The APOGEE English Press sat down with Arhaan Kocchar, the APOGEE Coordinator for the Mechanical Engineering Association (MEA), to discuss the association’s role in acting as a ‘bridge between students, professors, and PhD scholars’ in addition to their itinerary for this year’s iteration of APOGEE.

Arhaan began by talking about their management of the MEA Mega Drive, a repository for previous examination papers and notes for core mechanical courses. Additionally, he shared that while the team was currently exploring external competitions, those endeavours were still a work in progress. He shared that beyond academic pursuits, the MEA also organised cricket matches and farewells for their department.

He explained that the association would be overseeing three main events during APOGEE ‘26. These included two technical challenges, the CAD-a-thon and the Airfoil Design Challenge, along with a new recreational event called the Pinball Challenge.

Arhaan stated that while the technical challenges were recurring events held in collaboration with ASME and ISHRAE, the Pinball Challenge had been introduced this year to their lineup. He elaborated that the CAD-athon was a serious test of skill, where participants solved two problem statements and defended their designs in front of a panel of judges. He revealed that preparations for the fest had kicked off in late January, and currently, the MEA was focused on evaluating first-round submissions for CAD-a-thon and coordinating with external vendors to discuss the provision of materials for their other events.

Reflecting on his time with the MEA, the Coordinator shared that seeing their events come together from the ground up, fest after fest, had been a significant learning opportunity for him. He explained that the nitty-gritty of organising events for such a large-scale fest had given him a first-hand look at the effort it took to bring them to fruition. Arhaan closed off by emphasising that the support from his peers and the guidance of his seniors had helped keep MEA’s work on track.