Hack for Impact 2026: India–Australia Innovation in Action

110 students selected. 1,500+ on the waitlist. One week. Real solutions.

Over the past week, something remarkable happened. Students from India and Australia, separated by thousands of kilometres, came together to collaborate, challenge perspectives, and build solutions grounded in real-world problems.

Hack for Impact: The Global Innovation Challenge brought together the next generation of innovators for a five-day online hackathon presented by The University of Western Australia and the Indo-Australian Chamber of Commerce, and facilitated by Venture UWA.

The result? A powerful demonstration of what cross-border collaboration can achieve.

The Scale of Interest

When we opened applications, the response was overwhelming. Over 1,500 students applied to participate. We could only accept 110.

That level of demand tells us something important: students are hungry for opportunities to work on real problems, connect across borders, and build solutions that matter. Hack for Impact provided exactly that.

The Challenge

Participants tackled real industry challenges presented by UWA's business partners across sectors, including agriculture, energy, and technology. Teams were formed across time zones, mentored by industry experts, and given five days to develop and pitch their solutions.

This wasn't a theoretical exercise. The problems were real, the stakes were high, and the solutions had to be grounded in practical application.

The Grand Finale

The Grand Finale kicked off with a welcome address from Vikas Rambal, Chairman of Perdaman, who inspired attendees with his real-world experiences and set the tone for the pitches to come.

Teams presented their solutions to a distinguished panel of judges, each bringing deep expertise and a global perspective:

• Dr. Ian Martinus GAICD FLWA ACEcD

• Ambika Natarajan

• Dr. Vishal Choudhary

• Gaven Standon

• Zachary Arman

Their insights and rigorous evaluation played a critical role in shaping impactful outcomes.

The Winners: Team Seedflix

We are proud to announce the winners of Hack for Impact 2026: Team Seedflix.

The team — Mohanish Borana, B Koushik, Tanveer Singh, and Kushagra Garg — was mentored by Dr. Pallavi Tak and pitched their solution to the Agriculture Hackathon question.

Their solution stood out for its sharp focus on trust, transparency, and sustainability. More than just an idea, they demonstrated clear potential for real-world application and delivered their pitch with confidence and clarity.

Congratulations to Team Seedflix — a well-deserved win.

What Made This Event Different

Hack for Impact wasn't just another hackathon. It was a reflection of what's possible when institutions, industry, and students come together across borders.

This event celebrated UWA's progress toward opening two branch campuses in India, a significant milestone in strengthening India–Australia ties. The hackathon itself was a working example of that partnership: students collaborating in real time, learning from each other's perspectives, and building solutions that neither could have developed alone.

At its core, this is what innovation looks like. Not isolated genius, but connected problem-solving across disciplines, industries, and geographies.

Thank You to Our Partners

An event of this scale doesn't happen without significant support.

Sponsored by: Perdaman, Amanda Energy, and Invest and Trade Western Australia

Supported by: UWA Global Engagement, ANZ, Fund WA, MeitY Startup Hub (MSH), JSW, iFour Technolab Pvt. Ltd., Telstra, and TN AutoSkills, Tamil Nadu Apex Skill Development Centre for Automobile

We extend our sincere appreciation to every partner, mentor, judge, and organiser who made this possible.

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