As Kurukshetra, one of India’s biggest techno-management fest edges closer, Guindy Times got a chance to interview the Projects team K!ores Kishore Ganesh and Raghuraman during one of their short coffee breaks.
What are the objectives of the Project team this year?
CTF focuses on bringing out the innovative and creative side of the students by engaging them with Engineering Projects. Our team kindles this side of the students by providing a comfortable environment, where experienced seniors are ready to give a helping hand. Many projects are curriculum-based and are funded as well.
How do you manage project work and academics?
We believe that to be a complete engineer, you will have to do projects right from the start of your college life. It is a part of curriculum and hence it should not be a problem for the students. As the k!ores, we don’t face much difficulty regarding this issue, since we are in our final year.
Can you give us a few words on this year’s projects?
We have more than 12 projects this year. We have tried to take up more interdisciplinary projects, and have succeeded too. For instance, we have a project called Smart Dustbin, involving students from the EEE, ECE, Mechanical and Material Science Departments. We have started long term projects, because the usual projects are usually only 3 months long, which isn’t sufficient time for execution. These projects are at least a year long and are for the University. We have started one such project, called Energy Auditing, where students install smart grids in every college Department to help reduce the consumption of electricity and if possible, install solar panels as well.
Do you have a theme for this year’s projects?
We don’t have theme-based projects. We are trying to be product-based. As we have long term projects, we will pass it on to next year’s team and try to sell them when they are ready.
Which project is the highlight of the year?
Hologram is the highlight of the year. We will be displaying the Kurukshetra promo in a huge Hologram. We have planned to market the event by selling small holograms with the K! logo embedded onto them. Magic Mirror is another eye catcher. It is a smart mirror that tells you the time, weather, face recognition, etc. Blind Guidance is a real time project. It helps direct the blind.
What else have you been working on?
We have been upgrading last year’s projects. We have converted the can-crusher to a smart dustbin. It is interactive and adaptable to the surroundings. For example, if an empty can flips out of the bin by mistake, it informs you of the need to place it back in.
Why did you choose to be a part of the Projects team?
We have always been passionate about doing projects. Being k!ore of the Projects team, allows us to share knowledge, as well as learn from others.
How do you choose your projects based on their ideas and practicality?
We choose projects that are useful and which do not take a lot of time. We understand that a project might fail in the last minute. As k!ore, we advise students to feel free to express their ideas. We respect and encourage out-of-the-box ideas. We will try our best to ensure that they are executed successfully.
