SYNHACK HACKATHON BY
SYNTAX
Hackathon Evaluation Metrics & Weightage
Time Activity
9:30 AM Registration & Reporting in CRC 6-2
10:00 AM – 10:30 AM Opening Ceremony
10:30 AM - 11:00 AM Problem Statement Explanation and
Room Allocation
11:00 AM - 12:00 PM Finalization of Problem Statement
11:00 AM - 4:00 PM Round 1: Ideation & Presentation
4:00 PM - 8:00 PM Round 2: Working Prototype 1 (Mid
Evaluation)
9th November 4 PM Final Evaluation
9th November 6 PM Closing Ceremony
List of Problem Statement:
S. Problem Statement Page No
NO.
1. VNIT Girls' Safety App – Smart Campus 3-5
Safety & Wellness System
2. VNIT Hostel Grievance Management System 6-8
3. 9 - 11
VNIT Learning Management System
4. VNIT Guest House Booking and Approval 12 - 15
Management System
5. 16 - 19
VNIT E-Vehicle Ride App (Campus
Ride-Sharing and Smart Mobility System)
Problem Statement Sponsored by the Club Alumni
6. Open Innovation Challenge 20
Problem Statement Sponsored by the RedString (Startup)
7. Develop a Smart Profile Matching Engine that uses a 21 - 23
user-defined weighted scoring algorithm to calculate
a Composite Relevance Score, ensuring talent-profile
ranking is based on the relative importance of criteria,
not just binary filters.
1. VNIT Girls' Safety App – Smart Campus
Safety & Wellness System
Problem Statement
Even with restricted campus access, female students at VNIT need a discreet and
reliable safety mechanism, especially during late hours when moving between
hostels, libraries, or labs. Manual check-ins and limited patrolling delay responses
during emergencies, emphasizing the need for a fast, tech-enabled safety solution
linked directly to campus security and wardens.
Sub Problems
● Delayed Emergency Response:
Current manual alert methods cause delays during distress situations,
reducing the chances of immediate help.
● Lack of Central Safety Channel:
There is no unified system connecting students, wardens, and security staff in
real time.
● Limited Medical & Mental Health Support:
Students have restricted or delayed access to emergency medical services
and confidential counseling.
● Privacy & Trust Barriers:
Some students hesitate to report incidents due to fear of judgment, exposure,
or data misuse.
● Inconsistent Staff Responsiveness:
Occasional unavailability or delayed action from campus authorities erodes
trust in existing mechanisms.
Project Goal
To design and develop a mobile-based safety and wellness application for VNIT’s
female students that offers instant, automated, and secure emergency support,
combining real-time tracking, AI-driven insights, and direct connectivity to campus
response teams.
Core Features & Modules
1. Daily Check-In & Smart Schedule (with Smart QR Transit System)
QR Departure & Arrival Scans: When a girl student leaves a designated
location like the library, she scans a QR code displayed at the exit (or a guard
can scan the student’s app-generated QR). This marks her departure point
and automatically starts a safety timer.
QR Arrival Confirmation: Upon reaching her hostel, she (or the hostel guard)
scans the corresponding arrival QR code, confirming that she has safely
reached. The system then stops the active timer and logs the trip as “Safe
Arrival.”
Missed Check-In Alerts: If the student fails to scan the hostel QR within a
predefined time limit (e.g., 15–20 minutes depending on route distance), the
system automatically sends an alert notification to her emergency contacts,
hostel warden, and campus security and shares her last known GPS location
for immediate tracking and response.
Predictive Schedule Sync: The app can sync with Google Calendar or
academic schedules to anticipate late-night sessions or study hours, sending
reminders to scan out and scan in appropriately.
2. SOS / Panic Button Module
A single-tap panic button triggers immediate distress alerts to wardens,
campus security, and the user’s pre-selected emergency contacts.
Shares real-time GPS location, user profile, and optional silent audio/video
recording for evidence or tracking (when SOS is turned on).
Works even in low network conditions by sending compressed emergency
packets via SMS or Firebase Cloud Messaging.
