In December 2024, two teams comprising SMI students won the first and second prizes in the GenAI x Gender Tech Hackathon, an event that drew participants from around the world. In a recent follow-up development, the first prize-winning team (Anuhya Mahesh and Aditya Sonwane, 4th Year B.Des (Creative Education, SMI), and Pranav Sridhar, 4th Year B.Tech (Metallurgical Engineering and Material Sciences, IIT Madras) was contacted by the UNESCO Regional Office for South Asia to participate in a podcast session on Gen Z and AI. Anuhya explains:
“Dodda Akka was a project created for the Gender x GenAI Hackathon conducted by Amrita University and the UNESCO Chair on Gender Equality and Women’s Empowerment as part of the International Conference on Gender and Technology (GTC) 2025, where it won first place. The UNESCO Regional Office for South Asia reached out to us as part of their “Women for Ethical AI” initiative. They put us in contact with Navneet Kaur, the host of the Ctrl+Alt+Thrive Podcast, which is an initiative under FemTech India and UNESCO. They contacted us to gather Gen Z’s perspectives on AI since we are entering the job market at a time when automation could have a detrimental impact on our jobs.”
Navneet Kaur, the founder of FemTech India and the host of the podcast Ctrl Alt Thrive (UNESCO) had this to say about the conversation she had with Anuhya, Aditya and Pranav:
“I had the most eye-opening AI conversation.
Not with a tech billionaire or policy expert..
with GEN-Z. who are building tomorrow while the world debates today…
In partnership with UNESCO, Women for Ethical AI (W4EAI) South Asian Chapter, I hosted my youngest guests ever”
The “AI Dreams & Futures: Gen Z’s Take on Building Ethical AI” podcast is accessible on these platforms:
YouTube
Spotify