Easwari Engineering College Students Become First Indians to Win at NASA Space Apps Challenge 2025
Chennai, December 22, 2025: Students of Easwari Engineering College, Ramapuram, Chennai, have brought international acclaim to India by winning a prestigious global honour at the NASA International Space Apps Challenge 2025, the world’s largest hackathon organised by the National Aeronautics and Space Administration (NASA).
The student team, Photonics Odyssey, emerged as one of the top 10 global winners from a massive pool of 18,860 teams representing 167 countries, making it the only winning project with Indian participation. The team was conferred the Most Inspirational Award for its innovative and socially impactful solution.
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The winning team comprised Rajalingam N, Prasanth Gopalakrishnan, Rashi Menon and Sakthi Sanjeev Kumar (II Year, Electronics and Communication Engineering), along with Deeraj Kumar and Manish Varma D (III Year, Computer Science Engineering – Artificial Intelligence and Machine Learning).
The students developed a satellite-based internet infrastructure model designed to extend high-speed connectivity to remote and underserved regions. The project was lauded for its innovation, technical strength and strong potential for global social impact.
After being shortlisted as Global Finalists, the team was selected as winners by an Executive Committee comprising senior leaders from NASA and 14 international space agency partners, including ISRO and the European Space Agency (ESA). The competition involved multiple rounds of rigorous evaluation by industry experts, subject matter specialists and senior executives from leading global companies.
Easwari Engineering College felicitated the students for their outstanding achievement, highlighting the institution’s commitment to research-driven learning and interdisciplinary innovation.
The accomplishment underscores India’s growing stature in technology, innovation and space research, and reaffirms the ability of Indian students to excel on the world’s most competitive global platforms.
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