Inspiring young techies with 'useless' projects

A CHATBOT that roasts you with a straight face, a mental health support bot that listens gently and non-judgmentally, a web app that crafts personalized excuses for any situation, a staring contest game that uses AI to detect blinking, and even an app that calculates how many holes are in a 'palappam'.

- PARVANA K B

These ideas, which might sound too weird or whimsical, are exactly the kind of things being built at 'Useless Projects 2.0,' a statewide make-a-thon that encourages students to explore creativity without pressure or expectations. Organized by the TinkerHub Foundation in collaboration with the Kerala Startup Mission, the event has been running from August 2, bringing together more than 3,500 students from 61 campuses across the state.

The students have created quirky, bold, and experimental projects. These may not "change the world," but they do something else—they make people think, laugh, wonder, and most importantly, learn.

"Building something creative is the aim. Even if it's a small, crazy thing, if it's something they love, that is enough. It does not need to save the world," says Moosa Mehar MP, CEO and co-founder of TinkerHub. "The core goal of this fun programme is to build a strong maker ecosystem," he adds.

The previous edition of Useless Projects, held last year, saw 2,100 students register, with 1,815 building projects across 31 campuses, and 661 final submissions. More than one-third of them were by women. The numbers have grown significantly since.