Embassy of India

Vientiane, Laos

Embassy of India

Vientiane

Press Release

Award Ceremony of ASEAN-India Hackathon 2021

      The Embassy of India screened the live telecast of the Award Ceremony of ASEAN-India Hackathon 2021 on 4 February, 2021. Lao students from National University of Laos, their mentors who had participated in the Hackathon and representatives the University watched the screening. Associate Professor Mr Houngphet Chanthavong, Vice President, National University of Lao PDR also joined.

2.  Mr Phoutthavanh Sisavath who is a student of Faculty of Law and Political Science, National University of Lao PDR shared his experience of Hackathon and said that he was not aware of the concept of Hackathon before and was worried how he will collaborate with students of other countries virtually. He said that he has not met his teammates from other countries but they are now good friends. His team won the first prize for the solution to problem statement ‘Flagging of (AIS) Inactivity Data (FIND)’.

3.  Ms Thipphachan Myxayphon who is also a student of Faculty of Law and Political Science, National University of Lao PDR was very excited after participating in the Hackathon. Before the Hackathon, she was also not aware of concept of a Hackathon and her problem statement of coastal data. She said that she will share these wonderful memories with her friends. Her team also won the first prize for the solution to the problem statement ‘Enhancing Coastal Security’.

4.  Mr Khonesavanh Duangmala said that it was his first experience of such events. He collaborated for the first time with International students to solve the problem statement. He will share his experience of Hackathon with his friends and will encourage them to attend such events.

5.  H.E. Associate Professor Dr. Phout SIMMALAVONG, Deputy Minister, Ministry of Education and Sports, Lao PDR attended the event virtually and delivered his remarks. The Minister in his remarks mentioned that this Hackathon has provided opportunity to Lao students to collaborate with ASEAN and Indian students to share their academic skills through practical problem solving. The Minister also congratulated the wining teams and all the participants for their efforts.

6.  Dr S. Jaishankar, External Affairs Minister of India in his remarks mentioned that a hackathon offers a unique platform to our youngsters to put their minds and energies together and leverage technology to come up with novel solutions to complex problems facing us. It is an excellent means to inculcate cooperative spirit among the participants, and also exposes them to diverse view points, cultures and work ethics cutting across national boundaries. When the problems facing us are global, the solutions must also be truly collaborative and multilateral.

7.  Ambassador Dinkar Asthana also interacted with the Lao students & mentors and hoped that students will take forward the experience gained from the Hackathon for their future endeavors. He congratulated all the participants , observing that winning while nice was not as important as participating and acquiring problem-solving experience and forming cross-country bonds.

8.  The ASEAN-India Hackathon was conducted virtually from February 1 to 3, 2021. Blue Economy and Education were themes selected for this Hackathon. A total of 330 students and 90 mentors participated from 10 ASEAN countries & India and were divided into 55 teams. Each team had students from 3 or 4 different countries. From Laos, 27 students of National University of Lao PDR and 10 mentors from different fields participated. The winning teams got prize of USD 2700/-, runner up teams got prize of USD 1500/- and rest of teams were awarded encouragement award of USD 600/-. From Laos, 2 students were part of the winning teams and 3 students were part of the runner up teams. The ASEAN-India Hackathon may become an annual event.

9.  The event concluded everyone present enjoying a delicious Indian dinner.
 
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