The Centre for Data Science and Social Impact (CDSSI) at the Indian School of Development Management (ISDM) hosted the Final Showcase of Code4Change 2025-26, an annual social sector hackathon that brings together data talent to solve real-world challenges. Held at the International Centre Goa (ICG), Dona Paula, the full-day, in-person event spotlighted innovative, data-driven solutions aimed at improving access to justice in India.
Now in its third edition, Code4Change 2025-26 focused on reimagining how data can strengthen judicial systems and improve efficiency, fairness, and transparency. The hackathon was organised in partnership with DAKSH and the Centre for Social Sensitivity and Action (CSSA), Goa Institute of Management.
This year, participants worked on two problem statements tailored to different experience levels. Students and emerging talent were tasked with redesigning the National Judicial Data Grid (NJDG) into a more interactive and user-friendly platform, offering role-specific insights and reminders. Meanwhile, experienced data professionals worked with data from over 3 lakh civil cases and 17 lakh hearings from the Karnataka High Court to design fair, efficient, and scalable case scheduling systems.
Following an intensive hackathon phase, six solutions, three for each problem statement, were shortlisted for the final showcase. During the event, teams presented their solutions to an expert jury, who evaluated them on quality, relevance, and practical applicability.
Winners of Code4Change 2025-26
- Student & Emerging Talent Track:
Winner: Team Lawgorithm (Archita Narayan Sahoo, Shubham Sharma, Nandini Singh, Harshini Akana, Sruthi Saravanan)
The jury selected Lawgorithm because it understood and followed the scope well and built a simple, realistic, and meaningful prototype. They felt Lawgorithm chose a single problem and explored it with focus and depth. They commended the team on using an appropriate technical model, presenting with clarity, and answering questions confidently.
- Experienced Data Professionals Track:
WInner: Aalekh Roy
The jury commended him on building a strong prototype with a clear step-by-step logic and dynamic and flexible ways to prioritise and schedule cases.
The winning teams will have the opportunity to take their solutions forward beyond the showcase, continuing to work on the problem statements in collaboration with sector partners.
The jury for the final showcase included Dr Chittaranjan Hota, Senior Professor of Computer Science at BITS Pilani (Hyderabad); Nivedita Krishna, Founder of Pacta; Smita Mutt, Strategic Initiatives Lead at DAKSH; Prof. Prakash Singh, Associate Professor at CSSA, Goa Institute of Management; Atishya Kumar, Senior Research Associate – DAKSH and Rohith C H, Data Analyst – DAKSH.
Shubham Sharma said, “I’m deeply interested in engaging with the social sector, especially at a time when India is rising and social impact matters more than ever. The problem we worked on, judicial performance and efficiency, goes to the heart of democracy, which is what made it so compelling. Winning was a surprise—we don’t come from a core computer science background—but it feels incredibly rewarding.”
Mr Ravi Sreedharan, Founder and Director, ISDM, said, “Code4Change was created to bridge a clear gap between data talent and the real needs of the social sector. We wanted a space where students and professionals could work on live, complex problems and build solutions that organisations can actually use. Over the years, it has grown into a strong platform for collaboration, learning, and practical innovation. Code4Change shows how a genuine desire to make a difference can take shape through data, turn into practical solutions, and help strengthen systems in the social sector.”
Beyond the presentations, the event also featured an SPO Connect space, enabling Social Purpose Organisations to engage directly with participants and each other. These conversations focused on how organisations currently use data, the challenges they face, and opportunities for collaboration. Attendees were also introduced to the ISDM CDSSI Data Maturity Assessment (DMA), a free diagnostic toolkit designed to help social sector organisations assess and strengthen their use of data.
Code4Change aims to bring people from both within and outside the social sector closer to data and data science challenges that organisations face. It is also about building a community that wants to explore, learn, and apply data science for social impact.
Going forward, CDSSI will continue to engage with participants and audiences from each edition.
