The MET Institute of Management (MET IOM), Mumbai redefined the spirit of innovation and problem-solving as they won the Smart India Hackathon (SIH) 2024 and triumphed in the Grand Finale of the coveted innovation tournament. The Finale of the Software Edition was hosted at Belagavi, Karnataka with 26 participating teams on December 11 and 12, in which Team ‘Manthan 1’, Master of Management Studies (MMS) students from MET IOM, Mumbai emerged victorious competing in a 36-hour coding Hackathon.

For the unversed, SIH is a premier nationwide initiative designed to engage students in solving some of the most pressing challenges faced in everyday life and provides a dynamic platform for students to develop and showcase their creative solutions to real-world problems.

The hackathon also aims to bridge the gap between academic knowledge and practical application by encouraging students to think critically and innovatively. The MET IOM team (Manthan 1) successfully tackled a challenging problem statement from the Ministry of Law and Justice. Their solution focused on simplifying and gamifying the learning process for key aspects of the Indian Constitution, including the Preamble, Fundamental Rights (Part 3), Directive Principles of State Policy (Part 4), and Fundamental Duties (Part 4A). The innovative platform they developed gears toward to make constitutional literacy engaging and accessible to citizens.

The team developed innovative solutions, creating two main games and four mini-games to make learning engaging and impactful. The main games, Samvidhan Manthan, a 3D role-playing game with immersive storytelling, and Samvidhan Mandal, a digital board game exploring concepts of law, rights, and imprisonment, captivated the judges. The mini-games, including Shasn, a monopoly-style game on constitutional concepts; Snakes & Ladders (Beginner) and Snakes & Ladders (Advanced), featuring MCQs of varying difficulty levels; and Samvidhan Explorer, a 2D animated game, provided a creative and interactive learning experience.

The Chairman of Mumbai Educational Trust, Mr. Chhagan Bhujbal, honored the team for their innovative contributions to education and technology. During the felicitation ceremony held at MET Mumbai, Mr. Bhujbal applauded the team for their creativity and commitment, highlighting their transformative approach to technology-driven learning.

\"The students\' efforts resonate with MET\'s mission to nurture innovation and academic excellence. This remarkable victory highlights MET Institute of Management’s commitment to fostering creativity, critical thinking, and real-world problem-solving among its students,\" he said.

The team’s journey through the competition involved three rigorous rounds of evaluation-- the first being the assessment of the originality of their idea, research, and progress in game development. The second round focused on improvements made based on judges’ feedback while the final round evaluated the market readiness and scalability of their solution. The innovative solutions created by the MET team not only addressed the problem statement but also showcased the transformative potential of gamification in learning.

Prime Minister Shri. Narendra Modi interacted with all young innovators at the SIH via video conferencing. Addressing the gathering on the occasion, he said that the India of today can progress at a fast pace with ‘sabka prayas’ or everyone’s effort and that the occasion was a prime example of the same.

The MET Mumbai team included Yash Parmar, Vidisha Ghosh, Anish Kumar Singh, and Om Khattar (MMS 2023-25), along with Vivek Pawar and Manas Jadhav (MMS 2024-26), under the mentorship of Dr. Manmeet Barve, Associate Professor, MET IOM, and Mr. Shailesh Sargade, Assistant Professor, MET IOM, that became one of the top five finalists. The team also received invaluable support and direction from Dr. Swati Lodha, Director, MET IOM, whose visionary leadership played a pivotal role in their success.

In the SIH 2024 edition, the tournament witnessed 86,000+ Teams\' participation at the institute level and 49,000+ student teams were recommended for the national round to solve 254 problem statements.