Tanneeru Leela wins the Title Crown at the Finale of TechGig Geek Goddess 2019

• Tanneeru Leela beat 73,388 women technologists to take home the title crown


• All the 73,300 + code submissions underwent strict scrutiny and only 375 women technologists were invited for the finale hackathon


• Niche technologies as Artificial Intelligence/Machine Learning, Robotic Process
  Automation, Cloud were the core theme of hackathons


• Winners took home prizes worth Rs 7,50,000 collectively


• Finale day celebrations concluded with a job fair for IT professionals where half a dozen companies hired women technologists for their firms

It was a ‘David versus Goliath’ scenario at TechGig Geek Goddess 2019 finale when Tanneeru Leela took on more than 73,387 women technologists to win this year’s title crown. She braved 375 women technologists at the four-hour-long,offline final code competition to clinch the crown.





TechGig Geek Goddess is the annual, women-only coding competition from TechGig that brings together women programmers from all the walks of life to showcase their technology skills and claim their glory. In its fifth edition, TechGig Geek Goddess recorded the highest ever participation at 73,388+.
The 2019 edition was announced on August 19 and was closed for submissions on October 21. All the code submissions were checked on various parameters, including innovation, quality, the ease of application among others. After the rigorous check, only 375 women technologists were invited for the finale day hackathon on November 8, 2019, at the Four Seasons hotel in Bengaluru.

The event was graced by some of the most notable names of India’s IT industry. The event began with an inaugural address by Ruchika Panesar, Vice President Global Services Group Technology and Head of Technology - India, American Express. Dr Neeta Verma, Director General, NIC delivered a special address at the event. A series of panel discussions ensued in the evening ceremony where technology and diversity leaders from Goldman Sachs, Automation Anywhere, Wipro, Oracle, Cisco, Capgemini, TomTom, Xoriant, Cognizant, Capgemini, American Express and RBS participated.



This year’s competition was intense with the introduction of cutting edge technologies as hackathon themes. They are being: Artificial Intelligence (AI)/Machine Learning (ML), Robotic Process Automation (RPA), Cloudify everything, Solution hunters’ hackathon, among others.

“We saw enthusiastic participation for niche themes as RPA, AI/ML with the registrations in the range of 4,000-6,000. This is proof that women technologists are raring to work and shine in the new-age technology streams. Owing to a tough selection process and high cut-off marks in the prelim and semi-final rounds, out of 73,388 registrations, only 375 women technologists made it to the final round. With only 0.51% of participants making it to the finale, I feel that all the finalists were best of the best coding minds in India. To win over this genius talent pool is a true feat and I congratulate all winners for their indomitable spirit,” said Sanjay Goyal, Business Head, TimesJobs and TechGig

Adding to that Ram Awasthi, VP – Technology, Times Internet mentioned, “This is the first time that I am a part of the TechGig Geek Goddess finale event. The energy here is infectious and I was amazed to see such young girls coding enthusiastically using the new-age technologies like Artificial Intelligence/Machine Learning, Cloud and others.”

TechGig Geek Goddess 2019 edition finale day was marked by a live hackathon in the morning, followed by a Women Disruptors’ Conference in the evening, followed by a glitzy awards ceremony. Like last year, this year too TechGig Geek Goddess is presented by American Express, a globally integrated payments company. Goldman Sachs, a leading global investment bank and active investor in India, is the contest’s platinum partner this year.

Ruchika Panesar, Vice President Global Services Group Technology and Head of
Technology - India, American Express heartily congratulated all the hackathon participants. “This outstanding accomplishment is the latest chapter in an inspiring story about women achieving great things in technology. At American Express, we strive to be a place where women want to work and build careers. It’s fantastic to see so many women technologists compete in this unique event, and we’re excited to see what all of you go on to achieve in the world. Congratulations to TechGig Geek Goddess for creating this great platform to nurture talented women in technology,” she said.

Overall, nine winners were felicitated at the ceremony. Collectively, all winners took home prizes worth Rs 7,50,000.

