In a disarmingly frank conversation with the APOGEE English Press, Satyansh Rai, the President of the Students’ Union explained the working of the core organising committee of APOGEE. Speaking about his own role, he explained that as the finance CoStAAn, the President must shoulder complete responsibility of the financial aspect of APOGEE. All expenses incurred by the clubs, associations, and departments have to be reported to him.

Satyansh said that the experience of working with other CoStAAns was simultaneously novel and extremely positive as he got a chance to lead his batchmates. This was in contrast to heading the StuCCA, where he was a junior himself. ‘In the StuCCA, any deadlock between departments needed to be broken by the President or the General Secretary, in formal terms.’ Within the CoStAA however, the inevitable disagreements were smoothed over informally, and often with little arbitration from the President. Coordinating between the organizers of APOGEE is one of the key roles of the President, and there is a clear three step process for an event to see the light of day. The first meet is for the pitching of ideas along with a proposed budget. These proposals are weighed and the list of events as well as their budgets are presented in the second meet. Budgeting is done by the entire CoStAA as well as the CRC. The third and final meet is to follow up on the progress of each event, as well as to provide assistance if needed.

This year, the APOGEE budget witnessed a 50% increase, to 62 lakhs, with revenue being generated from VR gaming and prof shows, as well as the usual channels of sponsorship. However, the sole purpose of these events is not to make a profit. The President and the General Secretary also see to the welfare of the students, and they ensure that the charges being borne by BITSians are reasonable, while still being beneficial to the fest.

One of the most difficult decisions taken by the CoStAA is the addition and/or cancellation of events. He cited the example of the Indian Drone Racing League, which was very popular last year. However, its high cost of 2.2 lakhs and the negligible revenue it generated meant that a difficult decision had to be taken. On the flip side, certain expenses are borne simply in the interest of the student community. For example, the condition put forward by Rakesh Sharma to speak at APOGEE was that a sum of 1.25 lakhs be donated to his charity. A sum of this magnitude had never been spent on a single speaker before and was initially rejected by the CoStAA. It was here that Satyansh personally analysed the pros and cons of the event and decided in favour of calling the renowned personality. With such a big name, he hopes to retain the majority of the students.

The President said that this year almost every aspect of APOGEE has been modified in order to increase the internal participation. A significant change has been shifting prof shows to SR grounds and increasing their budgets. In a bid to increase external participation, prize money has been increased significantly, for instance, the Business Plan Competition now has one lakh rupees at stake. Exhibitions by external agencies such as ISRO, the NDRF, and TeamIndus are also a new addition to APOGEE. Special care has been taken to invite guest speakers whose work holds significance to BITSians, so that no hall may remain empty. Collaboration with events that were historically not part of APOGEE, such as BITSMUN, the NSS youth conference, and QED aims to create a symbiotic relationship between the fest and these events and hopes to increase participation in both.

He also took this opportunity to debunk the rumours regarding holidays during APOGEE – Classes will remain cancelled throughout the duration of the fest. The Institute never expressed any intent to change the schedule and no such discussion ever came up within the CoStAA. The projected footfall and the sponsorship money have increased significantly, despite it being an election year, and the CoStAA is optimistic regarding the success of the fest.

When asked if everything has been going to plan, he stated that everything has been going smoothly however both the General Secretary and he are prepared to handle unexpected crises.

‘[BITSians] should be aware of the fact that any fest that happens on campus, is a fest for them’ Satyansh said, expressing hope that the students would do their best to contribute to the fest, either by participating, or by boosting the morale of the participants. ‘The duty of the students is to try and learn as much as they can from APOGEE—that is the true success of the fest’, he added.