3. Location Tracking Module
Uses GPS-based background tracking to monitor movement during late
hours.
Allows users to share live location with selected contacts for continuous
monitoring until they safely reach their destination.
Displays nearby safe zones such as police stations, hospitals, or emergency
service points using Google Maps or OpenStreetMap APIs.
4. Emergency Contact Module
Enables users to customize their trusted contact list - friends, family, or
campus authorities.
Sends instant alerts with current location and emergency details when
triggered.
Supports multi-channel communication (SMS, push notification, and in-app
alerts) for redundancy.
5. Safe Routes & Transportation Module
Suggests safest routes based on lighting, crowd density, and previously
reported incidents.
Integrates campus and city data to recommend trusted transportation
options (e.g., cab partners or safe shuttle routes).
Uses crowd-sourced reports to dynamically update route safety ratings.
6. Medical & Mental Health Support
In-app access to 24x7 campus medical helpline and on-call counselors.
Anonymous chat and voice support options to reduce stigma.
AI-powered chatbot for mood detection and early identification of stress or
anxiety patterns.
Bonus Features
● Smart Incident Prediction: ML models analyze movement data, time of day,
and location patterns to predict high-risk zones or timings and notify users
proactively.
● Anomaly Detection: AI detects abnormal movement behavior (e.g., sudden
halt, deviation from route, inactivity) and automatically triggers an alert.
● Emotion Recognition (Optional): Using voice tone or text sentiment during
SOS or chat interactions, AI can detect panic, distress, or fear to prioritize
emergency response.
● Incident Hotspot Mapping: Machine learning algorithms analyze campus
reports to visualize frequent danger zones, helping authorities plan better
patrolling routes.
2. VNIT Hostel Grievance Management System
Problem Statement
VNIT hostel residents often encounter daily issues such as electrical appliance
failures, plumbing faults, maintenance delays, unclean surroundings, or sudden
emergencies like water leaks or power outages. Currently, most of these grievances
are handled manually through paper logs or direct communication with hostel
authorities, leading to inefficiencies, miscommunication, and delays in resolution.
There is a need for a centralized, transparent, and digital grievance management
platform that enables students to file complaints easily, track their progress, and
receive timely updates, while allowing administrators and workers to efficiently
manage, assign, and resolve these issues.
The system should promote accountability, transparency, and real-time coordination
among residents, hostel administrators, and maintenance staff to improve overall
hostel living conditions and response efficiency.
Sub Problems
1. Unstructured Complaint Reporting: No standardized format for issue
reporting.
2. No Real-Time Tracking: Students remain unaware of progress on their
complaints.
3. Low Accountability: Maintenance staff responses are not tracked or
time-bound.
4. Communication Gaps: Lack of centralized routing to the correct department.
5. No Evidence-Based Logging: Issues cannot be validated or audited without
proof.
Project Goal
To develop a digital, role-based grievance redressal system that streamlines
communication between hostel residents, administrators, and workers.
Core Features & Modules
1. Resident Portal
A user-friendly platform for hostel residents to file and track complaints.
● Students log in securely using their VNIT student ID or institute credentials.
● File new complaints with detailed problem type, description, and optional
images.
● View a dashboard of all submitted complaints, along with their real-time
status (e.g., Pending, In Progress, Resolved).
● Receive notifications for status changes or feedback requests.
2. Admin Panel
A management console for hostel authorities to monitor, assign, and verify
grievances.
● View and filter all complaints submitted by residents, categorized by issue
type, urgency, and location.
● Assign complaints to appropriate workers or maintenance staff.
● Track worker progress and verify resolution updates through proof of work
(e.g., photos, completion reports).
● Approve or reject the completed work based on quality verification.
● Maintain performance logs of workers for accountability and reporting.
3. Worker Panel
A simplified task management interface for maintenance and service personnel.
● View all tasks assigned by the admin, organized by date or issue type.
● Update complaint status (e.g., In Progress, Completed).
● Upload proof of work (before/after images or short reports) for admin
verification.
