Media Release
Mangaluru, Jan 21: The Winter Hackathon 2026, a 36-hour hybrid hackathon, was successfully organized by Google Developer Group in association with SCEPTIX, under the guidance of the Department of Computer Science and Engineering, St Joseph Engineering College (SJEC) on college on SJEC campus from January 11 to 13. The event brought together enthusiastic student developers to innovate and build impactful solutions under the theme “Open Innovation.”
The hackathon commenced with an online inaugural ceremony on January 11, followed by intensive offline coding sessions, mentoring, workshops, and evaluations conducted on campus. Students were challenged to identify real-world problems within their campuses or local communities and develop practical solutions using Google technologies.
The event featured engaging technical talks and workshops by industry professionals, including Ankit Shah (AL/ML lead, GDGoC SJEC), Rachan Karkera (AI/ML intern, EGDK India), and Nihaal Y K (AI/ML intern, EGDK India), focusing on AI, Gemini, and Google AI Studio. Alumni mentors Anish Shobith and Charis Pinto provided continuous guidance to participating teams. Ice-breaker games added a fun and collaborative element to the learning experience.
A prize pool of Rs 30,000 was awarded across multiple categories. Team Code Trinity emerged as winners, followed by team Monkey Coders as runners-up and team Vajra as second runners-up. Special awards were presented for Best UI, Best Business Model, Best Idea, and Best Social Impact. The valedictory ceremony held on January 13 was graced by chief guest, Dr Binu K G, professor & head of Strategy & Planning, Department of Mechanical Engineering. The event also witnessed the presence of Fr Wilfred Prakash D’Souza, director, SJEC, Dr Melwyn D’Souza, professor & HoD, Department of Computer Science & Engineering, Jithya, assistant professor, Department of Computer Science & Engineering along with the Ankit Shah & student coordinators Ashley Cleon Pinto & Nithin.
The Winter Hackathon 2026 provided students with valuable hands-on experience in problem-solving, teamwork, and innovation, strengthening the hackathon and open-source culture on campus while fostering meaningful connections with alumni and industry experts.