The APOGEE English Press sat down with the coordinator of the Association of Manufacturing Engineering, Akash Jain, for a quick chat about the association and the work that they are doing during APOGEE ‘22. The association is primarily a technical team, because of which their work during any fest is clearly demarcated, and they focus on APOGEE due to the stark difference in its core concept as compared to a cultural fest like OASIS.
Speaking about the work that they will be doing for the fest, Akash stated, ‘We are organising three kernel events this time, as opposed to the usual one or two, in an attempt to broaden the core value of the campus.’ Kernel events are spotlight events, with large prize pools, which are conducted in a time slot when nothing else is being conducted.
The last in-person APOGEE was conducted in 2019, and this has led to a significant knowledge gap between the current working batch and their seniors. According to Akash, this was solved by increasing communication with the senior batch who witnessed previous editions of APOGEE.
Elaborating on the yearly activities of the association, Akash put emphasis on teaching the first-year recruits about their work culture. All existing members of the association make constant efforts to make the newcomers feel heard and acknowledge their presence. According to Akash, the club members focus on forming a strong bond with the juniors rather than asserting hierarchy.
‘According to me, the theme of APOGEE ’22 is centrally constructed around Metaverse, and the encrypted dimension in some sense is a world not everyone can comprehend’ he stated. Incorporating that into their own work, he shared that one of their events requires prior skills to decipher certain tasks. One of the interesting features is that the events being conducted by the association are actually being held in the Workshop, which aligns well with the work culture that they wish to promote.
When asked about how the association has evolved over the past couple of years and coped with transitions to the online mode, Akash was all praise for how smooth the process has been. Akash said, ‘In addition to this, there have been positive changes to the Manufacturing Engineering curriculum.’ He also spoke about how the current system that they have in place allows for accountability within the members.
When asked to address the BITSian community, Akash urged students who don’t find themselves associated with Manufacturing engineering to attend the events conducted by the association. He strongly opined that one can potentially come out as an evolved being from the kind of exposure that is offered by the association. Participating in a few events can also help one to better explore their domain of interest and form new connections. Hence, he urged all BITSians to explore collectively and immerse themselves in the encrypted dimension to enjoy this year’s APOGEE.