Cognizant's Technoverse Hackathon 2026 is set to empower over 20,000 engineering students across India with AI skills, fostering innovation and addressing real-world industry challenges.
IT company Cognizant on Tuesday announced the launch of Technoverse Hackathon 2026, that would see participants demonstrate AI-powered problem-solving skills in several high-impact domains including banking, insurance, healthcare, life sciences, retail and manufacturing.
The hackathon - in its third edition - has grown from a regional initiative into a national platform, bringing together over 20,000 pre-final year engineering students from more than 400 colleges across India to collaborate, innovate, and demonstrate their capabilities.
Announcing the launch of Cognizant Technoverse Hackathon 2026, the company said it offers students an opportunity to bridge academic learning with real-world applications, work on industry-aligned problem statements, engage directly with practitioners from Cognizant, and gain firsthand exposure to how enterprises explore innovation.
Participants will build solutions across several high-impact domains such as Banking, Insurance, Healthcare, Life Sciences, Retail, Manufacturing, Communications, Media and Technology, and Energy and Utilities.
Rajesh Varrier, President 'Â Global Operations and Chairman and Managing Director of Cognizant India said the hackathon is a platform where India's brightest engineering minds tackle real industry challenges, think at an enterprise scale, and take their first steps toward becoming the technology leaders of tomorrow.
Cognizant said the hackathon reinforces equal representation with 50 per cent women's participation, in tune with the company's commitment to inclusion across its India operations.
Each participating college can field multiple teams of four members each, with a minimum of two women per team. The hackathon will conclude in May, with the top three teams named winners at a felicitation ceremony hosted at a Cognizant facility in Pune.
In line with its broader commitment to empower individuals with technology skills, including generative AI, Cognizant launched Synapse in 2023, a skilling initiative that has now surpassed its original goal of upskilling one million individuals worldwide, well ahead of its 2026 target, according to the release.
Building on this momentum, the company has set a new goal to upskill a total of two million individuals by the end of 2030, the release added.