NTT DATA Hosts “Code for Good” Hackathon

Winning team develops machine learning model for breast cancer detection 

Bengaluru, India – May 7, 2019 – NTT DATA Services, a recognized leader in global technology services, recently organized the “Code for Good” Hackathon in Bengaluru, India. The initiative is designed to create solutions for societal issues using the latest technologies, including machine learning and artificial intelligence.

The Hackathon attracted more than 7,000 students from 800 colleges across India and nearly 1,400 NTT DATA employees. Top 10 teams showcased their solutions at the Hackathon Grand Finale hosted at the NTT DATA campus at Whitefield, Bengaluru on April 9. The winning team used a machine learning model to help detect breast cancer and classify a tumor as benign or malignant.

“One of the key goals of the NTT DATA Hackathon is to use technology to improve our quality of life and make our planet more sustainable,” said Kris Fitzgerald, chief technology officer, NTT DATA Services. “I am delighted to see the passion with which teams participated in this Hackathon to leverage emerging technologies to provide unique solutions on critical issues.”

The initiative challenged engineering participants from diverse technological backgrounds to collaborate by forming agile teams and tasked them with devising solutions that would contribute to the most pressing issues in our society. The Hackathon participants were able to leverage advancements in machine learning, artificial intelligence and advanced data analytics to devise prediction and implementation models for real-life issues in healthcare and weather changes, such as floods, pollution levels and other climate change related events.

The top 10 solutions in the finale were evaluated by a guest jury and NTT DATA senior leaders from India including:

• Shweta Gogna, partner at Capco
• Dr. Harsh Vinayak, senior vice president, Offshore Operations, Business Process Outsourcing and Global Shared Services, NTT DATA Services
• Ravi Kumar, senior vice president, Global Delivery, NTT DATA Services
• Ankur Dasgupta, vice president, India/APJ Marketing and Communications, NTT DATA Services

Winner:

Team RedPillBlues for their solution on Breast Cancer Detection using Deep Learning Model

• Aayushi Sanghi, People's Education Society (PES) University, Bengaluru
• Vimi Nijhawan, NTT DATA Services
• Pradip Kumar, NTT DATA Services
• Shivam Kumar, NTT DATA Services

Runner-up:

With the increasing levels of air pollution, the market of air purifiers is also rapidly increasing and is being considered as a necessity. In India, air pollution is one of the major causes of death amongst all health risks. Team Brain Hacker was chosen for their solution on Air Quality Index forecasting using Recurrent Neural Networks and Long Short-Term Memory Model in Deep Learning and its integration with air purifiers:

• Vishwa M. Singh, Dr Vishwanath Karad MIT World Peace University, Pune
• Atharva Barve, Dr Vishwanath Karad MIT World Peace University, Pune
• Shivam Shrirao, Dr Vishwanath Karad MIT World Peace University, Pune
• Raju Mondal, NTT DATA Services
• Udhayakumar Mothilal, NTT DATA Services