The College of Engineering, Trivandrum (CET) swept up most of the honours at ‘Utbhav 2012’, the annual technical festival hosted by the Department of Civil Engineering of Mar Baselios College of Engineering and Technology (MBCET), Nalanchira, held on September 20. The fete saw 13 colleges participate in six different events, with a total turnout of about 150 civil engineering students.
In keeping with its technical roots, the festival featured events such as paper presentation, situation management, model making and CAD quest, apart from a quiz and a treasure hunt.
CET came on top in five out of the six events, with Marian Engineering College finishing first in the model-making competition. Each event saw an average participation of around 25 students, and participants were happy to showcase their technical acumen in front of the judges.
Says Vyshnavi, a student of CET who participated in paper presentation: “I think such events are a great way to present our ideas and develop new skills. This was my first attempt at presenting and I think that participating in such programmes also provides the additional benefit of helping people overcome problems such as stage fright.”
Utbhav is organised annually by the students of the Department of Civil Engineering, and all extra proceeds made from the fete are forwarded to Thanal, a charitable organisation comprising the students of the department, who aim to provide assistance to the downtrodden. The charity aims to use any additional capital to facilitate the construction of houses for the needy.
“We rely entirely on the manpower of our own department and try to help people in desperate need of food and shelter. This is one of the primary reasons for organising events such as Utbhav. Even if we can contribute in a small way, be it construction, food or medical camps, it will hopefully make a difference,” says John Joseph, a final year civil engineering student.
Arun V.M., Assistant Professor of Environmental Engineering and staff coordinator of Utbhav, was all praise for the organising team and expressed hope that such events would have a positive effect on participants.
“Students will gain tremendously from presenting papers and reconstructing models during their college years. Such experience will hopefully help them out later, whether they work in industries or choose to take up teaching,” he said.
Even the serious nature of the fete did not dissuade the students from having some fun, and the speakers playing music in the registration area were a welcome relief to participants.
The playlist varied from the latest Malayalam foot tappers to the phenomenally popular 'Gangnam style', infusing the proceedings with added energy. From models to music, Utbhav managed to pull off a little of everything. Job well done, MBCET!
