Risheet Agarwal Mehta, coordinator of BITS Embryo, was recently interviewed by the APOGEE English Press about the organisation’s work and its plans for APOGEE 2023.

Outside of fests, Embryo primarily focuses on transforming classroom education by holding talks and seminars with leading personalities in their respective fields. The most recent panel discussions featured top performers such as Rahul Bothra, the CFO of Swiggy, and Tanmay Kumar, the CFO of Shiprocket.

For APOGEE 2023, Embryo will be organising two events. The first is the “APOGEE Innovation Challenge”. Embryo brings in companies from the core sectors such as mechanical as well as non-core including finance and product management. These companies host problem statements which participants try to solve in order to win internships or cash rewards. Embryo has partnered with companies including TATA Motors, Rockwell, Quick Heal, SBI Mutual Funds, and startups like Product Space. However, due to the recession, many fixed companies like Ford and Maruti are no longer willing to expand their reach. Despite this, Embryo has brought in nine new companies this year and hope they will continue their partnerships for future editions.

This APOGEE also marks the return of the Mentalist Show, a legacy event of the festival before 2015. This second event organised by Embryo will be headlined by Suhani Shah, who has performed over 5000 shows including a show at BITS Pilani, Goa Campus in 2015. When asked about the challenges of calling personalities, Risheet said that Embryo prides itself in hosting them for free. He revealed that Embryo has built a vast database in various fields, which made contacting them more straightforward.

Risheet described his experience as the coordinator of Embryo as a positive one. He appreciated his supportive team consisting of juniors and batchmates. His seniors, who were ex-coordinators, guided him throughout and he learned a lot about negotiation, leadership skills, and time management.

When asked about any unexpected challenges, Risheet hoped to see more submissions for the APOGEE Innovation Challenge. ‘We get a lot of registrations but very few submissions. This is a major problem,’ said Risheet. Embryo is trying to combat this by contacting participants in various colleges and top IITs.

On an ending note, Risheet advised BITSians to get involved with Embryo and its initiatives. Joining any club benefits students, and Embryo provides a great platform to contact great personalities and learn various skills.