● Receive instant notifications when new tasks are assigned or modified.
Bonus Features
1. Emergency Detection & Priority Handling
● Integrate an AI-powered natural language processing (NLP) system that
scans complaint text for keywords indicating emergencies (e.g., “fire,” “water
leakage,” “short circuit,” “medical emergency”).
● Automatically prioritize such cases and trigger instant alerts to admins and
relevant department workers.
● Enable real-time escalation workflows for critical cases to ensure rapid
action.
2. Voice-Based Complaint Filing (Emergency Mode)
● Allow students to record voice messages to describe issues when typing isn’t
feasible (e.g., during emergencies).
● Use speech-to-text conversion to automatically transcribe and file the
complaint.
● Include a quick emergency button to immediately notify admins and
emergency staff.
3. Smart Notification & Alert System
● Students: Receive push or email notifications whenever their complaint status
changes, from submission to resolution.
● Admins: Get notified instantly when new complaints are submitted or when
workers update progress.
● In emergencies, the system should trigger real-time alerts (via SMS or
automated call).
● Workers: Receive instant alerts for new assignments, priority escalations, or
admin feedback on completed work.
3. VNIT Learning Management System
Problem Statement
Develop an integrated online portal where professors and academic representatives
from all departments at VNIT can upload and manage study materials for students.
Students should be able to access all the uploaded materials in an organized and
user-friendly manner to enhance their learning experience.
The portal aims to serve as a centralized platform for academic resources,
promoting accessibility, collaboration, and interactive learning among students and
faculty.
Sub Problems
● Disorganized Study Resources:
Materials are scattered across Google Drive, WhatsApp, and email, making
access difficult and time-consuming.
● No Centralized Platform:
Lack of a unified system for all departments leads to inefficiency and
unequal access to academic resources.
● Limited Interaction and Doubt Resolution:
Students lack a structured, moderated space for discussions or resolving
academic doubts.
● No Progress Tracking Tools:
Students can’t monitor their learning progress, and professors can’t assess
engagement or assign tasks effectively.
● Lack of Secure Management System:
Absence of verified logins and role-based access causes risks of
unauthorized use and poor content control.
Project Goal
To design and develop a centralized digital learning platform for VNIT that
seamlessly connects professors, academic representatives, and students across all
departments. The portal aims to simplify the management and accessibility of study
materials, promote interactive and self-paced learning, and foster academic
collaboration through features like course-based discussion forums, progress
tracking, and AI-assisted doubt resolution.
Core Features & Modules
1) Admin Panel:
● The admin should be able to log in using authorized credentials.
● Admins should be able to upload, update, and categorize study materials
(e.g., notes, videos, presentations, question banks) according to department
and subject.
● Admins should also be able to manage professor and student accounts if
necessary.
2) Student Panel:
● Students should be able to browse and access all available study materials
uploaded on the portal.
● The interface should allow easy navigation through subjects, topics, and
departments.
Bonus Features
1. Student Progress Tracking:
○ Students should be able to enroll in courses and track their learning
progress through completion metrics or module-based tracking.
2. Student Competitions:
○ Students enrolled in the same course should be able to compete in a
friendly manner to gauge performance.
○ Competitions may include quizzes, challenges, or leaderboard-based
rankings based on course progress and activity.
3. Professor Dashboard:
○ Professors should be able to view the progress of students enrolled in
their courses.
○ They should also be able to assign additional tasks, quizzes, or
assignments to enhance engagement and learning outcomes.
4. Doubt Resolver:
○ Implement a fine-tuned AI chatbot capable of answering common
student queries related to the course content.
○ The chatbot should provide instant assistance and guide students to
relevant study materials or resources.
5. Course-Based Discussion Forum
○ For each course, implement a common group chat or discussion forum
where students can post their doubts or questions.
○ Other students or professors can respond, discuss, and collaborate to
resolve queries, encouraging peer-to-peer learning and active
participation.
