The coordinator of BITS Embryo, Tanishq Thorat, took some time out of his busy schedule to have a small talk with the APOGEE English Press about the work they are doing in the upcoming fest.

Thorat informed that the APOGEE Innovation Challenge (AIC) would be the main event presented by the club. Other events include the performances of Bharg, Raga, and Forty Seven in the ‘Hip-Hop Nite’ of APOGEE.

Thorat mentioned there was a new event — the YouTube panel, which includes famous tech-based YouTubers such as Naman Deshmukh of the ‘Tech Plus Gadgets” and content creator Niharika. He stated that the event is expected to be a success considering the recent rise in content creation amongst the students, who will gain significant insight from this panel.

Thorat explained that the star event to be presented, AIC, has a lot of companies partnering with BITS Embryo to host hackathons, which attract the students’ attention through the internships and cash prizes offered. He elaborated that the fixed component of the cash prize is Rs. 5,00,000, and overall, with internships, the number can cross Rs. 8,00,000. Thorat said that the problem statements of these companies have already been released.

Thorat said the partnered companies include big names such as Hindustan Petroleum Corporation Limited (HPCL), Techmojo, and various startups partnering with BITS Embryo for the first time. Among all these, he explained that Xpressbees — a logistics company — and CredAvenue, both unicorns, had partnered up but had to back down due to internal restructuring, but have stated that they are looking forward to a partnership next year.

Thorat remarked that this event’s magnitude would exceed its previous editions and the people’s present expectations. He mentioned that about 2000 people have signed up for this on Unstop, and many more are expected.

When asked about the challenges faced, Thorat explained that the current recession has caused hiring and prize-pool collection problems. He shed light upon the fact that companies became hesitant to partner as it took more work for them to be financially stable and contribute to cash prizes. Thorat mentioned that there had also been some issues with reaching out and contacting the people on the YouTube panel. But despite all the troubles, Thorat pointed out that an impressive lineup had been achieved, and all the events were expected to go smoothly without hiccups.

In conclusion, Thorat said that he expects this edition of AIC to be ‘the grandest he has ever seen in his experience’ and urged students to participate, assuring that they will take away something positive from it.