With APOGEE looming around the corner, the President of the Student’s Union (SU), Ashirwad Karande, spared some time from his hectic schedule and sat down with the APOGEE English Press to provide some insight into his work for the fest.
As the head of the Union Council, he is given the honorary position of CoStAAn of Finance for APOGEE. He is primarily responsible for managing the finances of the fest. His work starts with preparing a budget for the fest along with the CoStAA and then allocating funds to different departments and clubs based on their requirements. His major responsibilities entail negotiating with various agencies and vendors, resolving any conflicts that arise, overlooking the entire fest and events, and acting as a bridge between the institution and the students. Additionally, he has to coordinate with the General Secretary to handle the inventory for the events.
He shared that the Students’ Union is organizing a ‘Leadership Conclave’ this APOGEE. The conclave aims to enlighten the students about the importance of developing leadership skills during college and their significance in one’s career. It will feature two panel discussions. The panel will be graced by previous Students’ Union Presidents and General Secretaries excelling in varied fields, with delegates from top IIT’s and IIM’s in attendance. ‘We think that these people coming to campus and imparting the things they learnt during college, and explaining how these leadership skills helped them carve a path and choose a career will benefit not only the GBM, but outstation students as well.’ said Ashirwad.
The pre-fest preparations are in full swing, with Ashirwad putting in almost ten hours everyday. However, being the first fully tech-infused fest since 2019, it did pose some challenges. ‘Since we did not know exactly how a tech fest was built we had to start from scratch’, Ashirwad shared. He added that initially they faced issues when figuring out how to bring the technical aspects to the forefront. After brainstorming multiple ideas, they came up with a lot of new events including a drone show, making BITS Pilani the third college in India to host one. Another obstacle he faced was integrating the different visions and ideas of the GBM, CoStAA, Union Council, clubs, departments, and various other bodies.
The fest has a total budget crossing almost one crore this time, with around ten lakhs being dispersed across various clubs. Ashirwad mentioned that this is the highest that the SU has ever provided and this is being reflected in the prize money as well, which is over ten lakhs across various events. Moreover, they tried to generate more funding for the technical clubs this year as he had noticed some clubs struggling to acquire sponsorships previously.
Talking about his vision for APOGEE, Ashirwad said that he aimed to not only successfully organize a tech-infused fest but also to involve more juniors—especially first and second years—in the fest. When asked about his experience, he said that despite his demanding position, he enjoyed being President. He felt that the wide variety of problems he had to face have aided his personal growth. ‘As long as the students are happy with my work, I think that’s the biggest goal I could achieve in my tenure,’ said Ashirwad. Commending the workforce, Ashirwad said that he was deeply appreciative of everyone’s work ethic. He further stated that the CoStAA was always energetic and open to new ideas and tasks. He added that the Union Council (UC) and Students’ Union (SU) have been very responsive and involved in the fest from the beginning.
To conclude, Ashirwad said that he hoped to see more internal participation. He encouraged BITSians to attend the events and not miss out on ‘the best APOGEE you could ever see’.