Smart India Hackathon was one of the defining experiences of my undergraduate journey. Our team, Unfazed, was nominated for three problem statements and selected the Ministry of Coal challenge: Problem Statement 1317.

The problem was operational rather than purely technical. Coal moves across multiple transportation modes, and meaningful visibility requires data from GPS devices, sensors, transportation systems and other sources to work together.

We travelled to Bhopal for the 36-hour Grand Finale at IES University. SIH was the first time I experienced what happens when a student project is placed inside a real institutional problem with a short deadline, a large team and a jury expecting a credible solution.