4. VNIT Guest House Booking and Approval
Management System
Problem Statement
The current guest house booking process at VNIT involves multiple manual steps —
students submit offline or email-based room requests, which are then verified by
faculty advisors before payment and room allocation. This process is
time-consuming, error-prone, and lacks transparency in approval and payment
tracking.
To ensure efficiency, accountability, and a smooth user experience, there is a need
for a digital Guest House Booking and Approval Management System that
seamlessly integrates student requests, faculty advisor verification, and payment
processing within a unified platform.
Subproblems
1. Manual Request Handling:
Students currently apply through physical forms or emails, resulting in delays,
data mismatches, and lack of proper tracking.
2. No Centralized Verification:
Faculty advisors manually validate student eligibility, slowing down the
approval process and increasing administrative load.
3. Limited Transparency:
Students lack real-time visibility into their booking, approval, and payment
status.
4. Disconnected Payment Flow:
Payment for bookings occurs separately, without automatic linkage to the
approved requests or allocation data.
5. Lack of Multi-Hostel Coordination:
There is no unified system to manage and monitor bookings across the Boys’,
Girls’, and Institute Guest Houses, leading to confusion and scheduling
conflicts.
Project Goal
To design and develop a centralized digital portal for VNIT that digitizes and
automates the entire Guest House booking and approval workflow.
The system will ensure end-to-end transparency, from booking requests to approval
and payment, while maintaining role-based access for students, faculty advisors,
and administrators.
The outcome will be a streamlined, reliable, and paperless process that minimizes
human error, speeds up approvals, and provides real-time status tracking for all
stakeholders.
Core Features & Modules
1. Student Portal:
● Secure login through VNIT student credentials.
● View available Guest Houses (Boys’, Girls’, and General) and request
any number of rooms.
● Submit booking details including dates, purpose of stay, and required
rooms.
● View booking status in real time — Pending, Approved, or Rejected.
● Once approved, the system automatically activates the payment
gateway for completion.
● Download digital receipts and booking confirmations post-payment.
2. Faculty Advisor Portal:
● Secure login using faculty credentials.
● View and verify booking requests from their respective students.
● Approve or reject requests with remarks.
● Upon approval, trigger the payment link for the student.
● Access booking history, status logs, and student details for
recordkeeping.
3. Admin Panel (Optional Advanced Module):
● View all bookings across hostels and manage room inventory.
● Monitor faculty approvals, student payments, and room allocations.
● Generate analytics reports on guest house utilization and request
patterns.
Bonus Features
1. Smart Availability & Hotel Suggestion System:
○ If all Guest House rooms are fully booked, the system automatically
suggests nearby hotels or hostels with available rooms.
○ Integrates with Google Maps API to show hotel names, ratings,
pricing, and distance from VNIT campus.
○ Offers a quick “Book Externally” option to redirect users to the hotel’s
website or contact details.
2. Automated Reminder & Notification System:
○ Sends real-time notifications for approval updates, payment
reminders, and check-in/check-out timings.
○ Faculty advisors and admins receive instant alerts for new booking
requests awaiting verification.
○ Supports multi-channel alerts via SMS, email, and in-app push
notifications.
3. Dynamic Calendar Integration:
○ Displays available rooms on an interactive calendar view.
○ Students and faculty can check availability by date and avoid
scheduling overlaps.
4. AI-Based Demand Forecasting:
○ Uses machine learning models to predict high-demand periods (e.g.,
during conferences, fests, or admission season).
○ Helps administrators allocate rooms and manage capacity more
efficiently.
5. Digital Record & Audit System:
○ Automatically logs all bookings, approvals, payments, and
cancellations for transparency and accountability.
○ Enables quick audits and report generation for official or financial
verification.
5. VNIT E-Vehicle Ride App (Campus
Ride-Sharing and Smart Mobility System)
Problem Statement
Mobility within VNIT’s large campus—covering hostels, academic departments, CRC,
library, and canteens—remains inefficient due to limited coordination and lack of
real-time visibility. Although electric vehicles operate on fixed routes, there is no
smart, on-demand system that matches student requests dynamically.
