Our First Ever Hackathon Ace Ignite 2022

Ace Ignite 2022 organized by undergraduate students of AIM from November 11 to 13 under the theme of “Sustainability” is a 48-hour long national level in-person hackathon in Nepal that aims to unleash the potential of aspiring innovators. The event focuses on bringing the innovation of teams to life and enables youths with a keen interest in innovation and technology to participate and ideate, innovate, and create over a weekend, regardless of their educational background. It is the beginning of a legacy to create an ecosystem for aspiring young minds in Nepal for collaborative innovation that makes the world a better place. The goal is to create a community of young individuals who are passionate about making a difference in the world. They will work together to improve their hard and soft skills in a real-world setting, with the aim of supporting the start-up ecosystem. Santona Malakar, Sagun Dhakwa, Priyesh Shrestha, Avanish Shrestha, Sagar Upreti were the judges for Ace Ignite 2022. On the day before the main event, 97 out of 141 attendees participated in a team formation session to network and form teams. The session started with the announcement of the event theme by the lead organizer. The participants then played games such as “ What’s my name?”, Pictionary and Kahoot to work with different individuals and form teams. The team registration started on November 11, 2022, from 9:30 to 10:00 AM. The hackathon’s opening ceremony began with a short speech from the principle of AIM, followed by a Panas lighting and mentor introductions. After 45 minutes of lunch and interaction, the hackathon officially started at 12 PM, and the participants brainstormed and started coding. After the first round of judging by mentors, the top 15 teams were selected to pitch their ideas to a panel of judges with different educational backgrounds. Despite the short time frame of just 36 hours, the level of innovation displayed by all teams left the judges impressed. Team Yaars, the winner, PNP and TELEtubbies who secured the first and second runner up did an excellent job, and it’s inspiring to see their hard work and dedication pay off. Kudos to Team Aikyam for winning the best beginner project award and Team Avengers for their sustainability efforts. The Incognito Wizards showed great innovation in technology, and Team Thik cha received recognition for their innovation in business. Lastly, we appreciate the organizers’ choice award going to Team Cyburing. This event have given emphasis on believing that “Together” we can do something bigger.