Reinforcing the road safety and coinciding with the ‘Road Safety Month (18th Jan – 17th Feb 2024), Toyota Kirloskar Motor (TKM) successfully concluded the 24 hours Toyota Hackathon, held at the RV Institute of Technology and Management, Bangalore. The stage event of the 24 Hours-Hackathon was presided by the Chief Guests – Shri. H C Balakrishna, MLA Magadi & Chairman – Karnataka Road Development Limited, Government of Karnataka, Shri. Sharath Bache Gowda, Chairman – Karnataka State Electronics Development Corporation Limited (KEONICS), Government of Karnataka, Guest of Honour – Shri. J. Purushotham, Additional Commissioner for Transport & Director – Road Safety Cell, Transport Department, Government of Karnataka, Special Invitee – Mr Brijesh Agarwal, Vice President- Operations at Consero Global & Assistant Chief Traffic Warden, along with TKM’s Senior Executive – Mr. Sudeep S. Dalvi, Chief Communication Officer & Senior Vice President and Director, and other key dignitaries.
Through this initiative, TKM focuses to drive the inventive minds of the students (class 9th to 12th standard) from across various private and government schools as well as colleges based in Bangalore. The Toyota Hackathon provided a dynamic platform, divided into three engaging phases, where students showcased their creativity, innovation, and prototype development of practical digital solutions aimed to promote road safety. Further, this program underscores the strong efforts of the company’s contribution to the vision of ‘Zero Road Fatalities’ through ingenuity of young minds, by empowering future generations to develop actionable road safety solutions.
The road safety challenges in India, characterised by a high number of annual accidents, especially involving young adults, emphasise the significance of proactive measures. The Toyota Hackathon, initiated in 2018, serves as a catalyst to include road safety in school and college curriculums, encouraging children to become critical thinkers and develop solutions for modern-day road safety challenges. TKM’s focus is on unlocking the hidden talents of young minds and empowering them to contribute significantly to road safety. The program encourages students to become ‘Change Agents,’ playing a crucial role in bringing about positive behavioural change in the community.
During the academic year 2023-24, 62 students comprising of 31 teams registered for the Toyota Hackathon. The program’s innovation themes actively covered a broad spectrum of seven road safety challenges – “Road Safety Awareness and Education”; “Community Engagement for Safety”; “School Zone Safety”; “Road Infrastructure and Pollution”; “IoT/ICT in Road Safety”; “Traffic Easement” & “Making Roads Inclusive”.
Sharing his views about the Toyota Hackathon, Shri. H C Balakrishna, MLA Magadi & Chairman – Karnataka Road Development Limited, Government of Karnataka, said, “It is important to identify and tackle the root causes of road accidents in a comprehensive manner and the youths can play a critical role as change makers and become road safety champions. I am truly impressed by the innovative spirit and dedication showcased through the ideation and prototypes developed by the students at participating schools and colleges at Toyota Hackathon. Further, it is commendable to witness TKM’s commitment towards fostering road safety by creating the right platform to engage and empower the young minds and at grassroot level.
The government acknowledges the importance of collaborative efforts in addressing road safety challenges, and initiatives like these is essential to deploy the creative potential of our future road users and drive a impactful positive change amongst the community as well”.
Present at the Toyota Hackathon, Shri. Sharath Bache Gowda, Chairman, Karnataka State Electronics Development Corporation Limited (KEONICS) – Government of Karnataka, said, “We commend Toyota Kirloskar Motor for their proactive efforts in promoting road safety through their well-designed initiative like the Toyota Hackathon, encouraging the youths to express their innovative ideas and develop prototypes which can support to address the road safety challenges faced in today’s world.
The government recognizes the pivotal role that collaborative initiatives like this play in leveraging the creativities and engaging the young minds to influence the society in positive way with good road behaviour. Such endeavours contribute significantly to the shared goal of reducing road accidents & ensuring the safety of the citizens, and Toyota’s efforts in this direction is truly appreciated”.
During the academic year 2023-24, 62 students comprising of 31 teams registered for the Toyota Hackathon. The program’s innovation themes actively covered a broad spectrum of seven road safety challenges – “Road Safety Awareness and Education”; “Community Engagement for Safety”; “School Zone Safety”; “Road Infrastructure and Pollution”; “IoT/ICT in Road Safety”; “Traffic Easement” & “Making Roads Inclusive”.
Mr. Sudeep S. Dalvi, Chief Communication Officer and Senior Vice President & Director, Toyota Kirloskar Motor, said, “At Toyota, our commitment to road safety extends beyond manufacturing of safe cars; we strive to grow in tandem with society and enrich the lives of the communities we serve by promoting road safety and instilling behavioural change in them. Our journey towards raising awareness on road safety dates to 2007, reaching 790,000 students thus far through various road safety initiatives, focusing on school children, and developing them to become ‘road safety ambassadors’, thereby inculcating the positive change amongst the people. In this direction, Toyota Hackathon is an extended program aimed to provide a platform to school children (class 9th – 12th) to emerge as ‘Solution Providers’, to promote road safety. This unique road safety initiative contributes to enhance a strong connect with the young minds to demonstrate their creativity, developing solutions towards improving road safety and advance their sustainable development as future safety champions.
As we mark the successful culmination of the 24-Hours Toyota Hackathon, we are truly inspired by the creativity and dedication displayed by the school and college students. This important initiative stands as a testament to our unwavering commitment to ensuring ‘People’s Safety on Road’. Our heartfelt thanks to all the students, teachers, faculties, educational institutes, and esteemed authorities for joining hands with us and their strong encouragement and participation in this important Toyota Hackathon program”.
