TCS Invests in the Engineers of the Future – From the World's Largest AI Hackathon to Swedish Classrooms and Universities

Tata Consultancy Services (TCS) demonstrates how technology-driven innovation can be combined with social responsibility by engaging all levels – from its own employees to high school and university students. This autumn, the company has organized two hackathons and participated as a partner in a third, targeting various groups, with two of them specifically aimed at young students in Sweden.

Sustainable Solutions for the Future: Lund University's Sustainability-themed Hackathon

In November, Lund University, together with TCS and several other companies, organized a sustainability-themed hackathon for the university's students. The initiative aims to engage young talents in developing innovative solutions for some of today's most pressing sustainability challenges. This is one of many examples of how TCS, through collaborations with academic institutions, seeks to foster creativity and entrepreneurship among students, providing them with a platform to transform their ideas into concrete projects.

The "Green Transition Hack" took place at Mejeriet in Lund, where student teams spent two intensive days working on four specific sustainability challenges: How can we build smart systems for the distribution of local and sustainable food? What incentives are needed to promote large-scale, circular water reuse in industry? How can we better identify needs and gaps in public transport? And how can sustainability reporting be made more credible and comparable across companies? The teams had access to experts from the partner companies and presented their solutions to a jury.

Winning Projects and Their Societal Impact

• TwinTrace: An AI-driven tool that helps fashion companies collect, analyze, and validate data from their supply chains. The solution increases transparency and makes sustainability data as visible and actionable as financial results.
• Datacentre Heat to Green Farming: A system that converts waste heat from data centers into a resource for hydroponic greenhouses, enabling sustainable and local food production year-round.
• Utraintopia: A concept that transforms public transport into social and cultural meeting places, with the vision of making commuting a meaningful experience.

Young Innovators Improve Kista: GoIT Hackathon with Middle School Students

Earlier this autumn, TCS conducted a two-day GoIT hackathon in collaboration with SSIS Kista, where 22 middle school students were divided into five teams. The challenge was "How can we make Kista a more attractive area again?". This hackathon is part of TCS's CSR initiative and aimed to inspire young people to engage in technology and use it to solve real-world societal challenges.

The winning team impressed the jury, comprising engineers from TCS, with their solution: a mobile app where local residents can report issues with infrastructure, cleanliness, and other local matters. The app enables authorities to quickly direct issues to local contractors for action, which not only solves problems efficiently but also creates local employment. This solution exemplifies how technology can drive positive social change and contribute to a stronger local community.

Sweden at the Top in the World's Largest AI Hackathon

Concurrently, TCS recently conducted the world's largest AI hackathon for its own employees globally, with over 281,000 employees from 58 countries participating. The hackathon is a central part of TCS's strategy to foster an AI-first culture within the company and accelerate the integration of technology into its operations under the unified initiative tcsAI.

Sweden distinguished itself as the only country to achieve the highest scores for both quality and quantity in its category. Among the participating Swedish teams, those working for PostNord were among the leaders, along with other major client teams. A Swedish team also secured the global first place for quality in one of the competition categories.

Building Tomorrow's Skills

“For TCS, innovation is not just about developing new technology, but about ensuring that the next generation has the skills and inspiration to shape the future,” says Shreerang Talekar, Head of TCS Nordics. “By engaging students from middle school to university in real-world problem-solving, we contribute to increasing interest in engineering professions while also demonstrating how technology can be used to create positive societal benefits. This is a central part of how TCS is transforming itself into the world's largest AI-led technology services company, where people and their skills are at the core.”

TCS's CSR work, united under the name "TCS Empowers," aims to provide individuals and communities with the opportunity to participate in the digital economy. Focusing on STEM education, the company reaches hundreds of thousands of students globally through programs like GoIT, Ignite My Future, and other initiatives that prepare young people for careers in an AI-driven future.