Kurukshetra'17, one of the largest techno-management fest in India organized by CEG Tech Forum, is around the corner. Meenakshi Sekhar, Events K!ore of CTF 2017 was delighted to share her memorable experience with The Guindy Times about Kurukshetra, CTF and the ever-energetic Events Team. Here is an excerpt from the conversation.
Q) How is K17! different from the last year's edition? What events can students look forward to, this time around?
A) This time we have tried to couple learning with fun, thereby making K! more exciting. The most awaited event of K17! is Drone racing, which is being conducted for the very first time in Kurukshetra. We have pilots from all over the country who will be taking part and is pretty exciting!
Q) The posters of the events are receiving great responses. We noticed that some of the events were part of last year's edition too. Have you made any modifications to them this year?
A) Events like ROS come under the Quiz genre, where not many drastic modifications can be made. Unlike the previous years, we have tried to make the questions more diverse, in order to attract a wider audience.
Q) What are the new additions to the events list this year, apart from Drone Racing?
A) Regarding events related to coding, we have 'Hackathon', and in Robotics we have the 'Battle of bots', to name a few. We also have fundraising events such as the 'Neon Run' that aim to illuminate lives of underprivileged children and initiatives like the K! awards that give recognition to unsung heroes.
Q) Who coins the unique and creative event titles? Also, how do you decide the number of rounds for each event and the general format?
A) The entire credit of christening the events goes to the Event Organisers, who have really done a splendid job. The format and rounds are tailored based on the event and the target audience.
Q) As we know, good coordination is the main key for success in any team effort. What roles did the 1st, 2nd and 3rd year students in the K!lore events team play?
A) The third year students were mainly the decision makers, the second years were the implementers and the first years will be the ones who would judge Kurukshetra. Since it is their first time, their feedback is highly important.
Q) With Anna University being a technical institution, how has the participation of students for management events been so far? How do you expect to see it this time?
A) Well, ironically the number of engineering students participating in Management events has always exceeded the number of Management students. This time we really hope that there is no such misconception that management events are easier to crack when compared to the others, and the number of participants continues to increase!
Q) Tell us about your best moments with the team!
A) Working with the events team was a wonderful journey. I would say that the moment we were all looking forward to the launch of an event was the pinnacle of happiness for all of us- that adrenaline rush seemed to champion over all the other emotions we were feeling at the time.
Q) Who will be judging the events? Will it be one of the events team’s kores or do you have an expert from outside?
A) The kind of judges we bring merely depends on the events. For events which evaluates students based on their creativity, we have experts from those specific fields whereas for events like quiz there are no judges.
Q) What was the most difficult part of organising the events and what are the measures you took in order to ensure safety?
A) As said ‘A goal without a plan is just a wish’
For us, when working together, nothing seems to be really difficult. But preplanning was one such thing that needed to be efficacious. It required a well-defined plan in order to ensure success. Also, this time we have taken certain precautions for events in the robotics domain by replacing the steel fence to ensure safety for the participants as well as audience.
K!17 has a lot in store. Hold your breath, folks!
