Brains, Bytes, and Breakthroughs: Oracle APEX Steals the Show at Xcelerate 2025

The Xcelerate 2025 Hackathon, hosted by the India Oracle APEX User Group in collaboration with Oracle, showcased the transformative power of Oracle APEX in student-led innovation. Held at the Holiday Inn on Chennai’s OMR IT Expressway, the event drew nationwide attention for its focus on real-world problem solving through low-code development.  

Key highlights from the event  

- The hackathon attracted 115 student teams from across India, with 13 finalists selected to present their applications on September 13  
- Participants tackled three themes: solving social issues in India, building tools for educational institutions, and developing software products using Oracle APEX  
- M.H. Saboo Siddik College of Engineering, Mumbai, won the top prize of ₹1,00,000 for their impactful APEX-based solution  
- Government College of Engineering and Textile Technology, Serampore, West Bengal, secured second place with ₹50,000, while St. Joseph’s College of Engineering, Chennai, earned ₹25,000 for third place  
- The event featured keynotes from Oracle Product Managers Roopesh Thokala and Shailu Srivastava, who shared insights into APEX’s future roadmap  
- INOAUG President Richard Dalvi opened the ceremony, and Oracle Academy’s Anuradha Sharma emphasized Oracle’s commitment to education  
- The hackathon celebrated creativity, technical excellence, and the potential of low-code platforms to democratize software development  

The ceremony concluded with a vote of thanks from INOAUG Secretary Natarajan, applauding the students’ ingenuity and the APEX platform’s role in bringing their ideas to life.  

Sources: The Hindu, The Hindu BusinessLine, inoaug.org