AI Nexus 2026 Hackathon Overview
On July 8 2026, Chandigarh University in Chandigarh, India, conducted “AI Nexus 2026”, a 24‑hour national‑level artificial‑intelligence hackathon themed “AI for Intelligent Systems & Responsible Innovation”. The event was organized by the university’s Department of Artificial Intelligence & Machine Learning (AIML) and the Apex Institute of Technology‑CSE.
Participation and Selection
A total of 70 teams participated, including 20 teams from Chandigarh University itself. The participants were selected from more than 650 applicant teams representing 43 higher‑education institutions across 11 states and union territories (Delhi, Punjab, Haryana, Uttar Pradesh, Himachal Pradesh, Uttarakhand, Sikkim, Maharashtra, Tamil Nadu, Bihar and Chandigarh). Fifty teams from institutions outside Chandigarh University included Panjab University, SRM Institute of Science and Technology, IIT Patna, Medhavi Skills University, JC Bose University of Science and Technology, YMCA (Faridabad), The NorthCap University (Gurugram), Lingaya’s Vidyapeeth, ADGITM Delhi, KCC Institute of Technology and Management, Baddi University of Emerging Sciences and Technologies, College of Engineering Roorkee, State Institute of Engineering and Technology Nilokheri, Rayat Bahra University, Deenbandhu Chhotu Ram University of Science and Technology, ABES Institute of Technology (Ghaziabad), Jaypee Institute of Information Technology (Noida), Motilal Nehru National Institute of Technology (Prayagraj), Chitkara University (Punjab) and Chitkara University (Himachal Pradesh), which competed in the grand finale.
Inauguration and Guest Profile
The inauguration was attended by Dr Sandeep Srivastava, Director of Meander Software Private Limited; Mansvi Pal, Associate Vice President of Xebia; Richa Thakur, Human Resources Business Partner of Softobiz; Prof. (Dr.) Raviraja N Seetharam, Vice‑Chancellor of Chandigarh University; and Prof. (Dr.) Raghuveer VR, Pro‑VC (Academics) of the university.
Prizes and Winners
The hackathon offered a prize pool of Rs 16.5 lakh. The first‑place award was secured by the team “Fairsight AI” from Thapar Institute of Engineering and Technology (Patiala). The second‑place award went to Chandigarh University’s team “Vandalizers”, and the third‑place award to Amity University (Punjab) team “Rasta”.
International Judging Panel
The final evaluation round was judged by more than 20 international experts from US‑based organisations, including Tofayel Ahmed Onik (University of Potomac), Manish Kumar Abhay Singh (Mphasis Corporation USA), Amol M Khadge (MSR Technology Group), Kranti Kumar Thota (Meta USA), Sayan Bishnu (Akamai Technologies LLC), and Shailesh Sayarmal Chaudhary (Amazon Web Services).
Technical Sponsorship and ByteHunt Competition
SAS served as the technical sponsor of the hackathon. In addition, the event featured “ByteHunt”, an AI‑powered technical treasure‑hunt that involved 20 Chandigarh University teams. The ByteHunt competition awarded its first prize to the team “Runtime Error”, second prize to “Ascenters”, and third prize to “Trishul”.
Leadership Remarks
Deepinder Singh Sandhu, Senior Managing Director of Chandigarh University, emphasized the university’s focus on experiential learning, industry‑relevant projects and bridging the skill gap in emerging technologies. He noted that the hackathon allowed participants to apply classroom knowledge to real‑world AI challenges such as generative AI, intelligent agents, multimodal systems, AI ethics, automation and real‑time decision intelligence.
Vice‑Chancellor Prof. (Dr.) Raviraja N Seetharam highlighted the university’s AI Mission, which comprises seven missions and 21 initiatives covering teaching, learning, research, internationalisation, societal impact and campus operations. He linked the hackathon to the upcoming AI DevSummit, a global conference on AI engineering and management.
Institutional Profile
Chandigarh University is a NAAC A+‑graded, QS‑world‑ranked autonomous university approved by the UGC, located near Chandigarh, Punjab. It offers more than 109 undergraduate and postgraduate programmes across engineering, management, pharmacy, law, architecture, journalism, animation, hotel management, commerce and other fields, and has been recognised as “The University with Best Placements” by WCRC.