With the fest fast approaching, the APOGEE English Press spoke to the CoSTAAn of the Department of Sponsorship (Sponz), Hitansh Tanna, to gain some insight into the workings of the department in the months leading up to the fest.

The primary work of the department is divided into two parts— sponsorship and marketing. Hitansh explained that the main goal was to obtain funding for the fests in terms of sponsorships, revenue sharing deals, and workshops. He described the department as ‘the creative head of CoStAA and StuCCA’. He explained that the creative direction of the fests was generally provided by Sponz due to the nature of the work they did, citing the negotiations conducted for the drone shows conducted last APOGEE as an example. Elaborating on the marketing aspect, he talked about how the department marketed the sponsors by means of ‘standees, banners, and gate arches’. Hitansh mentioned that Sponz generated thirty lakhs in sponsorships for this fest — a record amount for any APOGEE conducted so far. These funds would help cover the cost of the expenses incurred in organising events, such as the setting up of a planetarium this year.

Hitansh stated that as APOGEE is a technical fest, Sponz focuses on reaching out to recruiters. He further explained that the ability to test certain skill sets through the organised competitions allowed the companies to scout talent, which was a point the department emphasised on while contacting them. He also revealed that they had been able to obtain sponsorships from companies such as Walmart Global Tech and MapMyIndia. Compared to last year, the department has contacted an increased number of recruiters. Hitansh said that they have also focused more on organising company hackathons and case competitions, wherein the problem statements would be provided directly by the companies, allowing the participants to learn about practical industry-level practices. He also added that the registered participants would be able to interact with company executives. 

Hitansh started working for the fest in November 2023 and mentioned that the department started to work for the fest from the start of the current semester. He credited his workforce for a job well done in achieving ‘magnificent numbers’ despite a placement season that could be described as ‘the worst [so far]’. He also added that CoStAA had been supportive in terms of the deliverance to be given to companies. When asked about his workload so far, Hitansh said that while keeping up with academics, department work, and other commitments was difficult in a CoStAAn semester, it had been manageable. Speaking of his experience in the department over the years, Hitansh talked about how he had joined Sponz in his second year and mentioned that he was satisfied with his learning curve there. 

Hitansh also talked about the evolution of the department over the years. After Oasis 2022, Sponz had been put on probation. It has since undergone changes in its internal structure and operations. Hitansh explained that they had done this by increasing the number of recruited students as well as the frequency and number of calls made to companies. He added that the junior-most batches were now asked to ideate more on deals and that he had ensured that each member had been able to interact with at least two to three companies.

Hitansh said that Sponz is almost always involved in fest work throughout the year. After the end of APOGEE, the members will be involved in sending branding reports to companies as well as collecting the cash from signed MOUs, getting a month-long break before work for Oasis 2024 starts. Talking about his experience as a CoStAAn, Hitansh thanked his fellow committee members for ‘being great’, singling out the CoStAAn of the Department of Visual Media for being especially helpful.

Hitansh mentioned that he looked forward to the professional shows, having spent triple the amount of money on them as last APOGEE, in a strategy to increase campus retention. He said that he hoped it would work as a model that could be repeated in the next iteration of the fest as well. In closing, he asked the general BITSian to attend all the hackathons and case study competitions, reporting that they would be a ‘sweet way to get a job or internship’.