Adaptability, continuous learning vital for engineers in AI era: Google expert

Tech-Shodha 2026 being inaugurated at Vidyavardhaka College of Engineering in Mysuru on Friday.

Adaptability, continuous learning and problem-solving skills will be crucial for engineers to remain relevant and succeed in the rapidly evolving artificial intelligence (AI) era, said Darshan Vijay Kumar, Technical Solutions Engineer – Cloud Security at Google.

Inaugurating Tech-Shodha 2026, a 24-hour national-level hackathon organised by the Department of Electronics and Communication Engineering (ECE) at Vidyavardhaka College of Engineering (VVCE) here on Friday, he urged aspiring engineers to keep pace with emerging technologies and continuously upgrade their skills to meet the changing demands of the industry.

He said hackathons offered students valuable hands-on experience, encouraged teamwork and provided a platform to translate innovative ideas into practical solutions to real-world problems.

The event has attracted over 360 teams, of which 50 have been shortlisted for the competition. These include 20 teams in the hardware category and 30 in the software category, representing various institutions across Karnataka.

The hardware category features nine themes, including robotics and automation, agri-tech, embedded systems, healthcare, Internet of Things (IoT), security and surveillance, disaster management, smart cities and waste management.

The software category covers seven themes, including cybersecurity, automation and intelligent systems, artificial intelligence and machine learning, agri-tech, healthcare and wellness technology, education, and computer vision and image intelligence.

Tech-Shodha 2026 aims to promote innovation, interdisciplinary collaboration and practical problem-solving among engineering students by providing them with a platform to develop technology-driven solutions to contemporary challenges.

VVCE secretary P. Vishwanath, treasurer Shrishaila Ramannavar, vice-principal and dean of academics Shobha Shankar, and ECE Department head Shilpa R. were present.