Students from various colleges assemble for participating in the Internal Smart India Hackathon at KLS GIT in Belagavi on Saturday. | Photo Credit: SPECIAL ARRANGEMENTBelagavi-based KLS Gogte Institute of Technology (KLS GIT) conducted the Internal Smart India Hackathon (SIH) 2026 on Friday and Saturday.As many as 168 students across 28 teams participated and tried to develop innovative solutions to real-world challenges.The two-day hackathon provided a vibrant platform for students to transform ideas into technology-driven solutions across diverse domains, including Healthcare, Cybersecurity, Agriculture, Disaster Management, Education, Smart Automation, Transportation, Robotics and Drones, Space Technology, Governance, Heritage and Culture and others.The hackathon enabled students to progress from identifying real-world problems to developing innovative and practical solutions, while enhancing their technical capabilities, teamwork, creativity, leadership and industry readiness.Entrepreneurs and industrialists Niraj Vernekar, Avinash Pauskar, Darshan Mutalikdesai, Raghvendra Patil, Koushal Kedari and Shriniket Katti and Ganesh acted as resource persons. They contributed as domain experts, providing valuable industry insights, technical guidance and constructive feedback to help teams strengthen their proposed solutions.The organising team included principal Vijay A. Athavale, dean, IRDC, Rudresh Magadum, HoD, CSE, R.S. Patil, Sharada Kori of the Institute SPOC, SIH 2026, faculty coordinator Pavan Korlahalli and other faculty members, mentors, volunteers and student coordinators. The principal has thanked the management, said the release.Published - August 30, 2026 06:19 pm IST