The Apogee English Press Club sat down with Shreyak Shintre, CoStAAn of the Department of Controls, generally referred to as Controls, to gain insight into its role during the fest.
He explained that Controls plays a pivotal role in managing all the logistics of the fest. The work is majorly split into 6 jobstreams, divided between the freshers– Travels, Requisitions, and Judgesheets and sophomores– Scheduling, Audi Controls, and Projects, which is a jobstream specific to APOGEE. Freshers also prepare the panels for the Controls Booth before the fest and handle the registration of all the outstation participants during the fest.
The Prototype Projects is a kernel event executed by Controls every year. For this event, abstracts were invited from all across India and evaluated by a panel of professors. The abstracts for Prototype Projects are physical ideas that can be implemented and eventually converted into a startup.
Shreyak highlighted that it was different working for Oasis and APOGEE, given that there was a smaller workforce for the latter, since more third-year students were working for Oasis but not for APOGEE. He added that the jobstreams were being executed for the first time, thus it would be the first time navigating their complexities. He further stated that APOGEE is a very dynamic fest and has a lot of scope for innovation, newer events and increased external participation relative to the previous editions of APOGEE.
He mentioned that the CoStAA had tried to implement fest-deductions for APOGEE but was met with negative feedback. As a result, they had a much smaller budget to work with in comparison to Oasis. He remarked that they had tried to innovate and come up with newer ideas to generate more revenue and encouraged all the clubs to invite more outstation participants.
A new event, School excursion, would be hosted this time, where aspiring engineers from various high schools would be invited to the campus for a campus tour to get a glimpse into the innovation that takes place here. He was confident that this would not only serve as a revenue stream but also enhance APOGEE’s outward image.
Shreyak pointed out that despite costs rising year after year due to inflation, the revenue is unable to rise accordingly. He acknowledged that Pilani is a very remote location and does not enjoy as much footfall as major fests across Delhi and Mumbai do, which handicaps the fest in terms of sponsorships and registrations. He added that even if the students put in their best, there is a ceiling that can not be breached. Due to this multitude of reasons, it was really important to come up with a new source of revenue generation, introduced by last year’s CoStAA, called the Food Fest. He appreciated that the food fest this year had contributed a ‘very generous’ profit, which would be effectively used for increasing prize money budgets, handling external speakers/ sponsors and overall improving the scale of the fest.
He remarked that Controls had been a heavy commitment ever since he got in during his first year, with this semester being particularly hectic with his CoStAAn responsibilities. Controls work sessions began around two months before the fest. The frequency was much lower pre-midsems; however, daily work sessions were held post-midsems, where juniors were expected to not only carry out their own jobstream duties but also ensure that panels were effectively being worked upon in accordance with the fest theme.
To keep high morale and enthusiasm in his workforce, he remarked that strong bonding with juniors was ‘quintessential’. According to him, students do not have any incentive to work for a fest and ‘put themselves through hell’ just because they enjoy a very amicable and loving relationship with the seniors in the department. He maintained that the only way to ensure high spirits is to treat people equally and not impose on the juniors because they have a life outside of the fest as well.
He acknowledged that the CoStAAns juggle their internships and other commitments; however, they have successfully navigated their way through the intense time commitment.
He mentioned that one of the major issues that the department faces every fest was the campus culture of ‘BST’. The unplanned delays affect the work in every sense, from scheduling who have to reorganise the schedule, to requisitions who have to account for the delays even when taking permissions.
On the topic of the multiple shows and raves, Shreyak explained that they were planned in order to provide another incentive to outstation participants to travel to such a remote campus, apart from the prize money. They matter even more because prize money is similar in all technical fests across North India, making shows the only differentiating factor.
When asked about the events that he was especially looking forward to, he mentioned that Robowars was an event that would surely experience great footfall as it does every year, along with Robo-soccer, Line Follower Robot Competition, various hackathons, and case competitions with attractive prize money. He urged the students looking to delve into non-core roles to definitely show up to all non-core events and gain experience from industry leaders, and what they look for when recruiting.
He expressed that his experience with the CoStAA had been a topsy-turvy experience. They experienced a lot of highs and lows together, but have managed to prepare for a more successful and ‘levelled up’ APOGEE. He mentioned that his seniors had advised him to be a ‘very competent’ CoStAAn but not lose himself in the workings of the fest. They had also advised him not to take things personally and to maintain a cordial relationship with everyone involved.
Speaking about his experience in the previous two APOGEEs, he said that he had been working for both of them, and despite how hectic it was, he had his fair share of fun. During APOGEE ‘24, he witnessed a very extravagant fest where external robots were called for exhibitions. At the same time, he saw APOGEE 25, which was scaled down to accommodate the budgetary restrictions. He believed that the events were of a really high quality during both the fests even if the professional shows did not reflect the same.
As his parting words, he concluded that the essence of a technical fest is to learn something from it and urged all his juniors to show up for all the events and have a blast during APOGEE.