Clearing the SIH Internal Round
Before you reach the SIH grand finale, you must clear your college’s internal hackathon. Most colleges select only 2-3 teams out of 20-50 that apply. Here’s how to be one of them.
What SPOCs Look For
Your college SPOC (Single Point of Contact) evaluates teams on:
- Problem understanding – Do you actually understand what’s being asked?
- Feasibility – Can this be built in 36 hours?
- Innovation – Is this different from obvious solutions?
- Team composition – Do you have the right skills covered?
- Presentation quality – Is your PPT clear and compelling?
Internal Round Strategy
2 Weeks Before
- Form your team of 6 with specific roles assigned
- Pick 3 problem statements (have backups)
- Research existing solutions for each
1 Week Before
- Build a basic prototype (even a mockup counts)
- Prepare a 5-slide PPT: Problem, Solution, Tech Stack, Demo, Impact
- Practice your 3-minute pitch
Day Of
- Show a working demo, not just slides
- Explain WHY your solution is different from what exists
- Show you’ve researched the problem domain
- Be specific about tech stack and timeline
Common Reasons Teams Get Rejected
- Vague solutions (“we’ll use AI to solve healthcare”)
- No prototype or demo
- Team members who can’t explain the project
- Picking overly complex problems with no plan
- Copy-pasting solutions from previous SIH winners
Pro Tips
- Talk to your SPOC before submission – understand what they value
- Show that you’ve already started building
- Have a clear 36-hour plan for the grand finale
- Demonstrate AI tool usage (judges love seeing Claude/Copilot in action)