Calendar: The year that went by, in Student Events

Just the way all students were oscillating to and fro from campus, all the events kept oscillating between online and offline. Due to the uncertainty in given situations, all the committees and clubs adapted to these unprecedented changes. They kept the student community engaged with a diverse range of innovative events. In this article, we have compiled a list of all the events that occurred in the past academic year.

Table of Contents

1. Fiesta
2. Kridan
3. Intra IIT Tech meet
4. Inter IIT Tech meet
5. GCU
6. NSS
7. CDC
8. Tirutsava
9. Spic Macay
10. Festivals
11. Have we met before
12. Signature Day
13. Trek to Tada Waterfalls
14. Elections
15. Institute Day
16. Gymkhana Day
17. Conclusion

Fiesta

This year, the Intra-IIT Cultural and Literary fest was named 'Fiesta' and was held in two phases, online and offline. Students were first divided into houses based on their branches, and WhatsApp groups were formed. The houses were then given their first task, to give themselves a name along the lines of this year’s theme, Mythology. The houses came up with the names Airavat, Ekalavya, Garuda, Brahmastra, and Thunder Phoenix. All the cultural and literary clubs hosted a plethora of contests for the teams to participate in and started sending out mails announcing the details. The online phase of Fiesta commenced in March and saw astounding participation from every house. There was fierce competition to grab the trophy. The offline events started in full vigour right after Tirutsava 2k22. The campus was once again a buzz of activity with students actively participating and giving these events their all. The grand finale to Fiesta came with the much anticipated Ethnic Night. On the fine evening of 24th April, a colourful crowd all dressed in traditional attire from various parts of the country, made its way to the OAT for the Ethnic night celebrations and stage events of Fiesta. As part of the Ethnic night celebrations, a dazzling fashion show and a mesmerising talent showcase were conducted. Finales of contests like Vibrato, Concerto, Rhythm, etc were also held on stage for everyone to witness. The grand celebrations came to an end with a DJ night which served as an opportunity for students to dance their hearts out and celebrate.

Kridan

The Intra-IIT Sports meet was given a name for the first time this year. The name Kridan is a blend of the words Kreda and Maidan. All the students of our campus were divided into four teams namely Radiants, Shershaahs, House of Warriors, and The Arsenal. Team leaders were selected and respective WhatsApp groups were formed for further information exchange. Once the teams were formed, the Intra-IIT Sports meet was launched on the 11th of April. Online fitness challenges were conducted which were met with enthusiastic participation. For the offline sports contests, team selections were held which saw tough competition, and with the students’ return to campus, offline events and competitions were kicked off. Team fixtures and order of tournaments were released and Kridan was off to an energetic start. For the first time, team jerseys were designed and provided for all the competing students to invoke team spirit and motivation. Kridan was a huge success with students rushing around the campus in their respective team jerseys, actively participating in tournaments to lead their house to victory. The month long sports tournament left a lasting impact on all our minds. The offline tournaments were also enjoyed by patriotic crowds cheering for their teams to win. The prizes for all the tournaments were later distributed on the Gymkhana day along with the trophy for the winning team.

Intra IIT tech meet

The Technical affairs council IITT, hosted the Intra IIT Tech Summit starting on the 3rd of November 2021. A series of 7 electrifying Tech Competitions covering all the major domains of tech saw enthusiastic participation from 100+ students. These competitions also served as a selection metric for the Inter IIT Tech Summit which was to be held later in the year, so that the top talent could be shortlisted to represent the institute.

Inter IIT tech meet

The annual Inter IIT Tech Summit was hosted online this year by IIT Kharagpur from the 25th to 27th of March 2022. A contingent of 40+ members represented our college in the Inter IIT summit and participated in 12+ events, which were divided into high prep, mid prep, and low prep events, involving real-world challenges curated from top-notch industries. Despite the mid-semester exams and the short deadlines for work, the team managed to secure the 17th position overall, beating a few 2nd Generation IITs. Kudos to the team!

