ShikshaLokam

🎉 Congratulations

Congratulations to the Winners!

Thank you to everyone who participated and put in the hard work—your innovation and effort truly stood out.

About ShikshaLokam

Founded in 2017, ShikshaLokam operates as an Education Leadership Catalyst under the aegis of the Shibulal Family Philanthropic Initiative. It embodies the principles of Societal Platform thinking, a systemic approach designed to address complex societal challenges with speed, scale, and sustainability.

As a catalyst for education leadership, ShikshaLokam collaborates with government functionaries, civil society organizations, and academic bodies to co-create solutions that address critical challenges in the education leadership landscape. The organization is committed to distributing the ability to solve these challenges and enhancing the agency of actors within the ecosystem. This, in turn, drives large-scale educational change programs aimed at fostering equitable and quality education.

At ShikshaLokam, we firmly believe that strong education leadership is the cornerstone of education equity. Empowered leaders who are continuously learning and improving create effective learning environments that enable students to access quality education and thrive.

InvokED is ShikshaLokam’s flagship initiative—a global platform that fosters dialogue and catalyzes collective action in the realm of education leadership. Since its inception, InvokED has convened diverse stakeholders, including leaders from Sarkaar (government), Samaaj (civil society), Bazaar (markets), and Sanchar (media), to explore how collaborative efforts can drive sustainable improvements in education ecosystems.

Over four impactful editions, InvokED has highlighted the pivotal role of education leadership in achieving equity and has demonstrated how collective action can inspire a movement toward systemic change.

Hackathon Overview

Are you someone who sees code as your superpower and hackathons as your playground?Does the sound of “debugging” feel like cracking a mystery, and “API calls” like casting spells? If you’ve ever binge-watched Silicon Valley, rooted for Elliot Alderson in Mr. Robot, or dreamed of pulling off a tech revolution like in The Social Network - then this hackathon is where you need to be!

Whether you’re the “coffee-fueled night coder”, the “one-more-feature designer”, or the “big ideas strategist”, this is your chance to team up, think big, and build solutions that matter.And what if we say that those solutions could transform education for millions of students across India? That’s exactly the promise of the Innovation for Education Equity Hackathon - a coding challenge to tackle real-world problems, create impactful solutions, and take a step toward education equity.This hackathon is part of Shikshagraha, a movement to uplift 1 million public schools by 2030 through localized action, collective leadership, and systemic change. In its second edition, the Innovation for Education Equity Hackathon goes beyond ideas on paper. We bring you real-world education challenges straight from the field, inviting you to think deeper, question harder, and design solutions that can truly make a difference.

Last year, the response was nothing short of phenomenal - 1,300+ passionate participants, 700+ teams, and a wave of innovative solutions tackling some of the most pressing education equity challenges in India.

This year, we’re turning up the scale and the impact - bigger problems, bolder ideas, deeper collaboration, and solutions that matter. If you’re ready to build for change, this is where it begins!Who Can Join?

We’re calling all tech enthusiasts, education leaders, students, professionals, and social innovators who believe in the power of technology to solve big problems. Whether you’re a coder, strategist, social sector professionals or creative thinker, your ideas matter. 

Why You Should Be Here?

• Work on Real Challenges: Solve problems faced by education stakeholders like teachers, principals and system leaders.
• Collaborate & Network: Work with diverse teams and connect with experts from tech, education, and public policy.
• Get Recognized: Present your solutions to a jury of thought leaders and win a share of the ₹4,50,000 prize pool. 
• Make an Impact: Build open-source tools that contribute to transforming education for millions.

How It Works?

• Team Registrations | Dec 22, 2025 - Jan 22, 2026
  • Gather your squad of 2–4 members and register on our official microsite.
  • Pro tip: Assemble a team with diverse skills - it makes all the difference!
• Online Hackathon Kick-Off (Jan 2, 2026)
  • The countdown begins! The problem statements will be unveiled on January 2, 2026 post which participants can start designing, coding, and testing your solutions.
  • You will get one week to finalise your solutions.
  • Zoom link to join on Jan 2 2026  3 pm to 5 pm  : link to join
• Online Solution Submission (Jan 22, 2026)
  • Submit your solutions by the deadline. The submissions are online. The submissions will close by 11:59 PM of Jan 22, 2026
• In-Person Presentation of Solutions (Feb 5, 2026)
  • Post submission of working solutions, top solutions will be shortlisted and the shortlisted teams will be notified via email and will have the opportunity to present their solutions inperson to national and international stakeholders at InvokED 5.0 in Bangalore.
• Award Ceremony (Feb 6, 2026)
  • The top three teams will win cash prizes from a total pool of ₹4,50,000, along with the chance to network with like-minded individuals and experts from the field.

What You’ll Take Away?

• Practical Experience: Work on problems that matter and test your skills in a real-world setting.
• Connections: Build a network of like-minded changemakers, including NGOs, policymakers, and tech leaders.
• Impact: Your solutions will contribute to open-source platforms that can be scaled to drive systemic change.
• Mentorship: Mentorship will be provided by experienced practitioners and industry experts to support the winning teams in completing their prototypes.
• Prototype: Turn your ideas into action by building and showcasing a working prototype of your solution, with opportunities to refine it through feedback and iteration.

What We’re Looking For?

• Innovative Thinkers: Can you come up with a solution no one’s thought of yet?
• Team Players: Collaboration is key to building something meaningful. The Hackathon starts online on Jan 2, 2026. The submission will be until 11:59 PM, Jan 22, 2026.
• Problem-Solvers: We need people who can think on their feet and deliver practical, impactful solutions. These have to be workable and tested solutions.

What You Need to Know?

• Registration: Opens | Dec 22, 2025. Closes | Jan 22, 2026, at 11:59 PM.
• Team Size: 2–4 members. No changes allowed after registration.
• Eligibility: Open to anyone passionate about education equity and technology.

Guidelines

1. Original Work Only: All submissions must be original. Plagiarism or the use of prohibited tools will result in immediate disqualification.
2. Ethical Conduct: Participants must adhere to the event’s code of conduct, maintaining professionalism and respect for all involved.
3. Team Composition: Teams must have 2–4 members. Once registered, team composition cannot be changed.
4. Submission Rules: Solutions must be submitted before/by the deadline. We are looking for workable solutions within the stipulated time. Late entries will not be accepted under any circumstances.
5. Focus on Open-Source: Encourage the creation of solutions that align with digital public goods standards, promoting privacy, inclusion, and accessibility.
6. Adherence to Deadlines: Follow the timeline strictly. Missing deadlines at any stage will lead to disqualification.
7. Accommodation: Travel and necessary accommodation arrangements should be made by the participants themselves. 
8. Certificates: Certification of Participation will be given to all the participants. 
9. Prize: Top solutions will be awarded from a total prize pool of ₹4,50,000. Only the winning teams will receive continued support and time until the End of March 2026 to develop, refine, and submit an end-to-end working prototype of their proposed solution.

For More Queries:

For more information, visit InvokED or write to us at hackathon@shikshalokam.org.To know more about the open source capabilities built by Shikshalokam visit Elevate.

Together, let’s create a better future for education.