Draws participation from over 1,500 teams across India

India Electronics and Semiconductor Association (IESA), the premier trade body representing the Indian electronic system design and manufacturing (ESDM) space, announced the winners of IESA Nationwide Makeathon 2018 in New Delhi.

Sanjay Prakash and Naveen Kumar from Wearberry Soft Solution India Pvt Ltd, Warangal were declared the winners. The winning team was awarded a cash prize of Rs. 1lakh. The first and second runners up were awarded cash prizes of Rs. 70,000 and Rs. 30,000, respectively.

The IESA Makeathon is an initiative that is aimed at promoting innovation in the Indian semiconductor and electronics systems industry. In July 2018, the IESA rolled out a pan-India challenge inviting budding tech entrepreneurs to develop products that will help solve urban challenges across specified verticals - Smart Communications, Agri Tech, Water Management, Urban Traffic, Smart Cars / Vehicles, Robotics, Waste Management, Education, Surveillance / Security, Medical / Health, Smart Communications and Industry Challenges.

19 teams were shortlisted, among 1,500 plus applications received, after intense mentoring and evaluation. The shortlisted teams were invited to display their product prototypes at the IESA Makethon grand finale in New Delhi.

The IESA Makeathon is supported by ESSCI, Skill India and Startup India and powered by Jain Incubator (JUIncubator). The event was sponsored by MediaTek, Mouser Electronics, The Gain Global Accelerator and the Industry Partners for the event were, Intel, Texas Instruments, ARM, Cypress. The Incubation partners for the event were, Electropreneur Park & Delhi University, JU incubator, Incubate Hub, Rajalakshmi Institutions, SR Innovation Exchange  and Fundtonic.

It is IESA’s vision to bring the ESDM domain to the forefront through this Makeathon. Given the technology complexity of hardware, it is imperative to develop an ecosystem that mentors entrepreneurs to translate ideas into architecture and prototypes.

Rajesh Ram Mishra, president, IESA, said: “I would like to congratulate all the participants for developing innovative electronic products. It is our endeavour to build a platform to nurture 1,000 such product innovations in the ESDM space. Initiatives such as this Makeathon support entrepreneurs with industry mentors, and in converting their ideas to realizable products and solutions. I would like to thank all our partners for making this event a success and look forward to building a vibrant ecosystem supporting large scale entrepreneurship in the ESDM sector.”

“It is great to experience the passion and efforts of entrepreneurs; they are very excited to have a platform to share their ideas. Our collaborations with industry partners also provides the right mentorship to grow. Through initiatives like these, our aim is to foster better partnerships for the growth and development of the entire industry, “said Anil Kumar Muniswamy, chairman, IESA.