MindSpark

MindSpark is the national level, annual technical festival of College Of Engineering, Pune(COEP). Since its genesis in 2007 by a group of students, MindSpark is one of the most anticipated tech-fests in the country. Nine editions on, it has been witnessing a plethora of events covering all engineering disciplines. One of the major crowd pullers is the Keynote Lecture series and workshops conducted pan Maharashtra to ignite a spark in every curious mind. A 3-day event, MindSpark encompasses myriad competitions, workshops (Outreach and in-house), interactive lecture series, War for glory- The Technical Championship and cultural nights.Thus, providing a platform for technical enthusiasts all over the country to showcase their abilities, to innovate.

The Odyssey

In 2007, a small spark ignited a thousand minds in COEP. Months of efforts and brainstorming by a group of students gave birth to MindSpark. It began with a mission to provide students across the country a top notch platform to display their technical prowess. The title MindSpark decodes to a platform for all minds with a spark. Over the years the main aim of providing a conducive environment to transform ideas into realities.The proof of this being the ever-increasing footfall.

Outreach Workshops

“Gaining Knowledge is the first step to wisdom, Sharing it is the first step to Humanity”

To reach out to students all across Maharashtra, MindSpark has been organizing extensive outreach workshops in Latur, Aurangabad, Kolhapur, Nanded, Nashik, Raigad and Baramati.[1][2]

In-house Workshops

The workshops are based on new breakthroughs in technology like touch screen interfacing, cloud computing, augmented reality, robotics.[3] The workshops are conducted by professionals from the industry, guests and faculty members of reputed institutions and have seen a footfall of around 5k tech-enthusiasts, every year.

Keynotes

Every great idea needs proper guidance, hence to provide the same MindSpark organizes a series of Keynote Lectures by noteworthy personalities in the fields of science and engineering from around the world.

Prithviraj Chavan enthralling the audience

Dr Anil Kakodkar, Dr Shiv Kumar, Mr Prithviraj Chavan, Christopher Charles Benninger, Dr G Madhavan Nair, Dr. Arvind Gupta are a few who have graced MindSpark with their inspiring words.

Technical championship

MindSpark hosts a Technical Championship-A battle between the best.

Top colleges from in and around Maharashtra participate every year to display and hone their tech-skills.[4][5]

It is a test of teamwork, acumen and intelligence and every event won is a stepping stone to winning the coveted Championship Trophy.

Previous editions

MindSpark’11[6][7] was held from 26 to 29 December was spanned over 42 events. The theme of MindSpark’11 was “Empowering India” through technological developments. Various steps towards taking India to greater heights were taken by COEP. Some of them are: Technocraft project: Organised by the Alumni, it is a vibrant platform to find innovative solutions to both rural and urban problems. Rural development : NSS in CoEP is actively involved in building and maintaining a school in the Mulshi Taluka of Pune district and general quality of life in the village. Keynote presentations were given by Dr. Arvind Gupta, Maj. Gen. Dibakar Banerjee and Dr.Govind Swarup .

MindSpark’12[8] was held from 5 to 7 October. The festival was based on the theme of “Evolution”, in order to emphasize on the marvelling journey of inventing,engineering and developing technology. Keynotes were given by Dr. Ravindra Rajhans, Ankit Vegurlekar. A special segment included honouring of our hard-working dabbewallas .

MindSpark’13[9] was held from 27 to 29 September and had over 50 events encompassing all branches of engineering sciences. The theme of this edition was ‘Technology for masses’. With the idea to diffuse technology into our daily lives, MindSpark organized several outreach and in-house workshops on wide-ranging topics. These workshops enabled students to know more about different uses of technology and how it can make our lives easier.

