Two colleges from the city have won laurels at the two-day Hackathon in New Delhi from October 27. A team of five second year students of Kumaraguru College of Technology (KCT) grabbed the first place, while the four-member team from Sri Krishna College of Technology (SKCT) came third in the event organised by Ministry of Food Processing Industries as part of World Food India 2017.

The event mainly focused on the technological support in food processing industries and its role in improving the food economy of India. President Ram Nath Kovind presented the awards to the winners at a function on Sunday.

KCT team was represented by Swathi, Hanu Priya, Mano Priya, Sagarika and Jenifer from Electronics and Communications Engineering and Biotechnology Departments, while SKCT by M. Sneha, S. Sowmya, N. Srimathi and D. Suriya.

Totally 69 teams were shortlisted for the final round.

The winning team proposed development of a Mobile App that focused on establishing a direct link between farmers with food processing industries, thereby assisting them in areas such as crop insurance, linking of agronomists and pest checking in different weather conditions.

SKCT chose the problem to detect the freshness and quality of fruits and vegetables, with an objective to identify the application of any unwanted material used on fruits and vegetables like insecticide, wax, calcium carbide, and ethylene so that the consumer will be assured about the freshness and safety.

The team has come up with the freshness and quality detector which is easy to use, user friendly portable device and primary beneficiary being the common public.