TECHNOLOGY GENERAL CHAMPIONSHIP… A NEW CHAPTER IN INTER-HALL EVENTS

Over the years, IIT, Kharagpur has witnessed its halls fighting it out for the two most coveted trophies in the extra-academic field, the Sports, Social and Cultural General Championships. From the finals of a football or a water-polo match to dramatics and debate, rivalry and competition have been the key-words in Inter-Hall events over the years. The past three years have however seen the rise of yet another rivalry, that in the field of Technology.

The Technology General Championship or the Tech. G.C., as more popularly known these days, was introduced in the 2003-04 session by Saket Kumar, the then Vice-President of the Technology Students’ Gymkhana. The first Tech. G.C., also known as t, had 6 events under its belt namely, Physics Olympiad (f), Mathematics Olympiad (m), Chemical Innovation (c), Exhibition (e), Hardware Gaming (g) and Product Design (p). The first three events being self-explanatory, Exhibition and Hardware Gaming were all about hardware development, while Product Design dealt with launching a new product in the market. Tech. G.C. 2003-04 remained inconclusive, as three of the six events did not take place at all. However, it had definitely introduced a new Chapter in the Inter-Hall events of IIT, Kharagpur and was a sign of better things to come in the near future.

2004-05 saw the introduction of two new posts in the Gymkhana, those of the General Secretaries in Technology, whose major responsibilities were to conduct the Tech. G.C. along with Kshitij, IIT, Kharagpur’s annual techno-management festival. Anand Gopal Dutta and Aneesh Khadiya, the two General Secretaries for that year restructured the Tech, G.C. by introducing Tech, Quiz and Open Soft in place of Physics Olympiad and Hardware Gaming. While Tech. Quiz was a place for quizzers to show their tech-trivia, Open Soft was an Inter-Hall software designing competition. Tech. G.C. 2004-05 saw a number of ups and downs, with Nehru winning gold in Product Design by launching a wrist used for controlling heart attack. Seasoned quizzers Azad bagged gold in Tech. Quiz, while RK and RP shared the honours in Open Soft by designing a graph-visualisation software. SN wasn’t left out either, as they won gold in Chemical Innovation. The greatest upset was however caused by a first years’ team from MS, which comprehensively brushed aside all opponents in Mathematics Olympiad. Finally, a steady performance by Nehru, which saw them secure a place in every event, ensured their overall victory over R.P. in the first-ever Tech. G.C. by a comfortable 72.5 points. Azad finished 3rd, a further 42.5 points adrift.

If 2004 saw the birth of the Tech. G.C., 2005 saw its baptism. No wonder halls were all raring to go against each other with as much vigour in Tech. G.C. 2005-06, as they would have done in the other two G.C.’s. With General Secretaries Kapish Saraf and Sanchayan Chakraborty introducing two more Inter-Hall events, namely, Biz Quiz and Advertisement Designing. Tech. G.C. 2005-06 was expected to go a long way and it disappointed no one. It was a poor start for Nehru, as they could manage only a 3rd place in the first 2 events, while RP were off to a much better start with a 1st and a 2nd. However, a dramatic comeback by the defending champions, which saw them win gold in Ad Design, Hardware Design and Chemical Innovation, placed them in a lead of 27.5 points before going into the last event, Biz Quiz. A bronze for RP and Nehru failing to win a place meant that the former scrapped through by a meager 2.5 points. It was heartbreak for Nehru and sweet revenge for RP. RK finished 3rd.

With such a close finish last year, halls cannot wait for Tech. G.C. 2006-07 to start. General Secretaries Shuvo Banerjee and Aniket have already introduced Inter-Hall Case-Study as yet another new event this year. 2006 for the first time has also seen Tech. events exclusively for 1st years. With Open IIT Tech. Quiz already over, and Open IIT Case-Study on its way, the tempo is all set for the Inter-Halls to begin.

And no one would dare to place a bet on this year’s winners.

New Communication Society at IIT-KGP

Industrious, ingenious, intelligent - these words sum up an IITian well enough, but when it comes to skills in communication, an average KGPian is found to be a tad wanting. Communiqué just might be an answer to the problem.

Communiqué is the new communication society on campus that aims to teach the students skills in communication, group discussion, personal interviews, presentation and public speaking. Operating under the aegis of the Department of Humanities and the Social Sciences of IIT-KGP, Communiqué plans to rope in on and off-campus experts from different fields related to communication and business. Negotiations on this front are already under way.

The proposal for Communiqué was put forward by the conveners Anindya Dutta and VP, TSG Deepak Rathee and the Dean of Students Affairs, Professor H. R. Tiwari was quick to give his consent. Full-fledged activities will start right after the Institute reopens after the Durga Puja.

Communiqué will cater to the communication needs of all students but will look at the freshers more closely so that by the time these students graduate, they will have the skill set they need to operate in the corporate world. Further, Communiqué is trying to team up with Institutes who are keen on training GRE, GMAT and CAT aspirants. Hopes are that Communiqué can collaborate with XLRI, IIMC and other Institutes of such stature to hone students’ skills in presentation, group discussion and to learn ways of handling tough interviews.

A national level debate competition is in the offing, at par with those organised by the other IITs and IIMs. Besides, a couple of intra-college public speaking competitions are on the cards, with ‘big money’ to be given away as prizes.

Hopefully Communiqué will be able to provide students a platform for business communication and soft skills that has been missing in most technological Institutions throughout the nation. It is only when IIT-KGP graduates turn into excellent communicators along with being experts in their fields will they truly be industrious, ingenious and intelligent.