Padmaja Kumari Parmar was the Chief Guest for the Type 1 Diabetes Hackathon Grand Finale hosted by i4c India in association with JDRF and Impatient Network on January 23rd, 2024.

It was India’s first innovative hackathon on T1D as part of Project UDAY (Understanding Diabetes And You) to raise awareness by inviting students and schools to use their skills to come up with solutions to real problems faced by the T1D community to make a real difference.

With 120 teams and over 1500 students participating, the hackathon not only captured the imagination of our youth but has also become a platform for collaborative ingenuity with the engagement of 70 schools from across India and over 2500 student participation in the awareness campaign.

From how to support those with T1D when they need insulin or treatment for low blood sugar allowing them to fully participate in activities without feeling self-conscious or held back by their condition, making monitoring devices more attractive and appealing, making daily wear apparel more accessible for wearing devices like insulin pumps and glucose monitors, and even ways to inform others about the early signs and symptoms to help those in need for early detection, there was so many creative solutions that were celebrated!

Padmaja was delighted to help promote the hackathon during the registration phase and speak to all those who joined virtually for the grand finale by capturing the spirit of the event and relaying how important the collaborative efforts are to eradicating stigma surrounding T1D in India and abroad.

Thank you to Deakin Daney and the entire i4c team and everyone involved for their dedication, passion and unwavering commitment to creating a brighter and healthier future for us all.