The State-Level Hackathon 3.0 – Odiapreneur was inaugurated today at the IIT Bhubaneswar Campus, bringing together 192 students from 101 schools across Odisha to showcase innovative solutions to real-world challenges.
The programme was graced by Niyati Pattnaik, IAS, Director, DHSE; Sasmita Mali, Joint Director, DHSE; Ch. Vijaya Laxmi, Deputy Director, DHSE; Lalita Pattnaik, State Head, UNICEF Odisha; Soobhankara Pati, CEO, IIT Bhubaneswar Research & Entrepreneurship Park; and Prof. Umaprasana Ojha, Dean, Faculty Affairs, IIT Bhubaneswar.
A collaborative initiative of DHSE, Government of Odisha, UNICEF Odisha and IIT Bhubaneswar Research & Entrepreneurship Park, Odiapreneur aims to nurture creativity, innovation, problem-solving and entrepreneurship among higher secondary students.
The initiative received 969 ideas from young learners, of which 749 were selected for the district-level event. The State-level event features 192 students from 101 schools, supported by approximately 100 mentors.
The initiative reinforces a powerful message, as stated by Niyati Pattnaik, IAS, Director, DHSE –
“When young people are given a platform, mentorship and an opportunity to solve real problems, their ideas can become the starting point for meaningful change.”
Odiapreneur encourages students to identify challenges in their communities and develop innovative, practical, and technology-enabled solutions. The State-level Hackathon is envisioned not as the end of the journey, but as a beginning—providing promising ideas with opportunities for further mentoring, prototype development, incubation, and technical support.
