Its been quite sometime since we tried or had something different from conventional lectures and discussions and exhibitions. In Techfest 2008 we present before you; the lesser known yet indefinable concept of BarCamp.

Barcamp-a word that would have most of the techenterpreneurs running around for tickets leaves the not so much geek crowd wondering, Barcamp is a un-conference defying those conventional formal corporate seminars, while at the same time satisfying the hunger of the participants. The best part about this concept is the very fact that its content is dictated by participants. It is place where you see a Many to Many discussion in full flow and with the geeky touch coming.

Everything at a barcamp is impromptu, on the spot, unplanned, that’s why they call it an “un-conference”, that’s why it is fun swapping stories and experiences.
Barcamps aren’t about intense gyan (wisdom), indepth info, comprehensive knowledge. They are more about “hey, check out this cool stuff and what it can do”. Talks aren’t planned or scheduled before a Barcamp – you go there, decide that you want to talk about something, write it on the whiteboard, pick a slot, and if people are interested in your topic, they sit in, discussions start, and so on.In terms of topics – they are literally anything. But topics tend to be technology oriented, so if you are a geek, you should feel right at home. We

So dont get surprised if you see something like a chaotic after-concert party, with t-shirts, banners, food stalls,with people on a couple of mattresses rolled out on the lawns and corridors, having animated discussions about new-fangled developments in software coding, a discourse on improvising technology in bicycles, heated arguments over gender roles and utter chaos…that would be Techfest at its best..:)

SciTech is back and and yes, with a bang! You might be wondering what exactly is SciTech. Well it’s the Inter Collegiate Science and Technology Quiz to be held at Techfest 2008 and one of the most awaited events at Techfest. With Mr. Avinash Mudaliar himself as quiz master, SciTech promises to be a very entertaining and competitive quiz show.

Here are some details of SciTech:

Online Screening Stage: 5th January, 2008

Registrations are open for this Stage. Register at http://techfest.org/scitech/register/

Top 15 teams will be selected and invited to Techfest. They will then participate in Second Stage, where 3 teams will qualify for the Grand Finale which will be held in front of an audience of 3000 (yeah, that’s true ).

On The Spot Entries: 25th January, 2008

An Elimination Round will be conducted for the on the spot entries and 3 will qualify for the Grand Finale.

Grand Finale: An audience of more than 3000, best teams across the country and Avinash Mudaliar as quizmaster. What else is required for the perfect finish of this quiz-o-mania!

I have booked my seat in the Convo Hall on 26th .. Have you?

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Dubs

Wikipedia; the Universal Library with enormous amount of Knowledge and Information on your fingertips (thats how I describe it), its just that you need not pay to issue knowledge from this library. A platform where knowledge is shared or maintained by the internet users and used by the same, a perfect example of Open Source knowledge or collaborative development.

Ever wondered why an organisation will be so interested in spreading and sharing knowledge without any profit; is this (Open Source Knowledge) just a hobby or much more than that; is this the future of the way knowledge will be shared in next decade; what was the idea and motivation behind the creation of Wikipedia? These questions will not go unanswered if you listen to Mr. Wales speak @ Techfest.

Mr. Wales; the founder of Wikipedia, it has been nice interacting with him since past few months. He is easily approachable and more open than anybody else in his league. You can very easily find him on Facebook (you can use my profile for that ) and don’t be shocked if he happens to accept your friend requests and invites you on Facebook to attend his parties.

- Prateek Raj (CB)
Manager, Lecture Series

At Techfest we believe in defying conventions and this year’s workshops prove that. After the unprecedented success of the Digital Film Making workshop at Techfest 2007, we bring to you the Advanced Digital Film Making workshop for the first time in India. It will prove to be an insight into the work that goes on behind the screen in the glamorous world. With content ranging from camera handling techniques to cutting edge blue screen technology, the workshop will expose participants to various facets of film making. Another first is a workshop on Web Application Security which will be aimed at students with an elementary knowledge of Linux and PHP. Exciting topics like identity theft and attacks on social networking sites will be discussed followed by a practical session. Other workshops at Techfest include the aeromodelling workshop (participants get to build their own IC engine powered radio controlled glider) and eTRIx (a workshop on analog robotics).

We had received a lot of feedback – that the participants and site visitors aren’t well aware of what has changed as new things are being added almost everyday. So keeping this in mind we have created the Techfest website RSS feed. Subscribe to it now by clicking here.

So stay updated of whats new at this Techfest, who are the big people coming, what workshops, who are the exhibits this year, gaming zone, on the spot events, quizzes just by subscribing to our RSS feed…
Individual departments RSS feeds coming soon..

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Techfest web

We are up with our new techfest website header. http://www.techfest.org/home/
There is always atleast one reason for any change. The reasons here being increase in the number of links and introduction of our associate sponsors techfest 2008. And also a change for a better look..
Designing was done by the publicity team and was put up by the web team.
Its still gonna get better.

Comments on the same are welcome.

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Techfest web

Have a look at what Techfest is..

Yes you can embed youtube videos on wordpress

Two months from now, Techfest 2008 would have concluded and people from all across India and abroad would carry back memories of their experiences here. As Team Techfest enters into this final and crucial stage of preparation,we seek your help in making the festival a huge success. These months will be spent in executing the grand ideas that we have harboured all throughout the year. Execution is the most important aspect of organisation because if you don’t deliver it does not matter how grand or revolutionary your idea was. We wish that you will pour in your suggestions and ideas through the forum or via mail. Whether it has got to do with the cafeteria menu or the registration process in competitions we will try our level best to incorporate your ideas and suggestions and make the fest a memorable one for all.

One of our first initiatives this year at Techfest, Nexus has been a huge success till now. Six editions were held successfully till now. Let us see whether the final edition at IIT Bombay (home territory) is able to break any records previously set by other editions. Wait for the blog post after tomorrow’s Nexus containing all the final records.

By the way the second Mumbai BarCamp is being held simultaneously at SJMSOM, IIT Bombay. Will try to catch the action there also. Hopefully there might be a BarCamp at Techfest too. Keep checking the website for more details.

Techfest Nexus kicked off on the 22nd of September with over 70 teams battling it out at SGSITS, Indore. Apart from the local teams from Indore there were teams from Bhopal, Vidisha and Ujjain.  Here are some of the interesting highlights at the Indore Nexus:

Teams which cleared the basic certificate criteria: ~92% (great)

Teams which managed to complete the task: 7

Best time: 1 min 18 secs

Youngest team: 8th standard school students (shame on all those college students who think of participating the next year because they aren’t prepared this time around)

No. of ‘members’ in the winning ‘team’ : 1 (yeah, that’s true)

The final list of winners will be put up on the Techfest website.

All in all the Indore Nexus was a huge success and a grand way to start the year.

Let us wait and see what happens at Calicut tomorrow and Jaipur day after. Will the Malayalis and Rajasthanis be able to beat the records set by the residents of central India? Only time can tell.