategy options to national policy-making bodies by leveraging the institute’s cutting-edge research activities in water and sanitation, energy systems, human healthcare, and educational technologies. 

The Stop TB Partnership is a hosted entity of the United Nations Office for Project Services (UNOPS), with its secretariat based in Geneva, Switzerland. 

Published - November 23, 2024 12:56 am IST