GCU

The Guidance and Counselling Unit of IITT, Sarathi, has been keeping up the good work of ensuring that students are healthy physically and mentally. They have ensured that help will always be provided for whoever reaches out. In the previous academic year, Sarathi has continued conducting in-person counselling sessions on a regular basis, while ensuring the confidentiality of those who availed these sessions. On top of this, an exclusive room for Sarathi was set up in the basement of F Block for the conduction of in-person counselling sessions. Since not everyone who needs help actually reaches out, Sarathi also took help from the Faculty advisors and the Student Body to identify those who needed help and arranged counselling sessions for those who agreed to attend. A webinar on ‘Empower Your Inner Self’, and a webinar on ‘A Guide to Suicide Prevention’ were also conducted which saw active participation, including that of the the Director, IITT. For the faculties of our institute, a barefoot counselling session was held in collaboration with YourDost.

Sarathi reached a milestone in their development with the official launch of their website on December 17, 2021. Once the new set of students joined the institute, GCU IITT allotted UG Buddies with the aim of improving communications between seniors and juniors and for the seniors to guide their juniors through transitioning into college life. Another milestone in the development of Sarathi was achieved in January 2022 with the launch of the official youtube channel and Instagram page to improve their online presence and reach. GCU posters were designed as a guide for students to seek help when they need it and these were attached all around the campus. Sarathi also hosted three talks by distinguished experts and speakers of mental health in addition to three talks in collaboration with YourDost. All of these events saw enthusiastic participation from students who wanted to focus on self-improvement.

NSS

The NSS team had a very busy year both online and offline as they conducted and involved students in numerous community service events and activities. On the occasion of Gandhi Jayanthi, students, professors and other administrative officials of IITT volunteered in cleaning the institute premises. Masks and sweets were distributed to housekeeping staff as a token of gratitude, and students were encouraged to cut down plastic usage for a week. On the occasion of the 53rd NSS day on 24th September 2021, NSS IITT hosted the ‘Let's Plant a Tree’ activity, which saw active participation from students at home, who planted trees and uploaded pictures of the same. Team NSS, along with professors of IITT in association with JCI, distributed groceries worth Rs. 25,000 to people of a nearby village whose income had been affected by the pandemic. They also conducted a poster-making and video-making contest on awareness of the pandemic, and a poster-making contest on ‘India: Then vs Now’ on the occasion of Independence day.

For Swachchtha Pakhwada 2021, NSS IITT held a pledge and tree plantation event, a best out of waste contest, a poster-making contest, a bag-making contest, a mass cleaning campaign where students cleaned their own rooms and gave a day off to housekeeping staff, an essay writing contest on the theme ‘Role of Engineers in Rural Development’, a stress relief activity focusing on creativity, and initiated kitchen gardening along with the horticulture officer. Under the schools and Elderly homes division of NSS IITT, a total of 25 activities were organized over a month in collaboration with the SOS organisation and the Ullas Trust.

Apart from that, a mask activity where masks and meals were donated to homeless children in the neighbourhood, and a Cook-Up activity to promote students' interaction with their parents and grandparents was conducted on the Instagram page. They also conducted an activity called Know Your Social Worker, an online project competition, ‘Science Hack 2.0’, and distributed the donations by the students. The Health team of NSS IITT organised a poster-making contest for a tobacco-free campus, a talk on ‘Tobacco: A Devil In Disguise', a dental checkup in association with Haripriya Dental Hospital, a stress management seminar in collaboration with GCU, an eye checkup in collaboration with Kartika Eye and ENT hospital, a voluntary blood donation camp in collaboration with NTR Blood donation trust, and started an Instagram post series to provide awareness on diseases.

CDC

CDC IITT has kept up the good work in guiding students to facilitate their placements and internships and has been working hard to achieve results through seminars and guidance sessions. They conducted mock placement interviews in association with ‘Talerang’, guided students on how to improve their resumes and gave tips on personal skill development. A centralised student repository of internship processes and experiences has been created. Placement updates have been posted on notice boards around the campus to encourage active placement culture among the students. CDRs and CGRs gave the students updates about various industry-recognised contests and opportunities that would help them stand out from others. A workshop by the IITT Alumni association was conducted to guide final year students on job search, interview preparation, and resume preparation.

