Koovathon 1.0: An ideathon to transform Cooum into city’s Thames

CHENNAI: With the mission of transforming the Cooum River into the Thames of Chennai, Makers Tribe is organising an ideathon event called Koovathon 1.0 scheduled for February 3 at Kissflow, Perungudi. Jaya Shakthi Kannan, the founder of Makers Tribe, highlights the event’s purpose.

“Through Koovathon 1.0, we aim to identify potential opportunities for enhancing the Cooum River, addressing aspects such as water transportation, tourism, economy, aquatic ecosystems, waste management, and sustainability. This one-day event encourages teams of up to four individuals to brainstorm ideas, pitch them, and have the jury validate the best proposals.”

Koovathon consists of three phases, starting with Koovathon 1.0, an ideation event taking place on February 3.

“Participants can express their ideas without the concern of practical implementation, as mentors will guide and validate during the process. Teams will be formed on the spot to maintain a balance of tech experts, scientists, environmentalists, researchers, professors, and students. The best idea will be awarded a cash prize of 10,000. Teams must identify potential problems or pain points and propose a list of possible solutions before lunch, with the best one documented in a PPT. In the afternoon, teams will pitch their ideas to the jury.”

Following a three-month gap, Koovathon 2.0, a two-day hackathon, will commence. Participants will explore building hardware and software solutions using modern technologies like AI/ML, IoT, Blockchain, etc. Koovathon 3.0 will focus on proposing implementable ideas to the government, with the potential to make a significant impact.

“If the initiative proves successful, we plan to repeat it annually until the Cooum River truly becomes the Thames of Chennai,” says Jaya Shakthi Kannan.