Visakhapatnam :

Women entrepreneurs should be encouraged to use technology solutions and drive the nation forward, said YS Chowdary, minister of state for science and technology and Earth sciences, while speaking at the inaugural function of ‘She Builds Tech – Smart City Hackathon’ here on Saturday

The hackathon is being organised by Girls in Tech Foundation in association with Andhra Pradesh State Council of Higher Education (APSCHE), department of youth services and US Consulate General, Hyderabad, supported by IBM and Wavelabs.

“This is the first event with an exclusive focus on women developers that gives them an opportunity to come up with sustainable solutions by leveraging technology,” said Sree Divya Vadlapudi, chairman of Girls in Tech Foundation.

“The hackathon will focus on the areas of collaborative governance, improved accessibility to physical infrastructure, eco- friendly solutions for smart city and empowering women. Our Foundation is a non-profit NGO focused on women in STEM (science, technology, engineering and mathematics) and entrepreneurship,” she added.

Speaking on the use of technology to build smart cities, Harsha Avvari, chief technology officer of Wavelabs, pointed out that latest advancements in technology like artificial intelligence and internet of things enable developers to build smarter applications in a rapid manner. Women were also encouraged to avail schemes being given by the governments like for Startup India.

Students from some of the top universities of AP took part in the event. The participants were motivated to build solutions with inputs from their mentors. The teams assisted by mentors will present their work to a panel of judges for final judgement on Sunday.

source: http://www.timesofindia.indiatimes.com / The Times of India / News> City News> Visakhapatnam News / TOI / August 20th, 2017