Bigger, better, brainier.
The three-day technical fest of BIT-Mesra, Pantheon 2017, kicked off on campus on Friday with some 1,800 participants from across the country, including those who logged in online from other parts of the world.
Inaugurated by Kargil war commander and former CMD of Aditya Birla Group B.G. Pathak, the event of which t2 of The Telegraph is an associate, also saw the presence of IIM-Ranchi director Shailendra Singh as guest of honour and BIT-Mesra vice chancellor A.K. Mishra.
Host students apart, participants included those from the IITs in Patna, Mandi (Himachal), Delhi, Kanpur and IIT(ISM)-Dhanbad, NITs in Patna, Rourkela, Kurukshetra and Thiruvananthapuram; Chandigarh-based Lovely Professional University; Central University of Jharkhand and various colleges and schools in and around Ranchi.
"At the last annual fest, we had some 800 participants. This time it's more than 1,800. It's literally a pantheon of talent," faculty coordinator Kirti Avishek said on the vibrant campus where students greeted visiting counterparts and eminent guest lecturers, made new friends and clicked selfies.
Agreed BITians. "It is an annual fest, but could not be held last year. So this year we are all extra charged up," grinned third-year student Shivam Kaushak as his friends and fellow BITians Gyan, Shashank and Shatakshi nodded.
Day One was packed with informative lectures delivered by notables such as IIM-R director Shailendra Singh, noted oncologist from Patna Shreeniwas Shilawant Raut, electrical engineering professor of IIT-Kanpur Nischal Kumar Verma and his University of Pretoria counterpart Namrita Lall. Lectures of Verma and Lall were beamed via videoconferencing.
These apart, 10 selected research papers were presented by teams of two or three members, including research scholars and professors, on Friday. Each team got 30 minutes. While the first 15 minutes were meant for presentation, the rest 15 were dedicated to Q&A.
Student coordinator of the fest Ishan Mohan said things would only get better. "More interesting events displaying the technical skills of students such as a robot race and writing codes will be held on Saturday," he said.