Students often face long walks under harsh weather or during late-night hours,
while EVs frequently run underutilized during off-peak periods. Manual
communication between students and drivers, lack of GPS-based tracking, and
cash-only fare collection make the current setup slow, uncoordinated, and
unsustainable.
There is a pressing need for a campus-exclusive, tech-enabled ride-hailing platform
that enables real-time EV booking, live tracking, digital payments, and efficient
dispatch management, accessible only to verified VNIT users.
Project Goal
To design and develop a smart intra-campus ride-hailing ecosystem that digitizes
VNIT’s internal electric vehicle service using GPS, cloud infrastructure, and real-time
communication.
The goal is to ensure efficient, affordable, and eco-friendly mobility through
intelligent request handling, real-time vehicle tracking, and smooth interaction
between students, drivers, and administrators.
The system will provide exclusive access to VNIT members, flat ₹10 digital fare, and
complete ride transparency, leading to faster pickups, optimized resource usage,
and a safer commute experience.
Core Features & Modules
1. Student App (Rider Portal):
● Secure login using VNIT email credentials.
● Request a ride from any campus location, specifying pickup and drop points.
● View nearby e-vehicles and estimated arrival times.
● Live GPS map showing:
○ Real-time EV positions
○ ETA of assigned vehicle
○ Ride progress in real time
● Pay a flat ₹10 fare via:
○ UPI / Razorpay integration
○ Rechargeable in-app wallet
● Push notifications for:
○ Driver assignment and vehicle arrival
○ Payment confirmation
● Trip history and e-receipts for transparency.
2. Driver App (Vehicle Portal):
● Secure login using driver credentials issued by the transport admin.
● Receive nearby ride requests dynamically based on proximity and current
route.
● View optimized pickup order for multiple passengers when applicable.
● Real-time navigation for pickup and drop.
● Automatic fare log generation after each completed ride.
● Option to accept or decline requests in special cases (e.g., off-duty, low
battery).
3. Admin Dashboard (Control & Analytics Panel):
● Role-based access for VNIT Transport Cell administrators.
● Manage vehicle data (add, modify, or deactivate e-vehicles).
● Monitor:
○ Real-time EV movement and ongoing rides
○ Student ride requests and completions
○ Driver performance and availability
● Manage and audit digital payments.
● Generate analytics reports on:
○ Daily ridership trends
○ Peak demand times
○ Energy utilization and cost efficiency
● Broadcast emergency or announcement messages to all active users.
Bonus Features
1. Smart Route Optimization
● Dynamically groups nearby ride requests for efficient shared trips.
● Minimizes idle time and improves battery utilization.
2. SOS & Safety Integration
● In-app emergency button connected to campus security (similar to VNIT
Girls’ Safety App).
● Live location sharing with security team for immediate response.
3. Maintenance & Battery Monitoring (Future IoT Upgrade)
● Integrates IoT modules for real-time battery and maintenance tracking.
● Predicts optimal charging intervals to ensure 24/7 service readiness.
4. Data Analytics & Visualization
● Admin insights into:
○ Route and trip efficiency
○ Time-of-day demand patterns
○ Payment and usage trends
5. Offline Mode Support
● Allows students to view last-known vehicle positions and saved routes during
weak connectivity.
● Automatically syncs data once the internet reconnects.
6. Open Innovation Challenge
The Open Innovation Challenge invites participants to design and develop a fully
functional, production-ready technological solution addressing a real-world problem
of their choice.
The competition encourages creativity, technical excellence, and practical
implementation across diverse domains such as web development, mobile
applications, artificial intelligence, Internet of Things (IoT), and cloud-based
systems.
Participants are expected to demonstrate a complete working product that
showcases innovation, usability, and scalability. Solutions may employ any suitable
technology stack or framework, provided they meet production-level standards of
functionality and deployment.
The challenge aims to promote a spirit of innovation, problem-solving, and
interdisciplinary collaboration among students and developers. The best-performing
project, evaluated on criteria such as innovation, technical depth, usability, and
real-world applicability, will be awarded a cash prize of $100.
