MUMBAI, Oct 11: The Indian Institute of Technology Bombay and Russia’s Rosatom State Corporation have launched Atomic Hack India 2026, a national engineering innovation competition aimed at encouraging students to develop technical solutions for challenges arising from the integration of nuclear and renewable energy sources into electricity networks.
The competition is open to undergraduate and postgraduate engineering students and will focus on designing a protection system for a 220-kilovolt transmission line connected to nuclear and renewable energy sources. Registration is scheduled to remain open until October 20, according to information published about the initiative.
The challenge centres on developing a Zero-Sequence Directional Overcurrent Protection (ZDOP) scheme capable of helping identify and detect electrical faults in a transmission line. The objective is to support the safe and reliable operation of a power network as its energy sources become more diverse.
The competition will give students an opportunity to work on an engineering problem connected to the practical requirements of modern electricity infrastructure. Rather than focusing exclusively on theoretical concepts, participants will be expected to apply their technical knowledge to a defined challenge involving grid protection and system reliability.
The initiative is being organised by JSC ETC GET in partnership with the Rosatom Corporate Academy and IIT Bombay’s Research Hub for Green Energy and Sustainability.
A practical challenge for engineering students
Electricity transmission networks must operate safely even when faults or unusual operating conditions occur. Protection systems are designed to identify abnormal electrical behaviour and help isolate affected sections of a network before a fault causes wider disruption.
The challenge becomes more complex when a transmission system incorporates different types of electricity generation. Nuclear power stations and renewable energy installations can have different operating characteristics, making it important to assess how protection mechanisms respond under a range of conditions.
Students participating in Atomic Hack India 2026 will work on a scheme intended to address these requirements for a 220-kilovolt transmission line.
The competition offers an opportunity to examine how electrical engineering principles are used in real infrastructure. Participants will need to consider fault detection, directional behaviour, system responses and the reliability of protection arrangements.
Such challenges can help students understand the relationship between classroom concepts and the technical decisions made in power-system planning and operation.
For engineering education, project-based competitions can complement conventional lectures and laboratory sessions. Students must interpret a problem, evaluate possible approaches, test their ideas and explain why a proposed solution could work.
These activities can also encourage collaboration between students with different strengths, including electrical engineering, power systems, software modelling and analytical problem-solving.
Digital modelling and simulation
An important component of the competition is the use of REPEAT VISION, a software platform developed by ETC GET, a subsidiary of Rosatom.
The platform will be used for one-dimensional modelling and the creation of digital twins. A digital twin is a virtual representation of a physical system that can be used to examine its behaviour under different conditions.
In an engineering context, simulation allows users to study how a system may respond to changing inputs, faults or operating scenarios without relying solely on physical experiments. Modelling can therefore help engineers identify potential weaknesses and compare possible solutions.
Participants in the hackathon will receive free access to the software, introductory training webinars and mentoring support from Rosatom engineers and IIT Bombay professors. Previous experience with the platform will not be required.
The training component is significant because students may come from institutions with different levels of access to specialised engineering software. Providing initial guidance can help participants become familiar with the tools needed to approach the competition’s technical problem.
Mentoring can also expose students to professional methods of analysing engineering challenges. Guidance from researchers and industry specialists may help teams refine their assumptions, understand the limitations of their models and present their findings more effectively.
The use of digital tools reflects the growing importance of simulation in engineering design. In areas such as power generation, transmission, transport and industrial automation, computer-based models can support testing and planning before changes are implemented in real systems.
For students, familiarity with such methods can provide useful experience as they prepare for advanced research or careers in technical industries.
Two-stage competition structure
Atomic Hack India 2026 will be conducted in two stages.
The online qualification round is scheduled to run from October 20 to October 28. Teams will use this stage to work on the challenge and demonstrate their proposed approaches.
Up to 25 shortlisted teams will then advance to a 48-hour grand finale at the IIT Bombay campus in Mumbai from December 4 to December 6.
The final stage will bring selected participants together for an intensive period of technical work. A time-limited challenge can test not only engineering knowledge but also teamwork, planning and the ability to make decisions under pressure.
For students, reaching the final could provide an opportunity to discuss their work with specialists and interact with peers who share an interest in energy technology.
The competition also has potential educational value for participating institutions. Faculty members can use such activities to encourage students to explore power engineering and related fields, while successful projects may generate ideas for further academic investigation.
The organisers have announced opportunities for winning teams that include a sponsored research visit to Moscow to visit Rosatom’s engineering centres, internship opportunities at ETC GET and certificates.
These opportunities could help participants gain exposure to industrial research environments and learn how engineering concepts are applied in professional settings.
Why power-grid protection matters
The challenge comes amid broader efforts to expand electricity generation while maintaining the stability and reliability of transmission networks.
Nuclear power can provide electricity that is not directly dependent on daily weather conditions, while solar and wind power can contribute to lower-carbon energy generation. Combining different sources can support a diversified electricity supply, but the network must be able to accommodate their technical characteristics.
Transmission lines carry electricity between generating stations and distribution networks. If a fault is not identified and managed appropriately, it can affect equipment, interrupt supply or create wider operational difficulties.
Protection systems are therefore an essential part of power infrastructure. Their design must account for the characteristics of the network and the conditions under which it operates.
The ZDOP problem selected for the hackathon gives students a specific framework in which to examine these questions. The task requires a technical solution tailored to a defined transmission line scenario rather than a general proposal for renewable energy development.
India has also stated a target of reaching 100 gigawatts of nuclear power capacity by 2047. Meeting long-term energy ambitions will involve multiple considerations, including generation capacity, infrastructure investment, technical expertise, safety and grid integration.
Competitions such as Atomic Hack India can help introduce engineering students to some of the technical issues associated with these developments. They cannot replace formal training, industrial testing or regulatory requirements, but they can provide a structured setting for learning and experimentation.
Industry-academia collaboration
The partnership between IIT Bombay and Rosatom brings an academic institution and an international nuclear-energy organisation together around a student challenge.
Universities provide research expertise and an environment for learning, while industry partners can contribute practical problems, specialised tools and insights into professional engineering requirements.
When designed effectively, such collaborations can help students understand how academic knowledge translates into industrial applications. They may also encourage further interaction between researchers, faculty members and technical organisations.
The involvement of mentors from IIT Bombay and Rosatom is intended to support participants as they develop their solutions. For students interested in power systems and energy technology, the opportunity to receive feedback from experienced professionals may be as valuable as the competitive element itself.
The hackathon also reflects a broader trend in technical education towards challenges that require interdisciplinary thinking. Modern energy systems involve electrical networks, digital monitoring, control systems and computational analysis. Engineers increasingly need to understand how these elements interact.
Registration and next steps
Interested undergraduate and postgraduate engineering students should complete their registration before the October 20 deadline and consult the organisers’ official information for eligibility requirements, participation instructions and other applicable conditions.
The online qualification stage begins on the same date and runs through October 28. Teams selected for the final will compete at IIT Bombay in December.
By combining a defined power grid problem, digital simulation tools and technical mentorship, Atomic Hack India 2026 seeks to connect engineering education with challenges in the evolving energy sector.
For participants, the competition offers a chance to apply their knowledge to a practical problem, develop modelling experience and explore potential career paths in energy engineering and research. For the wider academic community, it highlights the value of collaborative learning in preparing students for complex infrastructure challenges.