A team from Amrita Vishwa Vidyapeetham, Coimbatore travelled to Harvard in Massachusetts to participate in the prestigious university’s HackHarvard 2024. They ended up clinching the “Overall Best Hack” award for their AI-powered application, Sustain-ify. It guides users toward sustainable living by facilitating waste repurposing and eco-conscious shopping decisions.
This is the first time an Indian university has won at the level of All-Track Grand Prize since HackHarvard’s inception in 2015. Amrita’s team of four competed with students from leading institutions, including Harvard, Stanford, Massachusetts Institute of Technology (MIT), and the University of Toronto.
Held from October 11-13, this year’s event focused on the theme “Hack 4 Impact – Unlocking the Potential of Technology”. Organised by Harvard students, the annual hackathon hosted over 1,000 participants from 22 countries and 284 universities.
Amrita’s winning team comprises third-year B.Tech Artificial Intelligence students Amrit Subramanian, Kottakki Srikar Vamsi, Chukka Navneet Krishna, and Surya Santhosh Kumar. They were grateful to attend such an event that featured renowned professors and industry experts to mentor the students.
“Our team dedicated the first 10 hours to brainstorming the right idea within the provided tracks: Smart City, Sustainability, Open Source Data, and Healthcare. After much discussion, we developed an app that allows users to upload a video of a product’s packaging, instantly revealing its environmental and health impacts,” explained Amrit Subramanian.
“If a product is deemed harmful, the app suggests healthier alternatives. The final evaluations were conducted by over 40 judges, including product managers and CEOs from companies like Microsoft and various startups.”
Sustain-ify enables users to upload images of waste items, such as bottles or soda cans, and suggests creative DIY upcycling ideas. Additionally, the app has an eco-shopping assistant feature, which scans products in stores and offers recommendations for items with lower carbon footprints. It aims to inspire sustainable lifestyles, benefiting both people and the planet.
Dr. Soman K.P., Dean, Amrita School of Artificial Intelligence, Coimbatore, was also impressed by the experience, an event that brought together innovative minds from across the globe committed to developing solutions for pressing global challenges.

“It was a 36-hour marathon of coding and collaboration. The competition was judged on four key criteria: innovation, technical complexity, functionality, and collaboration. Sustain-ify was the Best Project presented at the Hackathon. Second and third prize went to MIT students,” he shared. Amrita’s team was also mentored by Dr. B. Premraj and Sai Sundarakrishna with Coimbatore’s School of Artificial Intelligence.