Before the Hackathon: Learning Comes First

We didn’t want to throw participants straight into the challenge without giving them the right foundation. So, we kicked things off with three masterclasses, led by our own team members:

• Design Thinking – Arya Chandorkar walked everyone through the process of understanding users, defining problems, and turning ideas into prototypes. He reminded us that rural India has very different needs — and that empathy should always come first.

  
  

• Elevator Pitching – Sidhant Gade brought his trademark energy, teaching students how to capture attention in just 60–90 seconds. It was all about clarity, confidence, and connecting with your audience.

  
  

• Agile Methodology – Swarada Ogale explained how startups and product teams work fast, adapt quickly, and keep improving. Real examples made it clear that agility isn’t just a buzzword — it’s a survival skill.

The Challenge: Ideas That Matter

Armed with new skills, students formed teams and worked tirelessly to address the problem statement:

“How might we create an online product that is accessible, useful, and scalable for rural India?”

They:

• Brainstormed creative ideas

• Conducted quick user research

• Created user personas

Evaluation was based on Clarity of Presentation and Real-World Applicability. After an impressive round of pitches, 10 exceptional participants were selected for an exclusive TenAI’s Internship Program.

The Internship Experience

Here’s what our interns dove into:

1. Market Research & Analysis: We explored how to study markets the right way from competitor analysis to running surveys, and turning raw data into insights you can actually use.

   
   

2. UI/UX Design: The design cycle became their toolkit: Empathize → Define → Ideate → Design → Prototype. They also got hands-on with Figma, learning how to turn concepts into interactive designs.

   
   

3. AI Engineering: We introduced them to GenAI tools and prompt engineering, along with vibe coding platforms such as Vercel, Supabase, and Claude. Interns also explored automation workflows and hands-on applications of these technologies, gaining a strong foundation in how modern AI systems are built and deployed.

And this wasn't a theory. They applied everything directly to our ongoing product work at TenAI’s.

Compensation with Purpose

We ensured that interns were fairly compensated for their time and contributions, with support designed to ease financial challenges. This was an important step in showing that their skills and effort hold real value, while giving them a chance to focus fully on learning  and growth.

Looking Back and Ahead

That day in Jalgaon wasn’t just the start of a hackathon. It was the start of something bigger a journey to bring real opportunities to students from Tier-2 and Tier-3 cities, and to show that innovation doesn’t just come from metros.

We’re proud of every single participant and thrilled about what’s ahead. More hackathons. More internships. More chances for young talent to shine.

This is just the beginning.