Assam Boy wins prestigious Massachusetts Institute of Technology COVID-19 challenge

GUWAHATI: A team of seven members, including Deep Jyoti Gurung from Assam, has bagged the first prize in the 'MIT COVID-19 challenge: India turning the tide' — an international 48 hours virtual hackathon organized by the Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), USA, during August 28-30, 2020.

The team bagged a cash prize of $500 and assistance from MIT for developing their innovative plan to address the mental health issues in the rural areas of India including Assam during and post the COVID-19 pandemic. The programme was organized to find solutions of COVID-related problems especially in the context of India. The event was supported by the 'Atal Innovation Mission' under the Niti Aayog, Government of India.

Gurung, who hails from the village of Sonaipam in Sonitpur district, is currently pursuing his Ph.D. from the Department of Business Administration, Tezpur University. He is also serving as an Assistant Professor in CHRIST (Deemed to be University), Bengaluru. He led the team named 'Mind and Health Innovations (M.A.H.I.)' to victory in track H: Providing Mental Health Support Resources during the hackathon. Gurung is the first person from the State to have won the 'MIT COVID-19 challenges'. Previously, he was also a member of the winning team 'UNIFY' of track C: 'Growing up and Educating in the New Normal' during 'MIT COVID-19 challenge: Beat the pandemic-II' event held from May 29 to May 31, 2020.

Except one person from the USA, the others members of the team hail from different parts of India.

The MIT, USA has been organizing a series of international virtual hackathons, also known as 'MIT COVID-19 challenges'. In these hackathons, people are encouraged to participate and find solutions for various problems related to the COVID-19 pandemic. These pandemic-related problems are listed as tracks such as health, education, economy etc. People can apply for any track of their interest, but the final selection of track for each participant is done by the organizers of MIT COVID-19 hackathon. After being selected as a participant under a track, they need to form teams based on their interest. Participants are from all across the globe and ranges in their expertise and profession, the release added.

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