| APOGEE | |
|---|---|
| Date(s) | March |
| Location(s) | Pilani, India |
| Attendance | 200 colleges |
| Genre | Technical Festival |
| Website | http://www.bits-apogee.org/ |
APOGEE (A Professional’s Oriented Gathering of Educational Experience) is the annual technical festival of Birla Institute of Technology and Science Pilani, in Pilani. It is one of the largest technical festivals[1][2] in India and is wholly student organized and managed. Held annually during March, the college unfailingly attracts over 1000 participants during the festival. Apogee is one of the few technical festivals in India which holds an ISO 9001:2008 certification[1][2]
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Apogee was first held in 1983. It has grown from strength to strength over the years, with the peak coming in 2008 when it received the much-vaunted ISO certification that propelled it into a different league altogether. Eminent speakers and dignitaries who have graced APOGEE in the past include Jimmy Wales, Meera Sanyal, R Sukumar, Rachel Armstrong, Stephen Wolfram and many others. The technical festival has been regularly covered by major TV channels. Apogee 2010, and attracts a budget of over 40 lacs. Over 150 colleges from India participate in the fest, which boasts of at least 60 events yeah year.
APOGEE events include kernel events, workshops, project displays, paper presentation, online events, guest lectures, and exhibitions.
Kernel events are the major attractions during the festival, and are usually the ones which get the most exposure, participation and rewards. Previous Kernels include events like Bioloid Soccer League, which is a humanoid soccer challenge; Momento Critico, where the details of a crisis are provided and the solution is to be found out; Product Pitch, which is a potential platform for budding entrepreneurs; Echo Green, which is an initiative to provide solutions for environmental issues; and FTGP, where participants build a remote controlled car and race it in a mini-Grand Prix.
The events taking place during APOGEE are classified in seven categories namely Build, Code and Simulate, Design, Develop and Discover, Miscellaneous, Online Events and Quiz.
Eminent speakers like Jimmy Wales, Dilip Chhabria, Michael Hogedal, Ron Eglash, Archana Sharma, Dr.A.S. Pillai, Meera Sanyal, Prabhu Chawla have appeared in previous editions of APOGEE.
The Apogee 2011 inauguration witnessed a dance performance by AcYut 4 India's first indigenously developed humanoid. Other events are the Inauguration ceremony of the festival and ‘Mithali Nite’ which is a cultural night on the second day of the festival.
The organizing body is the "Committee of Students for Academic Activities" ("CoStAA") which consists of the President and General Secretary of the Student's Union and heads of major departments. The departments that work for APOGEE include Art,Design & Publicity, Controlz, Sponsorship and Marketing, Reception and Accommodation, Publications and Correspondence, Paper Evaluation and Presentation, and CCTV.
Clubs and departments that work behind the scenes include Backstage, Lights and Sounds, Department of Informalz, Department Of Photography (DOPY), Firewallz (security) and Audi Force (security of the auditorium). Clubs include Creative Activities Club (CrAC), English Press, Hindi Press, Dance, Mime, Music, Poetry, Photography, Hindi Activities Society, English Language Activities Society and Debating Society.
The Discipline Associations work with the CoStAA body for the organization of the festival.