RedBrick Hacks III: Solving Problems Real India Faces
430+ applicants. 91+ universities. 23 states. 48 hours of building at Ashoka University.
RedBrick Hacks III took place from February 6 to 8, 2026 at Ashoka University. The hackathon’s mission was direct: solve problems real India faces. Over 430 applicants from 91+ universities across 23 states applied. 57 finalists made it to campus for a 48-hour build sprint.
Four challenge tracks, each aligned to a UN Sustainable Development Goal, defined the problem space: Climate Action, Quality Education, Sustainable Cities, and Hardware. Teams chose their track and built around it.
How It Worked
RedBrick Hacks III ran in two stages. Round 1 was online: teams submitted a problem proposal, a video pitch, and an execution plan. Shortlisted teams then entered a month-long online build phase, iterating on prototypes with mentor feedback. Round 2 brought 57 finalists to Ashoka’s campus for 48 hours of building—55 software teams and 10 hardware teams working side by side.
Opening Ceremony
Vice-Chancellor Prof. Somak Raychaudhury and Prof. Partha Pratim Chakrabarti opened the event. The ceremony set the context for the 48 hours ahead, and teams got to work.
Mentoring and Reviews
Throughout the hackathon, teams had access to office hours with industry experts. On February 7, Prof. Partha Pratim Chakrabarti and Kailash Nadh (CTO, Zerodha) conducted one-on-one reviews with teams, giving direct feedback on technical approaches and project direction.
Judging
The judging panel included Santanu Chaudhury, Prof. Partha Pratim Chakrabarti, Prof. Sri Harsha Kota (IIT), Prof. Aalok T. (Ashoka University), Priya Sreenivasa (Meta), Ashita Singh (UNESCO), and Ashish Kapur (NASSCOM).
The Winner
Team Sylithe from Thakur College of Engineering and Technology won RedBrick Hacks III with an AI-powered Carbon Credit Verification system. The project uses satellite imagery, LiDAR, and machine learning to validate forest carbon credits.
Notable Project: ShistoDx
ShistoDx is a field-deployable schistosomiasis detection system that uses machine learning on a planktoscope to identify parasites. The project has since led to a manuscript in collaboration with Prof. Manu Prakash at Stanford University.
Side Events
The hackathon included several events outside the main competition. A Keyboard Duel Tournament ran for 24 hours straight, built on the Monkeytype platform and inaugurated by Kailash Nadh. A 12-hour Cup Stacking tournament ran alongside it. There was also a campus tour and a pizza hour.
Aditya Jain, Founder of Passionfruit, held a fireside chat in partnership with RedBull.