7. Problem Statement Sponsored by the
RedString
1. Introduction
The rise of specialized roles and the vast volume of professional data need smarter,
more nuanced tools for talent matching. Traditional filtering often fails to capture the
relative importance of different criteria, treating a required location as equally
important as a specific programming language. This challenge aims to solve that by
building a Smart Profile Matching Engine that uses a dynamic, weighted scoring system
to deliver highly relevant and prioritized results.
2. Problem Statement
Goal: Develop a Smart Profile Matching Engine that uses a user-defined weighted
scoring algorithm to calculate a Composite Relevance Score, ensuring talent-profile
ranking is based on the relative importance of criteria, not just binary filters.
Core Requirement: The engine must allow users to assign a variable rank of importance
(weight) to key parameters (e.g., Location, Experience, Specific Technology) to calculate
a precise and customizable Composite Relevance Score for each profile. This score will
be the definitive measure for ranking.
3. Detailed Deliverables
3.1. Core Functionality & Algorithm
This section defines the essential back-end logic and data processing
requirements.
● Weighted Scoring Engine:
● Implementation: A robust, working implementation of the proprietary
scoring algorithm.
● Input: The algorithm must accept two distinct inputs:
1. User-defined weights (ranks of importance) for each parameter.
2. Structured profile data.
● Output: Generates a single, quantifiable Composite Relevance Score
(e.g., a score from 0 to 100) for every profile evaluated.
● Edge Case Handling (Critical): The algorithm must gracefully handle
and account for profiles with missing data for a parameter that has
been assigned a weight. Suggested approach: Assign a default,
low-impact sub-score or normalize the score across available
parameters.
● Profile Filtering and Ranking:
● A demonstrable feature that processes the entire profile dataset.
● It must return a list of matching profiles sorted in strict descending
order based on the calculated Composite Relevance Score.
3.2. User Interface (UI) & Experience
This section defines the requirements for the front-end user interaction.
● Parameter Weighting Interface:
● Dynamic Control: Implement a simple, intuitive UI component that
allows a user to dynamically set the importance (weight) of the key
parameters (e.g., Location, Experience, Technology, Years of
Education) before executing the search.
● Component Examples: Sliders, input fields for percentage/rank, or a
drag-and-drop ranking tool are acceptable.
● Usability: The interface must clearly show the user which parameters
are being weighted and what the total allocation of weights is (e.g.,
ensuring weights sum to 100% or use a ranking scale).
● Results Display:
● A clean, clear interface is required to display the final ranked list of
profiles.
● Displayed Data: Each result must clearly show:
1. The profile name/identifier.
2. The final calculated Composite Relevance Score.
3. A breakdown of the sub-scores for the individual weighted
parameters (e.g., "Location Score: 9/10", "Experience Score:
7/10").
3.3. Technical & Data Structure
This section outlines the non-functional requirements for data management and
testing.
● Data Model/Schema:
● A defined, well-structured schema for both the profile data and the
parameter weights.
● This structure must define how parameter weights are stored and
explicitly applied in the scoring logic (e.g., a simple JSON format, a
database schema, or a class structure).
● Demonstration Dataset:
● A small, pre-populated dataset (e.g., 50-100 sample profiles) must be
created.
● This dataset should contain enough variance to effectively run and
test the engine and demonstrate the effect of weighting during the
hackathon demonstration.
3.4. Presentation & Analysis
This section defines how the solution will be presented and justified.
● Demo & Walkthrough:
● Time Limit: A clear, concise presentation (maximum 5 minutes).
● Flow: The walkthrough must demonstrate the solution’s end-to-end
flow:
1. Setting/adjusting the parameter weights.
2. Running the search process.
3. Reviewing the final ranked results and the score breakdown.
● Impact Analysis (Justification):
● A brief explanation (a slide or a dedicated section of the demo)
showing why this weighted system is superior to simple binary filtering
(e.g., "must have location X" or "must have experience > 5 years").
● Key Example: This analysis must include a concrete example
illustrating how a drastic change in a single parameter's weight
significantly improves the quality or relevance of the top-ranked
profiles.