MindSpark’14[10] was held from 19th to 21 September. The three day festival included a total of 52 events categorized into 12 modules. The theme of this edition was “Innovation Beyond Boundaries ”. To keep in line with the theme, students not only reached out to colleges across Maharashtra but also to junior colleges and schools. The flagship event was 'InnoVision.' ,where the participants had to work on a project over the three days, pitch an idea and develop a working model. This was also the year when the mascot of MindSpark, ‘Sparcus’ came into being. Designed as a human-robo, Sparcus symbolised technological advancement and encouraged out-of-the-box thinking. The keynotes were undertaken by Dr G Madhavan Nair, Christopher Benninger and Atul Kulkarni.

MindSpark’15[11] was held from the 9th to 11 October, saw over 20k students from various colleges taking part in 51 exhilarating events .MindSpark’15 was themed on transforming technology in such a way so as to reach the horizons of human minds, to explore unexplored timelines. The flagship event ‘Pseudoresearch’ aspired to create a better future with the help of new path breaking technology. The keynotes were presented by honorable Prithviraj Chavan, Dr Anil Kakodkar and Dr S K Shivakumar.

Events at MindSpark

“PAAKHI”

MindSpark’15 celebrated the International Day Of Girl Child on October 11 with its social initiative PAAKHI.[12]

Girls enjoying at workshop

The first initiative was in association with Pune Learns, an NGO which aims at teaching under-privileged children basic English and Communication skills. COEP organised a drawing competition, along with other activities, for children from the local communities. It also organized a workshop in association with Teach For India, the Indian counterpart of Teach For All, on self-defense which was open to all. Girls and women from the villages which come under Unnat Bharat Abhiyan were given a chance to showcase their talent on the platform provided by the college . The keynote on October 11 was a lecture conducted by Shital Mahajan (India’s first female skydiver) was also dedicated to women empowerment. Several competitions like an online photography competition were also organized.

Branding and sponsors

MindSpark has been supported and has grown with the help of its esteemed sponsors. Atlas Copco, Vmware and Premier[13] have been associated with the festival and have been consistently promoted with branding at Coep’s campus. Tata Consultancy Services was the title sponsor for MindSpark’15.[14] COEP being located in such a prime location in Pune is a major student hub and also an industrial centre, hence it provides amazing visibility to all its associates. Its sponsors get student interaction and brand publicity.

References

  1. ↑ "MindSpark'12 Outreach". 20 September 2012.
  2. ↑ "Outreach events of MindSpark to be held from Oct 15 to 23 - Times of India". The Times of India.
  3. ↑ "Game of Workshops in COEP MindSpark'15 | Sharanya Nayak". Campus Times Pune. 6 October 2015.
  4. ↑ "MindSpark 2010 ends with a bang". NDTV.com.
  5. ↑ "Mindspark 2012 fest unites technology's bests | Latest News & Updates at Daily News & Analysis". dna. 9 October 2012.
  6. ↑ "MindSpark'11 | Twenty19". Twenty19.
  7. ↑ "MindSpark'11, College of Engineering Pune (COEP), Technical Fest, Pune, Maharashtra, December 27-29 2011". www.knowafest.com.
  8. ↑ "Mind Spark 12, College of Engineering Pune, Technical Fest, Pune, Maharashtra, October 5-7 2012". www.knowafest.com.
  9. ↑ "Coep's MindSpark to kickstart this Friday | Sakal Times". www.sakaaltimes.com.
  10. ↑ "Mind-Spark 14 - Technical Fest by College of Engineering, Pune, Pune - BtechJosh". www.btechjosh.com.
  11. ↑ "MindSpark '15, College of Engineering Pune, Technical Festival, Maharashtra, October 9-11 2015". www.knowafest.com.
  12. ↑ "COEP MindSpark Will Celebrate International Girl Child Day". Campus Times Pune. 25 September 2015.
  13. ↑ ":: Premier Ltd. ::". www.premier.co.in.
  14. ↑ "Honest Event Reviews : COEP's Mindspark 2015, Shivajinagar". Campus Times Pune. 30 October 2015.
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