Purdue University students launch inaugural SyDAg and Hackathon Weekend

Events designed to turn agricultural innovation into real-world impact

A dynamic team of student leaders from diverse agricultural fields, under the leadership of the Institute for Digital and Advanced Agricultural Systems (IDAAS), will host Purdue University’s first-ever Symposium of Digital Agriculture (SyDAg) and Hackathon Weekend. These landmark events will bring together researchers, industry professionals and innovators in a collaborative effort to shape the future of agriculture.

The dedicated students behind SyDAg include Ana Morales, Anna Mendes, Autumn Denny, Emmanuel Cooper, Erick Oliva, Gustavo Santiago, Harsh Pathak, Jeanine Arana, Leonardo Bosche, Leslie Aviles, Mariela Fernandez, Natalia Volpato, Megan Low, Pedro Cisdeli, Wily Sic and Thirawat Bureetes. 

With students in the driver’s seat, our goal was to develop an event that serves young professionals and aspiring changemakers. While our vision was ambitious, it never seemed out of reach because of the immense support from our faculty and staff advisors.” -Megan Low, Operations Chair

Mentors supporting the students throughout the process are Ankita Raturi, assistant professor in the Department of Agricultural and Biological; Ignacio Ciampitti, professor in the Department of Agronomy and co-director of IDAAS; and Melinda Smith, project manager in Agriculture Administration, IDAAS.

“These upcoming events are great opportunities for students interested in digital agriculture. Activities will include a hackathon, demonstrations of ag technologies like sensors, drones and large machines, poster sessions and even a job expo,” explained Natalia Volpato, the Marketing Chair.

Hackathon Weekend

Kicking off the series of events, the hackathon will be held on Saturday, October 18 at 225 S University Street, room ABE1164. Throughout the weekend, participants will form teams to tackle real-world challenges and develop solutions aimed at making digital agriculture more accessible, user-friendly and adaptable for farmers.

The following day, students will finish building their projects and prepare for final presentations, competing for cash prizes awarded to the first, second and third place winners.

“What’s exciting is that we have two full days to explore ideas and ensure students get the support they need,” emphasized Raturi, who led Purdue’s first hackathon through the American Society of Agricultural and Biological Engineers. “In past iterations, we had to really squeeze everything into a shorter timeframe and limited space because the hackathon was held alongside a conference.”

A hackathon is a portmanteau of the words ‘hack,’ which is to tinker, and ‘marathon.’ It’s an inclusive space where people can come together with the resources needed to turn their ideas into prototypes.” -Ankita Raturi 

SyDAg

On Monday, October 20, SyDAg will take place at Purdue’s France A. Córdova Recreational Sports Center. This free, one-day symposium will highlight the transformative potential of digital agriculture while offering practical strategies for turning innovation into impact. President Mung Chiang and Bernie Engel, the Glenn W. Sample Dean of Agriculture, will deliver opening remarks, emphasizing digital agriculture’s key role in advancing university initiatives.

Throughout the day, attendees will hear from a distinguished lineup of university faculty, industry leaders and entrepreneurs to learn about emerging trends and career pathways within the ag-tech landscape. The symposium will also feature brief poster session presentations from students and researchers who submitted their work ahead of the event.

To ensure broad accessibility, the poster session will be held in both online and in-person formats, welcoming international and national participation. All presenters are required to submit both an abstract and poster through Purdue e-Pubs, the university’s open-access institutional repository. Remote presenters must also submit a short video presentation as they will not be presenting live at SyDAg.

The top three in-person presentations will receive cash prizes based on innovation, impact, and presentation quality. All remote participants will be awarded a certification of participation in recognition of their contributions.

 “With the growing demand for digital agriculture, SyDAg presents a great opportunity for all students regardless of their majors,” said Thirawat Bureetes, the Symposium Chair.

SyDAg 2025 is made possible through the support of Symposia Series, Corteva Agriscience, Bayer Crop Science, John Deere, Beck’s, Indiana Corn Marketing Council, the Rosen Center for Advanced Computing, CNH, Indiana Soybean Alliance, and with support from our College of Agriculture and their departments.

“We hope our events inspire the next generation of researchers and leaders to engage with the field of digital agriculture,” stated Ciampitti. “Looking ahead, our goal is to establish an annual tradition that will position Purdue at the forefront of digital ag innovation for years to come."

This is the first of many strategic initiatives coming from our Institute, with the main mission of leading digital innovation in global agriculture. This event is mainly focused on promoting educational activities and bringing together industry leaders, entrepreneurs, university professionals and students.” -Ignacio Ciampitti

For registration, participation deadlines and more information about these exciting events, please visit the official SyDAg 2025 website.