The team of Hiya Paul, Pranjal Agarwal, Sameer Kumar, Mrinmoy Mahato and Samrridh Khanna emerged as the winners of ThinkStartup’s HealthTech Hackathon for their indigenously built all round cavity measurement kit ‘Canya’. The K12 hackathon was organised by ThinkStartup, a new-age organisation dedicated towards fostering young entrepreneurial minds of India in association with new-age clear aligners Rejove Aligners and sheatwork, a one-stop knowledge hub for women entrepreneurs.
The team of Vighnesh Shetye, Viraj Marathe and Vedang Amonkar, from Keshav Baliram Hedgewar School, Goa were announced as the first runners-up for their AI-based dental care app, whereas the duo of Nandini Pawar and Padmasambhav Sahoo of Ryan International Academy, Pune secured the third spot during this one of a kind HealthTech Hackathon. The pan-India hackathon saw over 300 registrations with over 100 teams across 20 states sharing 85 innovative ideas in a close contest.
The team of Pratyaksha Sharma, Mrinal Chouhan, Nikita Bhatt and Aarnav Ramachandran from ITL Public School, Dwarka, New Delhi were announced as the winners for the Best Design Award for their product Dentile, which is a onetime use product that can be utilised to solve the problems related to bad breadth, misaligned teeth etc.
The winners of this one of a kind Hackathon were announced following the final pitches of the Top 8 teams. The jury comprised of Dr Priyanka Goyat, Orthodontist, Cosmetologist and Co-Founder, Rejové Aligners, Sanjeeva Shivesh, Co-Founder, ThinkStartup, Ashish Jain, CEO, Healthcare Sector Skill Council (HSSC).
Sanjeeva Shivesh, Co-Founder, ThinkStartup said “There's a famous saying that every problem offers possesses an opportunity in itself and there cannot be a better example for this than the Covid19 Pandemic itself. The pandemic brought with it a host of problems but at the same time also acted as a goldmine of opportunities for the entire health tech sector. Owing to its ever-evolving nature, India's health tech sector provides a massive growth opportunity for our young entrepreneurial minds. & it was a sheer joy to witness the innovative solutions that emerged during this hackathon.”
Dr Priyanka Goyat, Orthodontist, Cosmetologist and Co-Founder, Rejové Aligners said, “The healthtech sector has emerged as a major boost for India’s healthcare industry especially during the COVIDpandemic and owing to its increased adoption the market is expected to grow rapidly in the coming years. Apart from being a great opportunity for young entrepreneurs, India’s healthtech sector is also expected to create 40 million jobs by 2030. Owing to the substantial growth opportunities that are available in this particular domain of healthcare, the healthtech market has also witnessed a sharp rise in terms of investment. In fact Indian healthtech start-ups have raised a record $1.9 billion from VCs till 2021 which puts our country just behind the US, China and the UK."
The event kicked off on February 11, and lasted for a span of two days featuring ideas from some of India’s youngest tech-savvy minds. The Hackathon featured two different challenges for the students to opt for. The first one was focused on designing an application for dental health whereas the second one will include designing dental products for rural India. Both these challenges had been carefully curated keeping in mind the growing concern around dental wellness and the prevailing inequality around the same in India.
