5th graders from Mumbai win Global MIT App Inventor Hackathon for 'climate change' app

Two children from Mumbai won first prize for an app they created that brings awareness about Climate Change. The app was created by Ayush Sankaran, aged 10 and Jashith Narang aged 9. Their app won the top spots in the global MIT app Inventor Hackathon 2020 and the app is now available on Google Play Store as well.

Climate Catastrophe - Earth in Dearth

In a competition organised by Massachusetts Institute of Technology, two kids from Mumbai created an app, Climate Catastrophe – Earth in Dearth, which has put them on a global map. Ayush and Jashith are the two fifth graders are from Billabong High International School Malad and Bombay Scottish School, Powai respectively. Reportedly, the duo came up with the idea during COVID 19 lockdown.

Reportedly, Ayush and Jashith were inspired by Greta Thunberg and they aimed to educate smartphone users of the ill effects of climate change through their app. In an interview with The Better Indian, the kids told them that they thought if Greta could start a revolution just by starting a conversation, they can definitely use their skills to educate others. 

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App's formula

Reportedly, Ayush said that just by being aware and informed about the issue and consequences around us is enough to bring small changes in lifestyles. Their app takes a multi-faceted approach to impart knowledge on climate change to the app users. Moreover, the app is segregated in three parts and answers some pertinent questions on climate change.

• There are several things users can do on the app to get information about climate change and its impact.
• The app enables users to play a quiz by answering questions revolving around climate change and its impact.
• The app also allows one to roughly calculate one’s carbon footprint.
• There are two games on ‘deforestation’ and ‘renewable sources of energy’.

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Ayush and Jashith bagged the first prize in the ‘Youth Team’ segment of ‘People’s Choice’ category in the MIT App Inventor Hackathon 2020.

• The app also won the fourth spot in the ‘judges award’ category.
• The app was selected for the top spots from a mix of 300 apps from across the world.
• The app was declared as the winner on August 3 and it recently surfaced on the Google Play Store as well.

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Image credits: Dipanshu Kabra Twitter ( @ipskabra )