Moreover, CDC IITT increased its reach on social media by regularly updating flyers and posters to help reach the students better. To clear any doubts regarding their future in respective branches, a ‘Know Your Branch’ series was conducted for the BTech students by alumni and seniors of the respective branches. Webinars and seminars were conducted on different career options such as management, civil services etc, to keep the students informed about all sorts of options for their future. A placement talk series and a talk on resume and profile development on Linkedin was conducted to help students navigate the internships and placement process smoothly. Webinars on GATE and ESE, UPSC Civil services examination, and an exclusive talk on 'Career Roadmap for Engineers' by Unacademy were also hosted by CDC IITT. Overall, CDC IITT has been giving numerous opportunities for students to sort out their future plans, and ensure that the placement and internships process proceed without any doubts or hindrances. CDC IITT seems to have covered any and every issue or doubt that a student may have regarding their careers.

Tirutsava

After lots of uncertainty, rescheduling and discussion, our very own techno-cultural fest 'Tirutsava' kick-started in Jan 2022. The grand fest was conducted in three phases namely 'The Inception', 'The Avenue' and 'The Conclusion'. All the committees were formed and pumped up to put on a great show which they did deliver. The Inception started around 22nd January 2022 and went on till 26th February 2022. It had many exciting events such as BGMI, Freefire, Competitive Coding, Insta Hunt, and lots more. In collaboration with Sargam, a workshop on 'Introduction to music theory' was conducted. As a part of the second phase, The Avenue, competitions on some trending games which include COD, Volarant, etc. were held with enthusiastic participation from students all across the country.

Where’s the fun in an online fest? With the grace of covid and the covid committee, the gateway to conduct an offline fest opened. It was decided that the third phase, The Conclusion, would be conducted offline. The dates were fixed to be 15th April 2022 to 17th April 2022 and invitations were sent out to selected colleges (limited of course due to covid restrictions). ‘Garuda’ was chosen to be the mascot of this year’s fest.

With the fest just about the corner, the groundwork for most of the committees began with full vigour. The campus was a buzz of activity as people from various committees did their best to ensure the smooth conduction of the fest. As a promotional and marketing strategy, flash mobs were conducted in several locations around Tirupati city. The much-awaited official Tirutsava merchandise went up for sale on the website. The Creative Cell worked day and night to make sure the campus was beautifully decorated and looked festive. They came up with different themes to decorate the campus for the big event which turned out to be a centre of attraction. As the fest drew even closer, the work of the Hospitality committee and the Security and Logistics committee began. The day before the fest was very hectic as all committees tried to ensure everything was in place for the big event. The very air was filled with festive vibes and anticipation.

The much-awaited Day 1 of Tirutsava 2022 started off with many cultural events including Expressivo, Enigma, Funky Feet, and Tech events such as the App Development contest and Web Development contest which saw active participation. The inaugural ceremony was held that evening followed by a fashion show by our students. Later that evening the stage was lit up by the many dancers from various parts of our country performing as a part of the group dance contest ‘Funky Feet’.

On the second day, events such as Squid Games, JAM, Ideathon, and Treasure Hunt took place with much energy and zeal. That evening, for the pro show, the mesmerising 'Shri Rama Chandra', the winner of Indian Idol - 2013, immersed the audience in an enthralling musical performance. A huge crowd from in and around Tirupati gathered in the OAT to witness his performance.

The last and the final day witnessed events such as Robosphera, Crime Busters, Talky Jockey, and many more. Apart from these events, Data Science and Ethical Hacking workshops were conducted. The fest came to an end on a very high note. As a part of the pro show, we had DJ Esha and Ashtrix whose energetic beats brought dancers out of everybody and left the students with a night to remember.

The fest proved to be an amazing and memorable experience. Despite being hybrid, Tirutsava 2022 proved to be a grand success. Many of the students got a chance to understand how things needed to be dealt with as they got a chance to work being part of various committees. With all the technical, cultural, and literary events, students got a chance to explore their talents and interests. To read a more detailed account on what goes on behind the scenes to pull off a success like Tirutsava 2022, click here.

Spic Macay

Despite being an on and off year, SPIC MACAY IITT managed to conduct various activities. An 'Online Flute Concert' was held where Shri Ajeet Pathak on the flute accompanied Pandit Ronu Majumdar on Mridangam on 11th February 2022. Another 'Online Veena concert' by Vid. Punya Srinivas accompanied by Shri D.A. Srinivas on Mridangam and Shri S. Sunil Kumar on Kanjira was held on 21st August 2021.