TechGig Geek Goddess 2019 concluded with an exclusive job fair for participants on November 9, 2019, where participating companies hired candidates for their companies. A complete list of winners at TechGig Geek Goddess 2019 is as follows:

Theme Winners -

Automation Anywhere Hackathon:
Winners - Sarika Patil, MrunalKotkar
Runners up - KatheejaBeevi, SornamThiyagarajan

AI/ML Hackathon by American Express:
Winners - Laisha Wadhwa
Runners up - JayathilagaRamajayam

Cloudify Everything Hackathon by Hexaware Technologies:
Winners - Arti Kumari&Navya Singh
Runners up - NandanaKudeti

Solution Hunters’ Hackathon by JetBrains:
Winners -  Nithya Vasudevan
Runners up - Rajhrita Dutta

Coding Winners – 

TechGig Geek Goddess 2019 Champion: Tanneeru Leela
First runners up – Urvashi Rai
Second runners up – Snehlata Mishra
Third runners up – Anviti Srivastava
Fourth runners up – MridulChirania

About TechGig 

TechGig is a culmination of everything related to technology. TechGig is a platform
exclusively for IT professionals to synergize, share, exchange ideas, facts and information as well as showcase their work and express their views on the vast repertoire that the IT industry encompasses. Garnering cutting-edge insights, jobs, reviews and news, as well as providing a platform for connecting with colleagues and peers are the mainstay of TechGig.

India’s Top Women Coders to Battle it out as TechGig Geek Goddess 2019 is Announced

She came. She coded. She conquered. Hailing from a remote village in Bihar, the story of Snehlata Mishra from being an unspotted talent in the world of technology to conquering a 95-day long coding battle and becoming the Champion of TechGig Geek Goddess 2018, is nothing short of inspirational.

Giving wings to the dreams of many such talented women technologists, India’s biggest online technology community, TechGig recently announced the new edition of the popular coding contest, Geek Goddess 2019. This women-only coding competition was declared open for registrations on August 19 and will be accepting code submissions till October 14, 2019. So far, the edition has garnered 37,705 registrations.

For decades, there has been a lot of talk on improving the representation of women in technology, but little improvement on the ground. Several underlying biases have worked against women in the field of technology. A TechGig survey conducted among women IT professionals revealed that as many as 74% of women in technology believe that a definite bias exists against them and, hence their suggestions are often dismissed by their male colleagues.

 "TechGig Geek Goddess 2019 promises to be bigger and better than all of its previous editions. The kind of enthusiastic queries that we have already received from our community makes me believe that this year’s edition of Geek Goddess will do justice to the expectations and help corporate India spot the brightest and most talented women IT professionals in the country. My best wishes to all the participants", said Sanjay Goyal, Business Head, TimesJobs and TechGig.

Similar to last year, American Express, a globally integrated payments company, has joined hands with TechGig in its journey to find the best women technologists in India.

“We’re delighted to once again partner with TechGig Geek Goddess on this ground-breaking competition,” said Ruchika Panesar, vice president of technology at American Express.

“We believe that an inclusive and diverse workforce provides a competitive advantage in the marketplace. American Express is committed to developing a talent pool that brings together unique perspectives, backgrounds and experiences, and we’re proud to stand by side with TechGig to back women in technology.”

The fifth edition of this popular coding contest for women technologists will witness intense competition in themes like Artificial Intelligence/Machine Learning, Robotic Process Automation (RPA), Cloudify Everything, Solution Hunters Hackathon among others.

Over the years, TechGig Geek Goddess code competition has witnessed enthusiastic participation from women coders from across India. In fact, in the previous year, the competition saw participation from 68,791 women technologists and helped several women techies realise their dreams.

“I enjoyed every minute of the event. Everything was executed so perfectly! After meeting and listening to all women leaders, I am more motivated and rebel. In today’s world where we are constantly talking about gender diversity, TechGig is one platform which is doing something about it. I would highly recommend this great platform for all women coders to showcase their skills,” said Snehlata Mishra, TechGig Geek Goddess 2018 champion.

Another promising technology talent from the 2018 competition, Nithya Vasudevan, the Machine Learning theme winner said, “TechGig Geek Goddess was a good opportunity for many of us to showcase our talent and motivate us by introducing us to women leaders from top IT/Tech companies. TechGig is a great platform to create transparency between coders, technology enthusiasts and top companies.”

About TechGig

TechGig is a culmination of everything related to technology. TechGig is a platform exclusively for IT professionals to synergize, share, exchange ideas, facts and information as well as showcase their work and express their views on the vast repertoire that the IT industry encompasses. Garnering cutting-edge insights, jobs, reviews and news, as well as providing a platform for connecting with colleagues and peers are the mainstay of TechGig.