The APOGEE English Press spoke with the coordinator of the Department Of External Affairs (DExA), Yashwardhan Naiknimbalkar, to gain insight into the department’s work for APOGEE.

Yashwardhan explained that the department is responsible for coordinating outreach efforts to schools and colleges across India to participate in APOGEE. They organize mini-APOGEE across various colleges. ‘Mini -APOGEE is like a trailer to APOGEE,’ says Yashwardhan. For mini-APOGEE, the department conducts several events, similar to the ones in APOGEE, in different colleges in collaboration with various clubs. This year they have collaborated with multiple clubs including IEEE, Photography Club, Coding Club, Public Policy Club, EFA, among others, to conduct a variety of events. Their main aim is to pitch APOGEE to the college students and publicize the fest in order to increase participation.Held mainly in colleges in Sikar, Delhi and Jaipur, this year’s mini-APOGEE featured various events including Mobile Photography and Decrypt. 

Conducted in February, preparatory work for mini-APOGEE begins around January. The department’s work starts with contacting numerous colleges and checking the feasibility of conducting the events. They also cooperate with different clubs who organize events to conduct in mini-APOGEE. Acquiring the required permissions, signing MoU’s, conducting outstation work trips, hosting the events and pitching the fest to the participants are other tasks the department is in charge of.Talking about what they are currently working on, Yashwardhan shared that they are concluding mini-APOGEE and working on their other event, t—Aarohan. 

Yashwardhan stated that, in addition to mini-APOGEE, they also conduct Aarohan—an examination for school students. The examination is held in schools throughout the country with major participation from schools situated in Bangalore, Kolkata and Delhi. While the first round is conducted in November, the second round is held during the fest. The winners of the second round are invited to the college to gain exposure as they get to interact with professors, attend talks held by PEP and much more.

When asked about the issues the department faced, Yashwardhan shared that the department was slightly short-handed in January as it had to work on organizing both Aarohan and mini-APOGEE simultaneously. Hence, it was required to split the workforce with one half working on mini-APOGEE and the other half on Aarohan. He added that a few colleges from Delhi and Jaipur withdrew due to timelines clashes, causing the expected participation from mini-APOGEE for the fest to drop. Having to organize the first offline mini-APOGEE after three years was another challenge they faced. However, they were able to resolve this issue with the help of PCR-A and other departments who aided them. 

Highlighting their enthusiasm, Yashwardhan commended his workforce for devising new ideas and taking up initiatives. He credited the clubs as well for designing engaging events for mini-APOGEE. He further added that his experience interacting with other coordinators and the CoStAA had been a pleasant one. To conclude, Yashwardhan encouraged BITSians to attend the fest and see the work being showcased by the tech teams.