When everything was back to normal, a two-day 'Cheriyal painting workshop' was conducted on April 30 and May 1. This event was refreshing as the participants got an opportunity to explore this ancient art form. An Offline event inviting Sri Sikkil Gurucharan accompanied by Padma Vibhushan Sangita Kalanidhi Kalaimamani Dr Umayalapuram K Sivaraman on Mridangam, Sri Sanjeev V on Violin, KanjiraMan Sri B Shree Sundar Kumar on Kanjira was held on 28th May 2022 in our campus.

Festivals

Independence Day

The Independence Day celebrations were held online due to the then-ongoing pandemic. Our beloved director unfurled the flag at the transit campus. After the national anthem and march past by the security, our director addressed the students. Later the cultural programs began which included some patriotic performances by students, faculty, and their children.

Diwali

Diwali is considered to be one of the most exciting festivals of the year. The festival became more exciting as it was the first festival on campus for many of us after a long break that none of us wanted. The day started with a diya painting event. Later that afternoon, students gathered near Lab 2 to decorate the place with beautiful and colourful rangolis.

In the evening, a pooja was held followed by a bonfire. Then came the most exciting part of the event where students lit crackers and lanterns followed by a DJ. It was an evening well spent, enjoying with friends. Diwali did bring light into a lot of our lives and memories.

Christmas Eve

On the eve of Christmas, a Christmas tree was set up and the area around it was decorated with candles. A wish stand was set up where everyone could write their wishes for this Christmas and could tie it up to the stand set up nearby. The next day, an open mic event was conducted where students could come up and showcase their talents. This open mic witnessed many stunning performances which received a huge response from the audience. We had a Santa Claus at the open mic who entertained everyone with his acts. Later that night, a movie was screened, just like a cherry on the cake.

New Year

The much-awaited New Year was welcomed with a balloon popping event and the winner got the opportunity to cut the new year cake. After the cake-cutting celebrations, a DJ was arranged. A countdown to welcome the new year and a mail the very same night to take the joy away was the summary of that day. After a joyous countdown and an amazing movie screening to start the new year with, the administration sent out an email regarding sending back students due to an alarming rise in the active number of covid cases.

Sankranthi

With a limited number of students on campus, Sankranthi celebrations turned out to be hybrid. Students on campus flew kites and a rangoli event was conducted. A friendly tug of war was conducted in the OAT where students dressed in their festive special clothes held the rope in their hands and had a friendly fight. Students at home shared their pictures with the cultural committee and took part in the celebrations.

Republic Day

The Republic day celebrations happened in online mode. The national flag was unfurled by our Director at the transit campus and by the Registrar at the temporary campus. Following it was the march past by the security. Later there were great cultural events by the students.

Holi

The festival of colours was spent in a very joyous manner. All the students on campus gathered in the OAT and played Holi. The day was filled with colours, music, and enjoyment.

Have we met before

When it comes to memories, the fleeting moments spent with friends be it randomly bumping into each other at 2 am, or standing in long lines in the mess, fighting for ice cream in the canteen, the two-minute conversations that lead into deep conversations, and so on, are the ones that stand out. But when the college was nothing but the four walls of your room and a laptop screen, how does one make these memories? How does one interact with their college mates? The LAC and GCU came together to address this issue and organised "Have We Met Before?” - an institute-wide interactive and fun event, open to all UG and PG students where students across branches, and years came together to participate in a variety of activities.

The planning for this event, which was held on the 4th of July, began weeks before the event. The organisation of the event involved the entire team of the LAC along with volunteers from the GCU. The team planned out various activities. Over 150 students registered for the event, who were then divided into teams with a mix of PG and UG students, across the years. A discord server was created to host the event. Volunteers to conduct the event were briefed about the process of the event, and test runs were conducted. On the day of the event, the organisers and the volunteers saw tremendous participation from all the students who had registered. The event was held in two sessions in morning and afternoon, for efficient management from the organisers’ side. The event received an overwhelmingly positive response and feedback. True to its aim, “Have We Met Before” brought together students from different parts of their college journey and formed bonds and friendships that continue to this date. Despite the online restrictions, students were able to go from ‘Have we met before?’ to ‘Yes, we have met before’, and got a glimpse of what offline social interactions in college would look like.

Signature Day

College days are the most memorable days when people find friends who would come with them in all walks of life. To acknowledge all those friendships, on December 20th, a Signature day event was conducted for all the graduating students where they were given white shirts and some paints to leave a message to their pals. All the students gathered in the OAT and had some fun-filled memories which they will look back at with a smile on their faces.

