VMPL

Vadodara (Gujarat) [India], August 12: Navrachana University, through its Navrachana Innovation Foundation (NIF), successfully concluded TetraTHON 2026, a 36-hour Indo-French AI Open Innovation Challenge under the Government of India's IndiaAI Mission, themed 'AI for Inclusive Growth and Scalable Impact' with the tagline 'From Code to Country-Scale Impact.' The challenge received 657 registrations from 160 teams, with 44 teams comprising 223 students from 51 colleges, including an international team from ISEN Mediterranee, France, shortlisted to compete. Working across HealthTech, AgriTech, FinTech and EdTech, the teams developed AI-driven solutions addressing real-world challenges ranging from crop disease detection and financial document analysis to preventive healthcare, lifestyle disease risk prediction and longitudinal health record management.

The valedictory ceremony brought together academic leaders, industry partners, mentors, jury members, faculty members, students and participants from India and France. Smt. Tejal Amin, Chairperson, Navrachana University and Prof. Pratyush Shankar, Provost, Navrachana University, highlighted the value of international academic collaboration and the potential for further student exchange and engagement between the institutions. Ms. Camille Tribouillois, Representative, ISEN Mediterranee, France, highlighted the value of international academic collaboration and the potential for further student exchange and engagement between the two institutions.

Reflecting on the journey and outcomes of TetraTHON 2026, Prof. Sandeep Vasant, Registrar, Navrachana University, Director, Navrachana Innovation Foundation, and Convener of TetraTHON 2026, said, 'TetraTHON is much more than a hackathon - it is where ideas meet action, collaboration drives innovation, and young innovators work alongside mentors and industry experts to solve real-world challenges. The journey from ideas to functional AI-powered prototypes has reinforced our commitment to nurturing innovation that continues long after the competition ends.'

Extending this focus on taking ideas from concept to application, the ceremony also featured the official launch of Productica AI, an AI-powered platform developed by NIF-incubated startup Productica, founded by Mr. Harshil Parikh.

The top nine teams advanced to the final pitching round, representing institutions including The Maharaja Sayajirao University of Baroda, L.D. College of Engineering, CHARUSAT, GLS University, Navrachana University, GSFC University, Parul University and Nirma University. The winners of TetraTHON 2026 were:

1. First Prize - Rs. 1 lakh: The Maharaja Sayajirao University of Baroda (MSU) - Krushit Prajapati, Neel Prajapati, Sumit Patel and Vrund Patel.

2. Second Prize - Rs. 50,000: L.D. College of Engineering, Ahmedabad - Kavin Jindal, Sarthak Anjariya, Hitarth Karia and Harshit Singh.

3. Third Prize - Rs. 25,000: CHARUSAT - Khushi Vadodariya, Have Patel, Rudra Prajapati and Diya Patel.

The challenge was coordinated by Ms. Tosha Shukla, Head, Navrachana Innovation Foundation (NIF), with technical mentorship and evaluation support from Dr. Yogesh Chaudhari and Dr. Jaideepsinh Raulji. TetraTHON 2026 was supported by Navrachana University and NIF, along with ecosystem partners including HITCON Technologies, Compexo Securities, Anand Agricultural University, House of Starts, SSIP (Government of Gujarat) and the MSME Incubation Scheme (Government of India).

The collective support of the organizing team, mentors and ecosystem partners helped create a platform that extended beyond competition to learning, collaboration and innovation. The successful conclusion of TetraTHON 2026 reinforced Navrachana University's commitment to an ecosystem where students can experiment with emerging technologies, collaborate across disciplines and cultures, and take their ideas forward towards research, entrepreneurship and meaningful impact.

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