Rota-Tech X — 24-Hour Chennai Hackathon for College Teams

Rota-Tech X is a Chennai hackathon that runs continuously for 24 hours and draws students from colleges across the city and further afield. It is organised by the Rotaract Club of Sri Venkateswara College of Engineering, and it is built on a straightforward idea: give young problem-solvers one short, intense window to turn a concept into something they can actually demonstrate.

The event is intercollegiate by design. Participants form mixed teams, so a developer, a designer and a business-minded student often end up in the same group, and that mix is part of the point. The mood is a build cycle rather than a lecture series — teams brainstorm, prototype and keep refining through the night.

Instead of leaving the problem statement wide open, the hackathon anchors every project to the seven Areas of Focus that Rotary works on:

• Peacebuilding and Conflict Prevention
• Disease Prevention and Treatment
• Water, Sanitation, and Hygiene
• Maternal and Child Health
• Basic Education and Literacy
• Community Economic Development
• Supporting the Environment

Each team chooses one of these domains and works inside it, which keeps the output tied to real social need rather than a purely technical exercise.

The clock stops at a pitching round, where every team presents its prototype to a judging panel and makes the case for what it has built. Entry is free, and sign-ups happen on the event's official Devfolio page. The deadline to register is 26 April 2026.

• 24-hour intercollegiate build-and-pitch hackathon held in Chennai.
• Organised by the Rotaract Club of Sri Venkateswara College of Engineering.
• Free to enter, with student teams of 4 to 6 participants.
• Projects must sit within one of Rotary's seven Areas of Focus.
• Closes with a pitching session before a judging panel.
• Registration deadline: 26 April 2026, via the official Devfolio page.

Rota-Tech X is open to students who are currently enrolled in a college or university. There is no restriction by branch, degree or specialisation, and the event is deliberately intercollegiate — teams are expected to be built across institutions so that participants bring different academic backgrounds to the table.

• Who can join: students currently enrolled at a college or university.
• Team size: 4 to 6 students per team.
• Team make-up: intercollegiate teams, with members drawn from more than one college.
• Cost: nothing to enter — registration is free.
• Not applicable: DPIIT recognition and MSME registration, which matter for government grants and incubation schemes, play no role here.

Themes are not a filter on who may apply. Any eligible student team can register and then decide which Area of Focus it wants to work on.

Rota-Tech X — 24-Hour Chennai Hackathon for College Teams is open to startups at any stage. It is open to startups registered anywhere in India.

The most recent application window for Rota-Tech X — 24-Hour Chennai Hackathon for College Teams closed on 26 Apr 2026. Many programmes run repeat cohorts, so it is worth checking the official site for the next round.

Rota-Tech X is a competition rather than a grant or an investment, and the funding value attached to it is listed only as varying — no fixed prize figure is published in the programme details. What the event does offer is free access to a complete build cycle.

• Free registration — there is no entry fee for teams.
• A 24-hour window in Chennai to brainstorm, develop and sharpen a working solution.
• A defined problem space — you build within one of Rotary's seven Areas of Focus.
• A pitch slot before a judging panel, where teams present their prototype and explain their approach.
• A cross-college team experience, working alongside students from other institutions.

Because the value on offer is variable rather than a stated amount, teams should treat the hackathon as a chance to build, test and present, not as a guaranteed payout.

Rota-Tech X does not run a multi-round screening funnel. The route from sign-up to the stage is short:

1. Register your team on the event's official Devfolio page before the 26 April 2026 deadline.
2. Choose an Area of Focus from Rotary's seven domains and shape a solution around it.
3. Build for 24 hours — brainstorm, develop and refine the idea with your team.
4. Pitch to the judges — the hackathon closes with a presentation round in which teams show their prototype to a judging panel.

The final pitch is where each team makes its case, and it is the point at which innovation and teamwork are put on display.

Before you apply to Rota-Tech X — 24-Hour Chennai Hackathon for College Teams, keep the following documents ready:

• A pitch deck or short business plan describing the problem, product and traction
• Company registration documents and PAN
• Founder identification (PAN / Aadhaar) and brief profiles
• Recent financial statements or projections
• Product details — a demo, prototype or working link if available

Exact requirements are confirmed on the official application portal — treat this as a preparation checklist.