The Institute of Engineering and Management (IEM), Calcutta, hosted the National Level Technical (Robotics) Festival on March 11 and 12, 2007, in collaboration with Tata Consultancy Services, Cognizant Technology Solutions, Infosys, Tech Mahindra, etc. The festival presented a plethora of events showcasing the students’ technical skills, creativity and their intelligence quotient. The events included coding and debugging competitions, an electronic system design contest and mathematical brainteasers. Robotics was introduced as a special attraction. Thus, several robotic events like robots playing kabaddi, doing acrobatics and skiing were shown. The participating team of the college has beenwinning the robotics competition for the past two years. IEM has gained a name for itself in this domain. So, the fest was organised at IEM this year. Several colleges, which include IIT-Kharagpur, IIT-Bombay, Jadavpur University, BESU, Shibpur, as well as colleges from Indore, Orissa, Mumbai and Sikkim-Manipal, had registered for this event. This exhibition is meant to spread awareness among students about robotics. It is a fact that very few students in West Bengal are interested in robotics, though in the coming 20 years robots are expected to replace human labour in almost every sphere of life. Thus, IEM, through this festival has taken the onus to organise a free workshop for all the interested students of engineering colleges of India on this upcoming subject. Directorate of technical education, department of higher education, West Bengal, Prof. Sajal Dasgupta, and additional chief secretary, department of higher education, A. M. Chakraborti, IAS, were present at the prize distribution ceremony.

Avirup Sil, ex-student, Institute of Engineering and Management

CALCUTTA
Royal touch

Loreto College was proud to welcome the Princess of Thailand, Maha Chakri Sirindhorn on March 9, 2007. She came down to meet a Thai student, Urai Yangcheepsujarit, who is on a fellowship instituted by her. To welcome her, the first and second year students put up a cultural programme showcasing the cultural diversity of India. The programme was followed by her visiting the library and the computer lab.

Ratnasri Dutta, second year, history honours, Loreto College

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