St. Peter’s Engineering College sparks innovation

India–Japan Innovation Hackathon 2026 brings together 1,000+ teams, Japanese research experts, industry leaders and startup innovators

Metro India News | Hyderabad

St. Peter’s Engineering College, Hyderabad, through its SPEC–Innovation and Incubation Center, organised the India–Japan Innovation Hackathon 2026 in association with NaRa Japan Hub, Infinitron AI Technologies and International Startup Foundation, creating a platform for innovation, research, industry collaboration and international exposure.

The initiative witnessed participation from around 1,000 teams across six regional hackathons, with Top 100 teams shortlisted for the National-Level Finals at St. Peter’s Engineering College, Hyderabad.

From the finalists, Top 20 teams will be selected to showcase their innovations at the Japan Festival on 11 October 2026 at Cyber Gardens, Hyderabad. Government officials and representatives from India and Japan will visit the innovation showcase, while the Top 5 innovations will be recognised by Telangana and Japan.

A major highlight was the participation and visit of five senior Japanese research experts from the MELCO Information Technology R&D Center — Takashi Yonezawa, Kazuo Sugimoto, Yoshitsugu Sawa, Shuto Murai and Keisuke Horii — providing students and innovators an opportunity to interact with international research professionals.

The programme brought together prominent industry, corporate, startup and innovation leaders, including Rajesh Pagadala, Managing Director, Pagadala Constructions Pvt. Ltd.; Balaprasad Peddigari, TCS CIO and IEEE Hyderabad Vice Chair; Gurpreeth Singh, Vice President and PCIA Manager, JP Morgan; Jyoshna Reddy, Co-Founder and COO, IMPACT HUB; Emmanuel Gosula, Senior Manager-HR, EPAM; Satyanarayana Vaddi, Managing Partner and CEO, FinAnomics Capital; B. Rama Bhadra, Founder, Na Ra JAPAN HUB and Chairman, Asa Bhanu Technical Services Ltd.

Dr. Zahoorullah S MD, Chief Innovation Officer, Atal Incubation Centre ALEAP WE HUB, supported by NITI Aayog; and Venkat Sai, Founder and CEO, Infinitron AI Technologies and Na Ra Japan Hub. The hackathon focuses on AI, Electronics and Embedded Systems, Robotics, IoT, Smart Manufacturing, Semiconductors, Smart Mobility and Industry 4.0.

The initiative reflects St. Peter’s Engineering College’s commitment to building a strong innovation and incubation ecosystem, giving students a pathway from regional competitions to national finals and international exposure. The programme is supported by the Management of St. Peter’s Engineering College, under the leadership of T. Bala Reddy, Chairman; T. V. Reddy, Secretary & Correspondent; T. Saroja Reddy, Academic Director; T. Anuraag Reddy, Administrative Director; Dr. Koduganti Venkata Rao, Principal; Dr. Gowtham Mamidisetti, Dean – Innovation & Incubation; and Dr. K. Rajiv, IIC Coordinator.