Trek to Tada Waterfalls

With all the student activities getting back on track, the Aranya club came back organising a trek to the Tada waterfalls. This was a special one as it was the first-ever trek for a few and last-ever for a few here at college. The day started pretty early with students getting trek ready with much enthusiasm early in the morning. All the students boarded their buses and were enjoying themselves with fun conversations and music. As soon as everybody reached the destination, refreshments were distributed. With full energy and enthusiasm, all the students took off to begin their trek. It was pretty smooth in the beginning but got challenging soon. Eventually, just like the light at the end of the tunnel, the struggle came to an end and everybody got to refresh themselves as they reached the waterfall. The tiring trek was proof to the saying ‘You can't enjoy the view if you don't climb the mountain’. Students had fun swimming in the water, splashing water on their friends, clicking pictures, and pulling each other’s legs. After having a small refreshing dip, it was time to head back to the buses. Lunch was served, after which, everybody returned to campus. It was truly a remarkable and fun experience.

Elections

Student representatives play an important role in influencing the atmosphere of the campus. As the tenure of the secretaries almost came to an end, elections were round the corner. A mail regarding nominations was sent out. As soon as the official nominations list was curated, the strategies to campaign for the elections began. The inboxes were filled with the manifestos of all the candidates. The election debate gave a much clear picture of the candidates and helped the students in getting their doubts regarding the elections clarified. The big day arrived. All the students on campus stood in the long queue to cast their votes in the soaking sultry weather. The results of the elections were declared that evening. The weather was cool as it was pouring, creating a cool atmosphere for the winning candidates to celebrate.

Institute Day

The institute celebrated its 7th Institute day on 6th April with an elaborate ceremony. The Chairman of ISRO, S.Somnath, graced the occasion as the Chief Guest for the celebrations. An MOU was signed with NARL further glorifying the event. After the Dean of Student Affairs presented the welcome speech, the Students General Secretary presented the annual report, highlighting the achievements of our institute over the past year, followed by a speech by our beloved Director and an introduction of the Chief Guest presented by the Dean of Academic Affairs. Honorary Chief Guest S. Somnath, Chairman of ISRO then presented an inspiring speech and congratulated the students on their academic achievements. Awards were bestowed by the Chief Guest to those who performed outstandingly well in academics. The evening was spiced up further by the cultural performances that lit up the stage with enthralling music and dance performances. The event was brought to an end with a delicious special dinner set up by the mess.

Gymkhana day

The first-ever Gymkhana Day was hosted on April 30th to commemorate the co-curricular achievements of all the Students, Faculties, and Staff in various fields. The evening started off with a welcome speech presented by the Sports Advisor of IITT, followed by a speech by the Dean of Student Affairs. Annual reports were presented by the Sports Secretary, Cultural Affairs Secretary, Literary Affairs Secretary, Technical Affairs Secretary, Placement Head at CDC, the NSS Principal Coordinator, and the GCU student head, to look back at all the events that were held in the past year, and appreciate the efforts by the respective teams who made it happen. Following this, the Chief Guest, our beloved Director, addressed the gathering, after which the HoME team and the ground men of sports activities were presented with awards for their service. Awards for the Science Day contests and the National Sports Day events were given out. This was followed by the announcement of the winner and the presenting of a trophy for the overall winners of FIESTA - the Intra IIT Cultural and Literary Meet, and Kridaan - the Intra IIT Sports Meet which was later followed by prize distribution for winners of every individual event. More prizes were given out to the winners of the Inter IIT tech meet, the Tech Summit high prep events, the mock placement competitions by CDC, and the winter vacation sports tournament. That was followed by an Ice Cream night, a remarkable ending to a new beginning.

Conclusion

Cheers to all those brains behind these events and to all those brainstorming sessions they had, to shape, and execute them this way. All the organisers got a pretty new experience of how things could be taken care of during such uncertain situations. Most of the students got to spend some real-time engineering life this year. It was quite a nice blend of things which allowed the students to explore their interests in life. In the past year, the campus got to witness new friendships forming and old friendships bidding farewell. Taking all these experiences into account, the organisers this year have set pretty high standards for their successors to work on.